Fenn's 1st Christmas ~ Best Present Under the Tree!

Fenn's first Christmas was really nice. It was just the three of us for the first time. We made a sweet potato souffle' to go with our food from Honey Baked Ham, and we had Red Velvet Cake from Ham 'n Goody's. Yummo! We opened presents on Christmas morning and then spent the day hanging out at home. It was quiet... as quiet as it can be with a newborn in the house. These are just a few of the pictures we made at Christmas. OK, Fenn looks terrified in one of them...like he's hanging on for dear life. But he really does like that gift ~ it was his big gift from Santa. He is supposed to lie on it and spin around to see the different play areas on the mat. It helps to strengthen his neck and learn to hold up his head. We don't know how he did it, but the first time we put him on it he managed to use his foot and do a complete 360!

Christmas Eve... and Fenn's First Outing

We took Fenn out for his first outing (other than going to the pediatrician's office) on Christmas Eve... to Pelancho's Mexican Restaurant (one of our favorite mexican restaurants here in Knoxville). Dan's family has a tradition of going out for mexican on the night before Christmas, so Dan and I have tried to continue that tradition. For some reason, it's hard to do here in Knoxville; we have a hard time finding a mexican restaurant that stays open later than 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. What's up with that??? I think El Rio Grande in Lanett has always stayed open on Christmas Eve. (We sure do miss El Rio... Eddie and William.) Luckily, Pelancho's is open. At this point, the outings with Fenn are really easy. He just sleeps while we eat. We're dreading the days when he starts screaming in the middle of a restaurant.... just as soon as our food arrives. So for now, we're enjoying it while we can.

To Grandmother's House We Go...

Well, we're not going.... Grandma is going home to her house. She stayed with us for 3 weeks and was an enormous help. She got to see Fenn come into the world.... I think that was better than any Christmas present she could have received. Fenn enjoyed getting to know his Grandma and looks forward to seeing her again. Thanks again, Grandma! We love you and miss you!

Christmas with Grandma

Fenn celebrated Christmas with Grandma a little early. She was heading home to Alabama on Sunday, December 23rd, so we exchanged gifts with her on Saturday night. Grandma gave Fenn an adorable hoodie sweater from Baby Gap and a Baby Bjorn carrier (that benefits all 3 of us!). Merry Christmas, Grandma! We're glad you were here.

Fenn on his Playmat

Just wanted to post this picture of Fenn playing on his Gymini playmat. I like the photo because it is so colorful. Fenn liked his playmat from the start. Even at a week or so old, we could put him on it and he would move his legs and make the windchimes move.

Christmas Photos with Grammy & Poppy

Even though Fenn didn't get to spend Christmas with Grammy & Poppy, he did get to see them a couple of weeks before Christmas (on the day he came home from the hospital) and then again shortly after Christmas. Those were short visits, but they got to come again a few weeks later to stay a little longer. Fenn really liked that. These are some of the photos we made at the house by the Christmas tree and fireplace. Grammy is a busy lady.... we always have a hard time getting her to look AT the camera when we're taking her picture. I think she's always thinking about what she's going to do next! Merry Christmas, Grammy & Poppy!

Fenn's First Bath

Our 2nd night home, we decided it was time for Fenn's first bath (well, at least his first bath from us). OK, that's a nerve wracking experience for new parents! He was so small and we were so afraid we were going to drop him. It went well.... except for when he peed on us! Something about that warm water being poured over him... Hmmmm....... must remember to keep him covered when bathing him! Anyway, he seems to like his bath for the most part. He likes having his hair washed and feeling the warm water on his head. When they bathed him at the hospital right after he was born, he was screaming at first, but then stopped crying immediately when they started washing his hair. He did the same thing the first time he heard his Daddy's voice. He was screaming while they were cleaning him up and evaluating him, and as soon as Dan said something he stopped crying and calmed down. He definitely recognized his Daddy's voice.

I love wrapping him up in a towel after his bath and cuddling with him. He's so sweet and calm, and he seems so appreciative to be wrapped up and held tight. Notice the left hand to the mouth. I think he might be a "leftie" because it seems to always be his left hand that he puts up to his mouth... sometimes it's the thumb, sometimes it's his index finger, and sometimes it's as many as he can fit in there.

Food and Flowers

Just thought I would mention how generous people are... I think babies just bring that out in people. In addition to all of the beautiful gifts we received for Fenn (way too many to mention here), we also received a few things ~ either to feed us or just brighten our day ~ after Fenn arrived. We received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Fenn's new pal, Gabe. (His mommy and daddy are Jim and Kama. Gabe is 13 months older than Fenn.) We also received a precious "cookie" bouquet from Fenn's Uncle David, Aunt Cindy, and cousins Austin & Harrison. The cookies were yummy! I saved the one that said, "Welcome Fenn!" and the Teddy Bear ~ I plan to shellac them and use them as Christmas ornaments. Then there were the food gifts which were a big help after Fenn was born. (Grandma was a huge help with Fenn ~ especially at night or when Mommy needed a nap during the day. But Grandma doesn't cook anymore!... so she wasn't much help in that department.) Our neighbor across the street, Julie, made a huge pan of lasagna and a pan of brownies. They were both so good. We had several meals off of that! Grandma took a particular liking to the brownies... as she would sneak into the kitchen at night and eat them. Our next door neighbor, Nicole, made a yummy pasta, sausage, and cheese dish. I can't remember what she called it, but Nicole... I still need that recipe! My friend, Barbara, sent us a Honey Baked Ham gift certificate. That was great... we used it to purchase the majority of our Christmas dinner. And Todd, Angie, Seth, and Jesse (Fenn's uncle, Aunt, and cousins) sent us a goodie basket from River Street Sweets in Savannah. If you've never been there, you have to go and try their pralines!

Thank You everyone for all the gifts, prayers, and well wishes!!!

Going Home

After spending two nights at the hospital, we were released to go home. The thought of that was a little scary.... we would be taking care of him by ourselves... no more hospital nurses. While we were at the hospital, we kept Fenn in our room the whole time because we heard you actually get more rest with the baby in the room (because you're not worrying about him). It was actually pretty easy because he slept most of the time. Things were bound to be different once we got him home. Thank goodness Grandma would be there for 2 more weeks to help out. We had no idea just how much we would need her help. People tell you it is exhausting taking care of a newborn.... but they don't adequately describe just how exhausted you will be. (More on that in a later post...)

We arrived home shortly after lunchtime on Wednesday, December 12th (Fenn's actual due date). Grandma was waiting at the house, and Grammy & Poppy would be arriving shortly after us. We spent that first day visiting, getting settled back into the house, playing with the fur kids (Asha and Petey) since we had been gone for 2 days, and introducing them to Fenn. Petey was somewhat interested at first... he sniffed Fenn for a while. But after that, he pretty much ignored him. That's pretty much what we expected from him ~ ignoring him and pouting a little because he's no longer the center of attention. Asha surprised us because she didn't seem interested at all. We later figured out that she had just not seen him (probably because we were holding him). The next day she got a glimpse of him and went nuts. She was a little too interested in him now, but she eventually settled down and adopted Petey's attitude of ignoring him.

More "First" Photos of Fenn

Nothing really to say here. I just wanted to post a few more favorite "first" photos of Fenn. You can't really tell how blonde his hair is in any of these photos. It is a little darker now, but when he was born it was really blonde. This is probably my favorite first photo of me with Fenn. Look at his little foot sticking out of the blanket.




I like this photo of Fenn with Dan. You can see his cute little body here.





We forgot to have a photo taken of the 3 of us with our camera. Thank goodness Grammy & Poppy took this photo!

Meet the grandparents!

Just thought I would share Fenn's first photos with his Grandma (I have a feeling he'll be calling her something else) and his Grammy & Poppy. He doesn't know it yet, but he's really going to love them!

Fenn's First Shooter

Just a few short minutes after Fenn was born, the nurses had him in the bassinet and were getting him cleaned up so they could swaddle him. Well, my Mom had the camera in hand (keep in mind that she's never been really good with cameras) and was trying to snap some pictures of Fenn. I was still stuck in the hospital bed, and I think Dan was standing next to me. Well, all of a sudden we heard all of these screams and all the nurses and my Mom jumped back. Fenn had decided to "christen" everyone with his very first Shooter! It was hysterical. You'd think the nurses would not be surprised by this, but apparently this one caught them off guard. This is the photo that Mom snapped at about that very moment... as she was jumping back. If her fingers had not been in the way, you might have been able to see the stream.

Thank You, Dr. Kori Cottam and Brynn Whitworth

Even though they won't see this, I just wanted to say Thank You to my OB doctor, Dr. Kori Cottam, and to my Labor & Delivery Nurse, Brynn Whitworth. Also, thank you to the rest of the staff at Parkwest Medical Center who were a part of bringing Fenn into the world.

A little tidbit about Dr. Cottam: She was born on May 1, 1968. So she is only 11 days older than me. We had so much fun with her during Fenn's delivery. She really is a wonderful doctor. I think we introduced her to Michael Buble' ~ she really seemed to like his music.

And something interesting about Brynn... Her birthday is May 25th and her wedding anniversary is May 12th. Well, I'm just the opposite of her ~ my birthday is May 12th and my wedding anniversary is May 25th. How funny is that? I think she was destined to be my L&D Nurse. Brynn is only in her twenties, but she is so knowledgeable and conducts herself in such a professional manner, you'd think she's been a nurse for many more years than she actually has been.

Thanks to both of you once again for being a part of our special day!

Fenn's Birth

In the days leading up to Fenn's birth, I was frantically running around trying to run errands, clean the house, and finish the nursery, all while continuing to work. My last day of work was Thursday, December 6, 2007.... just 4 days before our scheduled induction. My mom arrived in Knoxville on Dec. 3rd. We spent that time getting her settled, showing her where things were in the house, and letting her practice driving to and from the hospital so she would be prepared to do so on her own. On Sunday night, December 9th, we were quickly running out of time. And then the hospital called to ask us to arrive at 5:30 a.m. instead of 6:00! Yikes! Apparently, they had several inductions scheduled for that day and were having to make a few adjustments to the schedule. Needless to say, we didn't get to bed as early as we had hoped because everything was taking longer than we thought. Dan and I both took an Ambien (my doc said it was okay) hoping to ensure we both got a good night's sleep. Well, it worked for me.... but not so much for Dan. He didn't feel quite right the next day.

Why didn't we take any photos of us getting ready on Sunday night or us leaving the house on Monday morning???
We arrived at the hospital around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, December 10, 2007... just a few minutes late. They took us to our room and told me to change into my hospital gown... ever so flattering! I swear, I need to design hospital gowns using better fabrics! The nurse (I feel so bad that I forgot her name because she was really nice) started my IV and Pitocin before going off her shift at 7:00 a.m. Then our Labor & Delivery nurse, Brynn, came on duty. We could tell we were going to like her immediately and hoped Fenn would be born while she was still on duty. Around 9:30 a.m., Brynn came in to check me ~ I was still only dilated 1 to 2 centimeters. She told me I needed to speed things up because the girl in the next room was ahead of me! She was already dilated 5 or 6 centimeters and it was her first child, too, and she was induced at around the same time as me! Of course I said, "That's not fair!" She gave birth a couple of hours later. At 10:30 a.m., I decided the pain was bad enough that I didn't want to see what it would be like when it got worse, so I decided it was time to get the epidural. It didn't really hurt. The worst part was having to hunch my shoulders over with my big 'ole belly in the way. I couldn't breathe! And it took the anesthesiologist a few times to get it right, so I had to hunch over longer. Throughout the day, we listened to music on our Bose stereo. We had taken some favorite CDs: Shawn Mullins (Soul's Core), Michael Buble' (Call Me Irresponsible), Billie Holiday, Barry White, Chicago, Norah Jones. The nurses would come in and say they wanted to stay in our room because we had the fun room. It was actually a really relaxing day once I got the epidural. Dan and I felt like we were hanging out waiting on someone else. Around 1:30 p.m., things had really started progressing ~ I was dilated 5 to 6 centimeters. Hooray! Then around 4:00 p.m., I was dilated 9.5 centimeters! It was almost time to push. They made me hang out until close to 5:00 p.m. (when Dr. Cottam would be back in the hospital). I started pushing right before 5:00 and then Dr. Cottam got there a few minutes later. With Dan holding one leg and my Mom holding the other, I pushed for a little over an hour. At some point, they got a good look at Fenn's head.... he had blonde hair! Fenn was born at 6:19 p.m. on Monday, December 10, 2007 weighing in at 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 20.5" long.... to the music of Michael Buble' ~ his Call Me Irresponsible CD. Unfortunately, we don't remember which song was playing. About an hour after Fenn was born, I said, "OK, I can do that again." It really wasn't that bad. I never broke a sweat.... which is amazing since I sweat within 30 seconds after walking outside in the summer.

A Virgin Blogger's First Post

Well, here I go. I didn't ever really think I would have any interest in blogging. But then my friend and next door neighbor, Nicole, sent me a link to her Blog (see link below). It is all about the life and times of her little boy, Miles. [MARCH 2008 UPDATE: And now her new baby girl, Audrey]. And then she said she had hard-bound books of the Blog's pages printed for themselves and the grandparents. I'm thinking, "What a great idea!" I realized blogging can be a great way to document the activities of our new family. So, now that I'm a parent, I thought I would give this a try. Be patient.... I know absolutely nothing about this. It may take me a while to figure it all out. Stay tuned.... more to come featuring the "Faces of Fenn".

That's the last picture taken of Cole and me together. It was taken on November 1, 2007, the day before he died from lymphoma. (Note: I was 8 months pregnant.) We took him for one last swim at the lake. He was really sick and not feeling well those last couple of weeks. But he loved to play frisbee and swim so much that he somehow found the strength to do it whenever he had the chance. He was a great friend, so I thought I would honor him here. We miss him very much and wish Fenn could have known him.

That's a very pregnant me at Thanksgiving 2007... just a couple of weeks before Fenn's birth.

Take a look at Nicole's blog sometime at http://nicchictn.blogspot.com/.