Happy Birthday Baby and Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

So we started the morning with a birthday boy breakfast. Quinn had his first taste of eggs. He rather enjoyed them. Actually he ate a ton.

Then we went on to Grandmas for a huge double birthday/Thanksgiving get together. Today was Dan's brother Joe's birthday as well. So we had my family, Dans family, and half of Joe's wife's family. It was crazy, and wonderful. Thank you everyone for coming and sharing our day with us. This was Quinn's birthday outfit.

I don't think this picture needs any explanation. I couldn't resist. Quinn is my little turkey this year, thus the cake.

Quinn was actually very clean eating the cake. There is video to follow. I was really surprised by his restraint.

I don't know what else I can say about this little boy that I haven't said already. Quinn, you are an amazing sweet little boy. You love to cuddle and give hugs. Literally, sometimes you reach out to someone just to give them a hug and then go back to what you're doing. You're curious about things but weary. You observe things for a while before you get into them. You are also really cautious. You have a great temperament, even when you are tired you are so good and patient as long as you have something interesting to look at. I love you my son. You are wonderful.




This is a video I made for Quinn's birthday. It's a present to past sort of concept. Steph thought it would be nice to post it for everyone.

One more day...

OK, so this day last year.

1a - Awoken by contractions again. Walked a lot, watched a little TV, slept.... not at all.

6:30 - Dan wakes up and asks if he should stay home again. I replied with, "No I'm sure it's nothing. This feels just like yesterday and I don't want you to waste another day off. Go to work." He says, "OK, but call me if you need me."

10a - Contractions subside a little and I get a nap.

3:30- I'm on the phone with my friend Katie and my sister Sarah. "Do you think I can take anything just to make myself a little more comfortable? I can't believe I'm going to have to live like this until Friday. This kind of hurts." Both of them say, "Why don't you just call the doctor and see what they say." "I don't want to do that. They are just going to tell me to go to the hospital and the hospital will send me home after a couple of hour. That is really embarrassing and I just don't feel like anythings changed." They finally convince me to call the doctor and sure enough I'm off to the hospital.

4p - My sister Sarah picks me up and away to the hospital we go. I don't even think I brought much with me I was so convinced they were going to send me home.

4:30p - They don't send me home. This is actually happening. I call Dan and tell him to come home. But drive slow he has plenty of time.

Somewhere in here they break my water. I swear you could have surfed on that stuff.

6:30p - Dan arrives and I kick Sarah out. Sorry Sarah. I don't want any grief about other people not being able to be there.

10p - Pitocin drip started due to lack of progress. Apparently because of all the extra fluid Quinn's head wasn't pushing down to help speed things along. It was still floating. Imagine that. I still had more fluid in there?

11:20 - I finally break and ask for pain meds. The poor lady had to get out of bed and come to the hospital just for me. Sorry.

11:40p - I rest comfortably intermittently chatting with my husband and puking my guts out. Who knew, I think I was having a reaction to the pain blocker.

2a - I start pushing.

3:09a - My little man is born.

Today I put Quinn up on my shoulders.

The second I do he uses his incredible pincer grasp and starts pulling on each little strand of hair on my head.

It was actually quite amusing. I've seen him do this to other people and always laugh. Well, never fear, today I got mine.

This day last year

As I looked back at our post from this time last year, I realized we didn't post anything about the couple of days prior to Quinn. So, I guess better late than never. This is ABOUT what I was doing two days before Quinn was born.

1a - I was awakened by the first contractions. I walked around a bit to ease them. Watched some TV and tried unsuccessfully to take a nap.

6:30a - Dan woke up for work. I told him I didn't think he'd be going in that day and would he write down my contraction frequency and duration.

10:30a - I was finally confident enough to go to the hospital.

11:00 - We get to the hospital.

11:30 - Strapped into monitors and ready to get good news.

11:30 -1p - Waiting and watching and not progressing.

1:30 - Going home due to lack of progress. Very embarrassed.

2p - Finally get a nap as contractions have eased.

5:30p - Wake up have Dinner with Dan, watch TV, and go to bed around 11p assuming I am going to have to wait until Friday the 24th to have this baby. My doctor had an induction planned for me for that day and as I left the hospital he said he'd see me on Friday. How humiliating.

And of course, Quinn pics.


He's so sure he wants to get on that ball.

Hmm, maybe not such a good idea. "I'm flexible, but this is a little much."

But of course it's all good.

Fear is known

Mighty Quinn goes back to Providence children's hospital for a lung scan. He is to be injected with radioactive fluid so his lung activity will show up on a monitor.

All seems well for him until the nurses grab his limbs and start looking for his well hidden veins for the IV attempts. Before the needles even appear, Quinn now knows all too well what lay ahead.



No needles yet, and he is already upset with no chance of escape. Mom and I hold him down to the table while the nurses stick him. After four unsuccessful tries, Quinn gets a breather. And he is still good for a quick smile.

But then back on the table for another round of unsuccessful tries.

As I'm holding my son down, hearing the pitch change in his screams as the needles are inserted and fished around, I get an increasing urge to just overreact. End the whole doctor visit and come back when they invent a better way of getting an IV into my son. Needles are a big deal for toddlers. It's gotta be near the top of the list for things they hate most in life. Steph and I always make a point to ask for the most experienced staff member in hopes that Quinn might one day not have to get his veins picked apart a million times. The seventh attempt is the one that is usable.

There have been instances in the past where the nurses or doctors finally get an IV in him, only to have it slip out before it is used. So once the line was put in, Quinn's leg is taped to a splint, and wrapped and taped several times, rendering his foot immovable. Then it was on to the lung scan machine. He was taped to the plastic bench and slowly engulfed by the automated scanners.

He was scared pretty much the whole time, but it helped whenever mom was somehow in contact. Steph held his hands as he laid under the scanners for several minutes, and he dozed off.

Although, his awakening wasn't a very nice one.

The lung scans showed the doctors that Quinn is doing fine. The purpose behind these scans is to determine if Quinn will need his stints widened any time soon. I don't think Quinn cares much for doctor visits anymore.

In other news, I will be taking a new job with a new company after Thanksgiving (This is Dan not Steph by the way). It's the first time in my life I've actually negotiated a starting salary upward instead of just accepting an offer. For some that may sound easy, but I was proud of myself. The new job is closer to home and a huge saving on gas. The business travel I do will be shorter in duration and will not include places that my wife reads in the news about and worries. Hope life is going good for everyone.

Almost one

Not too much new on our front. Quinn continues to thrive and impress the doctors. As you can see from the ticker, Quinn is almost a year old. Wow. I looked back at the posts from this time last year. It's interesting to see how many of them mentioned that all we wanted was a healthy baby. Well, he is. A happy, healthy, active little boy. Wish granted. With the added bonus of gratitude to have this little boy in our lives. He is definitely the light of my life. I know everyone says this, but I just can't imagine life before him. I love you Quinn.

Even though he can walk now, he still likes to hold on to things so it's hard to get a walking picture. This is the closest I've come.

Quinn pumping iron at the Y friends and family night. We're trying to upkeep the mightiness.

What other time in your life can you find common household items that are larger then you are?

So, we have started our next round of RSV shots. Unfortunately this year he gets one in each leg since he's bigger than he was last year. Speaking of bigger, he is now 17lbs 9oz. I thought we would make 20lb by the time he was 1 but I guess not. That's alright. It makes it easier for me to carry him. Which I do most of the day.

Walking.....Yay!!!!

What we have here are the beginnings of walking. Dan was letting Quinn walk holding onto his fingers and noticed Quinn could walk while holding just one hand. So he suggested we see if Quinn would walk to me with out holding on to anything. And this is what we got.

Soon there will be no rest for the momma.