Did You Know He Was a Boy???

No, this isn’t Baby Sullivan #2, its Finley’s first ultrasound picture. I’m reposting it for two reasons….

- Finley's nose is exactly how I pictured it would be! Take a look at his profile in comparison to the ultrasound picture.

- This weekend it was brought to our attention that some knew Baby Sullivan was a boy! Is that protusion from his midsection his boy parts or umbillical cord? Evidently those around me (including myself) thought it was the cord, but others thought differently. I've sent an email to an ultrasound tech, I'll let you know her reply...wow! Seriously?!?! Could it be?! I only looked at this picture a million times and never wondered!

Finley has a smile!! About 2-3 times per day I can get him to give a little smile. You have to watch quickly because it comes and goes so fast. He makes me really work for it, but you can see it in his eyes that he’s trying. Unfortunately I haven’t caught it on camera yet; I’m guessing I'll have a picture to post in the next week or two - believe me its not from lack of effort on my part!

Last Monday, Finley had dinner with the ladies - lucky boy! Carolynne, Kristi, Tara and I caught up over pizza; Finley and Jake were the only boys allowed!
On Tuesday, Finley finally got to meet Tabatha. Tab is my Little Sister from Big Brothers Big Sisters. She is getting ready to start 9th grade this year – high school! She looks forward to getting her driver’s license, and driving up to visit Finley. The three of us watched a movie and ate Subway; Finley was content watching (sleeping) in Tab’s arms.

Tuesday night brought a huge scare and our first trip to the emergency room. Finley finished a feeding about 2:30 a.m.; I had him lying on our ottoman while I was pumping breastmilk for storage (we do this every night). Finley began to fuss, so with one hand I was putting his Nuk in his mouth, only to be spit out and repeated. After a few attempts with the Nuk, I put one hand under Finley and slid him onto my legs. In doing so, Finley got a horrible look on his face (that pre-cry face where no cry is heard, but you can see a huge one is on its way), his eyes were rolled back a little and he did a fish-out-of-water body shake – I thought he was having a seizure. I screamed for Patrick and he came running, by this time Finley was loudly crying (me too). His eyes seemed glazed and he was stuffed up, so we suctioned out his nose and mouth. I was hysterical and scared, so we ran him to Luther Hospital to be looked at. Luck was on our side as the ER doctor was a family friend (he and his family had breakfast with Finley and Grandma last week), and the on-call pediatrician was Finley’s regular doctor. Based on my description of the events, Finley’s alertness at the hospital, it was decided that I’d witnessed the Moro Reflex . This is the startle reflex that babies generally outgrow by three months. The glazed/rolled eyes were from his half-sleep state, and the way I’d pulled him onto my lap brought on the moro reflex. I see this reflex daily in Finley, it was just a little longer that night; why is everything scarier at night?? We have a healthy and happy baby boy, and a mom that will probably be gray or have a nervous breakdown before he turns one.

Finley’s neck is getting stronger and he’s gaining better control of his head. We try to do a little tummy time each day, he likes it on his boppy pillow. This picture is not a good example of his strong neck, but how cute is he??? Don't you want to pick him up and snuggle?

Finley really likes TV Tummy Time, he skipped right over Baby Einstein videos and went straight to Friends reruns. Grandpa said he’d like tummy time too if Jennifer Aniston is on TV. Mom-of-the-Year Award headed my way…letting my 7 week old watch TV! Obviously I’m joking, I don’t prop him up in front of the TV (yet - although I'm sure there will be a desperate time or two that I will)….plus he can’t even see clearly that far!
Finley has really started to notice things around him. He’s tracking with his eyes well and he finally likes his playmat. He can spend 20-25 minutes lying and watching the flashing sun and silly birds above him. I can get soooo much done in 20-25 minutes, I’ve become super-efficient and literally run through the house – putting laundry away, uloading the dishwasher, visiting the bathroom, eating a bowl of cereal, you get the idea…and I’m not joking about running through the house, if there was a hidden camera I'd be embarassed!
On Thursday Finley met Stephanie, his babysitter when I go back to work...sniff, sniff. Fortunately she's great and I won't have to worry about him. Worry? No! Miss him? Already! Stephanie, her husband Marc, and their three children came over for dinner. Finley will not starve for attention at their house, the kids took turns holding him. I think Duncan would've taken Finley home if I'd have let him, he loves babies...I wonder if Duncan will still love Finley when he comes to his house everyday and uses his old baby stuff :)

Mya - soon-to-be 3rd grader

Riley - soon-to-be Kindergartner

Duncan - 2 1/2 years old

Friday night we visited Kristi, Dan and BabyMac, they were vacationing at Lake Wissota. Unfortunately it was too windy for Finley's first bonfire.
Another HUGE first…Finley slept over at Grandma and Grandpa's house! Our friends Melissa and Dave got married in Green Bay on Saturday. Of course anal-me had Finley packed by Thursday, with lists of everything he'd need and everything I'd need (a nursing mom doesn't get to stop when the baby isn't around). Imagine my surprise when I attempted to pump on the interstate and realized I didn't bring all the pump pieces, aghhh! No problem we'll stop in Wausau and grab what I need...one hour and a complete tour of Wausau later (with stops at Shopko, Walmart and finally Target), we were back on our way hoping we'd make the wedding. We did and it was beautiful! I even went to Lambeau Field for the first time - kinda strange, I didn't even see the field, but I did run into Captain Morgan at Curly's...don't worry, just one! We were shocked to see Brett there!
Grandma kept Finley very busy during his stay, he probably didn’t miss us as much as we missed him. Finley went to coffee and a 90th birthday party for my Great Aunt Ione – I’m sure he got a little spoiled by EVERYONE there. Finley slept well too (so did we), the past two nights he's had some longer stretches - knock on wood!

Leaving for Grandma's!

Aunt Ione's 90th Birthday Party
From Left to Right...Great Grandma Market, Aunt Ione, Aunt Elayne, and Aunt Annie
Finley was cuddled (and spoiled) by cousin Michelle.We didn't see much of Spencer this week, but a cute picture I came across on Grandma's camera.

Sundays...working on the blog with mom!