Hello from the land of baby!

Hi all,

Sorry for the blog silence, it is hard to find the time or energy to blog since Quinn was born but we really appreciate all of you that have been e-mailing, calling, and dropping by to visit! The last six weeks have been a crazy roller coaster ride and we are still trying to figure out what we are doing. Quinn is amazing and is growing very fast. She was 7lbs 15oz at birth, went down to 7lbs 7oz and then 7lbs 5oz but by 1 week she was back up to 7lbs 14oz (they wanted her to be at birth weight by 2 weeks), at her 2 week checkup she was 8lbs 8oz, at her 4 week check up she was 10lbs 5oz, and today at her 6 week check up (a few days late)she is 12 lbs and 22 inches long (up 1.5 from birth). She doesn't really have a schedule but has in the last week started having one stretch of sleep at night that lasts around 3 hours which is amazing for her exhausted parents. She also has started smiling in the last couple weeks (mostly at everyone but her parents). I hope that we can post more regularly because for all intents and purposes this is her baby book!

She is starting to fuss and as Taylor is in class I am a single parent tonight so off to snuggle and feed her.

Megan

Please take note of the slideshow on the left side of the blog

I am updating it periodically, so keep track of it at your convenience.
We promise to try to post a real blog sometime soon.

Taylor

Welcome to the world baby Quinn

 

Quinn (full name available upon request) was born Thursday (1/8/09) at 10:23 a.m. after Megan experienced 30-hours of back labor. Quinn was born at our chosen out-of-hospital birthing center with midwives, doulas, me (and an acupuncturist) in attendance. The birth was both longer and more painful than what had been hoped for, but as expected all worth it in the end. I have never been more impressed or amazed by Megan; she was magnificent. Quinn weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces at birth and was 20.5 inches long. The hat is covering all of Quinn's hair, but rest assured - there is A LOT of it(!) all black and while it seemed wavy at birth, it has straightened out at this point. Quinn seems to have Megan's mouth and ears but the eyes and nose are definitely from the donor's gene pool. We are extremely excited and exhausted. We welcome emails and phone calls (but don't be surprised if we don't get back to you right away). Short visits are also welcome, but please do check in with us first before coming by. We appreciate all your support and love and can't wait to introduce you to our new baby!

Due Date...yeah right!

It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. The biggest part of your baby's body is her head, but her still-pliable skull will give it the flexibility necessary to squeeze through the birth canal. Many parents are surprised by how long and sharp their newborn's nails are from the get-go. Clipping them right away (ask a nurse for help) can prevent your baby from scratching her face.

Hi all...just an update (on the due date) that the baby is still inside. I have been feeling pretty awful this week...fluish, headachy, tired etc. which has not been fun for anyone. I started some accupuncture induction treatment on Friday and have been three times so I hope that will do something. We have a midwife, an accupuncture, and a chiropractic appointment tomorrow so maybe I will start feeling better. Just wanted to let everyone know we are still waiting and we apologize for the lack of phone calls and e-mails, we are in hibernation mode but we are getting all of your messages.

Come out baby!

We had a midwife appointment today (I was so happy to get out of the house!!) that went really well. I am 2-3 centimeters dilated and still 50%+ effaced with a very soft cervix. This is very good, in case clarification is needed, although it doesn't mean very much...I could have the baby tonight or next week! Please, please let it be before next week. I am pretty big and pretty uncomfortable although I am not as anxious as Taylor is...she is VERY ready for the baby to come, especially as she is on family leave starting this week. The baby has dropped down really well although not in the optimal position; I am to spend some time on all fours (no comments needed) to try and get it to flip around. Unfortunately, my acupuncturist is out of town until Monday...damn her for having a life as that could speed it along. I will be stalking her if this baby is still inside on Monday. Our main midwife is also out of town but we have two others and a back up midwife (to complete the team of 3 midwives) that we feel really comfortable with. We are finishing up some home improvement/nursery tasks and catching up on dinners with friends until the baby comes to keep ourselves busy this week!

Update

Hi All,

Just to let everyone know who cares... Megan is still pregnant - 39 weeks today! All of the snow has melted and I was able to get the car out of the driveway today!! We have been giving the baby pep-talks telling it that it is now safe for it to be born; we know it has been listening and hope it understands what that means. Megan has had a rough day today dealing with some severe headaches and other migraine symptoms - she had been looking forward to getting out of the house today, but just couldn't make it. Tomorrow we have an appointment with the midwives which will definitely get her out of the house.

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Snow

Ok, so here is a picture I took of our car yesterday right around the time Megan thought she was going into labor (she didn't).


We are proud to report that we have had the 3rd snowiest December (as recorded at the Portland Airport) in weather-recorded history - not to worry... we're super close to setting the record for the 2nd snowiest December and are expected to reach that later today.


And here is a picture I took this morning right around the time Megan thought she was going into labor (she didn't).


One can only imagine how much snow the car will be under when she actually does go into labor. Join us in hoping there won't be any snow by that point.