Finn's First Photo Shoot

These were the pictures taken by the photographer at New Hanover Regional Hospital the day after he was born.

Holding a St. Patty's day ducky.

Love the double chin!

Snug as a bug in his cocoon.

My two favorite guys.

A St. Patty's Day Baby

Finnian John Davis

St. Patrick's Day has always been a favorite holiday of mine as I am from a large Irish family. I never knew it would be one of the most important and special days that Ryan and I would share. On March 17th, 2011 at 4:46 pm, our sweet baby boy, Finnian John Davis, was born. He weighed 8 pounds and measured 20.5 inches in length. We had joked throughout the last trimester of the pregnancy that he would hold off for the Irish holiday, so I'm not sure why I was so shocked when he actually did.

We had two name choices for our baby boy: Finnian and Patrick. However, Ryan and I both agreed that if our baby was born on St. Patrick's Day, we would not use the name Patrick. So when my water broke at 12:30 am on St. Patty's Day, we knew his name would be Finnian. His middle name is in honor of my grandpa, John Lawson and Ryan's papa, John White, two very special men that Ryan and I looked up to and loved very much!

Finn, we are over the moon with happiness to be your mommy and daddy! We are so thankful to hold you in our arms and our hearts are filled with more love than we ever thought possible.

First Family Photo

Five Days to Go...

It's hard to believe that I will be holding my little man any day now. Ryan and I are so excited and anxiously await his arrival. I thought for sure he would come early but after my doctor's appointment today, I'm beginning to think he may be on the later side. Not much progress in the last two weeks except that he has dropped a little lower each time. I will have another appointment next Thursday (2 days after due date) and if he has not arrived by then, we will schedule induction for the following week. However, I'm hoping that he comes all on his own.

Until then, I'm enjoying my time with grandma and we are keeping busy. I'm one lucky girl to have a grandma who is taking care of the cooking and cleaning while I relax at night. I'm happy to have her here with us before the little guy arrives.

My adorable class (or at least most of them). We were missing a few that day. 

Last Friday, my wonderful little preschoolers had a baby shower for baby Davis and I. The kids were so excited and I appreciate everything Ms. Jessica and all the parents did to put this together. The cake was very yummy and the gift card to Target was extremely generous. Ryan and I are so thankful for everything!

A beautiful cake wishing me farewell and congratulations!

Our wonderful friends recently took us out for a delicious dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Wilmington, Sweet and Savory. At the restaurant, Ryan and I were showered with the cutest baby gifts, a "savory" dinner and an amazingly delicious cake. Thank you Jamie, Ross, baby Lucas, Jenny, Joel and Lauren for a wonderful evening. We always enjoy your company and appreciate the adorable gifts. We are so happy to have friends like you!

  

37 Weeks!

37 weeks and growing...

As of today, I am considered full term. YAY! So glad Lil' D decided to stay comfy in my belly while his daddy was away this past weekend. Last week at my doctors appointment, I learned that our little babe had dropped and I was about 70 percent effaced but no dilation. At my appointment today, I was about the same but now at 1 cm. What does this mean? It means we still have no idea when he will arrive. Although we are three weeks away from the due date, the doctor explained this could mean an early delivery, right on time or late. Every mom and baby are different and he will come when he is ready. At this point, I still have a few things left on my "to do list" that I would like to get done so he can stay comfy. However, my aching body might say otherwise.

I accomplished a lot in the last few weeks including the completion of my continuing education online course and our childbirth classes. Our final childbirth class ended with a tour of New Hanover Hospital. The rooms looked very nice and spacious but the labor and delivery bed was a little intimidating with its stirrups, handle bars to push, spotlight and so on. I think reality started to set in when the nurse demonstrated how the bed "transforms." Although I am beginning to feel anxious about the delivery, I know all the pain and pushing will be worth it and our lives will forever be changed in the best way!

Ryan and I also purchased a Flip camera to record video clips of our growing baby boy. So excited to record all those wonderful moments that we will soon experience!

44 Days To Go!

Baby bump at the end of 33 weeks, only 44 days to go! 

I'm not sure where to start because it has been so long since I added a post. Somehow I managed to pack a lot of everything into the month of January except for blogging. So here's what has happened this month...

Baby's room is ready - Ryan and I have spent a lot of time in the last few weeks organizing and decorating Baby D's room. I absolutely love it and couldn't be more pleased! A big hug and kiss to my wonderful husband for being so patient with my need to rearrange multiple times. You are the best! Another big thank you to my grandma who made all the bedding for his crib. It completes the room and is extra special because you made it. It's perfect, thank you grandma!

The awesome boat shelf displaying all the wonderful books from the baby shower.  Notice the super cute, plush owl from Nathan. Baby Davis will love it!

Grandma also made an adorable valence for the window.

Little D's crib with the beautiful bedding my grandma made.

My sweet little Piper comes in often to lay in the baby room. I think her motherly instincts are kicking in too!

Baby Classes - Last Monday, we had our first childbirth class at the hospital. The class is every Monday for four weeks. Last week, we learned the stages of labor, true vs. false labor and what to expect in the 3rd trimester. In two weeks, we will watch a video of an actual birth. I can only imagine it will be an eye opening experience. I look forward to our last class where we will take a tour of the hospital. 

Baby Shower with CLC - The wonderful group of ladies that I work with at Children's Learning Center gave me a baby shower at K38. The company was amazing, the food was delicious and the gifts were so sweet! I am so grateful to work with each of you. My fantastic co-teacher, Jessica, put together a beautiful scrapbook of photos, baby wisdom and motherhood. It brought tears to my eyes and is something I will always cherish. Thank you Jessica, such a memorable gift!

The Lovely Ladies of CLC

Online Course - Last week, I began a course with the University of Phoenix online to complete continuing education credits to renew my Ohio teaching license. The class is a special education course and is only 3 weeks long. It has proven to be a very fast paced course with a lot of assignments and reading packed into each week.  I'm not sure what I was thinking when I signed up for this, but my instinct told me this would be easier now rather than later. So three zits later and a cold that won't go away because I'm stressed, I will survive. On the upside, I enjoy the online discussions that I am having with my classmates as they challenge me to think about exceptional children in different ways. 

30th Birthday - Today I celebrated my 30th birthday and I can honestly say I have never been happier. I am married to my best friend who I love more and more everyday. I have a beautiful baby boy growing inside of me and family and friends that express love and support everyday. I can't forget my adorable little pups, Piper and Mac, who greet me each day with wags and kisses! What more could a girl ask for! To top it off, my amazing friend, Cory, flew down to Wilmington from Columbus, OH for a surprise visit on my birthday weekend. My heart skipped a beat when I walked into my home on Friday afternoon to Cory's smiling face. We had a wonderful weekend together (despite my course assignments and yucky cold) and it made my birthday extra special to spend it with someone who is so dear to my heart! Thank you Cory!!! The weekend also included a delicious dinner at my favorite restaurant, Circa 1922. I was in great company with all my friends and shared the special occasion with my good friend, Jamie. Happy Birthday, Jamie, glad to share it with you! I ended my birthday festivities with a Skype call from my family and chocolate cake, candles and all. Such a special weekend!

Cory and I at the beach!

Shadow bump on the sand.

A family of 3 (plus two furry children at home)!

I found this quote while shopping today and thought it was appropriate for my 30th birthday. Abe Lincoln said, "It's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years." Cheers to that!!

Baby Davis in 4D

Here's a clip from our 3D/4D ultrasound!

Baby Davis in 3D

Baby bump at 28 weeks, two days before ultrasound.

So I asked for a mini Ryan and it looks like that's what we are having. Last weekend while we were in Columbus, we decided to do a 3D-4D ultrasound. I can't explain how amazing it was to see our little D on a 60 inch TV in such detail. The package included a 15 minute session, 5 photos, a DVD of the session and measurements. Our tech was very generous and gave us an extra 5 minutes and lots of photos. Image after image, I saw a little Ryan in his adorable face. He also has really chubby cheeks, the more for kissing! According to the measurements, he weighed 3.2 lbs last week. So with that said, he is measuring a little bigger than average but I have predicted this all along. After all, I weighed 9 1/2 lbs. and my siblings were not small babies either.

His little feet!

Our Little D!

Did I mention that he kicked the whole time I was in the waiting room and then decided to sleep during the ultrasound.