Christmas

Christmas went great. Kind of difficult to get out the door, getting everything packed, Oliver is super excited and asking tons of questions so kind of reducing whoever he's talking to to half capacity because it's so distracting, Finn is still so small he needs to be 2 handed held, and the toilet seemed to be leaking so we were seriously considering taking it up to replace the seal. But we made it out and survived the drive, Finn did fine, Oliver told us he had to use the bathroom at one point but once we fought our way off the freeway and into a mall he didn't have to, so he and I went and got fries from In and Out while Finn Nursed. Then on up to Nevada City, and everything was easy. GrampaHoward played neverendingly with Oliver, fireman and mechanic and circus, and Finn had plenty of volunteers to hold him. Oliver is old enough to really get into Christmas now, so it was fun. He was excited about the crumbs Santa left on the plate. And super into presents "oh, it's the bike I always wanted" but was still overwhelmed by them "I'm done opening presents" (and he went to play with the ones he had already opened.) Finn is doing great, still mellow, only uses his cry when he gets annoyed. Seems to be having the same trouble as Oliver in that his mothers milk is too abundant when he just wants to chill and suck. We're back home, with new toys (that will hopefully give Francesca some time with Oliver entertaining himself.)
It's been harder to really appreciate how wonderful it is to have a little baby because I feel like we are just running at full sprint the whole time. Things are great, and it's great having two, but a little harder to have the breathing space to really absorb the miracleness. It's pretty golden when he looks into your eyes and then gives a coy little smile. Finn is so strong, doing push ups practically and can creep 1/4 of a crawl. But he's crying now so I should go try and help.

Found his cry

Francesca showed Finn his reflection in the mirror and he gave a big smile. He's found his cry, getting stronger by the day now, and louder, when he gets angry at having his diaper wet or getting it changed. We're still just treading water, trying to learn how to run 2 kids, we're both pretty tired by the end of the day. It's a very rainy winter, which makes it harder because it takes more organization and limits more what we can do and where we can go. I think we had the last of the meals that the mama's group did for us, which was a HUGE help to not have to deal with meals on top of wrangling these to boy-o's.

3 weeks

Finn's discovered faces. He'll be staring off into yonder then when he swings his head around he'll notice our face looking at him and suddenly he'll start staring into our eyes for a while. Then he'll go cross eyed, and then he'll go back to staring at the ceiling. Oliver is carrying around a Duplo Fireman in his pant cuff and calling it his baby, rocking it and nursing it.

long night

The boys kept us up all night, mostly Finn, not crying just being awake. Even though it's painful, there's something still so sweet about holding Finn in my arms and having him look up at me so peacefully. (Being at work all day I miss a lot of that time, so it's nice to make it up at some point ... like 4 am :)

1st day double Mama

Francesca did her first day solo with the boys today. Tonight she is pretty worn out, but it went well apparently. Finn had a check in appointment with the doctor. He's gained a pound and 4 ounces which is really good. Oliver did great helping his Mom today, and has been accident free for 3 days, seems like getting back into a routine and a little more rest and our pony is back on his feet feeling good. He also wrote on his own most of his name at story time at the library. I was amazed, I haven't even seen him practicing, but he got O L I V and then a Santa sticker blocked the space for the rest of it. So we're doing great, 1 day (and night) at a time.

Eau de Bebe

Francesca says that Finn's poop smells like buttered popcorn ...

late night

Finn has been shifting to a more daytime schedule, having his long awake ending around 9. But last night he was up from 12-3, squirming and stretching. It was nice in a way since I felt like I hadn't spent as much time with him as I wanted. But he kept acting a little hungry so had to pass him to his Mama a few times. His umbilical cord came off, his belly button looks just like a nozzle on a blow up mattress :)

Week 2

Finn is starting to shift to a more daytime schedule. He has long periods (like an hour or more) of awake time where he looks very intently. Sometimes he gets excited and starts huffing and puffing a little :) Very prone to hiccups, very loud intense hiccups (he had them twice while he was being delivered) but they don't seem to bother him at all, just continues to watch the world. He does not like diaper changes, only time he really gets annoyed, but so far he seems pretty mellow, takes a while to work him up, and even when he's sad he doesn't cry loud.

Day 4

Rough night last night, Oliver really wanted to get in bed with us but of course there is no room. Spent all day dealing with hastle, getting the newborn screening at the hospital & going and filling out paperwork for Finn's birth certificate.

Oliver covered his shirt with return address stickers out of some junk mail then told us: "I'm pretty, these are my feathers to impress the girls" "Are you a turkey?" "Yes, and Daddy is to, we're female turkey's and you and Grandma are the girls!"

here's Finn @ 4 days (not doing much, but at least he's awake)

1st week

Been going great, and fast. We keep noticing differences between Finn & Oliver when he was tiny, which is of course our only other reference for having a new baby. Finn seems sensitive to sound, often startling a little when Oliver jumps big or dumps out his toys. Finn eyes are so deep & dark, I can't tell if they are silver or blue or brown they are so dark and desaturated and very shiny, they seem mirrored. Oliver is doing great with him, eager to run and bring pillows or diapers to Mama to help. Oliver comes up and yanks off Finn's hat so that he can pet his head once then wanders off again. When Oliver saw Finn's umbilical stump he asked "is Finn's penis going to fall off?". So far has been going well, I have been taking Oliver out every day to get his jumping beans out, and he has Grandma Jill here to give him lots of attention. Finn is good, as evidence of his "very advancedness" by the 2nd day he had already pulled the trick of pooping a little, getting his diaper changed, then pooping a lot right away in the new one, peeing all over his daddy while getting his diaper changed, and he's able to hold his head up for short amounts of time. Nights are going fine, first night Francesca held him and was afraid to sleep, so I walked with him for an hour and half to let her sleep. Second night was similar but not as bad. Third night Francesca was sleeping with him in bed so she slept pretty well. Somehow Finn and Oliver are already teaming up on us, with both boys needing their mama at the same time. Last night Oliver wound up in bed with us, so we had a cuddle train Finn, Mama, Oliver, and me with a little scrap of blanket. But Finn and Oliver both slept pretty well last night, Finn seems to be starting to shift over to a more diurnal schedule. Maybe it's because our 3 year old is so hearty in his screaming and crying, but Finn seems to cry quietly and softly, doesn't work up very fast, and when he is crying isn't very loud. He dislikes diaper changes, but sometimes seems to revel in it when the spaceheater is blasting out his legs, he stretches out and looks content. Seems a sweet boy, I'm looking forwards to discovering who he will be, and looking forwards to seeing what his face will look like. Francesca is doing well, she's feeling really well, but we walked 2 houses down the street and that exhausted her, so she is doing a good job of taking it easy (counter to her nature.) I'm glad that Marcos was able to come up and meet his new nephew on his first day (sunday). It has been great having the mama's group bring us dinners. And having Jill here (and my parents next week) I think is a great start for integrating the brothers, having 2 weeks for mama to heal & Oliver to get lots of attention before we're all on our own. So everythings going along well.