We're back!

Hi folks, 
It's been over a year since my last post, and boy howdy has it been wild. 
Milestones, cross country moves, you name it. 
I am back, hopefully far more often to keep a better tab on things and keep you posted about us!

Quinn is busy running all over the place, playing in box forts, pulling ornaments off the Christmas tree, using sign language so amazingly well, we have been signing to her since she was about 6 months old, and now she can say please, milk, water, more, and all done. This has helped the tantrums SO much since she doesn't have a vocabulary outside of Dada, Hi,  Eye yet! 

Much more to come, I am doing this for both you and I, and also for Quinn to have something to look back on in 15 years when she hates every last move I make, to remind her how much I love her, and how this is my payback for the days she drove me bonkers and gave me gray hairs, (not yet, but only a matter of time). 

As I sit here, I am watching Quinn wiggle in her crib during nap time....I do believe she sleeps like her momma and has days of getting her own bed on trips since nobody will share with her because she kicks to much in her future.....if shes goes anywhere with my family...she might end up on a pool raft on the floor....not that I know anything about those experiences....she has managed to wiggle off both of the waterproof areas and is soundly sleeping in the one spot with no safety from spit up....God love her, she cracks me up.

I tell you what, motherhood is the most amazing thing I have done with life. Nate and I still find ourselves stopping and looking at her with amazement, and sometimes I will see her and think, "Wow. I have a daughter."

We have been blessed with an amazing girl, shes slept through the night for awhile now, going to bed around 8 and waking around 630. She seems to have snatched up our personalities, as she is always smiling and giggly and just loves to be around people and commotion. Picking her up every morning when she smiles and gets so excited she gets the hiccups is the best way to start my day. Its awesome to watch her develop, she is now grabbing things and chewing on anything she can get her tiny hands on and she is so alert.

Shes having some puke issues, when I say issues I guess I mean holy cow, this kid is capable of soaking anything in her sight. Apparently, she is having problems with cows milk and soy that I am eating, so looks like my diet is about to get MUCH healthier!!! I am back to the weight I started this pregnancy at, but still have 10 lbs to go before losing the first pregnancy weight and I do believe this will help!

It is my favorite thing in the world to watch her with her daddy, he is so taken by her and so in love, when she smiles as he gets home it is the sweetest thing ever. I am unsure which of the 3 of us is happier- Quinn because her favorite play buddy is home, Daddy, because of the same reason, or mommy for a little break time to just sit and watch the smiles and have someone to share diapers with.



"This is not my best shot, but I sure look like daddy, with
mommies skin tone."



You're welcome for this one. I bet it made you smile!



 She brings joy and laughter into our lives, and somehow has managed to help us realize there is more love then we ever thought possible that can be shared amongst 3 people.



 

Holy cow, we're parents.

I'm sure I will come back to the first days and weeks that we spent at home, but for now, here is the basic summary. Mom was at home awaiting us to return after a nice long hospital stay (I say nice with the largest amount of sarcasm possible in print), though we had the most incredible staff of nurses and scored the most amazing pediatrician for Quinn, we were thrilled, and terrified to be home. Thank Gosh that we live in Ohio, and were near family that could be around both for the birth and the homecoming!

I am very unsure if we would have had normal food those first weeks, clean laundry, sleep, or basically anything other than a clean, fed baby. God bless moms. (Well, grand moms now. - And you too grandpas)

Welcome home, baby girl!

Night one was terrifying, when one assumes THIS is what baby will sleep in, and then baby decides to laugh at you and think otherwise, one ends up with daddy bringing a bassinet and stroller up the steps at 2am. Its funny now looking back.....but lord there were a few "What the hell have we gotten ourselves into, and where is that baby that slept 4 hours at a time in the hospital?" I knew we had reached max capacity when Nate trounced down the hall to wake up grandma for the SOS call. We had changed her, and if she didn't pee or poop AS we changed her, it was within 5 minutes...or she puked all over her clothes and needed new pjs. I think we blew through 15 diapers just on night one. Lord, it would have made for a great reality show premier.

Peacefully in her crib...not something we saw on night one.

I have some major back issues that ensued, it took weeks to diagnose and then finally after about 7 weeks I was getting back to being me. When Grandma Kish walked in as I sobbed on the couch in pain, we knew it was time to go to the ER. This visit involved daddy getting puked on, as he learned never to wear black again, and then when he was changing the little fluid filled person....she sneezed and shot poop all over his pants. Once again, hilarity ensued.

No, that is not highlighter...

This is how I spent a large portion of my time that 3-6
week until we got my spasms figured out.

Again I say, thank the lord for amazing moms, mom in laws, sisters, dads, and husbands. I had many times where I couldn't hold Quinn, or do much of anything and they were there with love, kindness, and snuggles to share with our new little bundle. I am not sure words will ever explain how amazing it was to have time to spend with both of our moms those first precious weeks of Quinn's life. Within her first month, She was visited by both grammas, grandpas, Aunts and Uncle Matt along with friends. What a joy.

It's hard to believe that we are coming up on our sweet little girl turning 4 months old. Now...getting back to the blog, but in current time.....

Threes Company- the beginning.

Okay- so the shock and vividness of it has all worn off now, so I will fill you in on the not so graphic details of delivery, along with those first insane, yet, hilarious experiences.

On July 10, I started having lots of contractions, but only about 9 minutes apart, so there I was, at midnight with the husband of the year, doing laps around my neighborhood. Fail. They stopped. I was at the point that I was going to do anything I could to get this show on the road. (I know, I wasn't due for another 8 days, but at that point, as all you moms understand, I literally did not think I could make it any longer without this child coming out Twilight baby style.) I spent my days cleaning like a madwoman, organizing over again the nursery, cooking, and bouncing for countless hours on a yoga ball.

On the 15th, we went in to the hospital at around 5:00pm, with 7 minutes apart, and I could swear my water was leaking. The doc said labor had begun, and again...sent me a walking. There we were....hours....walking around the entire hospital. We had complete free rein. Let me tell you how eerily quiet it is in a place like that after hours. We made some funny jokes, and I was goofing around as I walked up and down the stairs at least 10 times in a row, at that point Nate just sat at the bottom laughing at me. The excitement had set in.....

We made the decision to go home, as I had not progressed in those hours and the docs thought I was safe to go home and rest, and hope that things continued to progress in the days ahead. So...after a wicked bad thunderstorm and some Wendys....(little did I know this would be my last meal for the next 30 hours....I woulda had something better....like a steak. Or lobster. Clob clob.) I settled in....well......settled is a nice way of saying it. Basically, my bed the past 2 months was the couch with a blankie. I tossed and turned, which is QUITE the feat when you are THIS big, trying to not just belly up and fall off the couch.

At 5am the next morning, it was official. TODAY WAS THE DAY! I calmly sat for a few moments once my water broke, which is totally not like the movies, and said a prayer for the soon to be 3 of us and also for our families that would be frantically traveling. I was feeling great. I was happy, excited and ready. No pain at all. I calmly woke Nate up, and whammo, he went into crazy prep, phone call mode....the opposite of the previous nights hospital trip. Families were informed and I went upstairs, pulling a total girl move, and put on makeup. Hell, if I felt good, it was all I could do to at least do it up a little bit with some mascara. Nate about flipped his lid when he saw this. Looks like no lip gloss for me. HAH. Little did I know that about 30 hours later that makeup wasn't going to help a darn thing. With all that was pumped into me, I could have passed for Shamu if you would have thrown some black and white paint on me.

On the way to the hospital, my body caught up with me and Whammo, contractions came on like a train. I can remember yelling at Nate to stop hitting the bumps on the HWY. Darn Nate and those holes in the ground. Poor guy. He offered to stop for food, crap....if I hadn't wanted makeup, I could have HAD something for breakfast instead of hurting, in my mind, I was picturing this child coming out at the drive-thru.

We got to the hospital, got settled in and were on our way.

My birth plan went out the window when babies heart rate took a drastic drop, so that meant I was made to get the epidural right away, in case of emergency Csection. It didn't hurt near as bad as I expected. Now, it was not a sunny field of flowers, he missed the first time, hit bone and tried again, but the worst of it all was just trying to not move or make up my own 4 letter words. This now meant I was in bed jail. No moving, no nothing. Having 0 control of my legs really made me appreciate them as they are normally....they feel like again, shamu parts when you try to move them. So heavy.

Our families had arrived and we all settled in for the long journey. I wish that I had a photo of everyone in the waiting room, but seeing as I couldn't move and am the "camera" person of the family.....

I was so lucky and so blessed to have our parents and Melis all make it. The support was amazing and having Melissa and Nate in the delivery room was nothing short of amazing. I wouldn't have had it any other way.....plus.....it was an extra set of hands to hold my 1000lb legs. Melissa also got some amazing photos of Quinn seconds after she joined our world. 

Shaking like a leaf, loving the warm blankets!



Setting eyes on Quinny for the first time :)

The main points I can remember are having fried chicken enter the room and not being thrilled about it, shaking like a Polaroid picture from all the meds, My insanely amazing nurse, Loraine, a wicked good Ipod play list causing the doctors to laugh when "PUSH IT" came on during go time, (you're welcome), The joys of chicken broth that said nurse snuck in to me, an amazing pep talk from JoAnn as she paced her kitchen in El Paso, the joys of knowing family was right outside, many tears of frustration as the epidural slowed everything down, and the fear I felt when I was completely convinced that I had nothing left to give and how scared I was that I wouldn't be able to get her out. I remember the doctor telling me she had a head of black hair (at 9pm) and thinking I was going to meet her in 10 minutes....(damn you movies) 3 hours later.......I remember knowing something was wrong when I was told to stop pushing and felt the insane pain.......later to find out she was stuck with her head and her arm out.

Funny, she still sleeps with her arm like that over her head....little stinker. I can remember thinking that we totally wasted time taking all 6 Lamaze classes, seeing as I used basically nothing that I learned and went only with what felt good for me.....(note to all of you out there thinking about those classes...) I later learned that we needed an extended hospital stay, due to a traumatic delivery for both Quinn and myself which sounded appealing at first knowing nurses were on hand to help us.....and then being in that bed for so long....no thanks, hospital beds are not made to be cozy!

The first thing I said after delivery was that I wondered how people had more than 1 child after something like that....but now, after almost 4 months with Quinn, the pain memory has worn off, and she is the most amazing accomplishment that I have ever made in life. I have never felt so happy, fulfilled, and in love with both her and Nate as I feel now. I never really new I was missing anything, until she arrived and gives me the warmest smiles in the morning when she sees me.



Hello beautiful.









That make-up....worthless.

After 33 hours all 8lb 8oz of her arrived into the world and changed our lives forever



.







Baby tree frog







                                                                                                                                                                

Has it really been thaaaat long?

Okay. So I am alive, much to the wonderment of many of you. I have sort of gone MIA after my last post, but now, behold, I AM BACK!
It's been awhile, I can't believe that my amazing bundle is over 3 months old now, but now that life has calmed down, the trauma that is labor has subsided, and I find a few minutes in the day I am going to really try to get back to this blogging thing.
Unsure if this will become and ode to Quinn for the future, a blog about my new role in life, or just general, so bare with me as I just figure it all out.
I am hoping to update you on all the funny stories and experiences, and hopefully I will find time to review the past 3 months, as I think some of the best stories will probably come from those, when we dove in headfirst, and seemed at times up the creek without the paddle, yet came out on top with the most amazing, beautiful and happy family of three, that now does not feel so entirely lack luster in the not knowing what to do areas....its amazingly true what people say....it really does just come to you naturally....along with the forgetting to eat, not knowing when your last shower actually was, and worrying about how much or little baby has poohed. Cheers to my new life as a mommy!

For now, someone is up from their nap and making it clear that I better stop typing.....more later!

9 Months...

How far along?       9 months- for those of you that have not taken this journey, much to what you are led to believe via movies and growing up, pregnancy is NOT 9 months it is actually 10. Cruel joke, I tell ya. Technically, you hit "full term" at 37 weeks, which date wise is next week but measurement wise is tomorrow....and 37 weeks means anytime is go time. YOWSA!

Total weight gain: 25 lbs - this little girl is packing on the lbs these last 2 weeks! (and by this little girl I mean both myself and baby, hah)

Maternity clothes? Haha. This shouldn't even be a question anymore. I do love my maternity swim top, I would totally wear it as a shirt if I was just outside. I am now to the point that even my maternity clothes are starting to get a teensy bit short for this growing, (and dropping) belly!

Sleep: I'm sorry, I was dozing off, what did you ask? Sleeping is the worst of it all right now, between the waking every 45 minutes to pee and the back discomfort and rib kicks (and having to readjust my Fort Knox of pillows anytime I roll over) I am getting very little sleep. Last night, I finally had it and attempted some Zzzzs on the couch.

Best moment this week: Spending fathers day crafting things for our little buggies room and just enjoying the time together celebrating our 4 years of marriage.

Miss Anything? I can't even think of something witty to add here....I miss my family and out of town friends, but other than that, not so much right now. 

Movement: Poor girl is all smooshed up in there so there is lots of leg stretching, heel kicking and booty wiggling, but shes head down and ready to go so it's pretty crammed in there!

Food cravings: At this point, no real cravings. I still eat a lot of fruit but I am slowly able to eat more these days, for awhile she was so high up I could barely fit much food in!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Chicken and drinking to much H2O.....yes, I learned that you can in fact overhydrate...woops.

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: Some contractions here and there along with baby starting to drop and the sciatic nerve going nutty making me stumble at totally random times, which I imagine is probably comedic to see. 

 Symptoms: Wicked heartburn, God bless my doctor for my perscription this week and some icky lower back pain. My night sickness has gone away again thank gosh, perhaps that was all caused by overhydration!

Wedding rings on or off? Took them off by request of the jeweler. Got myself a nice fake one so I am not waddling around with a giant belly and no ring. Yes, I am a bit self conscious about it!

Looking forward to: Meeting baby anytime now and all the joy she will bring to everyone involved!  

Thundercats are go! (Well, almost anyway...)

These days, I feel like a child constantly wondering, "Are we there yet?". With the ever growing belly, I find myself just sitting there rubbing it and staring at it in sheer amazement that somehow, this baby is going to get bigger and frankly, I do not know where she is going to go. Poor thing. Often times, I feel a heel or her booty pushing so hard that I swear an appendage is going to just pop right out of my belly due to sheer force....I know, you are loving that mental picture right now!

Today was a fathers day that was so happy. It was sad for me not to spend it with my own dad, but I got to watch Nate lovingly do woodworking as he made projects out in the garage with such pride on his face and a bounce in his step. I cannot wait to experience parenthood with him, and I have a sneaky feeling that he is going to steal her from me as soon as he comes in the door most days. I look back at growing up with my own dad and all the fun memories and the confidence he was built in me, and I cannot wait to watch Nate do the same. (And then I can't wait to watch our parents laugh as our daughter puts us thru what we put them thru.....yikes.)

After a few nice rounds of contractions this week, I was given a slight glance into what my experience may be like....though I think by that point, I am going to be so ready to not be uncomfortable that I won't even care. I decided that I am going to attempt the hydro labor that is now offered at my hospital, (Don't barf, it's not delivery in the tub, its just the option of getting in and out of a clean warm bath as I am contracting since that is something that relaxes me....so what the Hell, if I hate it, I don't do it but at least its an option! Many props to WP for that one).

36 weeks and don't give a rats patoot what I look
like going to the pool. Floating=happy.

We have been trying our best to make great use of our last days and weeks together. Lots of time spent at the pool in the evenings just bopping around, shockingly it only takes one noodle to keep me afloat, I thought I'd need about 6. (See photo, I'm no string bean)
 For our 4 year anniversary, we got the joy of a doctor appointment to find out that I am a week ahead of schedule and we heard babies heartbeat stronger than ever before. (Not to mention the heaven sent meds for my dragon case of heartburn!) We then spent a nice evening outdoors eating a beautiful dinner and then attended the Martina McBride concert......prepare yourselves.....

We have amazeball seats, but I tell you, on the way to said seats if one more person comment about how pregnant I was I was going to go all momzilla on them. Seriously, I do not feel THAT huge, but the comments did get pretty funny. "Your seats are right here, and the doctors are in that section just in case." "Goodthing you are on the end, you might not fit in the middle" (to that one I mentally note, damn you I hope you spill your 9 dollar plastic cup of wine) and then the "Are you carrying twins?". If I didn't feel huge before, I certainly did now. It was pretty funny to watch people watch me as I busted a Melly move to the music.......honestly, I'm pregnant, not dead. Here is the funny part, I got a little curious about the wierd Pog looking thing at the bottom of Nates beer glass so I decided to investigate.....turns out when you stick your finger on the bottom of the cup and push up, that fine little circle is a magnet sealing the cup. Rock on. 9 months pregnant, and now I have 1/2 glass of beer in my lap. I wasn't so mad at myself that I did that, I was the idiot that caused it afterall, I was more angry that I smelled like beer and couldn't taste it. Then.....WOW. Reactions on peoples faces when I stood up with my big ol belly and a wet lap. People were freaking that I was in labor....no folks, just beer. Have one and calm down. (Sidenote, smelling like beer seems to keep mosquitoes away!) Anywho- concert was really awesome and mad props to her, shes got teenagers and rocked leather pants like nobodies business.

Anywho. No real exciting news left here. Her room is ready and thanks to mom, all clothes are washed, organized and put away. Bags are slowly getting packed, scary since this Wed. I am officially full term at 37 weeks. Its funny how hesitant we both have been to pack. Nothing has been said about it, but we always talk about how we NEED to do it, and we have plenty of time to do it during the day, yet it never gets done. It seems we are both a bit afraid that once those suckers are packed, its gametime primetime anytime. (I know, you'd think the belly, contractions, or perhaps the last 9 months would have gotten us there.......nope.....not as much as bag packing!)

I will add some more photos from the concert and such next time, they are on my other camera and I am frankly just to lazy to go get it.