Life with Finley: 8 weeks old

AMAZING!! that is life with Finley. Bill & I constantly ask eachother- how it is possible that we have such a wonderful child? we can't believe that he is real and really here on earth with us! I am constantly relieved that he is OUT!!!

there is so much I could write about that has happened since Fin was born but rather than filling pages with the sordid details, I will let it all trickle out in various future postings.

I am feeling good and healthy again now. However I am a different person than I was before the baby was born. I feel different and I look different and the world looks different to me. In many ways this scares and overwhelms me despite this, I've decided that I am going to embrace it and let the change be empowering.

the last 2 months have been an incredible experience. Finley has grown sooooo much it is shocking and amazing and somehow really sad. I never thought I would feel that way but I sort of do-I was sad yet so proud to see him change from and infant to a baby. Somehow it happens so fast around 6 weeks-suddenly your tiny little one is no longer so fragile and growing up so obviously right before your eyes.

In the last 3 weeks Fin has started smiling when he sees us and when people talk directly to him. It is so amazing how a little, fleeting smile can make his face light up so much so quickly. this week Finley started GRABBING things!!! it is so exciting for us and such a parent moment when you see these little advances in development happen right before your eyes. He discovered that he could grab the little toy linkadoo rings. he can't yet bring them toward his eyes os he can see them but eh can feel them and shake them around. About 2 weks ago, I brought out his baby Einstein play gym that Laura & Stacey bought for him. I thought it might be too early but I was so WRONG. He immediately got exicted and his face lit up when he saw all the colors and hanging toys. He lays on the mat and wiggles and coos and kicks his legs and grunts and gurgles at the contraption. He will keep himself occupied doing this for as long as 30 minutes which is amazing since until now the only time he was quiet and content for that long was when he was sleeping or being held.

Sleep was a longed=for and lost commodity in this house until very recently. Suddenly at about 6.5-7 weeks old Fin spontaneously started sleeping at night for 5-6h increments!! It has been absoultely rejuvenating. It makes you realize just how hard it is to wake up several times a night. The hardest thign for me was having to actually SIT UP to feed him during those early morning 3-5am feeding sessions-very painful and I would often doze off to sleep with the baby at my breast and then jerk myself awake moments later. We do not yet have a sleep routine during the day but we have learnied that if we make sure he does not fall asleep until around 11pm or midnite then he will sleep until 6am or so then go back asleep again untile 8 or 9am. this is really great!! there are still some bad nights when he won't go to sleep until 2am or so but for the most part thing sare so much better.

Today is Bill's 1st official "dad day". He is going to be taking 1 day off each week to watch Finley and be DAD while mommy works or runs errands or does various selfish things like getting nails done. After Xmas when I go back to work full time, Bill will continue staying with Fin 1 day each week and I will also be working 4 days a week so the baby only will need daycare 3 days a week. Our son grows and learns so fast that we've realized that we have to spend as much time with him as possible and right now we both have flexible jobs so we are going to take advantage of the situation.

This weekend we traveled to Chicago with Finley to attend my collegen friend, Laura's wedding. Ellen & Brian were also there so I was so happy that they were able to see Finley since we will probably not be visitng San Franciso until sometime next year. We took the train to Chi-town b/c we were not ready to venture onto an airplane with the baby. The train was no problem at all and quite enjoyable way to travel. It's too bad the trains are so slow in the US-we loved the highspeed train travel in Europe and would love to get around America the same way. The wedding was beautiful and the food was amazing. Laura looked stunning and Mike was thrilled. They had a brunch the next day so we got to see their apartment-it was quite lovely and had a great veiw of the Chicago skyline. Stacey, SHelly, Beckie, and Alexis were all there too and we had a great time seeing them and their signficant others. Finley especially liked being held by Stacey.

Fin also got to meet Bill's Gma Beckie & Sudi (Aunt Jill) last week as they were both in town to visit the new babies. Everyone on the Burns's side of the family is called Finley the "little baby" and Landon the "big baby"-it's so cute to see the babies together. They are so different in personality, skin color, and face & eye shape except they seem to have the same remarkable little dimpled chin. I am so happy they will be growing up together and in no time I know that they will be the same size and competeing for attention and toys.