at Grandma and Grandpa's house

We are in Waverly visiting Andrew's family for a few days, and Finn loves chatting with his grandparents. We took him to our favorite local restaurant last night, and hopefully he'll meet several of his great aunts and uncles today and tomorrow. He's starting to try REALLY hard to say a few words and is also starting to have better control over his hands. Sooner than later he's going to be grabbing anything in sight...!

kate's wedding

We took our first trip with Finn this weekend, to Princeton, NJ for the wedding of Andrew's cousin Kate to her awesome now-husband Chris. It was so beautiful! The bride, the ceremony and the weather were all gorgeous. (I was also happy for a reason to wear a dress and put on makeup.) Thankfully Finn slept for most of the car ride from New Haven and most of the wedding. On Sunday we drove to Waverly, NY to Grandma and Grandpa's house, and he slept for most of that trip too. Looks like we may have a good traveler on our hands, as long as he's fed to the gills ahead of time...

walk in the park

This morning we met our friends Val and Carson in East Rock Park for breakfast (mmm croissants. and so nice to get outside.) It really feels like fall here now ... breezy and brisk! Finn seemed to enjoy his time in the sling for the first time - probably because he has "filled out" enough so that he doesn't sink to the bottom anymore. That's what happens when one eats 8-10 hours a day! ha.

Finn is getting excited for the debate tonight, although we'll have to DVR it for him since it's past his bedtime.

Check this out!

Andrew is quoted in the NYT today ... Slightly cooler than my article in last month's Connecticut Planning magazine ...

Finn chatting with his dad.

Finn has entered the phase where he's starting to make conversation. We particularly enjoy the adorable noises he makes in the first few seconds of this video...

his winning smile

Is it any wonder why we can't get enough of this little guy?

hanging out, discussing his next meal

Ahh, the elusive photo of the baby with his mama. I'm usually the one taking pictures (always) so I asked Andrew to take some photos of me on the one day this month when I actually had makeup on and my hair brushed. I don't really miss wearing makeup and brushing my hair yet. And yes, I need highlights.

Anyway, Finn is trying to have conversations with us this week - we figure that most of the time he's asking for food, a clean diaper or music. Man. Babies are such wonderfully uncomplicated little creatures.

a good dream

I'm sure that most babies smile while they're napping but still, is it possible to see too many photos of a contented baby? I think not.

Although he has an attentive Grandma here to watch him, these little catnaps still give me an opportunity to catch up phone calls to the fraud departments of the credit card companies that keep calling, as some awesome girl in Queens stole my social security number and is trying to open up accounts under my name. Andrew is eventually going to take her down, but in the meantime I'm learning all about which companies are better about preventing fraud than others; namely, Target and Apple are very vigilant whereas Capital One will give a credit card to just anyone. Really! They will. Even during a credit crunch.

We're going to take a walk now since it's maybe the last nice day of the week...

so much attentions

Finn had a great weekend - we're getting into a routine of going to bed at 9:30 pm and sleeping til 5:30 am. Not bad!! In the past few days, he spent a lot of time recovering from milk drunkenness (left), telling Grandma his dramatic stories (top left) and meeting his Aunt Heather for the first time (top right).

he'll sleep for grandma

We've discovered that as long as he's bundled up and in his Grandma's arms, Finn will sleep all day (this doesn't work with just anyone). Anyway, that's pretty much what he did today -- slept, and ate, and then we went for a walk. Fall in New Haven is so lovely! We would love to have visitors in October and November, hint hint...

more visitors!

I LOVE YOU ACTIVITY MAT

Finn was delighted to see his Grandma and Grandpa, who arrived last night. For the talent portion of our evening, he smiled, laughed and was practically singing along with the totally non-irritating song on his activity mat. Swear! He can't get enough of his activity mat! I wish that there was an adult equivalent.

It's funny how after a few weeks with him as the center of our (very small) universe, we think that Finn has gotten so BIG, and then when he's being held by someone else across the room we realize just how tiny he is...

So, bummer about the economy - but on the bright side, we have our cable back! Comcast came through and brought us a 4th box yesterday that appears to be working, knock on wood.

weekend finn-anigans

We here at chez barber are clearly a bit biased, but we can't get enough of Finn's constantly evolving repertoire of expressions. In the past few days he has given us several smiles ranging from general bemusement to (what looks like) unadulterated joy. Thankfully, Finn-sponsored entertainment has coincided with the most unfortunate demise of our cable box, which went dark suddenly on Thursday morning (ahem, note the date), as did the two replacement boxes that comcast brought over on Saturday. So here we sit, sans cable, but completely amused by a most charming 5 1/2 week old baby. This must be what the olden days were like.

The cable guy is coming back on Tuesday, so I only have one more day of reading - SIGH. The good news is that I've been able to read four issues of the New Yorker in four days (I smart!)

all smiles

A few shots from playtime today. Finn has been awake for 14 hours straight ... he clearly requires a lot less sleep than his mom.

visiting dad at work

Today Finn accompanied Regina and I to visit Andrew and Brian at lunch. Finn was duly impressed with this whole "office" idea, but to be honest ... well, I simply think he prefers hanging out on the couch watching Gossip Girl. Thankfully, he has a few more years before he has to start paying much attention to the markets.

(Grandma, look how cute he is in that outfit!)

growing every day ...

Not the most dramatic video ever, but you will note that I actually caught Finn yawning on camera - proof that he is tired (yet sleep continues to elude us). Also, you may be able to see how much he's grown - his legs are getting so long!

ps thanks Aunt Sue for the groovy pajamas! He loves them.

UPDATE: Finn is actually sleeping right NOW!

one month old!

Finn is a month old today ... and what a happy blur the past month has been. He is now starting to interact with us more, smiling and cooing and gripping - it's very cute. Unfortunately last night was a little bit rough as tropical storm Hanna made our apartment feel like a tropical rain forest, and Finn was pretty uncomfortable and didn't sleep so well, but this morning he woke up in a good mood anyway and we were able to get a cute video of playtime.

seriously, dad. i just want to eat.

So, Finn has been on this growth spurt for the past 4 days ... it's been eat, eat, eat all the time. Supposedly this happens at the 3-4 week mark. Anyway, we're not complaining, as last night he slept for 9 straight hours! Meaning that the all-day buffet results in a contented baby overnight -- a pretty fair trade.

We're home today. Eating, and waiting for tropical storm Hanna to roll through.

A note to those of you who are waiting for me to return phone calls and emails! I am really truly sorry that it is taking me this long to get back to you ... hopefully this week I'll have more time!

date night

woo hoo! 4 weeks in, Andrew and I went to dinner in the neighborhood and took Finn along (obviously). He slept through the entire meal - yeah! I am posting this photo only because he looks so tiny and cute in his infant carrier, especially in relation to the bottle of wine that we consumed.

exercise trumps nap

Man, are those pushups hard work!

Someone was soooo not in the mood to sleep today. Nope, not at all. He was, however, in the mood to eat with relative frequency. And at one point when he was already sort of upset I figured that we'd get tummy time over with ... and he actually seemed to enjoy it! So here's a photo of the little guy taking a break from his pushups. Look closely and you'll see that he is wearing his Yankees onesie today because he figures they need all the help they can get.

finn's labor day nap

Our friends Vin and Ali invited us to their house for a BBQ this weekend - it was our first foray into the real world with Finn. He really enjoyed the afternoon, which he proved by sleeping in his car seat for almost 4 hours while Andrew and I ate all of Vin and Ali's food.

Peek-a-boo

I know that we keep posting photos of Finn on his changing table, but he keeps giving us these great photo ops, like this one after his bath!

hey, i know you!

you're the one that feeds me! totally.

aw, come on. who is it already?

We are waiting waiting waiting for the announcement about John McCain's vp. Finn and I watched the Obama speech replayed last night at 2 am and were very impressed.

(Thanks to Andrew's cousin Kate for the awesome frog onesie!)

Bedtime video

We can't resist Finn's ears. That's all there is to it.

By the way, if you listen carefully you'll hear Finn's "coldplay lullabies" cd that his Aunt Sue (gift-giver extraordinaire) sent him ... and it works! He loves the music so much it helped him get to sleep last night.

finn also loves his auntie colleen

... although he doesn't understand why he too can't eat her famous shortbread cookies! Why oh why?

check out his little hands. he loves crossing them on his chest like that. very proper.

finn loves his grandma

little guy in a big car seat

We went to the doctor this afternoon and Finn has gained 11 oz. from last week! So I'm not crazy in thinking that he really likes to eat - not surprising considering that we are his parents. Still!

He has been on the grouchy side today until we put him in his car seat, and then ... bliss.

we love brooklyn

Finn isn't in the best of moods today so I'm posting a photo from the weekend - he's wearing another of his cute Aunt Heather onesies. Nana left for home this morning and Grandma and Aunt Colleen are here til tomorrow, after which ... we're on our own! Hmm. Should be interesting. This afternoon, we're going to the pediatrician this afternoon for the week 3 checkup.

Debate 08

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (CNN)—Strong words were exchanged on the campaign trail yesterday as Phinneas Barber (D –CT) accused incumbent Andrew Barber (R-NY) of embracing short sighted offshore oil exploration policies designed “solely to pad the pockets of his Wall Street fat-cat friends”. The older Barber responded by taking a shot at his wildly popular challenger “sure, he talks up his commitment to the environment –but I ask you: how many disposable diapers is he personally responsible for putting in our nations already over flowing landfills EVERY SINGLE DAY? 15? 20?”

Finn on Video

Ok, so I'm not that smart with the video feature on my camera yet so this is actually sideways, but it's out first attempt at capturing Finn's cuteness on film. I'll try and orient it properly later today (can anyone tell me how to do this?)

You Confound Me, Brown X's

Ever since Finn realized how fascinating the x's on his changing pad are, he seems to actually enjoy having his diaper changed. He just stares and stares at them. His expressions are so funny.

We are happy this morning because he slept for 5 1/2 hours last night, and then another 3 hours! Maybe the pediatrician knew what she was talking about when she said the first two weeks are the most difficult...! Of course she did.

Sleepypants

We went to the pediatrician today and boy was it exhausting! First she weighed Finn and he is up to 8 pounds! No wonder we are tired all of the time ... all of that eating (and related activity). Then she tested his reflexes and everything and pronounced him perfect - which we already knew, of course. After that we came home and he took a 3 1/2 hour nap, which means he'll be ready to party tonight!

Sleep? Who needs sleep?!

My mom is getting a lot of mileage over the fact that Finn is sleeping as much as I did as a baby ... which is to say, not much at all. Although he now has day and night straightened out (phew) he's still not a big aficionado of the daytime nap. I'm on a weekly email list from the hospital, and this week it went on about how your 1-week old is only awake for a few minutes each hour, I almost started laughing. But then I cried instead. Just kidding.

So anyway, this post is basically an excuse for us to show you Finn's cute onesie, although the photo itself doesn't really do him justice as it as taken after he scratched his left eye. Again. Thanks to Aunt Heather for the stylin' gear!

Wagoners, do you see Finn's resemblance to Baby Mick?

Finn and the Olympics

He seems to prefer the platform diving over the swimming events, although we were all duly impressed with Michael Phelps.

One Baby in a Sleep Sack, Please

The temperature was in the 60s yesterday morning so we put Finn in a sleep sack. He was skeptical at first, but in no time grew to love it. We've been watching a lot of the Olympics so think maybe he was trying to do the pledge of allegiance in this photo.

Hanging with Nana

Finn is enjoying his Nana this week. She used to work in a hospital nursery so she knows how to do all sorts of things like burp him and trim his baby-talons. Sometimes after burping, Finn likes to gnaw on her shoulder, which is really adorable.

Son of Thunder

“…..And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he named them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder.” Mark 3:17

Not to get all Biblical on you, but it's a cool verse, no? And it's kinda relevant, we promise. As you may know, Finn arrived during a massive thunderstorm that threatened neighboring towns with tornadoes. We have (finally) chosen James as his middle name, not just in honor of the apostle – but also the many Jameses that we love:

James Halton
James Kinney
Jim Wagoner
Father Jim O'Kane
Grandpa Thomas James Wagoner (also the middle name of Uncles Dennis and Dan and cousin Darren)
James Marshall Hendrix
James Caldwell

So, his full name is Phinneas James, for those of you who were wondering about the spelling, etc ;)

Comings and Goings

Yesterday we said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Barber, who have been a HUGE help to us! We love and miss them but look forward to seeing them again in a few weeks.

A few hours later, Nana (Wagoner) arrived from Virginia. She will be here for a couple of weeks and is already in love with Finn. Thankfully, she also showed me last night how to feed Finn a little more efficiently so that we could sleep better, and he only woke up ONCE! Progress.

A Visit from Aunt Regina and Uncle Brian!

Bathtime

Last night, Finn had his first bath at home! He didn't really dig the actual bath, as he prefers to be swaddled over every inch of his body, all of the time. However, it was worth the "agony" to be held by Grandma in his fluffy bath towel afterward! Boy do we love him.

Phinneas [middle initial tbd] Barber is glad to be home!

Hi everyone, and thanks to special guest blogger Andrew for keeping things up to date while we were in the hospital (and now that we're home, am sleeping a lot). I thought I'd post a few more details about the past few days for those of you who are interested... if not, stay tuned for more interesting stuff to be posted this week!

When we left for the midwife on Thursday, Andrew said we should bring our bags for the hospital "just in case." I thought that was a little overcautious as we'd probably be home eating lunch in a couple of hours, but as it turns out, he was right! At the appointment, the non-stress test looked fine but my fluid was getting low so as you may know, the midwife sent me to the hospital immediately ... the entire time I was thinking, this is nuts. I'm on my way to the hospital NOW? To have this baby? For real? Despite the fact that several wise friends told me to eat up before being admitted, I failed to do so and therefore ended up going into labor having eaten only a bowl of cereal that day. And no coffee! Ha.

Anyway, we arrived at Yale NH around 11:30 and they started me on the pit drip immediately, and my contractions started about an hour later. And after about three hours of horrible painful suffering during which I seriously thought that passing out or death was imminent, I was begging for an epidural, which I swear to god saved my life. (I have a new awe for those of you who have done this naturally. Awe.) The next 5 or so hours were fairly calm as the drugs kicked in, and then a little after 9 PM, I started pushing. We really thought he was going to be an 8/8/08 baby but at 11:30 on 8/7 I was like, PLEASE DON'T BE AN 8/8 BABY. PLEASE COME NOW. And he complied, arriving at 11:39 that night. I have to give so many kudos to Andrew and Mary Ellen for helping me through it, as well as my midwife Amanda and the Yale NH nurses, who were all wonderful. All in all, it was the most painful 12 hours of my life, but this beautiful baby boy is worth it all and then some.

So anyway. We were taken upstairs after an hour of recovery and put into a shared room because the maternity unit was FULL!! I was so mad, even in my sedated post-labor state, as we had been promised a private room - there were just a lot of babies being born on 8/7/08. That night was anything but restful as Andrew was stuck sleeping in a reclining chair that he had to un-recline every time a nurse came into the room (every 20 minutes or so). The couple that we were sharing with were really nice - not to mention the parents of a 9 lb 10 oz baby! - but still, it was a drag. Around 3 pm on Friday they moved us to a private room for the remaining 21 HOURS of our stay. When it was all said and done, I was in the hospital for about 48.5 hours, from start to finish. Such a short time, but we were actually ready to leave.

It was great to get home and settled in on Saturday afternoon, although Finn is still getting used to the idea of sleeping at night (he's more of a night owl so far ... we're working on that) but he's eating great and looking cuter every day. We are having so much fun and will continue to post photos and videos in the coming weeks.

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful phone calls and emails we've received in the past few days. By the way, Finn's full name is still tbd but we are supposed to decide by tomorrow so that his birth certificate can be issued. Dad said just to make sure and not give him a middle name that starts with "U" as to avoid the monogram PUB, but that actually may be kinda cool! Phinneas Urbino? Phinneas Ulysses? Hmm. Maybe not.

Spending time with Grandma

Granpa made this cradle for Daddy when he was a baby

So very sleepy (except at night)

Peanut has arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He arrived at 11:39 and he is so adorable -he looks just like his mom.

We are so happy and so blessed and want to let you know how much we love you all.

Still Going

Andrew again, Just a quick post at about 10 minutes to 7.

Nico is napping. After 6 grueling hours (during which her water broke) she decided to receive an epidural and is getting a little bit of rest (the contractions are still coming fast and furious -she just doesn’t feel them anywhere near as intensely). She is so exhausted after being up all last night that she is taking a little nap.

Right now it looks like a coin flip between the birthday being the 7th or 8th.

PS: this part of CT is having major storms (thunder and lightning outside) there is a tornado watch for the next town over. Peanut loves a dramatic entry.

we are at the hospital!

Hello -this is Andrew posting @ 12:23.

We visited the midwife this morning and she decided it was time to get things in motion. We are at the hospital now and Nico is doing great! She is receiving an iv of potassin to get the contractions going stronger.

I will post as soon as we have news.

Peanut continues to hold out

I was up most of the night with some pretty damn strong contractions, and now we're going to the dr. again to see what's up ... i'll post shortly after. Am hoping that they tell us to go to the hospital this afternoon. We can't believe he's holding out for the 8/8/08 birthday but it looks like that might be the case!

...and Peanut shall wear a t-shirt that says "i was totally worth the world's longest labor"

Good lord. I can't believe how long this is taking. I mean, it's progressing and we know that the early labor has started but after all of the activity last night I thought FOR SURE that today would be the day. Shows what I know! Nothing! I have another sono/non-stress test scheduled for tomorrow morning and am hopeful that they'll be able to tell me what's going on down there. I'm not uncomfortable, just super antsy.

At this point, if he's not going to be born on the 6th (a number that I like too!) then he really might as well wait til Friday at 12:01 a.m. Superb awesomeness.

Things I am thankful for: my orange bouncy-ball thing on which I shall perch to watch tv, Project Runway and Shear Genius (please God vote stupid Nekisa off) and my mother-in-law who is currently in the kitchen making macaroni and cheese from scratch!! I'm serious!

Weds AM

we're at home and probably will be for quite a while longer as my contractions are still 10 minutes apart. i just talked to my midwife and she said to wait til they are 4 minutes apart then i'll go to their office and THEN to the hospital, which sounds like total crazy talk but whatevs, they've done this a lot more than i have. i'm going back to bed for a while so if i don't answer the phone that's why...

no turning back now

WOW!

It's hard to believe that this is finally happening! I've been trying to sleep for a couple of hours but it's hard when timing contractions every 10-12 minutes. I'm happy to report that Andrew isn't having any trouble sleeping :)
Really, he's going to need that energy when coaching me through the fun day we have ahead of us....

am going to try and continue drinking water and walking and snacking over the next couple of hours. This is CRAZINESS.

Real vs. Fakers, Part 2

Quick update. I'm 99% certain that these are real, but not so painful yet. The whiskey really helps. (Ha! How I wish.)

"Signs of Early Labor"? Or more Fakers?

This morning for what seems like the 10th time, I dug out my childbirth manual to read about early labor vs fake contractions in an attempt to discern what's going on in my body. I still don't know. No idea! This book says that "bland foods and drinks such as plain toast and water" taste good during early labor. Well. I'm craving leftover lasagna, blueberry pie and the largest latte that money can buy, so am not convinced that this is it, but i'm not going too far from home just in case.

Update

The doctor had only good news except for the fact that Peanut continues to enjoy his current digs and doesn't seem too hurried; however, we are making some progress. The sonogram looked great except for the fact that he might be NINE POUNDS (give or take, so hopefully he's really only 8 something...) Also, he was sucking his thumb. So cute. For anyone who cares about the numbers, I'm now 70% effaced and 1 cm dilated and had a contraction while on the monitor, which is good since a week ago there was nada.

I sincerely apologize if this blog is starting to sound a little over-share-y.

Can you imagine if he really DOES come on Friday, 08/08/08?! Little Olympus Augustus Octavian? All of the pregnant celebrities would be so jealous!

Dr's Appointment

Heading in for a sonogram and non-stress test this morning ... so curious to see what they're going to tell me! I'll post when we get home.

My Original Bad Doctor Predicted Aug. 3...

In response to several queries, I promise to post before leaving for the hospital so that you know what's going on. I didn't realize before getting pregnant that those rushing-to-the-hospital scenes in movies don't happen in real life and I'll probably have a good 10-12 hours of sitting on my exercise ball at home (drinking vodka. just kidding.) before we have to head out, when that day magically arrives. I had an almost completely sleepless night from shifting the little bowling ball on my stomach around yet I feel surprisingly alert, so perhaps today is the day? After yesterday's lethargy am feeling quite great, actually. I like the sound of August 4. Early August 4. What do you all think?

If he hasn't shown up by tomorrow, I have a morning dr's appointment where we'll talk to her about a plan for getting him out this week. Looks like those of you who chose "week of 8/3" on the quiz are the winners...

Overcast Saturday

First of all, thanks to all of you for the calls and emails telling me not to get discouraged and to try and enjoy these last few days of peace and quiet ... even though they may be tinged with anxiety, it is nice to have the luxury of sleeping when I need to and finishing Season 2 of the Wire in relative serenity. I really do appreciate the advice, and if I haven't returned your calls or emails, I promise to do so soon! Thanks again!

This photo of a handsome soccer player is your reward. He's from Spain.

Many of you may know the name that Andrew and I have tentatively picked out for the Peanut, although the final form hasn't been determined yet we are set on the nickname. Unless he pops out looking nothing like that name. Well. My mother keeps calling and weighing in with several names that she'd like us to name him. Like, her father's name. Or an important biblical figure. I think she won't be happy unless we name him whatever the translation is for "born-again christian baby." Yesterday she said, "why don't you name him Thaddeus? I like Thaddeus. It means [whatever - insert biblical meaning here]." And I said, "Thaddeus is a great name. Clelie and Patrick's boys are Thaddeus and Finnegan, you know. But that's not his name." [Hint: Finnegan being awfully close to the name that we are considering.] Then I could practically see her scrunching her face into a scowl as she said, FINNEGAN SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING THAT JULIA ROBERTS WOULD NAME HER BABY. And I replied, "And that's why we're not telling you his name until the ink is dry." And ... scene.

Can't wait til she arrives on August 12. At the very least she will provide extensive fodder for the blog!

Ps. This soap star actually named his son Peanut - LEGALLY! - because that's what he and his wife started calling him in utero and "it just stuck"! Yet another example of people who should not have been allowed to procreate.

We explained to our Peanut that this isn't going to happen to him.

It's now August 1

... and there's no news to report. What if I'm pregnant for like, another whole week? It seems interminable at this point. Ugh.