Finn

Finnegan Eric Naylor was born May 19 @ 12:17 in the morning. He was 20 inches long and 8 lb. 3.5 oz.

His Name: It wasn't easy choosing a name for this child. Just to give you an idea these are some of the names that were still on "the list" the day he was born: Andrew, Abram, Bode, Caleb, Graham, Griffin, Jacob, Noah... and that's the narrowed down list. When I was pregnant with Tag (and we had already chosen his name) we were still talking about names just for fun. We both liked the name "Finn". However, all of our children have a given name that we use when they are in trouble or when we're feeling cheeky along with a nickname. We didn't want to stray from the trend on our fourth child (if it was a boy). Brainstorming I came up with Finnegan and to my surprise, and chagrin, Brian LOVED it.

When we talked about the name Finn this time around we both thought Finnegan was a little too different. We came up with "Griffin" with more brainstorming but it seemed like a stretch. Anyway, to make a long story shorter- it was the name that wouldn't go away. It was Abby's favorite and so she would chant it "Finnegan Eric" and I would say, "Abby, we are NOT going to name him that." Once he was born Brian had come back around and was liking it again. When we couldn't agree on any of the other names I gave in. It's still growing on me and I'm sure I'll like it more and more as he grows. I do think it goes with Eric better than any of the other names.

All of our children's middle names are chosen to honor someone (ancestor, parent, etc.) and his middle name "Eric" is for my older brother Eric who died at 2 weeks of S.I.D.S. I've always felt close to him and wanted to use it but our first boy's middle name had to be after Brian's dad so Eric went to our second son.

If anyone has any clever ideas for my header please let me know. Abracadabra/Abby, Ginger Snap/Ginny, Tag a Long/Tag, Mickey Finn? Tailfin? Huckleberry? Better ideas?

His Birth: On Friday the 18th I started having regular contractions around 5 pm. I tested positive for strep B for the first time during this pregnancy and since Tag came so quickly (2 1/2 hours) they had scheduled me to have my water broken on the 21st so that they could get some antibiotics in my system at least 4 hours before he came. When I noticed my contractions getting regular and increasing in strength I figured we better head to the hospital to get those antibiotics in case he was planning on coming. They gave me the antibiotics at 8:40.

I've decided that either I did a better job practicing my hypnobabies last time around (quite possible) or contractions hurt more when my water has not broken. At 12:15 my water broke while sitting on a birthing ball. I got onto the bed and the nurse checked me and let me know that I was dilated to an 8. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping for a 10... and then he came anyway. That's all I can say. He was there and ready and it didn't matter that I wasn't fully dilated. I can tell you that an 8 lb 3.5 oz baby coming out dilated to an 8 and laying in bed feels very different from a 7 lb. 13 oz. baby basically falling out when I stood up. This way was much less messy for the staff. The Dr. caught him instead of my husband but it was still a close call. He (the doctor) didn't have time to get gloves on and caught him bare-handed.

I was very happy that, since this time was less chaotic, they were able to immediately put Finn skin to skin with me instead of rushing him away. The saddest part, for Finn, was that he was so bruised! (See Above) His head and face were black and blue. They told us that if staff came in when he was all bundled up and were worried about him looking blue that we should let them know it was bruising. It took about 2 weeks for the bruising to be completely gone. He also came 20 minutes before the 4 hour mark for the antibiotics so they had us stay in the hospital an extra day. I was okay with that. With ten people at home (not counting Brian, Finn and I) I could stand an extra night in the hospital.

His Siblings: Abby, Ginny and Tag are loving their little brother. Abby was especially happy with his name. Sometimes they love him a little too much. Ginny wakes him up and then tells us, "I was just keeping him happy." Yeah, right. Tag is learning how to be "soft", most of the time. They all try to straighten out his limbs until I stop them and they fight over holding him. Honestly, I think it would be easier for me if they didn't want to hold him. But it's also very sweet to watch them holding him.

His Parents: We're settling in. There is no schedule yet and so we're both a little sleep deprived. Luckily the girls will entertain each other so if I can get the boys to sleep at the same time I can catch a nap. Brian wasn't too happy when I fell asleep at 8 o'clock on his birthday. He was nice enough to leave me sleeping and I'll have to make it up to him. Brian is happy that Finn looks more like him and Ginny. He doesn't have their nose, though. Which, to me, is their defining characteristic so the jury is still out on who he's going to look like. Probably himself.