Finn at 5 months old

Finn's 5th month of living looked like this:

>First sunburn

>Same day as his sunburn, he fell off the couch. That was sad. Luckily our couch is fairly low.

>Mastered sitting by himself

>Scooting very fast and attempting to crawl. Can't quite figure out his arm motion yet but has the knees down pat!

>Discovered balls and loves them! 

>Discovered Mickey Mouse- likes it and way better than Baby Einsteins.

>Loves his Johnny Jump Up more than any other contraption I stick him in to get my shower in.

Finn at 4 months old

What 4 months for Finn looked like:

>First time in Hawaii (my first too!)- he was ahhhmazing on the plane. Any later, no way.

>First time eating food (in hawaii)- avocado- hated it and it's probably because I hate avocados too! Everything else he loves.

>Our first time at the LACMA

>First time to Catalina

>First time to Palm Springs- spent some time with the Capeners (See photos below by Jessie)

>First time in a pool! He loves water way too much. Gotta watch that kid when he starts to get mobile.

>Starting to scoot (more like army crawl), slowly but surely..

>Discovered books and that you can turn pages, not just eat them.

>Starting to sit on his own, again slowly but surely!

Finn at 4.5 months-written on March 20th.

Finn is blowing my mind these days. I always thought 6 months was my favorite age for kids..until I had a 4.5 month old. Everyday, his development increases..when he was so tiny it was hard to see him change or learn something new..but now I see in..even from morning to night he has become a different baby. 

Some things I love most:

-When I come get him first thing in the morning, he is usually full seal stance, nothing above his hips touching the crib, and he's looking around. I come in and say "Good morning sweetness" and without seeing me yet, he gets a big grin on his face and then when I scratch his back, he lays down and stays smiling. Melts me to my core.

-How obsessed he is with Lady. Sometimes when I run out of ideas of how to entertain him or if I need to shower & get ready for the day, I lay him down next to Lady and he just smiles and giggles at her, then tugs at her ears. She ends up running away from him because she starts to pull and scratch him. 

-He's starting to get attached to me. I'm kinda ok with it! When I would see kids attached to their moms and kick and scream when they were left without them (like all those times I babysat), I would always pray my babies wouldn't be like that. And maybe when they're older I will hate it, but for now with my little one, I really like it. He knows I'm his mama.

-Enjoys being face out in the wrap now. Before he would get over stimulated and fuss but now he loves it! It's how we do errands and go on walks when he doesn't need a nap.

-He doesn't like to nap in the afternoon unless he's in my arms or in the wrap. I started to hate it, and wished he would go into his crib but I love the way he feels against my body I just let it be. 

 -Last Sunday (March 10), he saw his own shadow and laughed at it.

-Last Saturday (March 9), Drew was watching him while I was photographing a wedding, and he wouldn't take the bottle I had prepared for him. So Drew fed him rice cereal, he konked out, and even still, slept through the night! We were mind boggled when we woke up at 8am realizing he didn't wake up at 2am to eat.

-He's starting to sit on his own now..well close, not yet. But he can sit for about 10 seconds before he gets weak. And only on cushion type furniture. But no back support! I can't wait to set him anywhere! He's also close to crawling. Exciting!

-When he starts to coo- it's not a light coo, it's intense and fierce. He wants to be heard!

-Since traveling in a car so often during Hawaii and then the road trip to Utah and back, he has learned that when I start unstrapping him, it's time to get out of the car seat. So he'll weasle his way out and open his arms up towards me and start to whine. Sometimes annoying but mostly cute!

-He reaches for me and knows I'm his mama. Like really knows.

Finn at 3 months old

All photos taken at 3 months old exactly. Written on his 6 month birthday.

Looking back on these photos - I look tired. Like really tired. But getting back into the mind set of what I felt when he turned 3 months- I thought I had it down to a science. But seriously, everyday with Finn, he gets more and more easier! Like I've said in previous posts, the newborn thing is just not my thing. It's probably everyone else's.. so... what does that say about me? It says I like my freedom! I like going outside! I like nursing but I like to do it without being covered (and having a newborn that eats every 2 hours kinda makes you want to stay inside than wrestle a blanket or nursing cover). And I like playing with my baby. At this stage, playing with him became REALLY fun. He started laughing on demand (like really, I'd look at him suddenly and he'd laugh his head off) and Peek-a-Boo became an hourly game. I also got his nap schedule down to a perfect science and by 3.5 months he was sleeping 12-13 hours a night! I don't say this to brag to all my friends that have babies that are barely sleeping 8 hours and they have older babies, I'm only saying this to remember. Remember how awesome he was at sleeping (and still is at 6 months) and hoping that he'll always be a good little sleeper..because everyone knows how much I love my sleep! I really thinks its genes that determine how good they are at sleeping. The Lundquist side, we sleep hard. And we take naps.  I also love his nap time because I am able to be productive. I'm not one of those moms that can stick em in a swing forever, I start to feel guilty come like 10 minutes of it. The first coo or whine from him, he's outta there! Besides his awesome sleep habits and what a fun baby he was at this stage, he was also seen as a giant baby..and still is! Very tall and hefty. Not light bones but hhhhheavy ones. He also had such a strong neck (really since day one) but it became very apparent when he was put next to other babies his age, how strong he really was. This could either be a really great thing in the near future, or we are in trouble! ;)

4 months- 3 & 4 days old (below)

Finn's Blessing Day

January 6th, Finn's blessing day was nothing short of perfect. A lot of people that love Finn were in the chapel, listening to his blessing. At one point in the blessing, Finn was blessed that his "voice would be heard"- at which point he decided to use his voice. It was so cute! I left after Sacrament to put him down for a nap, while Drew stayed..and we spent that time just cuddling and sleeping.

That night Kim, Jake & Malakai Muai came over- then Jack, Melissa & Brady to play some games. It was a good good day to say the least.

Finn at 2 months old

I took all these vertical photos below the day Finn turned 2 months old. This was the time when I started to notice quite the personality from Finn. He was a quiet baby.. and loved to cuddle. He also recognized people he knew, especially me, as his mama. That melted my heart everytime. I didn't leave him often, I think the first time I did was during this month, and it was just a quick errand at Target while my mom looked after him. His tongue was always out- no matter what. He didn't fuss much, but the times he did he REALLY fussed. Like the one time Bree was home visiting from Hawaii and we went to Salt Creek to watch the boys surf and walk on the trail. I knew it was close to his evening nap time but wanted to see if he would fall asleep in his carseat... well the wind was blowing SO hard when we got out of the tunnel, it blew the car seat cover right off and he was miserable. So we turned around and put the massive stroller back into the car, and then Bree held him in the Ergo so he could nap while we walked. He hated the wind until he was almost 4 months old. 

His eyes were very blue at this point- to where you just knew they'd be forever blue. Ever since they keep getting lighter and lighter.

His fists were always shut still..like the letter "A" in sign language. I always anticipated the day they would start to stay open (they do now and he's just about 6 months)

Christmas was over by the time he turned 2 months..but we were still singing "Away in a Manger" to him and had to get out of that habit. So we changed it to Twinkle Twinkle & "If you're chunky & you know it, chunky chunk" song. Still loves em both.

2 months 5 days old

I hope he will forever have his amazing triangle mouth- I'm so in love with it I kiss it alllllllll day long. Just like his Daddy's lips.

The black & whites above was during a time when Drew left to record music in Utah... I think 11 days? We kept busy by meeting friends at the beach and going on walks. I also photographed a birth (see here) and Finn had to come because we didn't know how long I'd be there and he was still EBF. So he sat in the waiting room with the families waiting for unborn child. That was a treat for them! ;)

Newborn Life with Finn

Thought I'd give it a go at this blogging thing again since I know I will regret it if I don't record some dialogue along with the millions of photos I take of him each month. But which 'mom' really has the time to blog anymore? I barely have time to blow dry my hair or put the clothes from the washer into the dryer...there really is no good time for me to blog. So when I have the urge, blog I will. 

(two above were taken on his fourth day of living! we were laying in the sun because he had slight jaundice)

Things I want to remember of Finn as a tiny tiny baby:

-The way he made noises while sleeping. We swaddled him (like everyone told us to, even though he hated it) and laid him on his back until he was 6 weeks old. Once he laid on his tummy, no more sounds and started sleeping through the night.

-The way his hands had to be near his face at all times.

-The way he would get lost in time and just stare into space.

-The way he would laugh in his sleep when he'd hear us laughing.

- How alert he was from day 1. People comment now (he's 4 months as I type this) how alert he is, but if they remember back from when he was brand new, he has always been like that!

- How he loved the water. One of his first baths, he started literally belly laughing when we laid him in the water. Drew was holding his arms up and had him facing the water- while I washed his skin with soap... and the babe wouldn't stop laughing! One of my favorite memories.

(day 4)

-Another memory was when Finn was still sleeping in the bassinet beside my bed, and I had JUST laid him down. Drew was standing pretty close to the bassinet, charging my phone or something as I was laying in bed, and he had to sneeze...(his sneezes are INSANELY loud..I always tell him they're unnecessarily loud, like he can control the volume but chooses not to) so he had to suck it in and it made the weirdest wheezing sound, and we started laughing SO HARD! 

-How massive his hands & feet were for his body. Still are! We joke about his occupations as a grown up. NBA player..piano player.. 

-When he would get startled, his hands would go out to his sides. My favorite.

-How cross-eyed he always was. See below pic (day 4)

- The way he hated to be laid on his changing table to change his clothes/diaper, then one day, poof, he loved it and would even smile! It made my week!

- The way fussed in his car seat until I came back there and kept him company. Let's just say my new spot in the car is in the middle of the back seat now. I'm cool with it. 

- The way he loved when we sang "Away in a Manger" to him. I would rock him to sleep singing that and once recorded it on my phone and left it in the crib with him so he would stay asleep. That's the joy of having a newborn close to Christmas!

-The way his tongue was always sticking out..he does it still from time to time but not that often.

Drew's mom was here the day after (I think?) he was born and stayed for 5 or 6 days. Those were precious moments and I'm so glad she got to experience them because she does live in Utah and only gets to spend time with him every few months. She's amazing too,  I look up to her so much. We got to sit on the couch all day staring at Finn sleeping while she was making the most amazing meal my tongue has ever tasted. One morning she had dinner finished in the crock pot, the kitchen was spotless and Finn was asleep in her arms. Drew came back upstairs to the bed and told me how amazing that was! Yes Drew she is amazing I said! Can she never leave??! :)

Newborn life with Finn really rocked.my.world. Before Finn was even in my belly, I had this idea of how I would be as a mother. I have always had an amazing imagination. I imagined myself as being the mother that would know exactly what to do and when to do it. And getting into a mom-baby routine fairly quickly after baby's birth. And maybe I do have high expectations on a regular basis...so what. Sue me. But I wished I had seen on a first hand basis what life was really going to be like once the little munchkin arrived.

(day 5)

First, it's sleep. Wow do I really thrive off sleep. Most people do I suppose. But I'm not talkin just needing 6-8 hours a night. My body always has needed at the least, 9 hours. Ask anyone in my family. I'm a sleeper! And while Finn was a big baby to begin with, Doc let me know it'd be okay if he slept through the night without needing to eat. But of course, everyone and everything told me to wake him every 3 hours or he'll starve. Ya right. Shoulda listened to my baby and my doctor. Well my doc didn't tell me that until weeks after he was born. But he told me that I could have been doing that! Ha! 

Second, it's breast-feeding. Ok let me tell you how much I love love love breast-feeding. I really do. And Finn has always been such a champ at it... and I am just as natural at it as I thought I would be. But those first few weeks, every time he'd cry, it wasn't cuz he was tired or had gas. It was because he was HUNGRY. And sooooo dependent on me. My poor mother in law saw me at my worst, for sure. She would bring the little man into our bedroom telling me he was hungry and I would straight up tell her there was no way in h*** he was hungry. (When clearly he was but I couldn't see straight or think straight to  know what was happening). I started thinking that she & Drew were against me and were tired of holding a fussy baby that all they wanted to do was give him to the girl with the milk. And I was so tired after I'd feed him for 45 minutes, that I would give him back to them. So really the only time I'd spend with him (besides sleeping next to him) were when I would be holding him. That depressed me. Once I got over the fact that yes- he's dependent on you for as long as you will breast-feed, things got better for me. If he took a bottle or a pacifier, they'd be 100% better, but until then, I will take baby steps.

-another bit on breastfeeding- WHY can't we all just be cool with it? Why have breasts become so sexual that the thought of seeing a mama feeding her baby via breast- becomes a vulgar site? I really wish there could be a change. I even get strange looks from people when I am completely covered, and so is finn. he could be sleeping for all they know. 

Third, my new life as a 'mom'. I am a planner. I like to know when things are going to happen, how they will happen and why they're happening. Just typing that out now I am laughing on the inside because I am sure if I took the free "Baby Basics" class my midwifery offered, I would have been told that there is no 'planning' life with a newborn. I quickly became the mom that never wanted to leave her house with her baby because he was so content sleeping in my arms and if I left, he'd be awake and not getting the sleep he needed. Or he was eating so often and for so long and everyone is so uncomfortable with breastfeeding, covered or not covered, that it was too much of a hassle to do it outside my home. Or he would start one sleep pattern that would be going great, like 8 hours a night at a month old, then switch it up and have a crazy growth spurt and go back to waking up every 2 hours. My friends were all having the time of their lives and all moms but all super moms to me. In my head I could never be like them because in my head I was drowning and couldn't come up for air. The dishes in my sink would keep rising (when before, I couldn't go to bed without doing them), the car would stay a mess, photos would stay unedited, clients wouldn't get emailed back for days rather than hours..the list goes on. And the times I would mention to people about my exhaustion or whatever was bothering me about my new life, they would all say "leave the house a mess, your baby is only so small." That would infuriate me! Because in my mind, a clean home is a happy mom! I need to be that happy mom I want to be! My mind couldn't relax when the pantry is in disarray. Is that so bad? So then some say to that- clean your home at night! When he's sleeping. Well, I do that now, during the day & his naps, but during his newborn stage, I was too exhausted to do it then. I would try to sleep when he slept. So then I started feeling bad for thinking of cleaning. As if I wasn't spending time with him, when really that's all I was doing. But my mind would have been much clearer if my home wasn't in disarray. 

Now I hope this doesn't sound like a complain-post. I really don't want to come across as a complaining mom because I don't like to read blogs like those myself. Just writing this to be honest and true. I wished I had read more honest blogs while I was pregnant just so I knew what I was REALLY getting into haha.. And to be frank, if I could skip the newborn stage with each of my children and go straight to 3 months old, I totally would. I say 3 months because that's when Finn started sleeping completely through the night (12 hours!) I'm sure each child will be different. And I am so lucky he sleeps so well. I know sleep is a huge issue for a lot of moms, new or old. God really knew that if Finn wasn't a good sleeper from day 1, I'd throw him out the window or somethin. Ha. Joking :)

I sorta kick myself when I think about my times of complaining when Finn was waking up once or twice in the night. I have nothing to complain about! He really is a dream baby. Only fusses when he's exhausted or hungry. And he NEVER spits up. Okay maybe he has like 4 times in his life...when I don't burp him. He's super mellow. Maybe that's why I would get antsy when he would cry because we really never heard him cry much!

Someone in our ward came up to us when Finn was I think around 2 months old. It was the week before he was blessed I think. he told us something like this: the minute we stop trying to adapt baby into our old life, everything will be good. That really helped me see things in a light and stop trying to do everything I could do before he was born. We certainly are trying our best and I guess that's all we can do for now!  

Day : Finns birthday!!!

Just warning: phone pics only in this post!