Esquestrian

Yesterday, we went to the 4th of July carnival at the park by our house. Quinn rode two horses, a pony named Thunder, and a plastic one on the Merry Go Round. The first time Quinn rode on a Merry Go Round it was at the zoo, and she threw a mini-tantrum when I took her off the sea lion she was riding, only to be ok with it after we patted it, and told it, "thanks for the ride." We successfully avoided tantrums this time by thanking our horses as soon as the ride was over. The real ponies were whinnying the whole time. Quinn had never heard a horse make a noise before, and was quite fascinated.






We also watched some pole vaulters and listened to some guy play guitar. It was a fun, but way too hot afternoon. We only lasted like an hour, plus we spent nearly ten dollars for our one year old to ride two horses. We opted out of food at the carnival, and got snow cones from our favorite snow shack instead.

Retro Videos

I downloaded an app on my phone, so I can shoot 8 mm videos of Quinn. I actually paid $1.99 for the app, the first time I have ever paid for an app. I love all things retro, and I think it will be so fun to have some 8 mm videos of Quinn. There are different types of settings according to decades, so I played around with some this evening as Quinners and the Pipes were bonding. Quinn's little giggle and smiles are priceless.

My Sleeping Beauties

Yesterday....

Quinn fell asleep sucking her thumb, and holding her binkie. She was sucking on her binkie, and fussing. She pulled her binkie out, grasped it, put her thumb in her mouth, and was out like a light!



Dalan had no problem stretching out, getting very comfortable, unmaking the bed, and taking over the whole bed after I got up with the baby. (This is not posed....I found him this way when I went in to get my phone.)




Looks like I was the only one not sleeping....sad! :-)

Photo-extravaganza Part 5

Alternative title: Quinn Hearts Piper, Part 2

Quinn and Piper continue to have a love/love relationship. Quinn loves to watch Piper. Piper loves to lick Quinn. Quinn loves to be licked. It is so sweet, and so gross. We try to encourage the licking of the hands and feet, but it always ends up with mouth on mouth kissing.

Quinn hearts Piper

Quinn has become super aware of Piper. If Piper is walking around, you can almost guarantee Quinn is watching her. She loves Piper to lick her hands and feet. She smiles and giggles...and opens her mouth and sticks out her tongue. She absolutely loves Piper to lick her face, and is very eager to full on make out with the dog. We try to keep this part to a minimum. It is really quite sweet how much joy Piper brings to Quinn. I hope they become best of friends, even after Quinn is mobile!

(Quinn staring very intently at Piper...
and some signs of new hair growth on the back of her head!)

Favorite TV shows of 2010

(In no particular order...)

1. Amazing Race
2. Dexter
3. How I Met Your Mother
4. Glee
5. Parenthood
6. Modern Family
7. Glory Daze
8. 16 and Pregnant
9. Teen Mom
10. Real World/Road Rules Challenge
11. The Office
12. Big Bang Theory
13. Always Sunny in Philadelphia
14. Entourage
15. Californication

(Quinn staring at the TV)


(There is my cute focused on mom, not the TV, girl!)

Favorite Jams of 2010

My favorite jams from this year have included:

1. Nothin' On You by B.O.B and Bruno Mars
2. The High Road by Broken Bells
3. Dream On as sung by NPH and Mr. Schuester


Quinn's favorite jams have included:

(The girl loves Top 40 music....she is a wiggleman, and needs music she can dance to...)

1. Forget You by Cee Lo Green (but we listen to the unedited version. Good thing Quinn doesn't know English yet.)
2. California Gurls by Katy Perry
3. Single Ladies by Beyonce (an oldie, but a goodie)

Fun

Besides, singing/bouncing/smiling to "Trot, Trot" about a billion times a day, and besides blowing about a billion raspberries a day, we have been up to some fun things.

Like wearing sunglasses inside....


Sitting in the Bumbo, and trying to eat the Fisher Price keys. Actually, Quinn loves to do all things with these keys. They sing nursery rhymes, and the shake. She loves them....


Piper has even been enjoying the play mat....


Quinn also likes to eat her giraffe....

You know your baby is a preemie when....

....some of her favorite playthings are the cords from her monitor and the tubing from her oxygen cannula.

The face of addiction

We all know Quinn loves, loves, loves her binkie! However, once we started limiting her binkie time to see if she would eat better (it didn't make a difference), she started sucking/chewing on her hands. Also, it is a normal developmental step for a baby of her adjusted age. However, her hands just don't satisfy her the same as her binkie does, so she often gets totally frustrated. It is not uncommon that she will end up sucking on her nasal cannula for her oxygen, or pulling her feeding tube out (all while leaving it taped to her face.)

Here is the adorably frustrated face of a binkie addict:

Sweet baby Quinn

Last week, the hospital photographers came and took some "newborn" pictures of Quinn. They turned out so pretty, and we were suckers, and went ahead and bought the rights to the CD because they were so pretty. Enjoy!

Quinn's Coming Home Story soon....

Due date celebration

Quinn reaching her due date was a very important milestone for our family. (And pretty emotional for me, although, I was more emotional leading up to it, rather than on the actual day.) We are so proud and in awe of all the progress Quinn has made. She is a feisty, and lovable little bug. We are cannot believe she is already 15 weeks old/0 weeks adjusted gestational age.

One of our nurses, Alice, decorated Quinn's room for us, and we brought cupcakes for all the nurses and staff. Quinn did all her favorite things, sat in her bouncy seat, watched her mobile, and enjoyed lots of good sucks on the binkie. She also took a nap with her dad, and snuggled with her mom. She ate like a champ all evening. It was such a fun and positive day for all of us.

Quinn-tuple

The word of the week is "Quinn-tuple"!

Quinn is now a five pound, 2 ounce baby!

On Tuesday, she quintupled her birth weight by going from 440 grams to 2,210 grams in 75 days.

On Wednesday, she was exactly 4 pounds heavier than her birth weight. 15.5 ounces to 4 pounds and 15.5 ounces in 10 and half weeks.

Today, she broke the 5 pound barrier, and weighed in at a hefty 5 pounds and 2 ounces one day before turning 11 weeks old/36 weeks adjusted gestation!

Here is what a five pound Quinners looks like....



Other important milestones/updates this week:

We started NUTRITIVE (regular, traditional) breast feeding. It is going well, not perfect yet, but we are getting there. Quinn and I will practice nursing twice a day for now, and eventually she will transfer over to all oral feeds, either by breast or bottle.

Quinn successfully weaned some more on her oxygen needs.

She still loves her binkie! No surprise there. I dropped her binkie while holding her tonight, and she would suck on her thumb or fist, only to get frustrated and tongue thrust for her binkie. The girl is addicted to her bink.

Here is what a binkie addict looks like....

Binkie baby

Sellers updates

We gave Quinn her second bath today. It was so much fun. She LOVES it. She put her mouth into a little "o" shape, and was ohhing and ahhing throughout the whole thing. She was happy, comfortable, and relaxed. She smelled so good when she was all clean and in her new jammies.








Speaking of smells, Quinn has become quite the smelly kid lately. The extra calories they fortify her breast milk with clog her up, and make her gassy. Poor kiddo. (The pictures below are just cute, and don't really have anything to do with being smelly, just breaking up the text.)



We are loving Quinn's new room, and we are optimistic that we will remain in that room until her discharge. (And no we don't know when that will be...) The natural light is fabulous, and having a private room is really necessary for our extended NICU stay. (See the difference of the light situation between the two rooms....also see Quinn with her best friend, Winnie.)




I swear Quinn is getting cuter and cuter by the day. When we visit, I can't help, but take a billion pictures of her. She is just so cute!



Oh, and what have Dalan and I have been up to? (do people even read this for us anymore????)

Well, beside visiting Quinn, and driving back and forth to the hospital, and still working a full time job. Dalan has been HOT. He hates the heat. But I can't totally blame him, when we left the hospital this afternoon this is the temperature according the the car.


And as for me, I have been pumping, pumping, pumping, spending time with the babe, driving, and trying to find time to shower, I have fallen off the wagon. I am back on the Diet Coke, except this time I am drinking the caffeine free in hopes to avoid kidney stones and I don't want to hop Quinn up on the caffeine either. I love it so much.

Dalan has also continued to be a snack-apotamus. He ate 35 ounces (Quinn weighs 66 ounces) of cheese balls in less than two weeks. He loves them so much!