good intentions...

I had the best intentions of keeping this blog updated all throughout my pregnancy. I took pictures that were never posted and started blog entries that were never finished. There seemed to be so many things to get finished before Finn arrived and then she was here. And then when given the choice of snuggling with my little one or spending time on my computer, snuggles with my sweet smelling baby won out every time. :)

It has been a whirlwind since October 16th...the day little Ms. Finn came into our lives. In the first few weeks there were visitors with their generous offerings of gifts for the baby and dinner for two tired mommies. Us learning what her facial expressions, body language and cries meant, trying so hard to meet her every need. Her training us on the same. Because she is definitely in charge around this place! Days seemed to pass in a flash when all that was really accomplished was feeding and burping and diaper changing and sleeping. I really felt like I had achieved something when I was able to take a shower and eat something when I was home by myself once Jen went back to work. Things that I took for granted before seemed like such a treat. :)

Everyday has been new sights and sounds for her. It's amazing to watch her face as she takes everything in. There is no better feeling than knowing that she recognizes our voices and seeing her face light up with a smile when one of us comes into view. Her latest discovery is her hands and feet. She sits for what seems like forever watching her hands. She opens and closes them, wiggles her fingers, turns them around to look at her palm, then the top of her hand, back to her palm. All the while cooing and giggling and telling us about her day. Her new favorite thing is to touch your face when she's eating. She feels our lips when we're talking and grabs our noses, pats our cheeks and touches our hair. It's like she's trying to memorize our faces and it makes my heart melt every time. :)

She loves books and will sit with us while we read to her after a bath and before bed time. Her Nana B has enrolled her in a book club so she gets 3 books every month or so. Last night we read "The Little Mermaid" from the latest set we received. I think her favorite book so far is "SkippyJohn Jones" to book about a siamese cat that thinks he is a chihuahua and all of his crazy adventures. I highly recommend it if you haven't read it! She seems to like the voices we make for the different characters and babbles along as we're reading. It's one of my favorite parts of the day.

There are so many other things she's doing and learning and each day with her brings us so much joy. Jen and I honestly can't remember what life was like before Ms. Finn entered our lives and we wouldn't have it any other way!

my heart...

My heart and head are filled with this amazing love for my wife and daughter. It overwhelms me sometimes and for a second, it’s hard to breathe. A million times a day I look over at them and can’t believe that we are a family. Finally. Times like now when the night is winding down and we’re settling in, preparing for sleep. When Finn is full from her bottle and is so warm and cuddly on Jen’s chest…their heads touching and a single blanket covering them both as they sleep. It’s these times in their quiet simplicity that I can’t believe that I’ve been lucky and blessed enough to have been given these beautiful gifts…the love of this amazing woman and this miracle baby.

a note of thanks...

There are so many people to thank for all that has been done to help us get ready for the arrival of Finnian. I've mentioned moms, sisters, cousins, friends in past entries but today I want to focus on someone special...my wife Jen. Or Ina as Finn will call her. :)

Jen has been an awesome wife, coach, partner, "other person in the house" ;) throughout my pregnancy and I wanted to take this chance to say thanks to her. Thanks for things like:

• endless back massages when it hurts
• letting me eat the left overs I know you like
• giving up so much of the bed so that I'm comfy
• researching ways to help me during labor & being an awesome coach in the classes I know you hate
• helping around the house with things like the dishes I never seem to get around to
• indulging my random requests when a craving strikes (chicken nuggets anyone??)
• assembling all of the nursery furniture and refinishing the dresser on your own
• carrying what seems like EVERYTHING because you think it's too heavy while I'm pregnant
• walking my pace and asking "you okay momma?" when I'm waddling behind the crowd
• standing patiently waiting for me at every public restroom every where we go because yes, I have to go AGAIN even though I just went 5 minutes ago
• tying my shoes for me since I can't reach my feet
• telling me I'm beautiful and that pregnancy looks good on me
  

I'm the kind of person that likes to be independent and try to do as much as possible on my own. Pregnancy has been hard for me in some ways because I have to slow down and realize I can't do it all on my own. Jen has been great about helping me get to a point where I can let go of some of the control and willingly ask for/accept help - realizing it doesn't have to be done my way.

It's been really nice to have her to lean on for so many things. I'm so appreciative of the person that she is and all of the things she does to support me. I feel like we've gotten even closer since I've been pregnant and that is an amazing feeling.

Thanks, love, for everything you do for me and the belly! We love you!

the countdown is shrinking...

We are a day away from week 35 and our doctor said after week 35 if Finn decides to join us, they won't try to stop labor. That's tomorrow, people! Holy moly! I have a feeling she's going to be early but not that early! I am planning for two weeks after her due date just so I'm not bummed if October 9th rolls around and she hasn't made an appearance yet!

We started our birthing classes on September 15th and Monday we completed class #3. We skip next week (Labor Day, which I find hilarious!) and then two more and we're done. Crazy to think that our last class will be on week 37 which is considered full term!

We have had mixed feelings about our experience with the classes. We both started out really excited to be attending...it felt like one more thing to check off in preparation and something that meant we were close to meeting our little one. I was disappointed to find that the information we went over was just a repeat of things I've already learned from the books and online resources I've read. Much of the information she was sharing was outdated...even to the point of her saying, "I know this is really old and I'm not sure how much of it is still relevant" in reference to facts and figures. For $65 a couple to attend, couldn't someone update the handouts they were giving us?? She has been teaching the class for a really long time and seems to have a hard time straying away from the information she's always taught in the way she's always taught it.

Another issue we've had with the class is her choice of descriptors for the coaches in the room. Everyone is either mom or dad or wife and husband. Occasionally she'll say "coach" in lieu of dad or husband which is a little better given that not every support person in the room is a dad, husband or man! My favorite is when she says "dads or whatever/whoever/the other person in the house." Some women have female coaches, one woman has two friends as coaches because her husband is deployed, some couples aren't married. And then there are Jen and I which really throws her for a loop. We are the only gay/lesbian couple in the room and most times Jen seems to fall into the whatever/whoever/the other person in the house category...it happens so often Jen says she is going to change her name tag to "whoever". I'm going to talk to the instructor after the class is over and let her know that maybe she could update her materials and partner descriptors for future classes. Jen and I don't mind talking to people about our experience or answering their questions about our life together. But it's kind of a bummer to feel like we have to educate people because they don't want to make an effort to be more inclusive. We for sure aren't the only lesbian couple in Corvallis having a child and it would be nice to feel a little more included in the class or "valid" for lack of a better word.

Other than class we're starting to work on our birth plan, have begun packing our bag, working on last minute room details and are trying to go on lots of dates. Our goal is to get her room finished this weekend and her clothes washed and put away. We're making another trip to Target tomorrow to get some final items and are so grateful for all of the Target gift cards we've received! They sure help with all the last minute tidbits we are remembering we need. :)

Our date nights are a fun break from the working and planning. :) Earlier this week we had some dinner and went to explore the Borders store closing sale together. It was nice to have a chance to just sit down and catch up with each other over dinner. We're trying to check in as much as possible about how we're each feeling about Finn coming to join us but also how we're doing as a couple and individuals...making sure we're feeling good and on the same page with things. Last night after dinner with some good friends we went to see the play version of "Steel Magnolias" at the Albany Civic Theater. We love doing that kind of thing and it was so much fun! We even saw another couple from our birthing class...I guess we're not the only ones trying to go on as many date nights as possible! ;)

Upcoming items:
Wednesday: Meet and Greet with the pediatricians in our medical group.
Thursday: 35 week check up
Friday: Our last ultrasound! We're so excited to see her one more time!
Also on Friday, round two of our maternity photo shoot with our friends Kassy and Ashley of Double Rainbow Photography. We'll post more about the photos soon!

Off to work on all of those "to-do's"! Until next time!

Love, Shannon, Jen and Finn

Ta-Da!

This is the finished dresser/changing table!

I really wish we had a before picture so you could see how tore up this thing was before Jen worked on it. There was tons of lacquer and multiple scratches on it. Portions had been pulled off from tape or stickers being ripped off. Jen sanded the entire thing and re-stained it. She added new drawer pulls and is going to wood burn little owls onto each knob. She installed new tracks for each drawer so that they open and close smoothly.

LOTS of work went into this and she did a beautiful job! I LOVE the way it turned out and can't wait to get her changing pad placed on the top of it. Her room is really coming together and I'm SO excited! :) Thanks Love for all of your hard work!

Until next time!
Love,
Shannon, Jen and Ms. Finnian

32 weeks and what we've been up to...

32 weeks...can you believe it?! 8 weeks...that's all we have left to go. You know, assuming she decides not to come early, which Jen thinks she will. :)

What do you think??

So what are we up to??

We started our birthing classes this week! Every Monday for 2 hours for the next 4 weeks we'll be heading over to the hospital to learn about breathing, relaxation, the birth process, nutrition, how to be nice to each other during delivery, hospital policies, what to pack, and on and on and on. This is how Jen feels about all of that...

In all honesty, she's been great! Part of the class was for the coaches to give the momma's a massage from the head down to the back and she did a great job! She's really taken helping me focus and relax during childbirth very seriously and is investigating different techniques that will relieve my back pain and the pain from contractions the most. She is going to be a great coach...she already is!

Aside from classes we're spending a little bit of time every weekend working on getting Finn's room ready for her arrival! Nana Stamp got us the crib and crib mattress (thanks Mom!) and last Friday before I got home, Jen had put it together and set it up in the room...complete with all of Finn's stuffed animals!We opted for a mini crib for a few reasons. This one got really good reviews, it can be used up until age 2, we don't have a lot of space for a bigger crib, and this one turns into a twin bed. We already have the railings and mattress/box spring for a twin so we thought that would work great! We love the color and the size and sometimes just gaze into it imagining what she'll look like in there.

Along with stuffed animals she's received a lot of books, teething toys and decorative owls since that's our theme. We picked up the perfect sized little shelf ($10 at Good Will!) and are using it to hold all of her literature (read "literature" with posh english accent).

It's not the greatest picture but I took it with my cell phone so there wasn't the greatest focus or light. For the time being the shelf is also the holding place for all things feeding and her video/audio monitor. We haven't set up any of that stuff just yet and it all fit nicely right there. We also have a space set up for her diapers, wipes, butt paste, and all things changing table-ish. It's placed right next to her changing table/dresser so we'll have easy access as we fumble around in the middle of the night to change her. The bookshelf even has an adorable owl lamp with soft light for those late night soggy diaper changes. Thanks Nana Reed for the lamp!
Where is the pic of said changing table? Imagine it will go to the left of the diaper station, underneath the bedroom window. The dresser/changing table was another awesome Good Will find and Jen is working hard getting it all sanded and stained and ready to go! We bought some new rails so the drawers slide easily and new drawer pulls that Jen is going to wood burn little owls on to that will go with the theme. :) We're also leaving a twin bed in there as a daybed/couch in case we need to crash in there with her some nights.

We're super excited about how everything is coming together! Next up on the list is getting the dresser in, finding a rug for the middle of the room and getting her art up on the walls. There are also a few more purchases we need to make and some things to do around the house but it's mostly done and ready for her.

Some random facts:

• 33 week appointment on Monday!

• Last appointment the doctor took a quick look with the ultrasound machine. When feeling around my belly before checking her heart beat, she thought Finn's head was down and sort of toward my left side and she wanted to see with the ultrasound machine if it was really her head that she was feeling. Sure was! She's been in the same position for a while now and it was awesome to see her little face again.

• We have our next complete ultrasound on September 9th!

• This week she's the size of a jicama. :)

Until text time...love Shannon, Jen, and the Finja!

Everything is A-OK!

We had our follow up ultra-sound on July 1st and as we thought, the doctor there confirmed that everything is A-Ok with Finn. Yay! Again we met first with the genetic counselor who said that the small white dot found in the ultra sounds could be considered a soft marker for downs syndrome but based on all the tests we'd had done and the results, the odds were still low (1/3500) that she'd have downs. The genetic counselor assured us again that those are really good odds and that there likely wouldn't be any problems.

We went in for the ultrasound and got to see her squirming around like she normally does. :) The ultrasound tech asked if we wanted to see a 4-D image of her and before we knew it, there she was. You could see her cheeks, mouth, chin, little nose and her hand up to the side of her face. Our little beautiful baby girl...Jen and I just stared and couldn't believe we were looking at her tiny face...getting our first glimpse of what she really looks like. It was amazing! This is what we got to see:

After she left, the doctor came in and said he'd reviewed the results and everything looked good. He took another look and again showed us the little white dot that had been so very stressful for us. He started off by explaining that I don't fall into any of the high risk categories for having a child with downs. He said that they hadn't really figured out a good way to explain the marker to those people who are in the low risk category. He said the medical community needs to do a better job of that. :) He thought the marker was much lighter than it would need to be for him to consider it a marker and that he would have never called it out in the first place. He said that, along with the good test results we'd received, indicated to him that she'll be just fine. That we shouldn't have any concerns about her having downs. SO relieved!

Yesterday we entered the 3rd trimester! Finn weighs around as much as a chinese cabbage and is still around the length of an eggplant. I can't believe how quickly time has gone by and I'm sure it will continue flying just like it has. I'm pretty sure Jen and I are both nesting and have covered a lot of ground lately in getting prepared for her arrival. Jen is working on furniture for Finn's room and has almost single handedly done all of our thank you notes since our two showers. :) Yesterday I made room in the garage for some things that need to come out of the office so we can start getting her room together, cleaned out some cabinets in the bathroom so we're more organized and there is space for her bath stuff, did all of the laundry, and organized my closet so there is room for Finn's clothes and things. Now we just need to get the furniture in and all of her clothes, blankets, etc washed and put away. We're doing good and can't wait to meet her!

This Friday is our 28 week appointment! Sometime in between now and then I need to go do another (the 3rd one!!) glucose test and have my chubby liver tested again. See ya later this week with another update! :)