Hospital to Home

I forgot to write about a couple of things from the hospital in the birth blog, and I wanted to document Quinn's homecoming.

Enjoy!

Explanation for this pic: So, the spinal I got for the c-section gave me a spinal headache. It happens to very few people and here is the best way to describe it: when they put the needle in my spine, the hole doesn't totally close up so spinal fluid starts to slowly leak out. That fluid is what my brain floats in and so when I started losing a little fluid, it gave me a MAJOR headache. (If you are in the medical profession, please forgive that awful description!) The issue heals itself, but it can take up to a week. There are a couple of remedies that might help: caffeine or an epidural blood patch. The picture above shows that I tried the caffeine first by drinking lots of coffee and cokes (doctor's orders) and I literally had a caffeine IV. I thought that was pretty funny since people joke about having those. (Now that I am home and sleep deprived, I could use another!) Anyway, that took the edge off the headache, but I ended up having the epidural blood patch because it hadn't gone away. They took some of my blood and put it in my back in the epidural space. The hope was that the blood would clot up the hole where spinal fluid was leaking out. It worked pretty much immediately, and I was so glad. I have never had a migraine, but I assume that's what it feels like.

First family photo.

Quinn posing with my doctor, Dr. Robert Cowan. LOVE HIM and would refer anyone to him!

Getting all buckled in to go home!

Headed home! (I think Jeremy secretly likes holding the car seat to show his muscles.) :) I need to start carrying it around more to start losing some baby weight!

 

Our sweet friends, Jill and Allison, had this sign waiting for us when we got home.

My Mom, Nannie Mae, came and stayed with us for a couple of weeks. I can't even begin to describe how much help she was! She cooked, cleaned, helped with Quinn and helped us keep our sanity when we felt helpless with a newborn. I was especially glad to have her here the first few days when I was SUPER emotional and hormonal. Quinn wasn't gaining weight like she was supposed to, and we were trying to get the hang of breastfeeding (more on that later). It's always good to have your Mom there to comfort you and tell you everything will be okay.

 

Ella wasn't sure what to think of Quinn...she's still a little scared of her.

 The first bath...she wasn't a huge fan, but she has started to like them more.

 Washing her sweet little head of black hair.

 All done...warm and cozy!

The Faces of a Growing Girl

I don't have a lot of time to write, but I wanted to post some of the many faces of Quinn. I am in love with these faces, and I feel like I need to capture them every day before she grows up too fast!

Her poor little face/eyes were so swollen when she was born.

She always had her hand like this in sonograms. Poor tired little newborn Quinn.

Snuggling with Mama in the hospital.

Little Smooshy Face headed home from the hospital!

"Seriously, enough with the photos Mom."

The face of a one week old! 

Milk drunk. :)

Biiiiig yawn!

I love looking at my Daddy.

 

I'm pretty sure this is a gassy smile.

Trying so hard to focus on Daddy's face...

Now I got it!

"I don't want to wake up and eat!"

I love her precious face when I burp her...so bright-eyed!

Two week old Baby Q face!

Our first outing (other than the doctor and lactation consultant) to BuyBuy Baby.

Sweet, content baby girl!

Quinn is Here!

Well, we have a little Jeremy girl clone on our hands! Quinn Margaret Sylestine was born on November 8 at 7:42 a.m. via a c-section. She weighed 9 lbs. 2 oz. and measured 21" long...I totally guessed it right on the money!

We are so in love with her and there's no doubt she is Jeremy's baby girl. I keep telling her I promise I am her mama even though she has none of my features (right now at least). :)

The birth was pretty amazing. On the way to the hospital, Jeremy and I prayed together and I told him it felt like it was all to good to be true. I never experienced contractions (other than Braxton Hicks), never had my water break and never had to actually go into labor. I just went to the hospital and they gave me a baby. Okay, it was a little more difficult than that (and honestly a c-section isn't ideal since it's major surgery), but it seemed odd not going to the hospital in frantic labor mode. 

Getting ready to have a baby!

SuperDad getting all prepped for surgery.

We got to the hospital at 5 a.m. and they got me all prepped for surgery. We went into the delivery room at 7:15 a.m. and it took them less than 30 minutes to get Quinn out of about a 5" incision in my lower belly. The whole thing still seems surreal, but I remember every moment. The nurse anesthetist was amazing and talked me through the entire process. She told Jeremy when to look over the curtain and she even took our camera and became our photographer after Quinn was born. I remember the minute I heard her cry, I started bawling. It's the most emotional experience in the world and I remember wanting to just touch her immediately.

 Welcome to the world Baby Q!

 Getting her footprints in the baby book...she has the longest feet and fingers.

They brought her up close to my head where I could see her and touch her before they took her to weigh her and clean her up. Jeremy was part of that whole process while I watched and the doctor put me back together.

Mama and Daddy love you so much Baby Quinn!

It seems like it all happened so fast and then we were in the recovery room where the great labor and delivery nurses took good care of me. Jeremy and Quinn went to the nursery where our families were able to see their new bundle of joy for the first time and they got her all cleaned up, gave her some shots and took some blood, and got her ready to come see her mama in recovery. The poor baby came out of the womb starving...her sucking reflex was instant. Just another crazy miracle in the whole birth process.

I was able to feed her a little in the recovery room which was good because her blood sugar was low (it shot up after that). It was nice to have some alone family time in the recovery room with just the three of us. I can't believe we are a family of three now...let the adventure begin!

After I fed her, they took me to my room and Jeremy got to go with her to the nursery again for her first bath. It's probably good I didn't see the bath since it sounds like they scrub her down with a hard brush and it's not exactly gentle.

 "Why are you doing this to me?!"

I finally got to meet up with Quinn and Jeremy in the room after that, and our families were able to come in and visit. I am so glad that most of my family was able to come in to meet Quinn on her birthday, and Jeremy's mom was able to be there as well.

 My mom...proud Nannie Mae.

Jeremy's mom...proud Granny.

My dad...proud PawPaw.

My stepdad...proud Papa D.

My grandmother, Quinn's great-grandmother...proud Mimi.

My sister...proud Auntie Em.

My brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law...proud Uncle Justin and Aunt Abby.

*My Pawpaw and Sherrie were there too, but he wasn't feeling well so they had to leave. It meant a lot to have them there though!

There's so much more I want to write about the hospital experience, feeding her (and the frustration of breastfeeding...grrrr), coming home and getting used to having a baby at home, but it will have to wait. Quinn needs to eat and I am getting used to revolving my schedule around hers...which is probably what I will do the rest of my life. :)

More later!

In One Day...

We will have a Baby Quinn! YAY!! I can't believe it's finally here and I get to meet this little wiggler inside my belly! Here's the scoop...the doctor knows Quinn is going to be a pretty big girl (they thought she was already 8.9lbs. at 36 weeks) so we expect a 10lb. baby. I really wasn't that surprised since I was a big baby, but we will see what really happens. I honestly don't think she will be that big. I'm going on record guessing she will be 9.2lbs. and 21 inches long. :) Anyway, because of her size, the doctor recommended a c-section for the safety of baby and mama. I am totally okay with that and kind of like the thought of having something scheduled. Plus, I haven't progressed at all (not dilated and she hasn't even dropped). So, on Tuesday morning we will meet our baby girl!

I keep thinking about what happens in one day. Here's what goes through my head:

In one day the mystery of what Quinn looks like will be revealed.
In one day I fully expect to feel a spiritual high of overwhelming blessings.
In one day I won't be pregnant anymore.
In one day I will be able to breath and not take two Zantac a day.
In one day I will weigh a lot less (fingers crossed).
In one day I will have an incision that will turn into a scar I will wear proudly as a mama.
In one day I will be responsible for another person's life.
In one day my love for Quinn will be so much more tangible.
In one day Jeremy and I will grow closer as a couple as we fall in love with who we created.
In one day I have to start thinking about losing weight (bleh).
In one day I can eat Mexican food again!
In one day someone will depend on me.
In one day I get to start playing dress-up w/ my little doll!
In one day selfishness goes out the window (and I am definitely okay w/ that).
In one day I get to sing to Quinn and see her reactions.
In one day I am going to have to learn how to sleep in spurts.
In one day Ella will have to get used to another "baby" in the house.
In one day we get to start making our own Molly Ann/Jeremy/Quinn traditions.
In one day baby picture-palooza begins.
In one day I have to learn how to breastfeed (and pray it goes smoothly).
In one day I will know what unconditional parent-love feels like.

There's so much more that goes through my head (like when I wake up in the middle of the night and just lie there) but I will spare you. BUT, stay tuned....Quinn will make her blog debut soon!

Pumpkin Belly

I had to take advantage of the fact that I am pregnant and HUGE around Halloween. I had some of my girlfriends come over (who wouldn't be scared away by my big belly) and paint my pregnant tummy like a jack-o-lantern.

I never expected them to get so creative, but they did a great job and we had a great time! On a side note, I looked high and low for orange face paint and the only stuff I found sounded a little scary and toxic. So, I did a little research and found a non-toxic homemade recipe and it was perfect. It's basically cold cream, corn starch, water and food coloring.

I can't wait to show Quinn these pics one day, and I can't believe next Halloween we will be dressing her up!

Prepping the belly.

 The paint.

It begins.

Getting the girly jack-o-lantern face ready!

Lovely side view.

Finishing touches.

 I feel like my belly looks a lot bigger as a pumpkin.

Thanks girls (and Baby Declan)!