Squirm + Wiggle = Squiggle

Finn was having some naked time in an attempt to clear up his diaper rash. You take off his clothes and just look what happens...

The Jolly Jumper....

....literally!  Hopefully you're not too annoyed by the 'bzzzzzz'ing and 'mwaaaah' sounds but they are an integral part of getting the giggles!

Why They [Might] Cry

After Finn had spent an entire afternoon expressing his unhappiness through pitiful moans with each exhale, our friendly, neighbourhood Ontario Early Years Centre lady (Patti) gave me this handout.  It is taken from the book, Why They Cry - Understanding Child Development in the First Year.  Each week in your baby's first year of development is coded (see below).  The idea is that there are seven major developmental leaps that the authors believe ever baby goes through during the first year of life.  Apparently, these leaps allow baby to assimilate information in a new way and use it to advance the skills he/she needs to grow, not just physically but mentally.  These developmental leaps are not the same as physical growth spurts or other common milestones.  Each leap is preceded by what the authors call a clingy period, where baby demands more attention from his/her caregivers.  Each leap brings the baby something new and alters the way he/she perceives the world.

I have no idea how research-based it is as I have not read the book.  But I have to say that at this point I am pretty impressed by how accurate it has been in terms of Finn's behaviour.  Considering that I received the handout when Finn was about 17 weeks I feel like the first portion was a bit of a blind study.  I definitely remember a 'stormy period' at 12 weeks (i.e., needing to know when James was going to be home from work and NEEDING him to be home from work which unfortunately coincided with report cards!) and very sunny times in the weeks following.  Week 17 was stormy (i.e., pitiful moans) and now we are around weeks 20-21 and he has been incredibly happy and giggly.  Given that babies reach other milestones at generally the same times (e.g., smiling, finding hands, rolling over) it would make sense to me that they would develop mental skills at much the same pace.  Regardless of whether or not it is research-based I do feel that it is helpful even if it is only to say, "OH!  It's one of those 'stormy' weeks!".

So take it with a grain of salt and feel free to share with other mommas!

It's been a busy week!  It started on Saturday with bath time (had to make sure he was clean for our visitors!).  I cannot believe how big Finn looks in his baby bathtub....especially compared to the picture from his first bath at home:

(Finn's first bath at home)

(this weekend...check out the rolls on those legs!)

Pretty soon I'm thinking we're going to have to bite the bullet and start bathing him in the big bathtub but for the time being it is sooooo much easier on our backs to keep him in his whale tub.

He has started to enjoy watching the water fall from his 'Nemo' and tries to catch it with his hands.  Here are some pics of him noticing the falling water for the first time - pretty hilarious!

Aunt Kiki and Uncle RJ came to visit and get some snuggles.  Well....Aunt Kiki snuggled while Uncle RJ looked on and smiled :)  Isn't this a great picture of them with Finny Mac?  It will go in Finn's little photo album to make sure he recognizes some of his favourite people even if he doesn't see them all of the time.

Next it was looking at the flyers with Dad...

...and cuddling with Dad on the couch....

...and then it was time for some Bumbo-ing!  (insert cheers here - SOOO exciting that he can sit in his Bumbo!)

And despite what you might think, Finn is most definitely not sitting in his Bumbo on top of any surfaces (ha ha).

A few more cutie-pie shots from this week:

And because Blogger is annoying, no more cute comments.  But more videos to come :)

Happy Thursday!

Worry, worry....paranoia?

As a parent I am finding that I worry much more than I ever thought I would.  I'm a pretty easy-going person and figured I would handle parenthood much the same way I do most things in my life - easy-peasy, let things roll off your back.  I know about child development and I know that every child develops at a different pace.  This knowledge does not stop one from becoming concerned that my baby hasn't discovered his hands yet or hasn't started to laugh yet or.....any one of a number of things (of course, he's done all of these things at this point so those worries are history!).  The other part of worrying tends to be about the future.  After writing the 'Flash Forward' post I started to think/worry about all of the things that could happen that would mean that Finn cannot play basketball or do whatever it is that he wants to do.  This isn't a new worry. It pops up every once in awhile.  You spend months and months being pregnant and worrying about the safe arrival of your baby.  He arrives and is healthy and beautiful and safe....and it is just the beginning!  

We love him soooo much and right now he loves spending time with us - we're his favourite people in the world!  Obviously it won't be this way forever....but what if we annoy the heck out of him and he never wants to hang out with us when he grows up?

What if he gets a serious illness?

What if he gets into a serious accident?

....worry, worry, worry...is it normal to worry this much?

Little Polar Bear

It was one of those mornings....I was going through Finn's clothes trying to figure out what fits and what doesn't.  I came across this cute polar bear outfit that my aunt gave us.  When we first received it we were trying to figure out when it might fit Finn.  At the time he was super little so we thought we had lots of growing time before he would fit into it - i.e., we actually thought it would fit him in SEPTEMBER!  Nope, not our little grower.  It fits him now and will fit him, at most, another week.  Coincidentally it snowed the day Finn wore this outfit for the first time.  Hmmmm......

Mr. Giggles

Here he is in all of his giggling glory:

Party Animal

Our little Finnopotamus is usually a good sleeper.  He *usually* wakes up once per night to feed and then goes back to sleep for the rest of the night.  The last two nights he has decided that it would be much more fun to party than to go back to sleep.  Wednesday night he was up from about 2-4 a.m.  Last night he was up from 4:30-6:00 a.m.  And he wasn't sad or upset.  Very wide awake and babbling away, even laughing at times, having a merry little party in his crib.  This morning when I went in at 5:45 a.m. to see what I could do (having given up on my whole 'I'm not going in there until 6 a.m.' thought) he looked up at me and smiled and cooed.  And even though I was feeling so completely sleep deprived and annoyed that our little one had been up.....how does your heart not melt when he's so happy to see you?

Giggles Part II

So giggles are fun.  I think we've established that.  But now Finn is starting to laugh at things that I say and THAT is just hilarious!  Seriously.  He doesn't even know what I'm saying!  But apparently I'm very funny....or at least the person who invented this camp song/chant is:
I say boom chicka boom!
(I say boom chicka boom)
I say boom chicka rocka chicka rocka chicka boom!
(I say boom chicka rocka chicka rocka chicka boom)
I said alright!
(I said alright)
I said okay!
(I said okay)
I said one more time!
(I said one more time)
Louder!
(LOUDER!)

This is what my baby boy finds funny.  I have to say....it IS a bit ridiculous :)

Flash Forward

For those of you who are LOST fans (and I think Karen is the only one I've actually told about the blog at this point...so Aunt Kiki this is for you!), you will know all about flash-forwards and flashbacks and flash-sideways' (flash-sidewayses??  what is the plural?).  Tonight I had my very own flash-forward.  It was something that took me completely by surprise.  I think that every parent imagines what their child(ren) might be like as they grow up.  I guess at this point I am just very much in-the-moment with Finn and loving every little bit of what he does every day that I haven't really thought about it.  He just amazes me with what he does now so I can hardly begin to imagine what he might do in the future.

As I was walking Oscar, there was a boy (10 or 12 years old) playing basketball with his friends/siblings.  The basketball net in his driveway was one of those adjustable jobbies and he adjusted it 2-3 times as Oscar and I were walking up the street.  At the base of the net was some kind of sandbag to help anchor the net.  The boy finished adjusting the net, jumped off the sandbag, grabbed the rim, hung there for a quick moment and then softly landed on the ground.  All of the sudden I started to think about how that could be Finn 10 years from now.  And the thought completely amazed me.  It is not out of the realm of possibility.  Our baby boy could do anything!  Wow.

A Little Dash of Cuteness

The other day I hung Finn's sweater on the banister.  It struck me as one of the cutest things I've seen in awhile.  For some reason it is really hard for me to capture just how small his sweater looks in comparison to everything else.  Oh well.  Just know that it looks small.  And know that it looks cute.  Very, very cute.

Great-Oma

I've been feeling like Finn deserves some type of award for being the snuggly-est great-grandchild ever.  Never have I seen a baby snuggle in with my Oma the way that Finn does.  Maybe my cousins' kids do, but my nieces and nephew certainly didn't.  It has been so wonderful to watch Finn with her - falling asleep with her, smiling at her, playing with her, snuggling with her.  Good job Finn.  You have no idea how happy you have made you Great-Oma....and your mommy.