Month: April 2008

We really like Finn’s doc, Mena Sathappan, a groovy Indian lady whom we visited on Friday. Sometimes, though, her accent makes for slightly funny misunderstandings. The Finnfatha has been experiencing some crummy acid reflux, so she suggested some methods for helping:
Dr. S: “Do you have a veg pillow?”
Me: “Uh… I’m sorry, a…? {thinking, “Veg, as in vegetable?”}
Dr. S: “You know, something to elevate his head?”
Me: “{thinking, “Ah, WEDGE”} Oh yes, absolutely.”
Margot and I enjoyed the “veg” thing particularly because we have a running joke about tempura being “battered veg,” based on a skit from a British comedy show. Once we got the wedge pillow, Margot said, “Man, if Finn spits up on this thing, it really will be ‘battered veg,’ in every sense.” 🙂
We also enjoy the doc’s pronunciation of “esophagus”–“EE-so-FAY-gus.” Makes me want to ask whether there’s a book of Aesop’s Fables about the EEsoFAYgus!

In the spirt of Andre the Giant, Charles Darwin, and many, many others, I’m pleased to say that Finnegan Nack has a Posse!

😀
The only slight snag is that in the time since I made this graphic, the wee man has packed on three pounds and two inches. In relative terms it’s as if I added 45lbs. and 7in. in the last month!

Driving around late at night in an attempt to get your overtired infant to sleep gives you a lot of time to think. Finn had a rough go of it last night and would not settle down and go to sleep, so at 9 pm I set out with him in the Green Peanut and circumnavigated San Jose.
Have our lives changed since having a baby? Absolutely yes. Do we love Finn more than we could have imagined? Again, absolutely yes. Are we resentful that we will be sleep deprived for many years to come? Of course. But I remember that he’s just an infant, and John and I have the unfair experience and advantage of leading scheduled, planned, and rational lives–something that tiny Finn can’t even begin to comprehend yet. And I also know now about some things that change inside you when you become a mother–the mama tiger comes out and you’d do anything to protect your child from harm, pain, green meanies, and sickness. So even while you’re hating the fact that you’re ineffably tired and you’re stuck in the car, driving around endlessly so your kid will sleep, you do it because you love him and you want him to be ok. And then when you get home and he stays asleep for a stretch of 3.5 hours, you feel a little better for everyone involved.

I had one more “W” but I haven’t slept in days, so I’m a little dotty!
Finn had his one-month check up today at the pediatrician. After a few recent days of lots of spit up, sleeplessness, and rowliness after feedings, we asked the doc if there might be something wrong. She checked him out and he has a bit of acid reflux, which is irritating his throat and esophagus. At least we now know that there’s a reason for his discomfort, which we are (frustratingly) not able to do much about. We will give him zantac to help reduce his stomach acid, and try to keep him more upright after feedings to help gravity keep the food down. Hopefully within a few days his throat will be feeling better. I’ll also be trying to feed him a bit less than I have been, because he seems to have been taking in more than he could actually stomach.
That maybe why he–drumroll please–weighed in at 12 lbs 1 oz today! That’s a gain of almost 3 lbs in one month. He’s also up to 23 inches already! So he’s definitely growing and thriving, which we’re really happy about.
Many thanks to my wonderful, wise sister, who counseled a freaked-out and frayed me over the phone late last night and suggested that Finn might have reflux, based on her experience w/ her own son. She was right on the money and was a really welcome voice of calm reason when I called. Thank god for sisters who’ve been down the “new mom” road before.

Finn is getting bigger and more interesting by the day. He’s packing on the oz’s and he’s spending a lot more time awake than just a couple weeks ago. When he’s awake, he spends a lot of time looking around, tracking shapes and faces, and trying to figure out if those little hands that are waving around belong to him. Most of the time he is really calm, and seems to enjoy sitting on the front porch with me, watching the world go by.
Today I tried out a new sling so I could wear him on my chest and walk around hands-free. He really dug it–fell asleep and didn’t make a sound for about an hour as I walked down to the coffee shop and back. Being hands-free is really a luxury–it feels like I spend about 98% of my time holding him. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but it really hampers my ability to do anything else (like eat lunch!).
We are visiting the pediatrician on Thursday for our 1-month checkup. I can’t wait to find out how much he weighs! He’s a thirsty kid and seems to be thriving, which makes us very happy.