Finnegan Matthew

I'm going to write a quick post, mainly because I know everyone wants to see pictures of handsome man.

First, Finn was born Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 7:32pm via c-section. Long story short, I was contracting all day, went in to get an IV of fluids to see if they would stop, they didn't, I started to get very sharp and painful pains of the left side of my previous c-section scar and the doctors were concerned that it wasn't tolerating the pressure of so many contrations well. So away I went.

The c-section was strange to be awake for, but I was comfortable and happy and doing well. The pulled Finney out and he cried, gurggled, but kept crying. He took a big gulp of fluid on his way out. His first apgar score was 3. His 5 minute one was 8. Pediatrician Dr. P seemed concerned right away. I'm not quite sure what happened after that since I was still on the table and whatnot, but Frankie was with him the whole time. I got up to the recovery room and they told me his oxygen stats were a little low. There was talk of Rockford if he didn't improve. He had fluid in his lungs, a possible infection and his oxygen saturation was at 40. Somewhere along the way the call was made that he was going to Rockford. About 1.5 hours after my section I was put into a wheel chair, legs numb, to try and touch my son for the first time. I was able to hold his hand and rub his foot for just a couple of minutes until I was pulled out because I wasn't looking so hot. I basically went back to the room and threw up a ton. My body wasn't ready to be moving that much, but I wanted to see my baby before he was taken away from me. They wheeled him into my room before he got on the helicopter and I was just able to see his little head with his body all strapped into the isolette strapped to the stretcher. Finney was off on his first adventure.

Another long story short and by the grace of God and one determined ass nurse, I was discharged Thursday (less than 24 hours after my surgery) afternoon and went right to Rockford. When I got there, it was scary. My little boy looked nothing like I remembered. I was scared.

{finn with is bubble cpap and feeding tube}

{we knew we were in the long haul when he got a name tag}

{and for the record, he was 7lbs 15oz at birth, and is now 7lbs 5oz}

{24 hours after Finn was born, I was able to hold him for the first time}

{Frankie bravely holding Finney for the first time. He was a little intimidated for the first couple days, and rightly so. Now he loves his snuggle time}

{mr. finney without his bubble cpap! his nose was a little swollen still from being smooshed up in his cpap}

{and here is a great one of Finn last night! he is so handsome!}

Finn is doing well and trying his best. He is still on an IV and in a heated isolette, but we're trying to wean from both. Most of his feeds still happen through his feeding tube, but he is practicing with a bottle and will take usually around 10ml (of a 55ml feeding) of breastmilk before falling asleep. Eating is hard work, people. He can't go home until he takes all of his feeds from a bottle, so we're in for a little bit of a haul. One nurse last night guessed about a week. It seems like an eternity. Thankfully they've let us get a little more hands on lately and I've been changing diapers (inside the isolette) and holding him for long periods of time.

So right now, we're taking things one feeding, one shift change and one day at a time. Because it's all we can do.

Monday Ramblings

It's been a long weekend of nesting when I'm not supposed to and going back on my meds, so instead of a real post we'll just go along with my normal ramblings.

*A couple weekends ago we had a small cousins BBQ at Jerry and Julie's house (eddie is now madly in love with "Juwie" and told me that he has a baby girl in his belly named Juwie).....Rachel and Jason were in town, and I was super excited to get some social time with some of my favorite people ever. Eddie and I spent most of our time hanging out down by the baby pool, which meant that I missed a lot of chatting with my amazing female cousins. But maybe that's ok, because apparently there was a lot of chatter going on that would have been painfully embarrassing to hear. Jen and I heard a snippet and could not control the screams. And that's about all I can post about that :) (ps - funny...i was just reading that post that I linked and with Jen and Rachel they both say that I wish I got to spend more time with them. Jen moved back to Illinois and Rachel has stepped up her visiting game, and now I've seen them more in a year or so than I've seen them in the past 5 years. And for that I am so incredibly grateful.)

Anyway. We're cute.

* Eddie is still rocking his big brother in training status. He is still caring for his Baby Henry Mouse and has even added his little puppy stuffed animal to the mix. It is hilarious to watch him be so gentle with these stuffed animals....he speaks softly and moves slowly and is just so peaceful. And then he puts them down and we're back to playing with scrap pieces of wood (don't ask) and being construction guys and playing with blocks and firemen and truck and other 100% boy things. The fireman/firehouse/firetruck love lately? Out of control.

* As instructed, I went off the Procardia on Sunday. And sure enough, Sunday night I was hit by a freaking truckload of seriously painful contractions. After a couple hours of them picking up intensity, I called the doctor and thankfully Dr. K was on call. He told me to take my  Procardia again, doubled the dose if necessary and continue that until 37 weeks. Because while 36 weeks is a great goal for preterm labor patients, it isn't really what we want. 36 weekers are still very small, and I am relieved to keep Finn in for another week. I want him to grow as much as possible!

(for the update, I am still having more painful contractions than I should. Unfortunately it seems like we really jumpstarted something by going off of the meds and I'm having trouble getting them back to my 'baseline' amount. Sigh. So we've gone ahead and doubled the dosage and are hoping that they calm down. I even got to experience some pretty painful contractions that were presenting in my lower back last night, which was awesome. Nothing like waking the hubby up at 3am to shove his fists as hard as possible in my lower back! Lets hope these contractions calm down soon.)

* August seems to be the month of family parties, and I hate to be missing all of them. I hoped to have the motivation to throw Eddie a really big birthday party so our extended families could meet Finn, but I've finally come to my senses and realized that probably isn't going to happen. So we're continuing on throwing Eddie his awesome and amazing construction guy party that he's been so super excited about, but keeping it super small. Gotta love it when you realize that you've been delusional thinking you could throw a party for 60+ people with a 2-3 week old.

* We finally got our air conditioning fixed!!! Eddie and I are going to try and do this week at home....I have been super panicy about having everything done for Finn (oh, nesting. such a crazy feeling) and being at home to see that everything really is done is helping me a lot. And yes, while I may or may not have been reorganizing our closets and standing on chairs cleaning yesterday (gee, I wonder why I was having such bad contractions....), I think home is best for us at this point. I miss my parent's pool, badly, and my mom's cooking....and I really miss their gorgeous yard. I love taking pictures out there, and because I have no where else to share it, I'm putting it here. My new favorite flower in my parents yard.....no joke, "Red Hot Poker"

{obviously not red or pokey, but i love it}

* There was a really cool funnel cloud spotted in our town the other day....Frankie called my on his way home from work and said that there was something that looked like a tornado but he wasn't sure. Now, I'm super scared of storms, but that didn't stop us from jumping in the car to go see it. Sure enough...

{photo from ABC 7 news}

....turns out it was some rare thing that was a rope funnel cloud. It wasn't rotating at all, there was just the perfect mix of warm and cool air and the right kind of cloud (sorry, don't remember which) and this is what we got. It isn't dangerous at all, but it seemed to be almost touching the ground and was all around pretty facinating to see. We watched it dissolve and dissapear and it was so neat. Who would have guessed the family that freaks over a tornado siren would drive to see that?

* I think that's all I've got. My double dose of Procardia is kicking in and I've got a lovely headache starting. Yay for modern medicine.

35 weeks and some change

Finally a normal doctor's appointment!! Dr. K declared me no longer exciting, told me that I totally only went into labor for attention and my obvious love of helicopters. And typing that, I'm sure that makes him sound like a total dick, but sarcasm is my love language. And I've proclaimed my love for Dr. K enough already :)

So, besides making fun of me 90% of the appointment, we officially scheduled my c-section for 8/22 (my birthday and maybe Finney's!), but the best news is that I am off Procardia as of SUNDAY!! *****happy dance***** I have been having lots of contractions this week (seriously, tell a pregnant lady that she can't nest. PUH-LEASE) and I think that chances are pretty good for a baby next week. But now that I've put that out on the interwebs, I'm sure the contractions are going to magically stop and I go in for my c-section on the 22nd :)

And because I've already swayed from my normal set up, I'll just put the rest here. I'm feeling pretty massive, pretty tired and pretty done. I'm very ready to hold my boy! I struggle more to play with Eddie on the floor, waddle like a monster and am generally feeling like every pregnant woman does at 36 weeks. My love of rice krispie treats has been out of control, and can easily down a box in a matter of days. I also just became obsessed with bagels with strawberry cream cheese. Obviously, I'm no longer worried about weight. Momma wants FOOD!

Eddie has been fantastic lately with baby stuff. Like, rockstar big brother in the making....we'll see if it lasts :) We got some diapers this week, and right away Eddie wanted me to put one on his stuffed animals. Now that little Henry mouse is "Baby Henry". Eddie changes his diaper "oh! dis one poopy!" and holds him like a pro. After the carseat was all washed and put back together, Eddie had a ball clipping baby Henry Mouse into the carseat. He talks to Finn all the time and has lately been asking him if he's ready to come out. He also is obsessed with telling people that he's having a baby brother (good thing we're not keeping it a secret anymore!) and isn't showing any signs of worry or jealousy, so that's good. We have the carseat base in the car to get him used to not being in the middle anymore, the pack and play bassinet set up, and tons of other baby stuff around the house. Eddie seems generally interested in all of it, and hasn't gotten possessive of anything....good signs!

And because it's the closest thing I have to a bump picture....I now present you with something that may or may not burn your retinas. Ladies and gentlemen.......pregnant lady dancing.....

{of course shauna had to document the one time i got up on the dancefloor}

{and Jen, how hot am I now? LOL - the other pictures of me are much more flattering!}

{and ps - check out frankie checking me out! he knows I've got the best moves out there :)}

Oh yeah. Finney and I can break it down. So what do you think, blog readers? Will Finnegan arrive next week or will he snuggle in until our c-section date? Place your bets!



Catch up!

Phew...sorry for the long silence around here! Usually I write a few posts over the weekend and have them set to post during the week while I'm at my parent's house, but this weekend we were a little busy with our good friends Jim and Michelle's wedding!!

That's right...I went on a field trip! I would never, ever miss such an awesome occasion, not to mention that Frankie was in the wedding and I was did a reading at the ceremony. So, with lots of water and my handy dandy Procardia, off we went to Iowa. And don't worry....from us Iowa is only about an hour and a half away, so basically I just pretended that we were going to the city :)

{the only church picture i have....imagine everyone dressed up and you get the idea!}

{Zach, Keith, Jim, Frankie, Kent and John all handsome}

{wooo! check out that bump. I had a really, really adorable dress to wear, but was planning on wearing it with heals. After I saw my walk to where I was reading, I was much too scared to do it in heals, so Erin and I went off to TJMaxx and found this dress about 2 hours before the wedding!}

{Jim is running! Grab him!}

{ok, this picture is so obviously staged its not even funny. It is a re-creation of my favorite picture of my dad and my uncle from my parent's wedding....and while that one is always my favorite, this one comes in a pretty close second....check out frankie's intensity!}

{the boys made me take this picture, honest to God. And do you want to know how bad it feels to go into a men's bathroom with 4 guys and a camera and come out giggling like little kids? Sigh. Those boys. Good think they know I'm always game}

{Married!}

{we have the most amazing group of friends ever!}

{also, notice my stool? yup...sat there all night like a good little modified bed rester}

{awww}

{one of my favorite pictures of the night!}

Obviously I have about a zillion more pictures, but these were just some of my favorites. Frankie and I really enjoyed the Quad Cities and are thinking about taking Eddie and Finn back out there in the fall....they have a ton of John Deere related stuff up there, and I know Eddie would love it. Add in boats and such, and I'm sure the boy would be in heaven.

So....congrats Jim and Michelle!! They're currently in Ireland and I hope they are having tons of fun!

Good deed day

Alright readers, I need your help again! My friend Trevor works with the chicago children's advocacy center which is currently in a contest to win a new car from Toyota. So if you have a Facebook account and a minute to spare, please click thru and vote for ccac.

http://apps.facebook.com/carsforgood/

Thanks!!

Three little fishies

A couple weeks ago we had some of our favorites out to Nanna's pool for a little playdate. Eddie was soo excited to have visitors, and I loved being able to chat with Michelle!

{three silly little fishies}

{sweet as sugar little Shelby....this girl will ham it up for the camera all day! love her}

{crazy Eddie monster}

{my favortie little Leah! This one has no fear and is soo funny....stone steps up to where Shelby and Eddie were playing? No fear, no worries! Crazy girl}

Eddie keeps asking for them to come back....too bad this week has been beyond hot...I think everyone has stayed hunkered down in the AC!

Fancy Pants

This weekend Eddie and Frankie went to a family wedding, one that I sooo wanted to be at but do to some bad planning on my part (I told the bride that I wouldn't be able to make it because of my bed rest, but then my doctor ok'd me to go, but then I didn't want to be that person 2 days before the wedding that was all I'M COMING NOW!! and eff up her entire seating chart. Because seating charts are the devil.) So instead I sat at home by myself, wrote that incredibly self-pitying post about Fiona (because I was lonely) and then you know what happened? Literally 5 minutes after Frankie and Eddie left, the cable and the internet went out. And I cried some more. I had no books at the house that I hadn't read, no TV, no internet and my pity party went to epic proportions. Sigh. Anyway....


Eddie and Frankie had a blast. Well, at least they both came home exahusted....Eddie from running around and Frankie from chasing him. Heh! I knew Eddie would go nutty on the dancefloor and the cell phone videos Frankie took for me are some of the funniest I've seen.

The best part of it all, though? Eddie's amazing outfit. He was soooo proud of his fancy outfit - and he even picked out the hat! Such a ham.

Oh my gosh. I die.