As I’ve mentioned before Brendan and I had no idea what to do with Finn once we got him home.  Our ‘normal’ routine was no longer.  It was Finn’s show now!  For some reason it made sense for us to hole up in the basement until we could make our game plan.  Our cave was set up nicely with the pull out couch, TV and endless bottles for the young one.  Finn slept in the Fisher Price rocker next to the bed.  I had no idea how much to feed a newborn and no idea how much they actually ate!

What finally got us out of the cave was the TV.  Slowly, day by day it died!  I know I should have been sleeping while Finn slept, but I had a lot stories to catch up on!  Like I haven’t seen every episode of CSI by now!  Now, I read somewhere that newborns sleep like 20 hours a day…what they failed to mention is that they only sleep in two hour increments!  The other time is spent screaming to be fed, changed and rocked back to sleep!

Once we moved to the main level of the house things got a little easier.  When Brendan came home from work we would eat whatever dinner I managed to put together using only one hand.  At this point, Finn wasn’t in his crib yet.  He slept in his cradle or on us most of the time.  Brendan would sit with him until about midnight so I could get some sleep, then I would sleep on the couch until about 4 or 5.  Sometimes when he wouldn’t go back to sleep I scooped him up to sleep on my chest.

I searched online everyday for what to do with my newborn and what to expect.  It’s the first time in my life I don’t mind research.  Well, I read how easy it was for some other mommies to get their babes in the crib, so I thought I’d give it a try.  We started with naps and finally he slept in his crib at around 9 or 10 weeks.  The innovations in baby monitors these days are AMAZING!  We have a video monitor and if the sun comes through just right I can see Finn breathing!  Of course, now Brendan and I don’t sleep!  We’re constantly going into his room checking to see if he’s breathing, making sure that the temperature is cool enough.  I used to check Finn’s breathing with the nightlight he had in the room, but Brendan showed me how to just place my hand on his chest and feel his breathing!  I guess I was just always afraid I’d wake him up…and everyone knows you don’t wake a sleeping baby!

Well, now I know!

Ok…where did we leave off…oh, yeah, the mothers were running around like crazy to get us newborn sized clothing!

I won’t lie, the first few weeks were a blur.  We spent those first few weeks in the basement.  I have no idea why!  It’s like we had no idea what to do with the kid!  It’s not like we had a fully equipped nursery upstairs or anything!  When Brendan went back to work my days were spent feeding, changing, clothing and rocking Finn.  Looking back, it was actually easier to take a shower when he was a newborn than it is now!

At Finn’s 6 weeks appointment with Dr. Murphy he weighed 12 lbs and was 22 in tall!  He took his first shots like a champ and didn’t have any reaction.  All milestones were being met.  It was at this point that my sister in law mentioned to me that she had a few bags of children’s clothes that I was welcome to have.  I spent 2 days sorting and washing!

The next set of shots came at 3 1/2 months.  He weighed in at 16 lbs 10 oz and was 25 1/2 in tall.  Again, all milestones were being met!  My sister in law had 7 more bags of clothing ranging in size from 6-12 months!  Finn is set for his first year, as far as clothes go!  It’s been so helpful!

One cold day in March we found out our furnace was broken.  That explained why it was so cold in Finn’s room!  I took this opportunity to take Finn to all the way to Nanny and Grandpa’s house!  He spent the weekend playing with Blitzen and Bruno (my parent’s labs!) and with Nanny.  Grandpa was a bit under the weather and made himself scarce.

The 5 1/2 month appointment was one we were looking forward to because the doc was going to discuss starting Finn on solid food!  So, Finn weighed a whopping 19 lbs and was 26 1/2 in tall!  How can kids grow so quickly on just baby formula?!  Dr. Murphy advised us to start him on fruit and cereal, then slowly introduce yellow veggies and green veggies.  As soon as I got back to my parent’s house (we were still waiting for the furnace to be fixed) I mentioned that the doc had given the go ahead for solid foods.  So, didn’t my mother go down to the basement and come back up with two different kinds of cereal and an armful of Gerber!  Finn’s first food was banana and multigrain cereal.  We soon realized our mistake with the multigrain cereal because it upset his little belly.  To no ones surprise, Finn loves food!  He had no problems sucking those bananas right down!  And what a mess he made!

I decided early on that I would make Finn’s food.  Now I know that Brendan had troubles with certain dyes and additives in food, as does Finn’s cousin.  So, I feel even better in my decision!  When I began making his food it was like I was new to the kitchen.  I felt like I had no idea what I was doing!  I very quickly found out that my blender was the best to puree his food, as my processor has only a 3 cup capacity.

So far Finn has tried butternut squash (not his fav at all!), apples, peaches (his fav, but not his tummy’s!) and carrots.  Next up is sweet potatoes then broccoli!  I’m having such a good time picking out the fresh produce and cooking and pureeing all his food!

Well, I guess you’re all caught up with Finn’s first 5 1/2 months!  Oh yeah…his first tooth pushed its way out on Easter!

Welcome to our family blog!  I’m very new at this so give me a break.

So, let me get everyone up to speed:

When I woke up Tuesday, October 9th I knew it was going to be an interesting day.  I had Braxton-Hicks contractions all day and some other occurrences that I won’t disgust you with.  Little did I know I was in labor all day at work!  Looking back, I had my first ‘real’ contraction just as I turned onto our street.

I started taking note of my contractions at 7:39 p.m.  They were pretty tame so I thought it would be okay for Brendan to go to his regular soccer game.  At around 8:30 I realized my contractions were 10 minutes apart and getting stronger.  I decided to put myself into a warm bath to relax and call the doctor.  I was bummed to find out that Dr. Wolf was not on call, but at that point I really didn’t care!  I gave all my info to the doc on call and he told me since it was my first it may be awhile and I sounded way too relaxed to progress quickly.  I proceeded to call Brendan many, many, many times with no answer!

Brendan finally got home around 9:15 p.m. and found me in the basement squatting in front of the recliner.  At this point my contractions were 7 minutes apart and getting much stronger.  We called the doc on call again to ask his advice.  Again, he said that he could be hours and we could go ahead to the hospital if we wanted.

Finally, I gave in and we headed to the hospital at 10 p.m.  That was the longest car ride, EVER!  We only live 7.8 miles away and I must have had 2-3 contractions on the way.  I was sent up to triage so they could tell me what I already knew…I was in active labor!

After what felt like a lifetime, I was sent to labor and delivery.  Originally, I thought I would try for a natural birth…yeah, right!  I have a lot of respect for those women who can handle the pain of labor!  By the time the feel good juice was taking effect it was time to push.  With every push the heartburn I’d been dealing with the last few weeks of pregnancy was getting worse!  Just when the doc was suggesting a C-section to get the kid out…

Fionbharr Declan McBride was born October 10, 2012 at 4:39 a.m.  He was 7 lbs. 7 oz. and 19 3/4 in tall.

Now, Brendan and I chose not to find out the sex of the baby.  We had a couple names picked out for boys and girls (even though Brendan knew it couldn’t be a girl!)  Once baby was born the doc asked what his name was.  Brendan then took one look at him and said ‘His name is Fionbharr!’

The next couple of days were a frenzy of family, friends, nurses and nuns! Oh, my!  Finn and I were discharged on Friday.  Once we got him home Brendan and I kinda looked at each other like ‘now what?!’  The dogs went crazy for a couple of days and therefore, spent most of the first weeks in the kitchen.  Now, Brendan and I never imagined we’d have an average sized baby.  That first day home was spent calling our mothers and scrambling to get newborn sized clothes!

To be continued…