Happy Halloween!

I dressed up as a bumble bee this year. I pretty much slept the whole time mom and dad were handing out candy! Here are some pictures of my Halloween get-up:

Lots of Updates

Mom and Dad have been hogging the computer so I haven't gotten to update over the past few days. Lots to report - Grandma and Grandpa Doyle came to visit me and we had a great time getting to know each other. Here are some pictures:

Also, I got to meet 

some more friends including Bryan and Erin. 

Today I went to the doctor and Dr. P. told my mom that I now weigh 10 lbs, 2 oz. I could have told him that, I really like to eat! Also they measured me and I was 21 1/4 inches which i

s a big difference from what the hospital folks told my mom and dad - they said I was 19.3 inches. Probably just because I was moving around too much when they tried to measure me! 

A great day - My first walk with BOB

My mom hasn't been outside in almost 11 days so she and dad decided to take me out for my first walk today. I got to try out my new BOB stroller (thanks Murphys!) and the ride was so smooth, I slept the whole time. Dad is already planning my transcontinental trip to see all 54 national parks. We should be done by the time I am 15. Go Griswalds! 

Here are some pictures:

To add more excitement to my day, mom and dad decided to give me a bath and boy are they funny. Dad was holding me and I thought I'd give him a taste of what mommy has been experiencing the past few days and I peed on him. Ha! I enjoyed my bath and then my mom's friend Erin came over. She is having a baby any day now and I can't wait to meet her and to have a new friend. Then, Melissa and Tom came over and brought mommy and daddy dinner. What a busy day! Signing off now, it's dinner time. I will be having milk with a side of milk and some more milk to wash it all down.

I have new friends...

Jenn and Hudson stopped by the house on Friday to say hi. They brought me a book, pajamas, and dinner for Mom and Dad - it was all great. We forgot to take their picture (dad's fault) so they will have to come back to play soon.

Julie

Alli

Melissa - she is pregnant and I am excited to have a new buddy in 4 months.

Lisa 

First Day Alone With Mom

Grandma Polkow left today and Dad had to work and go to class so it was just Mom and me today. I thought I would throw her some curve balls to see how she could handle it. I thought it would be funny if I peed on her since she and Dad seem to never worry about covering me up when they change my diaper. It was so funny that I did it twice...she needed to learn a lesson! Then during my nap I was so full from eating that I wet my diaper and it got my clothes wet. Mommy got to try a lot of my new clothes out today. 

I am looking forward to spending the day with Mom and Dad tomorrow! I am going to meet some new friends too, Melissa and Lisa. Hopefully I won't pee on them.

Here is a picture of me taking a snooze today...don't I look innocent? 

Meet my friends...

Meet my friends...

Shannon, Julie and Doug!

Sherri!

Jonathan! (Dad's political running mate)

Melissa! (my neighbor)

Saturday Night Live!!!

Its Saturday night and we are just hangin' at home. It is so good to be home. I've been eating, sleeping and sleeping some more. I am excited to be here with my family; mom and dad, uncle Al, and grandma grandpa Polkow. 

Here is a pic of me celebrating my homecoming. It looks like I am crying, but I am actually doing an irish jig.

I love Mom!

Holy Cow!

Surprise of the day, maybe the year... not Finn, not #3!!!! Grandpa "Opa"  and Uncle Al just walked into my hospital room to surprise mom and me. Mom melted instantly but I was too tired to wake up. I will give them smiles and funny faces as soon as I wake up. Mom and Dad are shocked and so excited to have more family out here.

Grandma and Grandpa Doyle will be out soon! I am so lucky to have such a great family. Good times ahead.

FMD

Newest Doyle!

Tom and Kristy gave birth to a baby girl at 2pm this afternoon. We will call her  #3 until they come up with a name. She weighs 7lbs, 7oz and is 19 inches long.

Congrats!

My little cousin...

Great babies come in pairs. My Aunt Kristy and Uncle Tom are in labor right now! This will be their third burrito. The holidays are going to be so much fun.

I will keep you posted.

My first night...

Good Morning,

We had a great night. I woke up at 2 for a little diaper change - Nice work Dad!, a little breast milk (or something like it, is called cholesterol? cauliflower, mmm, maybe colostrum. who knows but it was good) - Nice work Mom!, and a healthy roaring burp. I was a wee bit tired so I slept until 7:30am. I guess I have an extra tank of fuel somewhere in my belly or cheeks.

Here are some pics - Mom had sushi for her dinner, she said it tasted great, but I thought it looked funny and can't understand why anybody would want to eat anything other than "White Gold".

Finn Doyle pics

Dirty Diaper Change Count

Dad   2

Mom 0

Thanks to all

Hi all - this is Jen. Thanks for all your kind words and congratulations. This blog has kept me going over the last three days - my hubby is quite creative eh? We are all doing well. Finn was a big boy - 9 lbs, 10.2 oz (Shannon, he didn't weigh 10 pounds! Ha). He is a little chunk but of course we are already crazy about him. It was a long couple of days but totally worth it. We will keep you updated with photos on this site. Thanks again! Love, Jen

http://picasaweb.google.com/mdoyle923/FinneganMichaelDoyle#

Here are some pics - yes, I am a biggin!

I'm Here!

6cm - 100% - we are rocking and rollin'!

Epidural is in. We have been here for 3 days, had 3 rounds of pitocin, and it took 3 shots for the doc from Pittsburgh to get the Epidural in. Jen has "special" veins and they kept getting a little too close to them. Alas, she is comfortably numb. If our string of 3's continue, Finn will join us for a 3 o'clock happy hour.

Funny story: The doc was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers med cap and was giving Jen a hard time. He said he couldn't do the Epi until she named one player on the team. Jen's response.... 

"Griese?"

He walked out of the room laughing. Jen is very thankful that he came back.

Mike

Progress!

PROGRESS! The doctor came in and drained my swimming pool (i.e broke Jen's water). She is already feeling miserable - this is good. Mike will have to keep you updated from now on. I have some work to do. It may still be slow, but atleast we are moving!

Cool Website - www.steepandcheap.com

Warning, this website could get you in trouble. You may have noticed the little advertisement on the right side of this blog that promotes awesome sales of outdoor gear. www.steepandcheap.com is an awesome site that sells one gear item at a time and it is usually 50-70% off. Once that item sells out, they put up a new one.

Its awesome, but can be addicting. 

The Waiting!

When Jen and Mike were in high school, Jen was so hip and cool that she made Mike a mixed tape (what the heck is a "mixed tape? "). She put "The Waiting" by Tom Petty on the tape. Im not sure what she meant then, but I know what she means now. 

"You take it on faith, you take it to the heart. The waiting is the hardest part."

Here we are, waiting!

Day 3 - Full Moon Tonight.

Good morning.

No news to report from last night. Jen and I are sleeping, Mike is doing homework. I want to thank everyone who is checking up on me and sending prayers and well-wishes. I can't really explain it... I guess I have  a bit of stage fright.

This whole process is pretty amazing. I have had a lot of time to think about it over the last nine months.  I am excited to learn to walk, talk, swim and climb (stairs, chairs, and mountains). I am nervous about being and staying healthy, being with good daycare, and having to eat pureed vegetables - that just don't seem right! Who knows, by the time I get out of here I might be chewing on ribeyes and PBJ sandwiches.

I am guessing that I will grow up happy because I have 9 cousins to play with. My uncle Tom and Aunt Kristy are due any day now (he/she will be 10). Maybe I should wait to come out when their little one comes. Yes, thats it! That is what I am waiting for, I am so darn nice. I have 7 aunts and 7 uncles. I hear St. Patricks Day is a hoot - that should be a good time.

I hear that I am going to live in Baltimore a little while longer and then maybe move closer to all of those crazy people I just listed. I think I can be happy anywhere as long as my diaper is dry.

I am so lucky because all of my grandparents are going to give me way too much attention.

Okay, I am done rambling for now. I need to help Mike with his homework.

30th Hour!

Hey Friends,

I am sorry to say that we haven't made much progress. Jen is still dialated at 2cm and is taking a break from the inducing meds for the night. She is quite the trooper and is keeping good spirits. We are running out of crappy 80's t.v. shows to watch so we may have to resort to the comedy shows now known as the nightly reports on our economy and presidential elections. I will share my thoughts on coming into the world in these crazy times on another post. I haven't quite figured it all out yet, neither has my dad.

Assuming we don't have any action tonight, we will go back on the meds tomorrow and see if we can't get things moving then. 

Signing off so I can rest my body for the long journey and big debut tomorrow - FMD.

 This is John Lennon's tribute song to his son. 

Close your eyes, 
Have no fear, 
The monsters gone, 
He's on the run and your daddy's here, 

Beautiful, 
Beautiful, beautiful, 
Beautiful Boy, 

Before you go to sleep, 
Say a little prayer, 
Every day in every way, 
It's getting better and better, 

Beautiful, 
Beautiful, beautiful, 
Beautiful Boy, 

Out on the ocean sailing away, 
I can hardly wait, 
To see you to come of age, 
But I guess we'll both, 
Just have to be patient, 
Yes it's a long way to go, 
But in the meantime, 

Before you cross the street, 
Take my hand, 
Life is just what happens to you, 
While your busy making other plans, 

Beautiful, 
Beautiful, beautiful, 
Beautiful Boy, 
Darling, 
Darling, 
Darling Sean. 

Grandma P and Mike went out for lunch and a little dose of sunshine - don't tell Jen. We came back to find Jen enjoying some "beautiful" contractions, but we just haven't gotten the big ones yet.  We are still hoping for an Oct. 14 delivery. To stay fresh, Jen is now sporting an oxygen mask to "super-oxygenate" me, even though I am fine.

Mike has come to understand the printouts of each contraction. The little rolling hills remind him of Wisconsin - those aren't going to cut it. The big, long and rounded ones remind him of the Appalachians - they are nice, but aren't big enough to get excited about. Having spent time in the rockies, Mike now knows that we need steep, jagged peaks that line up right next to each other. Once we get to the rockies, its time to hit the Himalayas - then the labor process begins. Man, he can use a mountain metaphor for anything... what a dork!

The Doc just did a check and Jen is progressing slooooowly, she is dialated at 2cm and is 80% effaced - Mike just nods and smiles. That means I have a ways to go. Its all good though, Mike is doing homework, Paula and Jen are having good chats, and I'm still swimming.

Day 2 - it's a marathon

No wonder Jen has been induced, she ran the Baltimore Marathon on Saturday... well, atleast a few steps with "Out of Sight Dwight"

Okay, the pitocin party is back on now. The doc is joining us soon and plans to do a little water breaking action around 12:30pm, EST. Here's to hoping - I am getting tired of all this swimming. Jen has been catching a few naps but we are up and ready to roll... slide, crawl, whatever it takes for me to get out of this crazy little room filled. I'm squooshed, Help. 

Nurses quote:  "This boy is everywhere, how big is he?" - as she rubs Jen's belly.

If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

It's 6:30 am - no news. Jen's asleep. She slept a bit through the night. I am guessing we are going to get this party started at 8am when the doc comes to visit. It will be a slow start, but I am ready to start dancing. - FMD.

Okay, Jen and I are going to bed. Mike is already asleep - we think. I'm holding out for a big debut tomorrow. We will send updates tomorrow - hopefully pics of me.  Jen feels great - she is enjoying some cervidal, no more pitocin until the morning.

 Isn't it pretty amazing that I can blog from inside a uterus? technology is pretty amazing, huh.

Signing off... FMD

Grandma Polkow is enroute from Chicago. She got a 5:20pm flight and will be here for my arrival, with plenty of time to spare.

10/13, 7pm - Jen is hanging in there. She is enjoying the Soap Network. Thanks for all of the calls, emails, texts, writings in the sky, etc. We will keep you posted about my world debut.

Here are some pics of my mom's belly. picasaweb.google.com/mdoyle923/BabyBump33Weeks02

You can also check out some other pics of my wickedly large families (doyles and polkows).

10/13, 4:15pm. We are hangin' at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, letting the Pitocin kick in. Jen is healthy and having "nice" contractions. We are playing wicked rounds of Word Twist - oh the joy! 

Jen is ordering her last meal for a while. Chicken or Chicken? hmm?

What does Mike think about all of this?  - Life is good, real good!

Jen was induced at 11am. She went in for a routine test and the docs were ready to get things started. My world debut was supposed to be OCtober 21, but I want to get out and see the world NOW! 

Here is a picture of me at 32 weeks - in the womb! Look closely and you will see my head and a closed eye on the top pick. My head is on the rightside, and my right eye is closed - I am winking for the camera. Yes, I am sucking my thumb.

Real pics to come. Stay tuned!