SINCE BRAD'S BEEN GONE.

Brad left for Spain a few days ago so Finley and I have been hanging out and partying like it's 1999. The last few nights she has magically started waking up at 3AM and will not go back to sleep for several hours. I guess she must miss her dad. Not that he got up with her in the middle of the night or anything - but maybe she's all out of sorts because she didn't get her daddy cuddle time before bed - whatever it is I'm not a fan.

St. Louis has had a heat index of 106 for the past few days so I've had to skip our afternoon walks and do inside errands instead. At our little mall an exotic animal awareness group brought baby tigers that you could pet (with a $25 "donation"). I concluded that baby tigers and baby humans probably wouldn't get along so we viewed them from afar. Dang are they cute. I'm thinking that seeing tigers at their most adorable stage probably won't deter too many people from wanting one as a pet. If anything it probably put the idea in more people's mind. Oh well. I don't do their PR. But random, right? Baby tigers at the Alton Square Mall?

We also got to talk to Brad on the web cam yesterday. We had some technical difficulties so after 15 minutes of us both saying "what??" a million times we agreed to try it again today. I did manage to hear the story of how one of the female professors they are traveling with was almost mugged on the Metro. Brad actually pulled the mugger's (also a female) hand out of the professor's purse to stop her. There were some concerned people on the Metro that helped them confront the mugger and her cohorts and luckily everything ended well - as in no one was hurt and nothing was stolen. And Yes! Just the sort of story a wife wants to hear!

Brad gets home Sunday and until then we are going to pack for our long vacation. Do some crafting. Catch up on reading the blogs. And clean house. Finley's excellent at packing... this was her contribution when we were getting Brad ready for Spain.

PS - Finley's hair has fallen out on top and the little she has left is a fuzzy blonde. Poor girl. It's time to pull out the bows and headbands.

JUST. SO. TIRED.

Finley met her Grandma and Grandpa Carn this past weekend and I warned Finley that she's the 21st grandchild on that side so she has to stand out if she wants to be remembered. We had a great time and as far as I know she didn't make any racist remarks or spit up on anyone. She also made it through her first day of church with only minor complaints... I guess I can get used to listening to the Relief Society lessons in the hall. But our main order of business for the weekend was just relaxing - I think we met our objective.

Finley napped first.


Then Ross got in on the action.

Then Diane didn't want to miss out on the fun. (sidenote - the first thing Diane said when she saw this picture was - "don't put that on the blog!" Oops.)

But by the time everyone said goodbye we were all well rested!

THE SECRET TO GETTING THE HOUSE CLEAN

I'm telling you... spoiled spoiled spoiled.

ONE MONTH

Well our little chicken is officially one month old today. We celebrated with a bath and then a walk around campus - it was a big day. She is getting the hang of sleeping longer stretches at night, but unfortunately that means more crankiness during the day because she doesn't nap as well. She just really loves to be held because she's one spoiled baby, but since I have the time and the ability I don't mind our daily cuddle time. We haven't taken her to church yet but if all goes as planned she'll make her debut this Sunday - we are gonna try for all three hours. Woo hoo.

As a side note - it turns out then when you are breastfeeding you have a lot of down time and I've watched more TV lately then I ever wanted to in my entire life. Anyway. So this week is Kids Week on Jeopardy. As in twelve year old geniuses (genii??) playing for cash. Can I just say that it is THE MOST DEPRESSING show ever. I've never felt so dumb in my life. But you bet your left foot that I got every "Radio Disney" answer right. I think I'll switch to reading while Finley eats.

In other news Brad takes his Boards on Friday. We are all a little on edge because his score will decide our next several years of plans after dental school. So everyone please keep us in your prayers! Then next week Brad goes to Spain for a few days to present some research at a dental conference, so I'll have Finley on my own. Don't worry we're gonna party. Brad will be so sorry he missed all the fun. Europe shmirope. Anyway, then when Brad gets back from Spain we're heading to the Carn family reunion and after that we are driving out to Utah for a few weeks. So we are pretty jam packed for the next bit - which will be interesting with a newborn. But we'll take Tim Gunn's advice and make it work.

And since it's not a post without pictures of Finley, here you go:

Tummy time usually ends up in nap time, she loves being on her belly.

I love that double chin. This is her "fat and happy" face after she's done eating.

She also quite enjoys this "baby lounger" (on loan from her cousin Avery who was born last summer). She's almost too long for it but since she still curls her legs like a chicken we might be able to use it for a few more weeks. Although when she's awake she kicks herself off and ends up with her bum on the floor.

I'm pretty sure she would stay like this forever if possible. The only problem is with the heat and humity her face and neck have broken out in heat rash from being so warm when she sleeps on us. Poor girl. Now we have to keep a "cool breeze" on her to clear it up. Which is great because babies love cool breezes. And by love I mean hate.

We didn't really celebrate the 4th of July because Brad is studying his guts out. But I did make a 4th of July feast. Finley looked longingly at our brats and spinach dip... maybe next year.

THE NURSERY

Finley has the best looking and most organized room in the house. Go figure. At least we didn't give up the master bedroom to her... although with the bassinet, blankets, pacifiers, bouncy seat, etc. it might appear otherwise. I guess you could say there has been a Finley Explosion around here, I think she might have taken over our lives. I finished her nursery about two days before she was born which was nice to check off my list.

With no closet in the room we had to get a little creative about storage. The two dressers hold her clothes and the baskets on the bench hold toys books and burp cloths.

I framed black and white pictures of Brad and I and our parents as kids. I still need to get one of my dad from his youth. My favorite picture is of Brad on the horse - I can't believe how blonde he was as a kid.

Here is the essential changing station. The white thing holds diapers and lotion and wipes - one of my favorite purchases and very well used. And the Diaper Genie? Amazing. It has been a sanity saver for our bug attracting apartment - I can't imagine walking out to the trash ten times a day.

I tried to make sure Finley knows about two of the best places on earth - Texas and France. I also had to make sure Illinois was represented since it's both her and Brad's birth state and I'll have to get something to represent Utah. We'll be there in about a month, can't wait!

The picture above her crib is a map of Paris.

The crib was given to us by Brad's older brother - it belonged to the first Carn granddaughter who is now 16 years old. It was given to us with the instructions that we give it back to her when she has her first baby. Brad and his Dad outfitted this drawer with wheels and a divider - it was a drawer that Brad's Dad just happened to have on hand and it matched the crib perfectly in size and wood color. Convenient!

That was probably the longest tour for the smallest sqare footage ever - thanks for indulging me!

TWO WEEKS

Finley had her two week pediatrician appointment yesterday and she has grown. She gained 9 ounces and grew a 1/2 inch. The pediatrician said she is perfect and appears completely healthy -- which is always good news. I was a little concerned because her umbilical cord hadn't fallen off yet so I was asking some questions about it to make sure it wasn't infected or anything. And what do you know? It fell off while I was talking to the pediatrician. So Finley finally has a belly button and can take a real bath instead of the dreaded sponge baths. She is sleeping much better now and still eating well... so things are going pretty smooth so far.

My mom spent two and half weeks here and went home a few days ago. She was great doing laundry and cooking us dinner and snuggling the Finley. It was really hard to see her go but I think the last few days on my own have gone relatively well. I just have to readjust my entire idea of time, for sleeping purposes and scheduling purposes.

Finley also had a few other firsts this week - she wore her first dress. She's still too small for all the dresses we had so Grandma bought her one in a newborn size. She also had her first trip out of the house to the library which allowed me to try out her stroller, of course she slept through the entire experience.

FINLEY'S FIRST WEEK

A few days before Finley was born my dad came to visit - we had a good time going out to eat and getting a few last minute items prepared. I like to call this the calm before the storm.


Then my mom came into town for the long haul to help with the birth and Finley's first few weeks of life. This was taken as I was registering the night before Finley's birth at Saint Anthony's Hospital.





Here I am - little did I know what was about to go down over the course of the next 24 hours. I will spare everyone the gory details but let's just say that Finley needed A LOT of prodding to get into this world. Pitocin... 10 hours later... epidural... 45 later... pushing... 2 hours later... forcepts... 2 minutes later... birth.


I'm not gonna say it wasn't painful - but it was magical and totally worth the work and the wait.






This is Finley coming home for the first time. She wore home the same dress I wore home from the hospital when I was born. I was a little chunkier so it was a little big on her.

This is the awesome Dr. Cannon that delivered Finley... apparently Finley had some wicked flash backs because two seconds before I took this picture she was totally fine.

She loves to sleep all day and loves to cuddle. She hates sponge baths and sleeping at night. We are all learning - but we still think we got pretty lucky.

INTRODUCING

It was a long hard day but we are so happy that she is finally here. Of course we pretty much think she's the cutest baby that ever was. She likes to open one eye at a time... so we call her Popeye... but her official name and stats are:

Finley Anne Carn

June 7, 2010

6:45 pm

7 lbs 6 oz

20 inches long

A million more pictures to come...

TWO SONGS IN MY HEAD

1. When Brad and I moved to the St. Louis area a few years ago it took me a few months to find a job -- and when I did I was beyond grateful to be adding to the GNP again. However; as I drove away from work on Friday - my very LAST day ever - I was again beyond grateful that it was over. And even though the theme of this song is totally unrelated I listened to it the entire 1 hour drive home, Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap. I think it was the phrase, "won't stop 'til it's over," that felt apropos.

As I told someone the other day, I'm really going to enjoy "living off the fat of the loans." That being said ironically.

2. As I've stressed about getting her nursery ready and it has subsequently become the best looking room in our house I've repeatedly heard the quote from Juno in my head, "Not like the baby's going to come storming in here demanding dessert-colored walls." Which is so true - but try convincing a pregnant woman not to nest. And as I've prepared otherwise for her to arrive - folding her little clothes, sewing her quilt, arranging books - I've consistantly and almost unknowingly hummed New Soul by Yael Naim.

ps - Obviously there's no baby yet, we're thinking it may be another 4 or 5 days. We'll keep everyone posted.

LABOR & DELIVERY

Right now Brad and I feel relatively prepared – you know, as much as one can be for an atomic explosion. So now we are just spending this week organizing around the house and purposely trying to relax. It’s weird that this major event does not have an exact deadline, she could come tomorrow or in two weeks – who knows? I’m sure it’s the first of the many ironic jokes of parenthood.

So what’s the next big step on this magical mystery tour called pregnancy? Labor and delivery. In preparation I took classes at our local hospital and read all the usual literature and books. Which merely provided an outline for delivery – nothing totally true to life. It was a general idea of what to expect with the caveat of “but anything can happen!” thrown in. Which is darn right baffling. I could have taken a written exam on what to expect in a delivery room which hardly prepares you for any hands on experience. It’s not like high school calculus – I’m actually going to have to use this information! So after weeks of nervous “what ifs,” you know what I found most comforting albeit terrifyingly informative? The Birth Story features that Design Mom did on her blog over the last eight months. I read every single post. Some twice. Some I retold to Brad. I learned that in between sadness and happiness lies every single birth story. And knowing that I could truly never be prepared for delivery - because you name it, it’s happened to someone, somewhere - has been oddly calming. As one woman said to me last week, “I can’t wait to hear your delivery story.” And now I can finally respond - me too.

Speaking of birth stories did you hear about the woman that delivered her baby while driving herself to the hospital? Sheesh – I’m not that sort of Viking, but the quick and dirty approach does sound appealing.

38 WEEKS

36 WEEKS

I didn't realize that my belly had gotten so big, I guess I was in a little bit of denial. I thought all the recent comments along the lines of "you look like you're about to pop," were all ridiculous. But apparently not.

The nursery is finally starting to come together. Brad set up the crib a few weeks ago and this past weekend I finished sewing the bed skirt and getting everything organized. I think nesting might be in full swing, but I'm not sure. Now I just need to start the best part - the decorating.

With all the nesting this past weekend my hands started to swell and so I changed out my wedding ring for this seriously awesome mood ring. I've really enjoyed knowing the temperature of my hands, plus it has an expandable band. BONUS.