What a Great Christmas

This Christmas we had both my family and Steve's family up for the festivities.  It was definitely a fun time all together to celebrate Quinn's first Christmas.  Santa definitely found the little miss!

Hope that everyone is having a great holiday season!

Quinn's loot from Santa

Having fun in her jump jump

How Far We've Come!

Last night when I was sitting up and feeding Quinn, I was thinking about over the past 3 1/2 months and realized how far we've come!

Here are some of my remembrances:
- how we used to have to wake her up to get her to eat
- how she used to have a hard time latching when my milk came in and we had to feed her off of our finger with a syringe
- how Steve used to have to get u[ every time to help me feed her and we watched the entire series of "Friends" in the process
- figuring out that we had to wait a couple of minutes after she pooped to make sure she was done and thus save ourselves a big mess and a few diapers!
- remembering the night in the hospital that she cried and cried and cried and it freaked me out so we paged the nurse and everything was fine...she was just fussing!
- her first night in the hospital when we were able to calm her down by just saying "SHHHHHH" really loud...not anymore!
- going through all of her casts and now her brace and how well she's done
- how I used to have to wake up 3-4 times to feed her, and now it's usually just once

- all of her firsts - first smile, first laugh, first time we could tell she knew who we were, first time she rolled over...

Those are just a few of a million more that are yet to come!  How I love my little peanut!! xoxo

Merry Christmas!!!!

 

Rolling In the Deep!

Quinn and I have been to NS visiting since Wednesday and she is full of firsts!!! She started to deliberately reach out to play with toys on the toy bars of her vibrating chair and playmat...and then tonight she rolled over onto her tummy!  I'm only counting the rolling over slightly since she's doing it with her boots/bar on and it does help her go over, but still!  She's been close for a while with how much she can kick her legs up with the bar, and tonight she finally managed to figure out what to do with that darn arm that was getting in the way! :)  So proud!

First Laugh!!!

Quinn laughed for the first time yesterday...and she did it only once!  The other day we discovered that she would respond with a smile and a little noise whenever I made a funny sound.  Linds decided that she was like an engine that wouldn't turn over...just the warm up to a laugh!  Then yesterday when we were at the bridal salon waiting to see Linds in her GORGEOUS gown, I made the funny noise and then Quinn actually laughed!!!  We tried really hard to reproduce the event, but to no avail.  Maybe today it will happen again - Steve's upset that he wasn't there to witness it, so I'm hoping she'll perform for him! :)

Our daughter the Poopsmith

Lately Quinn seems to find it fun to poop outside of her diaper, which is obviously not so fun for us. I'm actually still in the process of "shouting out" lovely stains out of a pair of her leggings...she likes to explode out of her diapers when wearing light colours. At the risk of too much information, here's what happened this morning - I was holdin Quinner up to my chest for some snuggles while Steve was out on an errand. Then I hear her warning grunt and literally watch as the fabric of her PJs flutters with the force of a massive, well, shart for lack of a better word. I did an initial butt check for any escapees, and found none. That is, none at that moment, for as I was looking at the back of her PJs, I see an orange spread (see? TMI!) halfway up her back and it kept spreading. Steve came home at that moment and through my laughter, we got the little Poopsmith in the tub. Never a dull moment!

No more sleeping through the night

Unfortunately, Quinn seems to have reserved all of her through the nights sleeps for Phoenix. So far the closest that we've gotten was 6.5 hours since we've been back. But I really can't complain too much to have that long of a stretch! I'm hoping to get back to the whole night soon. We moved her bassinet out of our room now and brought in the playpen for her to sleep in since she slept in her Phoenix one so well. She was starting to outgrow the bassinet anyway - her boots and bars give her some traction when she moves around and often I'd find her all smushed up against the top of it! Here's hoping that more progress gets made on the sleeping front!

Quinn's First Vacation

We survived!!!  Mainly thanks to my grandmother who helped me through the airports and planes...thank goodness!  It was great to have an extra pair of hands.  Here's how our week went:

Saturday, Nov. 12

Good girl on the plane

We headed out to the airport super early in the morning.  We had to connect through Calgary, which was nice because we got to visit with my cousin Adam and his girlfriend, Laura.  It was a 5 hour connection, which made for a very long travel day.  It was during this layover that Quinn actually grabbed and held an object (her rattle) for an extended period of time, waving it around everywhere.  Quinn was great on the flights though!  Her ears didn't bother her at all.  I nursed her sometimes during takeoffs and landings just to make sure though!  We finally got to Phoenix at dinner time...she was definitely cranky though!  But then a miracle happened...Quinn slept through the night for the very first time!!! It was unbelievable!


Sunday, Nov. 13
We headed out to the outlets this day for some shopping.  I discovered this fantastic Mother's Lounge there for nursing...so great!  As I've said before, more malls need to have things like this to make nursing more comfortable.  Quinn slept through the night that night too!

My little outlet shopper

Monday, Nov. 14
After her fantastic night's sleep, we went to Kierland Common, which is my favourite shopping place to go to.  Quinn actually slept a lot...through the entire shopping trip and lunch too!  Needless to say, I didn't think that she'd sleep through the night that night...but she surprised me!


Tuesday, Nov. 15
This was the day that our family friend Tracy came over to take some pictures of Quinner.  I promise to post these as soon as I get them.  We headed to Olive Garden for dinner that night...they had these ingenius "sling" stands that you can put the bucket seat in so that they're stable and not having to sit on the floor.  Such a great idea!

Wednesday, Nov. 16

Swimming with Nanny

Quinn's first day in a swimming pool!  Since she loves the bath, I figured that she'd like the pool.  She didn't splash around like she does in the bath, but she didn't cry either...so I think her first "swim" was a success!


Thursday, Nov. 17
Quinn's first visit to a country club - the gorgeous Blackstone!!!

Cool girl

My beauty

Friday, Nov. 18

Hanging out in Toronto airport

Our last day in Phoenix. :(  We spent the day just hanging out, doing some shopping at Target and Kohl's (the prices/sales blow my mind!), and making sure that Nanny and Pepere had a lot of snuggle time.  Then it was off on the red eye back home to Daddy! :)

Abs of Steel

Quinn has recently discovered that she can kick her legs up high in the air.  It's quite hilarious when she is in her bassinet and I can see her little legs flying up in the air over the side. :)  Caught some of the antics on video today...

"Craughing"

We're waiting for the magical day when Quinn starts laughing...so far she seems like she's getting so close!  She gives these huge gummy smiles and makes sweet cooing noises that are super close to laughing (I think).  Tonight Steve was making funny noises to Quinn and she was making the close-to-laughing noises that then seemed to seamlessly go into crying/whimpering. Thus "craughing" was born.

Hoping that she starts laughing this week so that Steve can enjoy it in person before Quinn and I head to Arizona on the weekend!

Back Up to 6 Hours

Despite a small hiccup in Quinn's sleeping time over the weekend, she now has decided to sleep 6 straight hours in her bassinet again!  We have one of those clocks that projects the time on the ceiling and when I heard her fussing, I was praying that the clock said at least 2 or 3am...meaning that she had slept 3-4 hours...and when I saw that the clock said 5:04 I was ecstatic!  I had put her in her bassinet at 11pm after she had fallen asleep on my chest since 10pm...so I was so happy that she had slept so long!  I'm finding a similar pattern in her sleep as my friend Carole did with her son Alex - when Quinn sleeps a lot during the day, she doesn't sleep as long a stretch at night.  And during the day when she's sleeping, I'm trying to put her down in her playpen, in her Roo, or on a blanket, so that she doesn't sleep as long and gets used to sleeping on her own.  Today though she slept for 3 hours on and off in her carseat when I was at lunch...so we'll have to see how tonight goes!

2 Month Shots

Quinn survived her 2 month shots today...Mama did too! :)  Quinn weighed in at 10 lbs 6.5 oz - which is right on the line (aka 50th percentile).  She was also in the mean (50th percentile) for length and head circumference.  I don't know how accurate her weight was since she had a monstrous #2 the instant we got home!  Quinn wasn't too fussy really after the shots, which was a bonus!  Although she didn't really nap too well today, so we're hoping for a good night's sleep!

Fingers crossed!

Happy Hallowe'en!!!

  

We had Quinn's photo done at Superstore for their "Pumpkin Day"...too much fun!!! I was really worried that she'd be crying in the picture, but she was good as gold!! She was actually awake for a while before the photographer came, but then fell asleep (obviously as she's sleeping in the picture).  To be honest I was glad that she fell asleep since she sometimes will fuss if she's put down when she's close to asleep.

I've also decided to be shameless and take Quinn door-to-door tomorrow night as she's just too cute to not show off!  We're not sure how many kids we'll have since this is our first Hallowe'en in the house, but I guess we'll see tomorrow night!

Up to 6 Hours Now!

Quinn is starting to sleep longer stretches in the night now - last night was 6 hours, and the two nights before were both 5 hour stretches.  Last night's was also then followed by a 3 hour stretch.  It's amazing how much better I feel having 6 uninterrupted hours of sleep!  I don't know how tonight will go though, as Quinn slept quite a bit this afternoon, but I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Strollercise was also really fun today!  All the little ones had their costumes on and we got a few great pictures.  Quinn's costume is a bunting bag style one though, so we couldn't put that one on today since she wouldn't be able to be in her carseat, so instead she wore her fuzzy bear coat and her "Boo" Hallowe'en hat.

The little ones with Jules the instructor

Now with the mommies!

Bear on a skateboard and a little lion

Proud mamas!

Dancing

Getting Back Into Shape

I've started the long task of getting back into shape and losing the baby weight...wow that's easier said then done!  Carole and I are going to Strollercize when we can (i.e. when it's not raining) and that's a great way to start - we can do walking, running, or intervals of both.  I'm attempting to do the intervals as much as I can on the 4.2 km route.  I've also recently started going back to the gym and doing some classes.  The great thing about my gym is that they have childcare there for a very reasonable price.  You drop off your little one (in our case, I have to call them 24 hours in advance since Quinn is under 18 months and they need to make sure someone is there to watch her) and go do your workout.  They don't change diapers though, and if your little one gets too fussy, they come find you in your class/gym.  Totally reasonable I think!  I checked out the playroom and they have a lot of staff watching the kiddies and they know the little ones by name.  I'm trying to go to classes in the evening so that Quinn and Steve can have some alone time, but that unfortunately cuts into my time with Steve...but we'll figure something out I'm sure!  I'm hoping to get to classes 3-4 times a week in addition to the Strollercize.  I'd much rather get back into my pre-pregnancy clothes versus buying all new stuff!  Much cheaper!

I've also set a goal for weight loss before going shopping...since I love shopping (and so does Quinn!) I think that it's a realistic goal to have.  And definitely some motivation!  Otherwise I'd be buying Quinn clothes all the time...even more than I already am!

Going shopping at Rideau Ctr

A Sweet Video

Quinn enjoying her 1 hour break from her boots and bars...

Nighttime Sleeping is Getting Better!

Quinn still isn't sleeping completely through the night, but we're making progress! She finally is able to sleep in her bassinet without having to be completely to sleep before I put her down. And she's sleeping longer stretches in it too - 4 hrs straight two nights ago and 4.5 hours straight last night. This is also on the heels of 4-5 hour sleeps of tummy time/sleeping on our bed while we watch TV. It'll be awesome when those two sleep stretches aren't interrupted with a feeding! Although feelings don't take nearly as long now...only 10-20 minutes at night.

Quinn is also an excellent shopper! She sleeps most of the time when we're parading around in her stroller through all the stores and even feeds well in the middle of noisy food courts.

Quinn's a Shopping Machine!

Lately Quinn and I have been filling our days with shopping and random errands.  We went to Place D'Orleans today and discovered their "Place Bebe"...what a great place!! It's a room that has a washroom large enough for a stroller, 3 change tables, and 5 "cubicles" that have glider chairs in them for feeding.  We just plopped down and nursed after lunch...so great!

Quinn's also smiling a lot more now and making cute noises every so often too.  It's so amazing to see her smile at me!

Big smiles!

I'm a "true Mama" now with my family stickers on my car. :)

No More Cast!!!

Quinn got her last cast off on October 14th and was happy as a clam the whole time at the hospital!  Dr Kontio was very pleased with how her foot looked and we have to go back to see him 6 weeks from that appointment.  We then had to go to Nepean to pick up her boots and bars.  It was there that we found out that Ontario has an "Assistive Devices Program" that pays for 75% of the brace, so we were thrilled about that!  It will always be applied even when we have to get her bigger boots as she grows.  They told us that we were to just put the boots on her for the first 2 days, then add the bar.  We always are to keep her right foot at 45-degrees, and her left foot started at 45-degrees.  Then every 2 days we adjust her left foot 5-degrees until we get to 60-degrees.  Today we started at 55-degrees, so pretty soon we'll have her all the way adjusted!  She actually hasn't minded the boots or bar that much when it's on....just really doesn't like it when we have to hold her foot to put the shoes on.

The only annoyance with the boots/bars is that every time we put her into her carseat, we have to take the bar half off to loop her legs through...and obviously the same goes for taking her out of the seat, so it makes things a little bit more of an ordeal!  But we're getting used to it!

Last picture with her cast

Another "new" foot shot

Look at her "new" foot!

Her boots

Her boots with the bar

Just a point of reference for what her foot was like before treatment

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Quinn survived her first Thanksgiving dinner yesterday with her friends Brooke and Teagan...and the parents too of course!  It's so fun to have these holiday milestones with her even though she won't remember!  She behaved well so that I could make the turkey, cheesecake, and dressing...and only started crying near the end of the meal from her swing.

Ryan and Shauna also took some pictures of the 3 girls together that I can't wait to see!  Teagan is infatuated with Quinn (calls her "Baby Kin", but usually the words are run together and more like "Babykin") and it's so cute!  She saw that we could make Quinn smile by playing with her nose, so she did the same thing! So cute!

The second turkey I've ever made...so delicious!

Turtle Cheesecake...from scratch!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Another Video

This one was taken this morning of the little monkey smiling. :)

A Couple of Videos From the Past 5 and a Half Weeks

Little monkey during her first week having a hiccuping fit...she still gets these fits and it's still just as cute!

These Boots are Made for Walking

Today was a pretty gorgeous day minus the kind of cold temperature in the morning - so Quinn and I took advantage of it and went for two 1 hour walks with some friends and their kids!  This morning we took a burn around Carelton with Shauna (with Teagan and Brooke) and Vanessa (with Lydia).  After that walk we headed to Shauna's to relax and have some lunch before heading toward home to go for a walk with Carole (with Alex) and Sue (with Anne).  Great day with friends and Quinn was pretty well behaved except for needing a mid-walk-park-bench-poopy-diaper-change.  I'm so glad that she likes to go for walks and be in the car and that she can sleep in her carrier!

All bundled up

Her warm suits are still all too big, so this is the closest we can get!

Princess and the Pea

Turns out that Quinn is really what fair tales are made of! Our theory about her not liking to sleep on harder surfaces was bang on! Since we added a little more padding with a thicker blanket to her bassinet, she has been sleeping in it at night now! What a munchkin.

Yesterday Quinn went to her first movie - and her "first date" with Baby Alex. He wore jeans for the occasion and Quinn wore sweats haha. Both of them slept through the movie with the exception of a feeding. Was a great experience though! There were a lot of moms (and some dads) there with their babies. The theatre had tables set up with diapers, wipes, creams, and change pads, and there was "stroller parking" along the outside wall of the individual theater. Too cool!

After the movie we headed to Auntie Linds' to meet up for a walk. Quinn decided that she was a little hungry again, so I fed her. Then when it was time to burp her, she let out a burp...but I was followed by her projectile spitting up the entire contents of her little belly all over my lap and the couch. Poor monkey! But then she calmed down instantly and got dopey eyed to fall asleep. I guess even as a baby the pattern of "drink too much-throw up-instantly sleep" can start!

1 Month Check-Up A Success!

Today Quinn had her 1 month check-up with her doctor and passed with flying colours!  She weighs 9 lbs 3 oz (which is average for her age) and measures 22" (which is in the 75th percentile!!).  She also didn't pee on the scale this time, so that was a bonus!  The doctor was running a touch late and it was around Quinn's feeding time, so it was then that I really realized how convenient nursing is!  We were in the exam room, so it was even easier because I didn't need to use my "Hooter Hider" (or "Udder Cover").  The greatest inventions ever - it's really something that kind of looks like an apron.  It has an adjustable strap for around your neck and a plastic strip along the top edge so that you can actually see what you're doing and have some eye contact with your baby!  Greatest inventions ever for nursing in public!

Yay for playpen naps!

The challenge continues for getting Quinn to sleep in her bassinet.  The last couple of nights she has only managed to lay in it for about 45 minutes before crying...so I'm trying to get her to lay on her back to sleep in any of her contraptions...right now she's asleep in the playpen even though she wasn't completely zonked out before laying down.  Success on that front!  I think that she feels the bassinet is too hard for her, so we've tried to cushion it a little bit since she sleeps well in her swing, playpen, in the mamaroo and on a blanket on the couch next to us.  Since all those things are cushier, that's the conclusion that I've come to!

Rainy Days and Mondays

It seems that all it is doing here lately is raining! Which doesn't help so much when you want to use walking as a way to lose the baby weight and the weather is rapidly turning colder...if I wasn't feeling so lazy today, I'd pack Quinn in the car and go for a walk around the mall or something. But, I've decided to have a lazy day in with the Munchkin.

Yesterday was a fun but busy day! First, Quinn and I went to our friend Shauna's house for "Cupcake Sunday". Basically we organized an outing for all the moms and babies to get to know each other while making delicious treats! It all seemed to go quite well - there were a total of 7 little ones (ages 1 month to almost 3 years old) and 5 moms there. Quinn was pretty well behaved...she wanted to stay up the whole time and be a part of it all! After cupcakes, we picked Steve up from squash and went to Kent and Erin's for a delicious (and this time water-breaking-free) dinner. Can't complain!

Today we're expecting a visit this afternoon from another one of our friends who has yet to meet our Quinn...the only thing on the to-do list is to shower before she gets here!

I Think I Can Do This!!!

Today was a great day!!  Quinn had a great night last night with feedings (no nipple shield!) and sleeping (in her bassinet!).  Steve and I have come up with a routine of sorts for the evenings - I usually take a nap after feeding Quinn around 9-10pm until her next feeding, which is usually around 12-1am.  When I'm napping, Steve will be holding her getting some snuggle/nap time in and when she wakes for her 12-1am feeding, he passes her off to me and heads up to bed.  I usually then feed Quinn while watching a movie or TV until she's dopey for sleep.  Then we head upstairs (where Steve has left the lamp on) and I get ready for bed after putting Quinn down.  Sometimes she'll go right to sleep, but sometimes she needs a little rock in the glider, or just to be walked around before she'll go to sleep.  Sometimes she needs a "top up" feeding before she'll get to sleep.  I like this routine because then I only really have 1 feeding in the night to really do on my own (around 3-4am) before it's the morning and Steve's getting ready for work for the 6-7am feeding and can help me with diapers, etc.  On the weekends, the routine also includes Steve cuddling Quinn after the 6-7am feeding so that I can get some more sleep.  During the week Quinn and I have some cuddle time after that feeding!

My sister came over today to hang out for a bit before she headed to work, which was nice to have company.  Plus someone else to change some diapers too!  Right after lunch time we headed out for some errands - UPS store to pick up part of Quinn's early Christmas present from Nanny and Pepere, Canada Post to pick-up Quinn's passport (Arizona here we come!), then to "Forbidden Place" to print off some pictures for Steve's office and for our photo album.  Quinn was great the whole time and we managed to squeeze it all in between feedings.  When we got back it was time for Quinn to eat and again we didn't have to use a nipple shield!!!

Here's hoping tonight is just as great!

Sleeping with her mouth wide open

She usually ends up on her side when sleeping on the bed...I think her cast weighs her down

Quinn's Gained Almost a Full Pound!

Today was our second to last visit with Grace...I'm going to be so sad when it's all over! :(  When she weighed Quinn today, she weighed 8 lbs 8.5 oz...so she's almost gained a full pound from her birth weight.  There obviously is a bit of a discrepancy due to her cast, but the plaster guys at CHEO said that it wouldn't be too much of a difference.

Today's going better as well for the "bait and switch" with nursing too.  She even latched well and fed when we were at the midwife office!

Here's hoping for more progress on the nursing front over the next few days!

Quinn's 4 Weeks Old Today!

It's so hard to believe that it was 4 weeks ago we welcomed Quinn Addison into the world!  So much has happened since then!

Today was actually the first day that I was on my own with Quinn after you take away Steve's time on leave and family visits.  It was a pretty uneventful day...minus Quinn not wanted to stop eating for 4 hours (off and on, mind you) this afternoon and me being so overtired, but what can ya do!  Quinn and I went to St. Laurent mall to return something to Babies R Us and strolled around there for a bit since it's still quite warm out.  This outing was followed by the marathon feeding.

Speaking of feedings, I'm trying to "bait and switch" Quinn from using the nipple shield to shelving the shield.  So far it's working about 20% of the time that she'll latch without the shield...which I actually enjoy more to be honest since she seems to feed more efficiently when she doesn't use the shield.  Plus she's less of a messy eater without the shield!  I have a goal in mind for us to no longer need to use the shield and that's for when we head to Arizona in November...so that gives us about a month and a half to try to ditch the shield!

Quinn's also moved out of newborn clothes (most of them anyway) and is into 0-3 month clothes.  It's actually a good thing that she has so many clothes since some of the 0-3 clothes are more on the small side then there are some on the larger size.  Part of the reason why we had to go to 0-3 month sleepers was due to her cast since this one is a little bit bigger due to the plaster cast underneath.  I'm slightly sad that she's out of newborn clothes even though she's still so tiny!  Some of her newborn dresses still fit though!  She's also moving out of the newborn diapers.

Steve's brother Jordan (aka Unkie Jord) was up to visit over the weekend.  It was so great to have him here to visit and to meet Quinn...or as he calls her, Quinner!  Quinn's definitely a much loved little girl!

Heading to Steve's work's Open House

Going shopping at Auntie Linds' store!

Wearing her "bean" onesie

Sleeping like an angel next to Mama

Quinn's Last Cast

Today was the day for Quinn to get her last cast on.  She also had to have a tenotomy to snip her Achilles tendon so that she can move her ankle in full range.  Dr. Kontio explained all the cries that she'd have to us before he started.  We were actually allowed to stay in the room during the procedure - apparently most of the time the ortho doctors don't allow the parents to stay.  I definitely didn't want to leave little Quinn's side!  Her cries were so gut-wrenching though...made me cry and the resident rubbed my back. :P  But Quinn made it through everything with flying colours!  Dr. Kontio also said that she was one of the younger patients to have the tenotomy since usually the kids have to have more weeks of casting before the tenotomy.  She's only a little fussier than normal today (because normally she's not too fussy!), but things are going OK!

Sleeping like an angel on the way home from CHEO

Family's Back in Town!

Today actually was Steve's first day back at work since Quinn was born...but I didn't have to be home alone!  My Mom, Nana, and Grampy all came to visit (they got here last night), so there have been lots of hands to help around the house!  Which is amazing...since the days have been going by so quickly and I really don't get much accomplished despite my best intentions!  Just having the help with cooking and cleaning...and having someone to hold Quinn so that I can have a shower and spend time looking half decent...is great!

I actually was able to go have a massage today while leaving Quinn home with her Nanny and great-grandparents.  The massage was definitely needed and a nice getaway, although I missed Quinn the whole time.

Looking forward to our "Meet and Greet" with Quinn tomorrow!!!

Steve's Getting Ready to Go Back to Work...

So Steve's getting ready to go back to work tomorrow...I'm not exactly looking forward to that because I've loved having him home with me and Quinn!  I keep thinking about all the things that are easier with 2 people and 2 sets of hands and wondering how I'll be able to do it on my own!  I guess I'll have to just be more into putting Quinn into her swing!

Quinn has her 2nd cast on to correct her foot.  The doctor was very pleased with the progress that she made with the 1st cast, so she'll only need to have one more cast put on!  She also has to have her Achilles tendon released so that she can move her foot better - it's only a minor incision for this though.  After she's done with the casts, then she'll be put into a brace that she'll wear 23 hours a day for 2-3 months and then only for nighttime and naps until she's 2-3 years old.

Wish me luck for tomorrow!

Marathon Feeder on our Hands!

I don't know if Quinn is going through a growth spurt or what...but the last 24 hours have included marathon 3 hour nursing sessions!  She'll eat, then fall asleep, but as soon as I move her to cuddle or pass her to someone else to cuddle, she wakes up and starts rooting and then eats again!  It's crazy!  All of this nursing is making me even more hungry than usual and more thirsty than usual.  I honestly don't know where the little piggy is putting it all because she's still so tiny!  Steve has to keep bringing me food that I sit propped up on the nursing pillow (I'm good at balancing bowls of soup and cereal!) and eat across Quinn...I'm surprised she's not full of crumbs!!!

Needless to say, I'm hoping these crazy feeding sessions don't last too long...they're exhausting!

Baby Passport Photos Are Ridiculous

Quinn and I are going to be going to Arizona in November for a week and so the little miss needs to have a passport.  Fair enough, I get it...but how the hell are you supposed to have a 2 week old behave well enough for the photo requirements?  Why do they need to have a photo when they're this young anyway?  Ontario health cards for babies don't have to have photos on them.  The requirements for baby/child photos are for the "child to have a neutral expression (no smiling or frowning) with the eyes open and mouth closed...no hands are to be seen in the photo".  OK...so how is Quinn supposed to magically obtain head and neck control so that she can hold her head straight without our help?!?  We took her to Wal-Mart (aka the "Forbidden Place") to get her photo taken and every time her face looked perfect, you could see the edge of one of mine or Steve's fingers near her neck to hold her up.  Quinn finally had enough of trying to sit pretty and we had to give up.  We did get a picture out of it, but we're not expecting the office to accept it (her colouring looks a little washed out and her tongue is sticking out).  I'm going to blow a gasket at the office next week if they don't take it!

Other than this fiasco, it's been getting a little bit easier still!  We were able to have lunch at Boston Pizza and Quinn slept through the whole thing.  Tonight we're attempting a sponge bath for her (we can't submerse her in a bath because of her cast) after the next feeding, so we'll see how that goes.  We've been trying to get this bath done for a few days now but keep running out of time!  Fingers crossed she doesn't hate it too much...we really need to get the dried milk out of her hair...she's a messy eater!

Mama's turn for snuggles...best nap ever!

Getting the Hang of Things

We went to see Grace for Quinn's 2 week checkup this morning - she weighed in at 7 lbs 13 oz...but we know that this is a little skewed because of her cast, but Grace was very happy with her weight!  She said that Quinn should be up to her birth weight by 3 weeks and she's already done this by 2 weeks!  Even though she's not technically 2 weeks until tomorrow.

After our appointment we took Quinn to my work to meet the rest of the staff.  Everyone was so happy to see us and it was so great to show her off!  We also picked up our gift from our friends out west...just need to put it together tonight!  It's called a Mamaroo and is a new type of baby chair. Can't wait to try it out!  Quinn really likes her swing, so the new chair/swing should work really well!  I had her in her swing this afternoon and made some brownies...felt like a regular stay-at-home mom! :)

Having a little snooze in her playpen

We're both starting to pick up on Quinn's little cues and things now too.  So we're definitely getting to know our little daughter!  These cues are especially useful surrounding nursing which is making that so much easier.  Here's hoping it continues!

Nursing Success!!!

Yesterday we decided that we would go to a breastfeeding drop-in to get some more insight into nursing.  Things had been going quite well throughout Friday until we went to get her cast put on.  The ortho guys said that we might have a bit of a harder night that night and boy did we ever!  Quinn didn't feed that well (we had to use a syringe) and that continued through to the morning.  So we went to the drop-in...and the lady who was there didn't really shed too much new light on the situation, but did reassure me that nursing can take a few weeks to really get going.  Then when we got home and it was time to feed Quinn again it was like a little light bulb had gone off in her head - she did it!  Now it's been 36 hours of nursing without having to use the syringe/feeding tube rig we had.  Such a difference!  I think that we finally figured out how to get Quinn in a comfy position that she likes and also she's starting to give more cues about when she's hungry.  Before we used to have to wake her up, strip her naked to wake her up, etc., in order to get her to eat every 3 hours.  Now we seem to be on a better schedule and she's waking herself up which is so much easier - especially because I can nurse her without having to strip her naked and re-dress her afterward.

I've come to discover that nursing is like crack...such a relaxing experience now! :)

Quinn Meets Alexandre!

Yesterday Darcy and Carole came over to visit and brought Quinn's "boyfriend" Alexandre to meet her!  Alex was born a week before Quinn, so we thought it would be kind of fun if we took pictures of the two of them together once a month to see their sizes relative to each other.  They were both good as gold for the picture and it was great to see some friends as well!

And to all of our other friends who want to come visit, we promise we'll be all set soon! :)

Lactation Consultants and Clubfoot

To refer to an e-mail from my friend Sue - you'd think that since women have been nursing for thousands of years that it would be more instinctual and easier!  I really did think that nursing was going to be easier.  Not that I thought that it would be a complete walk in the park, but I did think it would be slightly easier than it has been.  I guess that I had only ever seen people nursing their 4-5 month olds with no trouble and figuring that it was always like that.  How wrong I was!  I absolutely love nursing when it works...but it has been frustrating sometimes and I can see how some people can't handle the frustration.  Luckily I'm determined and have Steve for support and my family for support too.  We had a lactation consultant come to visit us yesterday to help us along this path.  She was fantastic!!!  It was great to have someone else's opinion, especially someone who specializes in breastfeeding.  She explained and showed proper latching and also showed me how you don't have to hold the baby in a perfect position - the baby will find their comfortable leg/body position.  So right now I'm not using my nursing pillow, but probably will down the road, especially for some elbow support since I'm still a little awkward.

I consider us very lucky to be living in a city since I've been having these issues surrounding nursing.  First, our midwife was able to help us when all my milk came in and we're lucky to have access to midwifery care here in Ottawa.  Second, we were able to rent a pump from Shoppers Home Health Care for a great price and it's hospital grade.  Third, we were able to have a lactation consultant come and do a home visit.  Fourth, there are breastfeeding drop-ins all around the city from Monday-Saturday that are free of charge, you just have to get there early.  We're thinking about going to one tomorrow morning because I feel like the more support and encouragement that we can get in this process, the better!

Today we went to CHEO for an ortho consult about Quinn's left foot.  From 18 weeks along in the pregnancy we were told that the ultrasound showed a clubfoot appearance.  Actually, they originally thought that both feet were affected so we had a follow-up at 21 weeks and this ultrasound showed that it was only the left foot that was affected.  We actually had 7 ultrasounds total throughout the pregnancy - 4 extra ones after the 18 week ultrasound - to evaluate her foot...that's a whole other story!  Anyway, there is no way to determine severity on ultrasound - we just had to wait until she was born for this assessment.  So when she was born, she was assessed by our midwife and also by a pediatrician at the Montfort.  The pediatrician said that she believed that it was only mild and would refer us to CHEO (the children's hospital in Ottawa) for ortho.  Today was this appointment and the ortho doctor confirmed that it was only a mild case of clubfoot - her foot is actually quite flexible and can be maneuvered almost back to the proper position.  Because of this, the doctor recommended a soft fiberglass cast to start since it's easier to deal with than plaster.  The method of treatment is called the Ponsetti method - it's a series of serial casts to correct the foot.  We're going to be taking Quinn every week for up to 8 weeks to CHEO to get a new cast put on.  I'm hoping that they'll let us keep the casts so we can see the progression!  Quinn handled the cast a lot better than I did watching her get it put on!

Starting to Get Used to Things...

Yesterday marked Quinn's 1 week birthday and also her first doctor's appointment.  She just loves the car!  Out like a light in 2 seconds flat.  I was nervous about the doctor's appointment because Quinn's feeding schedule has been all over the map lately, but things went well!  She peed on the scale when getting weighed though...but to be fair, Steve and I did warn the nurse that she probably would!  We just have to take Quinn back in a month for her 1 month check-up.

Mom and Roger left this morning to get back home to NS - they were such a huge help when they were here with the cooking and cleaning.  I know that they'll miss Quinn and so do her Nana and Papa!  Good thing that someone came up with Skype!

Something that I've come to discover is that nursing can really be a 2 person job...at least in the first few days/weeks.  Quinn sleeps so well in between feedings that we always are having to wake her up to feed her...and even then she likes to fall asleep while being fed, which can make the feedings last for a very long time.  Or she'll decide to have a pee or poop in the middle of feeding, so then changing her adds to how long the feedings are.  I also had some issues starting on Sunday when my milk came in that we're still working on resolving.  Our midwife, Grace, was a huge help for this and we're also going to seek the advice of a lactation consultant to make sure that we're doing everything that we can to make her feedings go better.  The last 12 hours have been much better, but we still have a ways to go.  I keep telling myself that it's only been a week...but when you calculate the fact that 7 days = roughly 60 feedings, it seems like longer than a week!

Everything else is going great though - she's an excellent sleeper, so even though the feedings can take an hour to an hour and a half to get through, she sleeps well until the next feeding in her bassinet so Steve and I can actually get some rest.

Midwives are Amazing

Today was our last home visit with our midwife, Grace.  We still will be seeing her for the first 6 weeks of Quinn's little life but our other visits will be at her office.  Today's visit was great for Quinn as she's gaining weight and her vitals are all perfect!  Today's visit ended up being more of a day-long visit though so that Grace could help me with nursing.  Her help was absolutely invaluable! Plus she called to check on me tonight and is going to check in again in the morning as well.  She's been available by page for any nursing questions as well night or day.  Which when you're stressing about it is an amazing thing to have to be able to ask someone!

Midwives are worth their weight in gold! Not only for the visits leading up to the birth - you see them on the same schedule as you would see an OB and they do all the same tests as an OB, and not only for the birth - you have 2 midwives present for the birth, your primary takes care of you and delivers the baby and the second midwife is there for the baby to do the newborn assessment, but for the 6 weeks post-birth care which is inclusive of nursing.  Having Grace come to the house for the first few days is also great since it's been taking a while to really be able to get up and move around well.  Needless to say I'm going to be really sad when all of our visits are over, but I know that Steve and I will always use a midwife for any other children that we have!  The experience has been so personal.  I really like the fact that you know who will be there at the birth of your baby and that the person knows you really well.

I find it really unfortunate that midwivery care isn't widely accepted or that funding is cut.  It's truly a shame that not all mothers (and fathers) are able to experience the care of a midwife - at least to have the option between midwifery or OB care.

Ups and Downs

Today marks Quinn's 5th day!  Things are going pretty well all around.  Yesterday was  great day for feedings (every 3 hours like a champ!) and I actually got to get out of the house for an hour to get some things.  Although I missed Quinn like crazy when I was gone!

We had our friends Kent and Erin over for a visit yesterday.  Seems fitting that they were the first ones to come to visit us since Quinn tried to make an appearance at their house last Sunday (i.e. we were at their house when my water broke!).  I love showing her off - she's just too cute!

Today is our 5 day visit with our midwife, which is our last home visit unless we need her to help us with something else.  Right now she's helping us with nursing as Quinn is just too good at it that she's not super hungry when she should be and I look like I'm growing a watermelon patch!  Quinn was also weighed today and is up to 7 lbs 6 oz!  So she's gained some weight from the day 3 visit - Grace said half an ounce a day is great.  She also reminded us that Quinn weighed probably a bit more than normal at birth due to the fact that I had been on IV fluids for 24 hours before she was born.

Hopefully the rest of today goes well with nursing! Keep your fingers and toes crossed!

Quinn's 3rd Day

Today was definitely a bit of a better day rest-wise.  Grace suggested that since we have so much family up visiting that after I feed Quinn that we should hand her off to the grandparents to snuggle and Steve and I get some sleep.  What a fantastic idea!!! I blame the sleep deprivation on us not thinking of that earlier.  Needless to say, both Steve and I got some amazing sleep in - when you have a newborn, 2 hours = amazing sleep!

Things are getting better in the nursing department as well.  The last 2 nights were really tough, but both Quinn and I seem to be getting the hang of it now.

Next task is getting the little miss to sleep in her bassinet a bit more!

Up to Today!

Quinn is just amazing.  I'm so in love with her every time I look at her and miss her when I'm sleeping.  The sleeping thing is a little rare at the moment, but that's the beauty of having family here to help!

We had to stay in the hospital until September 1st so that the hospital staff could monitor Quinn for any signs of infection since my water had broken 48 hours before she was born.  Her vitals were always perfect though, so no infection!  Also, they wanted to check to make sure that she wasn't going to become jaundiced and she passed that test with flying colours as well!  I was super anxious to get home from the hospital though, so when we finally got word that we could leave I pretty much jumped out of bed and flew around the room to get packed up to go!

Bringing her home was so great - I'm so much more comfortable being home and around my own things and in my own bed.  Steve has been absolutely amazing!  Whether it's changing diapers, helping settle her down, helping me feed her, getting me food/water, he's doing it all!  He was also amazing in the hospital that I definitely couldn't have gotten through any of it without him.  He's such an amazing dad!

Grace came by today for the day 3 visit and weighed Quinn - she weighed 7 lbs 4 oz today which is great!  She's a very efficient feeder and now I'm just waiting for my milk to come in.  Quinn's not so patient with this though!  So far Quinn's passed every newborn test she's been given and just HAS to be the best at it.

The Longest but Most Rewarding 24 Hours (Aug. 29-30)

Let's start back a few days ago to get everyone caught up to speed!

We left to go to the Montfort for me to be induced at 7:30pm on Monday, August 29th since I didn't naturally go into labour.  We met our midwife Grace at the hospital and got me all set to go - I was on the drip by 9:30pm.  I was handling things pretty well for the first few hours.  When you're under a midwives care, the nurse stays with you until you're in active labour (i.e. 4-5 cm dilated) and then calls your midwife to come in.  It's reassuring to have a nurse in your room the whole time too when you're having contractions.  As I said, I was dealing with things pretty well and we were watching DVDs on my computer (highly recommend!) and I was getting some sleep.  But then things took a turn for the terrible - I never dilated past 1 cm and started having contractions that were lasting 6-7 minutes because my uterus decided to rebel.  I was taken off of the drip in the morning to try to get some sleep.

After some sleep I felt like a million bucks and then we discussed with the OB and my midwife about what the next course of action was to be.  By this point I had started to contract on my own and was 2-3 cm.  The doctor and Grace decided that the only real course at this point was to get me an epidural and start the oxytocin again (I had other options too, but this was the best one to me).  Needless to say, the epidural was a godsend and not that painful to go in as you see on TV!!!

The drip was started again at 2:30pm and I got some more sleep (hallelujah).  Then we had family come to visit for a bit and at 6pm my nurse checked me and I was 4 cm!! Yay! That means I was in active labour so Grace could come back!  Grace made it in for 7:30pm and then checked me a little after that and I was fully dilated and the baby was coming!

I resisted the urges to push for about 45 min to conserve energy.  Then I only pushed for about 45 minutes before little miss Quinn Addison made her way into the world.  What an amazing birth in the end - and it was exactly 24 hours from the beginning of the induction to her birth at 9:33pm on August 30th.  Grace pointed out that I had had the longest early labour (from the time my water broke on Sunday until she came back on Tuesday night) and a super short active labour.

Progress So Far....

So far not a lot to report!!! Both Steve and I managed to get some sleep through the night which was nice.  I had a couple of minor contractions during the night, but nothing to write home about.  This morning we went to see our midwife and have a Non-Stress Test (NST) done - basically I was just hooked up the the fetal monitor for about 20 minutes and everything looked great! The baby's heartrate had good accelerations and no major decelerations.  No contractions though!

So right now the plan is for me to sleep this afternoon (we already went for a walk around "The Forbidden Place" and ran a couple of errands).  If I don't go into active labour on my own, then we'll be meeting the midwife at the hospital around dinner time to get induced.

Please everyone think good contraction and non-induction thoughts for us!!!

Water Broke!!!!

Here's the timeline so far...

- getting ready to leave Kent and Erin's after a delicious dinner and as I stand up to go, I feel this lovely gush and next thing I know my water is breaking all over their kitchen floor (not the couch thank goodness!)...this is at 9:50pm on August 28th/11
- we page Amanda (our second midwife) since our first midwife (Grace) is on vacation until tomorrow morning at 8am...so we almost waited long enough for her to be back!  Amanda said that she'll meet us at our house at 10:30pm since I really wanted to get to my own surroundings.
- we meet with Amanda and she listens to Bean's heartbeat for a few minutes.  I'm not really having contractions too much, just the odd tightening that doesn't really hurt.  Feels more like a Braxton-Hicks contraction to be honest.  Amanda said we have the option of going to the Montfort now and I can be induced, or to wait and let my body go into labour naturally.  We've decided to wait since the chance of having more medical interventions increases with induction.
- we have an appointment tomorrow morning at 8:45am at the Midwife Office unless I go into active labour by then.

Still no contractions (true ones) and it's 11:43.  Steve's right by my side and Linds is running some errands and cleaning for us.  My only job right now is to not think about the fact that my water has broken and to get some sleep!

Webster Attempt #1

Yesterday morning I went to see my former chiro associate to try to use Webster technique to get Bean to move into the right position.  My pelvis is a mess and didn't respond that great to the adjustment, so I'm going back to see her again tomorrow.  The way that you treat with Webster is to use it exclusively and aggressively at first to try to get the pelvis in better alignment so that the baby will figure out the position that he/she needs to be in on his/her own.  Her practice is in Barrhaven and I'm in Orleans, so it's about 30 minutes each way, but I'll try anything at this point!

Yesterday was also Graeme and Andrea's wedding and I think I ate my weight in food...but it was too good to not eat!  Didn't get to dance baby out since I was exhausted by the time dancing started as I didn't sleep well on Friday night.  Last night wasn't a great night's sleep either...so here's hoping tonight goes better!

Feet In the Ribs

So despite being on my hands and knees a lot yesterday doing yoga and trying to sit leaning forward, Bean hasn't changed position.  It just feels really weird when I'm sitting leaning forward because I have a lot of pressure down low in my pelvis because the head has dropped down a bit and sitting this way jams his/her little feet up into my ribs even more.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to go see my former chiro associate to try Webster.  Webster Technique is usually used to right babies who are in the breech position, but one of my classmates who does the technique said that it had worked on OP (occiput posterior) presentations as well.  From the research that I was doing online about OP babies, the baby gets into this position usually because the mother has been sitting down a lot (which I have been due to the pelvic pain that put me off of work), but also because of how the baby is fitting into the mother's pelvis.  So hopefully by getting adjusted and having some ligament work done tomorrow, the alignment in my pelvis will change enough for Bean to move to a more optimal position.  I also was reading that 9/10 babies will move into an optimal birthing position during labour...I'm just trying to help the process since the little one has to rotate 180-degrees to get into the right position - to be OA (occiput anterior).

Tomorrow night is also our friends Graeme and Andrea's wedding...so maybe dancing will go better this time around!

How to Right a Posterior Baby...

So today was my weekly midwife appointment - I got to meet our third midwife Jasmine since I hadn't met her yet and my primary midwife (Grace) is on holidays until Monday.  So here's a little bit of background info on how midwives work here - you have a primary, secondary, and a third midwife.  Basically the primary midwife is the one who will be delivering your baby and who you have most of your appointments with.  The second midwife is there for the birth as well, but deals mostly with the baby.  If for some reason your first/second/third midwife is unavailable, then the others fill in the spots.  What I really like is that you get to know who will be there when your baby is born.  It's a very personal experience.  The frequency of visits is the same as for an OB/GYN.  So now I'm to weekly appointments until little Bean decides to arrive.

That all being said, today's appointment went quite well.  Jasmine told me when to page for when I go into labour and the main difference between early and active labour for paging purposes.  My blood pressure was still good and normal.  Bean's heartbeat was strong as well, which is always good to hear - talk about the sweetest sound!  His/her head is also getting low in my pelvis, but isn't fully engaged yet...but things are definitely on the right track!

What I did find out today is that Bean is hanging around with his/her back toward my back.  Ideally we want him/her to have their back facing toward my stomach.  So I was given some "homework" to do to try to encourage Bean to get into the right position.  Here's my homework:
- sit backwards in a kitchen chair to lean forward
- when sitting on the couch, lean forward with my elbows on my knees
- do the cat pose from yoga as much as possible
- and the tried and true method...wash my floors on my hands and knees every day!!!

Needless to say, I'm going to try the sitting forward for most of the day with my jigsaw puzzle...and then I might scrub some floors...and also do the cat pose every 30 minutes.

Early Nesting Maybe?

So I decided this morning that maybe I would clean the whole house today...I don't know if that's too ambitious or what, but when you've been off work for almost 4 weeks you start to feel a little useless!

Things are going pretty well with the pregnancy so far!  No false alarms yet or anything like that.  Just starting to feel a little more uncomfortable every day.  The pelvic pain is usually under control unless I've been on my feet too much - all I need to do is just take a seat and relax for a bit and it usually subsides!

I can't believe that it's already to the point where I'm 37 weeks and 5 days.  I'm starting to get very anxious about Bean's arrival...but it's an excited anxious.  I really just want to meet our son/daughter!