Finn starting work

Thanks to Grandpa Barber for (unknowingly!) guest blogging about Finn's visit to their house yesterday.

When Finn arrived today I was welding – which I stopped, of course, upon his arrival. We played in the lawn for quite a while, after getting the obligatory time on the tractor, dump truck and backhoe. He noticed I had my tape measure clipped on my pants and wanted it, so he started playing with it. I could not get him to count his numbers on it, but after I showed him how it was used he started to measure the posts on the back barn.

Tess photos

You're here!!

Hi, world!

Proud papa

Tired (but happy) mama

Precious baby

Nana (Wagoner) and Tess

Mimi (Barber) and Tess

Slightly apprehensive older brother

Sleeping beauty

Hi, Tess! I'm Finn!

Tess's birth

So here's the quick rundown on why our labor and delivery on Sunday/Monday lasted over 24 hours ...

On Sunday morning I felt contractions coming every 8 minutes apart so my midwife asked me to go to the hospital for evaluation. Andrew, my mom and I went and left Finn with Andrew's mom. I had the feeling that this was finally it! After an hour or so on the monitors they decided to admit me - this was around 1 pm, I think. We let Darcie (the doula) know and she arrived around 3 pm. I was still feeling contractions but not progressing much, so we just walked around the maternity ward and waited for something to happen i.e. dilation or closer contractions.

Around NINE pm, I was still in the same approximate condition, maybe I had dilated to 3 cm by then but my contractions still weren't getting stronger, so the midwife gave us the options of a) going home and waiting til labor started there in earnest, b) taking an ambien and sleeping at the hospital til the morning, when maybe contractions would be stronger, or c) breaking my water. We decided to go with option c since at that point we wanted a baby already (!) BUT the LD ward was busy with a couple of major emergencies, and there were no extra nurses to help break my water. Sigh. We then went to option b, which turned out to be the better one anyway.

My mom and Darcie went home and Andrew and I slept in the room for a few hours. Sleeping is never a worry for him, he falls asleep the moment his head hits the pillow, but for me it was a challenge - I'm still glad we did it that way. Around 1 am the nurses checked me and I was dilated to 6 cm and the contractions were starting to HURT. I had a nubain drip for pain but decided against an epidural this time, so it was much different than my labor with Finn. Darcie came in around 2 am, which was a godsend because I was starting to feel a lot of pain (despite my excitement that within a matter of hours Tess would be born). Anyway, the hours went by and all of a sudden when I was fully dilated my water broke and it was time to push. That lasted maybe a half hour although it felt like forever, and then out she came! Andrew caught her. That was awesome.

I don't think I'm forgetting anything. It was quite the experience though. And the next day I was on my feet and the next day we came home. More photos to come in the next post.

Day 2

I've been meaning to get online all day to update the blog with Tess's birth story but you know, the hours watching a newborn baby eat and sleep etc go by pretty quickly. She is such a sweetheart! We will be discharged tomorrow morning and I'm excited to get home and see Finn (Andrew is there now for a couple of hours). Then I'll have time to upload a few more photos... But here's what she's up to now...

Tess is here!

Tess Abigail arrived to great fanfare this morning at 6:55 am. She has already proven herself a good-natured baby, nursing right away and napping most of the day. She weighed in at 8 lbs, one oz and 19.5 inches long. Perfection. And she has hair?!

We will get the full story and photos up as soon as possible, just wanted to let you know that we're doing well! We will be here at the hospital until Weds morning.

Admitted

Here we are - looks like things are progressing pretty well. I won't be blogging through labor, trust me, just wanted to let you know that we probably won't be sent home this time without our baby girl. Thanks for all of the good wishes so far, it's so nice to hear from you all!!

(Contractions are now 4-6 mins apart and the doula is on her way.)

what's going on

Hi all, it looks like today might be the day. (Of course given the past couple of weeks I say that with caution.) I've been feeling contractions since about midnight that are gradually becoming stronger. That's about all I can tell you for now, as I drink my coffee and wait for my water to break.

You know, just another Sunday morning! Stay tuned!

Lilacs

It's a huge score to find after moving into a house in the dead of winter, that a previous owner has planted lilacs and pear trees and cherry trees and more! We are still discovering what's in our lawn and deciding what we'd like to do (this year or next) in terms of flowers. Fun.

With that said, the most exciting place we've been today, the day I was *certain* we'd be at the hospital, is... Lowe's. I'm still maintaining a positive attitude, although it may be a wee bit trickier over the next three rainy days. Wish us luck!!

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40.5

Yes, at 40.5 weeks we're still hanging tough.

Still no sign of miss petunia. I slept a lot last night and woke up this morning feeling vaguely out of it ... sadly, that's actually pretty normal. Tonight we have plans to meet up with Andrew's parents for his belated birthday dinner so I'm going to order eggplant parmesan if they have it, if only to check that box of natural labor inducing methods I've tried. (Also, eggplant parm is delicious.) As always, will post again later if anything changes. This is the first Friday in 3 weeks that I haven't felt like we'd end up at the hospital within hours.

Ithaca pics

We had a great time in Ithaca today, not giving birth.

The last photo you will see of me in this condition.
(The pink tulips behind me were the intended subject.)

After flirting shamelessly with Lily, the 21-month old at the next table, Finn was completely shy when she and her mom and grandma came over to introduce themselves, and would only "high five" her mom and grandma. I'm sorry to say that this behavior might originate from his mother.

Where's my next course? That rhubarb cake was off the hook!

Earth Day road trip

Sort of an oxymoron, yes. We are going to Ithaca today for another quick side trip, some Moosewood (yum) and decent coffee and maybe shopping if we have the time and motivation. I had mixed feelings about driving an hour today but worst case scenario - which isn't really so bad - Andrew would meet us at the hospital in Elmira if he has to. It is really nice out and I'm excited for the walk. And the food and aforementioned good coffee.

I'm so happy that my niece Gigi has already been in and out of surgery this morning to remove a cyst on her forehead before Mick, Sue and the girls leave for Japan. Sue reports that it went perfectly.

More later from she who is not in labor ... !

Play date

We're driving to see Finn's cousins Ella and Beckett this morning for a quick playtime. The fact that I'm ok to drive 40 minutes each way without worrying that I'll go into labor is a pretty good sign that nothing's going on just yet... It's another beautiful day so we'll take a long walk this afternoon and see if that helps!

Finn is back

Looking wistfully out the window at the house next door.

(Finn is way intrigued with the ball-shaped vent on its roof.)

I'm cute!

...and thanks to mama's friend Radhika for the awesome helicopter pajamas! Love 'em.

New Poll

See the tab at left and play along. Let's make this waiting that much more fun!

As I just posted on facebook, I read on the NYT about 30 seconds ago and article titled

Can You Have a Happy Birthday on April 19?

written by none other than esteemed professor Stanley Fish (he was a big deal at Duke when I was in school.) Anyway, apparently today sucks and tomorrow is the birthday of an evil 20th century dictator, so if baby wants to wait til later in the week, well, that is really and truly fine with me.

da do do due date

Forty weeks is here, and it will be gone, and that's ok. I had a checkup with my midwife at noon and not much has changed since last week (baby is high, I *might* be 1 cm dilated, etc etc). She gave me a couple of homeopathic things to try but the honest truth is that at this point I'd rather just let nature run its course. I'll go in next Monday for an ultrasound and non-stress test if I'm still waiting. Darcie the doula will be back from vacation on Friday so maybe she'll be present after all...

It's crazy to me that in just 12 weeks it will be a YEAR since I started being pregnant. Hahaha. Although I'm feeling it, we're continuing to schedule activities this week so that we get out and walking. By the way, Finn just did the cutest thing. He has a couple of baby books (Baby Faces, Baby Colors) that he got out and handed to me and said BABY. As if he was far too sophisticated for those books, but the baby is free to borrow them. Funny stuff.

nearing 40 weeks

While waiting for my laundry to dry, I typed "why pregnancy due dates mean nothing" into google and about 360,000 results came up. I was curious, seeing as how tomorrow is our due date and it really feels like it could be next weekend before baby girl decides to make her appearance. It's all good. If she wants to hang out in exchange for being a good eater and sleeper right off the bat like Finn was, I'll gladly tolerate being pregnant til week 42!

It's only if she waits that long and then gives me any flack, that's when we'll need to have a talk.

BTW Happy 3rd Birthday to my nephew and godson Massi Stoka. I can't believe it - THREE! Your present is in the mail.

where's my damn wine? I mean - saturday update.

Finn running toward Seneca Lake on Thursday.

It looks like our May-like weather is taking a break but we've been VERY spoiled so the next couple of crummy days will be tolerable. Finn just left with his grandparents for an overnight so I now have a chance to catch up on blog posts... he's been extra adorable lately. I swear he knows that something is up.

I'm feeling ok again; it feels like the baby is continuing to descend. It helps to be active, which I tried to do today without obsessing about when we'll be heading to the hospital for real. Yesterday the nurses at Arnot did some fetal monitoring and my midwife checked me out too, which is how they came to the conclusion that I wasn't in labor. I felt pretty awesome walking back out the front door past the little old dude who had helped me with bags an hour before. Ha! Anyway, the nurses there are so competent that we know we'll be in good hands when the big day finally arrives.

Fw: False alarm

Darn, we're on our way home... Will post more later. Water hasn't broken, not dilated, gah!!

weather report

Some of you may remember that 20 months ago, Finn arrived in the midst of a spectacular thunderstorm. Today we have big storms on the way, which *may* mean that both of our kids were meant to be born during inclement weather. I started having contractions about an hour ago and spoke to my midwife, who is sending us to the hospital just for a check-up/good measure. So as soon as my mom gets home we're going to head out and will keep you all updated. Hopefully it's not a false alarm because now we're all excited and ready to get the show on the road!

waterfall, or "snow"

This is the beautiful waterfall in Montour Falls (near Watkins Glen) where we drove yesterday. Finn thought the "snow" was pretty cool!

I'm feeling good again today so we're going for a walk now, as the forecast is calling for rain later and maybe even some flurries tomorrow?! Eek. No thanks. I spoke to our fab doula, Darcie, this morning and she thinks today is the day. I wish I was so sure. Then the baby could share a birthday with my friend Pam, which *would* be more than ok! Anyway, Darcie returns from vacation next Friday so it's possible that she'll wait that long - Finn did. I'm finding that as long as we are making plans and getting out to do things the waiting really isn't so bad.

no photos please

I meant to post this pic yesterday too because it cracks me up but it worked out well that I didn't, since it's already 10 PM and today's pics haven't been downloaded yet and blah blah blah...

Anyway, Finn and Nana and I took advantage of the still-glorious weather and my still-gestating condition today to drive up to Watkins Glen and all the way around Seneca Lake. It was really fun and nice to see some new scenery and eat delicious food at the Harbor Hotel and a little local ice cream place (seeing as how ice cream will be phased out immediately after baby 2.0). Finn also had a chance to run around outside and see about 100 tractors, which are always identified with a boisterous "ohhh CACKTOR!" or sometimes a "BALOO CACKTOR!" OR "GREEEEEN CACKTOR!" Seriously, this boy is always amusing.

I'm feeling lots of baby kicking but otherwise nothing noteworthy, which is a little bit of a relief because I didn't want her birthday coinciding with the deadline for tax returns. And that's not because I dread taxes so much as I'd rather it not coincide with anything important (such as my nephew Massi's birthday on the 18th or my doula's vacation on the 19th... uh, the 16th and 17th are all clear, just sayin'...) I had a premonition that tonight would be The Night but my premonitions have all been off of the mark, therefore I'm going to read the New Yorker in bed and hope for another good night of sleep. Just in case.

balance beam

Tuesday mornings at gymnastics are really one of the highlights of Finn's week. At first he sort of held back but now he's the first one to run and find a seat as soon as the teachers say "go!" It's very cute and also great for him to run around and get tired. Tuesday is always a good nap day.

Note how the other kids are sitting down, whereas Finn likes to do his own thing.

After his dismount from a complicated routine on the rings.
(And pay no attention to the person standing next to him.)

This is part of his balance beam routine. Also very complex.

If you're wondering how I'm feeling, the answer is large and in the mood for ice cream. So my nice husband is going to take me to this place a couple of miles away that just opened for the season - who knows, maybe it will be our last date for a couple of weeks. Or maybe not. I've felt ok the past couple of days, sleeping fine, just trying to enjoy these sunny days with Finn since after the baby arrives it will be a little bit chaotic. I'm finding that adopting a more laid-back attitude is really helping the days to go by a little faster.

See, universe? See how zen I am?

Easter outfit

I found Finn's perfect Easter outfit on the Macy's sale rack this year and was so happy because it's always freezing around here on Easter, so a sweater seemed perfectly appropriate. Of course this year (not complaining) it was 70 degrees and therefore he didn't wear his outfit for more than a couple of hours, during which he didn't smile for one frame-able photo. I'm posting this anyway.

On baby front, still nothing to tell you. I slept better last night despite a couple of strong braxton-hicks contractions. I'm focusing on my friend Lauren's comment from yesterday stating that with her second baby - exactly 11 months ago! - she went into labor at 2 AM and had her baby at 5:30 AM. It could happen to us!

abcs and 123s

Aunt Heather (Finn's version is "Aunt How" so we need to work on those "th" sounds) took these pics a couple of days ago when he discovered that his grandparents' fireplace has a magnetic surface around the edges. Perfect for displaying his fridge magnets and showing off! She said that, as usual, he was moving around so quickly it was impossible to take clear photos, but I love how these turned out. He now knows all of his letters and most of his numbers up to 9. The letter O and the number 8 are his favorites.

He'll also sing the ABC song, but only up to ABC and then he does "ba ba ba ba" for the remainder. I have to say that his voice is pretty darn good, and as he can even hold a tune I'll have to get the video camera out and stealthily film him.

We went to my 39-week checkup this morning and confirmed my suspicions that we still have a little ways to go with Finn's baby sister. Her head is in the right place but hasn't descended yet to the point where the midwife couldn't easily move her around. I've begun to efface but haven't dilated at all. With second babies this process can go much more quickly than with the first - that's the good news - but I still have another appointment for next Monday that I suspect we'll make. Sigh. Waiting around when it's hard to move and clothes are uncomfortable is absolutely no fun!

the artiste

This photo is a few weeks old but I meant to post it a while back because it's so sweet.

Finn loves his Mimi! Here they are coloring together.

(Yes I'm still at home and waiting not-very-patiently for this baby, who is apparently very fond of my current diet of cauliflower soup, dark chocolate and peanut butter toast.)

sunday morning

No baby excitement to report yet. But we decided to take advantage of the nice weather this morning by going out to breakfast ("DODOs"! said Finn, upon seeing the donuts at Crystal City bakery...), going for a quick trip to the park to ride the "whee-slides" and then to Wegmans. I hoped that the running around would get my body moving but no such luck; on the plus side, we appear to have worn out both Andrew and Finn.

Heather sent me this cute picture from dinner the other night of Finn and his cousin Ella. They adore each other, and it's so sweet!

(He also adores Auntie Ann.)

"cacktor, dump, wheeeeel!"

Baby watch: I thought yesterday might have been the day. Got up early, finished packing my bag, took a shower, went for a quick blow-out and mani/pedi and facial (ok, just kidding about that last part), and sent Finn off for a night in Waverly. All day we monitored my contractions, which came and went, and then Andrew and I ran a few errands, and then we came home and went to bed and this morning ... NOTHING! Aargh. So frustrating. I'm trying hard to be patient and know that she'll come when she's ready but the waiting in these final days is so trying - the best I can do is to update this blog daily and let you know what's going on.

Meanwhile, Finn is having a great time with Papa and Mimi and Aunt Heather as usual, since they have so much Cool Stuff for Boys at their house. He is completely obsessed with Papa's tractor and dump truck, as you can see here, and one of his new words is WHEEL as in steering wheel, which is the coolest invention ever made.

On the tractor aka "cacktor" a couple of weeks ago.
Before it got hot, and then cool again...

Walking with Papa to see his favorite things in life, big trucks.

Loving his radio flyer.

boys on bikes

Well, I started having mild contractions this morning around 1 AM and noticed they were coming about every 10 minutes but I'm not experienced enough at this baby-having stuff to know whether or not they were real or B-H. So ... we sent Finn to his grandparents' just in case as I'm feeling pretty weird and with this drop in barometric pressure hope that today might be the day. Or tomorrow. There's a lot of pressure down low so I'm paying close attention and hoping beyond hope. Our doula goes on vacation on the 19th and I really want her there to talk me through this one and massage my feet!!

My Aunt Judy sent this photo of my dad from back when he was a little tyke, which we thought was so adorable compared to Finn on his little radio flyer. Amazing how our little guy really resembles both sides of the family.

spring photos

Still pregnant, but I feel like the baby is already in my lap!

Yesterday our photographer friend, Brie, met us at Papa and Mimi's for a photo session ... a photo session that, it turns out, Finn was really not interested in participating in AT ALL. In his defense, it was almost 80 degrees and he was wearing his Easter outfit (sweater vest) followed by a heavy jersey; still, I was concerned that he wouldn't look like himself in the pics since he refused to smile. Even on Papa's tractor. You know it's bad when ...

To Brie's credit, she managed to get a few smiles out of him and will post more later on today. I wanted to share the "sneak peeks" with you all. Click here for the link.

scary bunny

Baby Watch: 38 weeks, still pregnant, baby is very LOW and heavy. C'mon, baby!

On the Finn front, we stopped by a chocolate shop on Good Friday so that Mom could pick up some chocolate for Andrew's birthday, even though he doesn't eat chocolate. It was a good excuse.

Then Finn saw this inflatable bunny rising out of the inflatable egg, and we had to leave immediately.

Easter photos are forthcoming as soon as I edit them all...

cool dude

Finn has recently discovered how cute he looks in sunglasses. I think he's also realized that they are useful on sunny days.

Oh, and one last thing - GO DUKE!

road trip

We went to Rochester yesterday for a quick road trip before the baby arrives. Considering how much I used to travel, a little bit of wanderlust had crept up on me, not having really left the area since moving to Corning in December. And since it's too late to fly (plus I've wanted to take Finn to Rochester for a while now), off we went...

The National Museum of Play was SO fun. We had a great few hours there and probably could have stayed longer had we not all started to fade. A few highlights:

The Butterfly Garden! Finn was actually a little bit scared of the "bugs"...

... and he was relieved when our 20 minutes was up.
(Thank goodness none of the butterflies landed on him.
He's so fastidious I think there would have been hell to pay.)

Best part ever: the pretend airline cockpit.

Love his concentration in this picture.

Shopping at the fake Wegmans.
This didn't go very well as all he wanted was mixed fruit jelly.

Today we took the scenic route back and stopped in Hammondsport for some lunch and ice cream. It was SO WARM there was just no time for shoes. We are expecting 80 degrees for the next few days so I'd better go cut the tags off of some shorts!