Two month checkup.

Quinn had her two month checkup today and everything looks great! She weighs 11 pounds 3 ounces (61st percentile), is 24.5 inches long (98th percentile!) and has a head circumference of 40.25 centimeters (85th percentile). She had to have four vaccinations today, which was not too fun, but we survived. Dr. Moshofsky briefed us on some upcoming developmental milestones and they are all very exciting! She should start smiling more, recognizing faces more readily and...sleeping longer stretches at night, aaaaaaaaaah.

Vertical tummy time.

I just HAD to post this picture - hilarious!! Quinn was a little resistant to tummy time practice so my mom propped her up on Vince's back and she bobbed around up there...maybe you had to be there, but it was seriously. So. Dang. Funny.

Steve's wobbly knees.

Mom & I took Quinn downtown this weekend to participate in the Walk to Defeat ALS in honor of our late friend Steve Sall. It was a beautiful day for a walk on the waterfront and Quinn was a hit with Steve's crowd! :) I know that being a parent was a role that Steve cherished and I think he would have been really happy that I have the opportunity to be a mom.

Ramping up.

I've been trying to capture some photos of these pouty faces since Quinn was very first born! As Grandpa Fowles would say: "Hang a bucket on that lip!" By way of quick update: Quinn is five weeks old and doing great. She is a healthy and (for the most part) happy little girl who changes every day. She is developing a lot of  neck strength and engages objects and people more intently with her eyes now, so it's fun to sit her on a knee and laugh at all of her expressions. The first question people usually ask me these days is how she is sleeping. I think Spens and I really lucked out in that department because most nights, Quinn is a great sleeper. She usually goes down between ten and eleven at night and sleeps for a four- or five- hour stretch before she gets up to eat. After that, she continues to sleep for two more three-hour shifts with feedings in between before she's up for the day. Sometimes the days are a little more difficult because her nap schedule is somewhat inconsistent, and I find it hard to get things done (such as feeding myself, haha), so I am on the lookout for a sling or front carrier that I can pop her into. 

Parenthood is sometimes challenging but even though we've only been at it for five weeks, I can already feel the rewards. I think there is something about placing your focus on meeting the needs of another person that increases your overall happiness. It's definitely a team effort and Quinn and I are so lucky that Spens is such a present, supportive father. Quinn also has lots of grandmas and grandpas who love her to death and are happy to spell mom and dad for a few minutes... :) 

Smoochin' and cuddlin'.

Quinn turned three weeks old yesterday! We pretty much spend every spare minute smoochin' and cuddlin' and spoonin' her. She is one sweet little baby.

Quinn's arrival.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow night marks two whole weeks since we checked in to the hospital to have Quinn. Everything - everything! - has changed since she got here, and in the best ways! We are kind of obsessed with our new addition. She is pretty much perfect in every way.

The story of Quinn's arrival, as remembered by her mother:

Part 1: Hospital Check-In, Labor, Labor, and More Labor
Spenser and I arrived on the Labor & Delivery floor around 5:45 p.m. for our appointment to be induced. We were directed to our room and soon thereafter nurses arrived and started hooking me up to various machines and drips (external contraction monitor, fetal heart rate monitor, IV fluids and penicillin). I had been in light labor throughout the day and everyone was very encouraged to see that I had made some progress to 2 cm dilated and about 50% effaced, which bode well for a successful vaginal delivery as planned. The nurses gave me Cervidil to get things going. Spens and I ordered egg salad sandwiches from the cafeteria and watched the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We are kind of amazed that this movie is shown to children; we both watched it multiple times during our childhoods but agree as adults that it is probably one of the creepiest films ever made.

A few hours after they gave me Cervidil, the contractions really started picking up and it was NOT a pretty sight. I am not good with pain. I am a serious pansy! Haha. The lighter contractions of early labor just felt like menstrual cramps but once they ramped up I started to feel like someone was ripping me in half at the midsection. I think I might have been able to cope better if I hadn't been hooked up to so many monitors and drips; they made it hard to move around so pretty much all I could do was sit on the edge of the bed, clutch the side rail in a white-knuckled grip and drool on myself/shake silently. Eventually a beautiful, beautiful man they called Gabe the Nurse Anesthetist came to our room with his magical epidural toolbox and made the pain virtually disappear. I pretty much wanted to kiss him on the mouth and I don't even think Spenser would have held it against me. At this point, I was dilated to 5 cm.

The next 20 hours or so passed relatively uneventfully. I slept off and on, Spenser paced the room like a caged animal and nurses and doctors periodically popped in to check progress and attempt to speed it up. I had my water broken. I had an internal contraction monitor placed (the external contraction monitor can tell you if you're having contractions, but not measure how strong they are). But no real progress; I had only dilated to 6 cm. So finally around 10 p.m. on Thursday night after 28 hours of laboring in the hospital, Dr. Fox called it and said we would be going the Cesarean route. Part of me was just relieved (yes! Get her ooooooooooooooooooout!) but part of me was disappointed. I knew that surgery would impact my participation and it would be a while before I was able to cuddle and care for my daughter.

Part II: Quinn Arrives
Right after we all agreed to proceed with the c-section, the nurses got things going and said we would proceed directly to the OR. They gave Spenser some fancy scrubs and a funny hat, and instructions on when he could enter the room and what his role would be in that setting. I was exhausted and soooo ready to get the show on the road. Also, for whatever reason the pain of contractions started to return which really put me on edge. Unfortunately, someone else on the floor needed the OR before us so we had to wait another hour and a half or so before it was our turn. It seriously felt like an eternity but what can you do?

In due time, Gabe's comrade Landon the Nurse Anesthetist showed up and administered anesthesia for the surgery. People started poking me and asking if I could feel anything; I couldn't, really. They wheeled me in to the OR, put up a curtain around my neck and started their routine. Spenser joined us. Then there was lots of tugging, tugging, tugging and then CRYING! That was the coolest moment ever. All the doctors and nurses started exclaiming "Wow! She's such a beautiful big baby!" and big she was - 9 lbs 15.6 oz, just 0.4 oz short of 10 lbs. She was born at exactly 12:00 a.m. on Friday, August 17th. I was so excited and had tears pooling in my eyes which Landon dabbed away for me because I was flat on my back and had my arms strapped down. Eventually they handed her to Spenser and he brought her over to my head. They had swaddled her and put a little cap on her head. She was incredibly calm and alert; she just laid there, moving her big dark eyes around slowly, taking it all in. I couldn't get over how perfect she looked; I was prepared to see some bruising or uterine fluid remnants but her skin was absolutely flawless and soft and her features were so beautiful. It was awesome!

Part III: Recovery, and Getting To Know Quinn
I was so anxious to hold her but it seems there are many things to attend to when a person has had major abdominal surgery. We were all temporarily wheeled (well, Quinn and I were wheeled - Spenser walked ;) back to our labor room, where the nurses started to knead my abdomen to shrink my uterus - PAIN! Eventually I got to hold and feed her for a few minutes before they wheeled us to our recovery room.

The nurses in postpartum were absolutely amazing and so incredibly helpful, but that first night was still probably one of the most difficult of our married life so far, haha. I was still hooked up to a bunch of stuff that made it difficult (or impossible, actually) to leave the bed, and in a certain amount of pain to boot. I thought pregnancy swelling was bad? Holy cow, try post-op swelling. I couldn't even bend my legs. So if Quinn woke up (which she did - a lot), Spenser either had to get her and calm her himself or at the very least get her and bring her to me...so I don't think he slept at all. We were so excited to be with her but it was a challenging situation! I was pretty anxious to leave the hospital and get into a more comfortable setting.

After we were discharged, we stayed at my mom's house for a week or so and mom, Vince and Whit were a huge help with night shifts and everything else! Spens, Quinn and I are back at our apartment now getting into our own little routine. I can't believe we got so lucky: a beautiful, healthy (a miracle in its own right) little girl surrounded by people who love and support her. This baby thing is pretty awesome! ;)

Getting acquainted at the hospital.

First bath at home!

Learning about our family's sacred Sunday afternoon nap tradition.

And practicing her many adorable facial expressions/learning how to use her eyeballs!

We LOVE you, baby girl! Welcome to our family!!

The big day.

How are we feeling at seven days overdue?

Me (the physical resemblance is striking):

Spenser:

...but also super excited, because tomorrow night we check in to Labor & Delivery at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center to HAVE OUR BABY!! My understanding is that upon arriving, I will have a dose of a med called Cervidil applied to my cervix (is this TMI? I seem to have totally lost my filter) to soften things up, then early on Thursday morning they will start administering Pitocin to get contractions going. Obviously, going into labor naturally would have been ideal but I have faith that we are in very capable hands and fully expect a good outcome. Prayers and fingers crossed that my body is receptive to the process and our little girl makes a willing exit without too much trauma! :)

{Photo sources: Here and here.}