Quinn's Letter 2015

Dear Quinn,

Wow!  You turned five this week.  FIVE!  That is a pretty big deal.  I mean you are now old enough to go to Kindergarten and your age takes up one whole hand.  Official big kid status around here these days.  I have to admit, while I do sometimes miss having a sweet squishy baby around, I really love this stage in our lives.  You are pretty agreeable and we can basically do anything we want at anytime with little notice.  It is pretty awesome.  You are pretty awesome!

Here is a snapshot of FIVE year old Quinn.

- You are super smart.  You can basically read anything with little effort. Example- at Costco, you read a sign that says, "Get cash back" while eating your hotdog, and instantly want to know how you can get cash back! I think you were just born with the code for reading in your brain.  It is amazing. You are also working on your number sense and are doing a great job with adding and subtracting numbers, as well as, counting in different ways (by tens, fives, twos, etc.)  You can write your name like a champ and you are branching out to other words as well.

- You love babies.  We added two new babies to our family over the last year, and you are totally smitten with both of them.  You love to tickle them and play peak-a-boo.  And you love to try to comfort Olive and breast feed her.  You will probably be really embarrassed about that one day, but you shouldn't be.  It's sweet and natural and so loving.

- You have never met a stranger.  You make friends everywhere we go.  I can send you into any new situation and you will come out with a friend, and possibly trying to arrange a play date.  You are the queen of hugs!

- You are creative and imaginative.  You have an imaginary friend named Megamort, and he is pregnant/has a baby named Susan.  And while, Megamort drives me a little nuts, I love to see you using your imagination.  You asked for and received an Animal costume and a set of drums for your birthday!  That is pretty cool.

- You love preschool and you are a big helper to your teacher and classmates.  You have grown and learned so much this year in school.  We are really going to miss your preschool teachers, but we are so excited for you to start Kindergarten.

- You love to draw rainbows and suns. I truly don't think you have one favorite color (and that is why it changes all the time), but rather you love the rainbow of colors.  And you almost always put it in ROYGBIV order.  I told you- you are smart!

- You weigh 30 lbs and are 40 inches tall.

- You love all things Disney.  You love princesses.  You love villains more. I think The Little Mermaid is still your ultimate favorite, but it changes from time to time.   \

- You love Legos.  You especially love building The Simpson Legos with Dad.

- You are still a picky eater.  You do LOVE tuna though.  It is your lunch of choice.

- You love your dance class, and we are excited to see you preform at your recital in a couple of weeks.

- You are funny.  You are kind,  You are bossy.  You are caring.  You are nurturing.  You are silly.  . You are easy going.  You are smart.  You are hilarious.  You are friendly.  You are helpful. You are beautiful inside and out!

love you!

-

Rockin' It Out

We have been rocking it out with Quinn for over a week now with mixed results.  Overall, I would say she has slept in her crib more and woken up less, but it has not been perfect.  There have been A plus nights, and nights when both Quinn and we have earned big, fat F's.

The first night was perfect. No rocking necessary.  Quinn just simply slept through the night in her crib.  I couldn't help, but  think, "we got this!

During night two, some rocking was required, but not much.  Again, I couldn't help, but  think, "we got this!

Night three and four, she ended up in our bed.  Fail.  After multiple hour long rocking sessions, it was just easier and more restful to have her in bed with us, plus it was Christmas Eve/Christmas, and we needed to be places and had things to do.

I believe she slept well/needed minimal rocking on Christmas night, but then she got a cold.  A pretty little cold, but it still meant she was stuffed up, and again it was easier to have her in bed with us, then sniffling and not sleeping in the rocking chair.   

So, after all that, we got back on track.  Except for the other night when she stayed up until midnight.  She just wasn't tired, I guess.  There were no extra naps, or coffee laced yogurts involved, just a baby who wasn't ready for bed.

Last night went well.  She slept from 9:00 pm to 4:00 am, needed a quick rocking, and then slept until 8:30 am in her crib.

So, like I said mixed results.  Not a total success, but I feel like most nights I can rock her quickly and get her back to sleep in her crib now rather than bringing her to bed with us. 

Oh, and yes we got a a new treadmill!  We got it all set up, but between my cold, Quinn's cold, and Dalan's stomach issues, it has yet to be really used. (We have not been the healthiest bunch this winter break.) But soon, and I will write up a proper update on the Carsellers get fit.    

Say Cheese

For a while now, we have been able to get Quinn to smile by saying, "show us your chompers." Adorable, and a crowd pleaser for sure. However, this weekend she has started to smile when you say, "smile." Big glorious, cheesy picture smiles. She is her mama's daughter for sure. And constantly reminding us she is no longer a baby, but a bonafide toddler.


In other Quinn news, she had a blast at McKay's birthday celebration on Monday night. She helped open presents, and stole his blue dino drink from him. She gave the drink her seal of approval by happily purring, "mmmmmm. mmmmm." as she drank it. She probably had the most fun playing with the baby in the mirror. My parents redid their bathroom, and the old mirror is temporarily in the living room. Quinn loved her new "friend." She kissed, played, and tried to repeatedly get to that other baby.



Piper and Quinn continue to have a classic dysfunctional love/hate relationship. Quinn mainly loves Piper. Piper mainly avoids Quinn. Except when Quinn is packing food. Then Piper loves Quinn. And Quinn love to tease and entice, but usually ends up sharing her food. Here is one such interaction.

Highway to the Danger Zone

If Quinn was a character in Top Gun, she would be Maverick. She has become dangerous (but she can be my wing man anytime.)

She fearlessly pulls herself up on anything now. She crashes and she burns. She topples toys down. She crawls into spaces where she shouldn't go. She even tried to escape from her crib this morning, I caught her trying to shimming up the rails using the corners.

I love that she is mobile, and wants to play with some many things, but she now requires a lot more supervision. We constantly have to encourage her to be independent, yet safe. I am pretty sure that is exactly what we'll have to do when she is a teenager too. I was exhausted by the time she fell asleep tonight.



She also loves to play with the rug. That isn't dangerous. Just cute.

Promise

I need to start editing my posts before I publish them. BIG TIME! I read through some recent ones, and eeekkk! I apologize. Blame my baby brain. Blame a wild little ten month old who demands most of my attention. Any which way, it is not ok, and I am fairly embarrassed. I will do better, I promise.

In the meantime, here is a collage of some of Quinn's Sunday pictures. Look at my big girl! She can now balance against things while standing. Also, if you looking very, very closely, you can see her two bottom teeth.

Crazy

Last night was a little crazy. Full of mishaps and accidents. Nothing major or scary, just crazy.

First of all, Quinn slept well, which is wonderful. But I fell deeply asleep and missed her 11:30 feeding. I woke up at 12:45 to feed her, and was feeling a little rushed. Quinn has a pretty set feeding schedule due to her need to take a certain amount of volume each day, and the fact she is sensitive to volume changes, so missing a feeding isn't really an option, and getting too far off schedule can cause her to have to take too much volume in a particular feeding.

I am changing her diaper, and notice her prongs for her oxygen are in her ear, rather than her nose. Next, I notice her feeding tube is starting to come out. I push it back in, and a second later, it is really starting to come out. So, I pull it all the way out and figure I will just start over. This means going downstairs to get some supplies. I take Quinn with me, who now thinks it is time to party, because of all the lights and movement.

I get her tube back in, but can't find the stethoscope to check the placement of the tube. I find the stethoscope, but need a syringe. As I am putting the plunger in the syringe, I somehow pinch my breast into the syringe. Oh man, did it hurt. And bruise instantly.

About this time, I notice Piper has somehow gotten a hold of poopy diaper and is eating it on her bed. There is poop everywhere.

I feed Quinn, and she goes back to bed easily. Thank goodness, despite wide eyes and smiles earlier. I go downstairs, dispose of the poopy diaper parts, and throw Piper's bed into the laundry room, because it is smelly. I was going to wash it, but have since decided to throw it away. It has seen too much nastiness, and I am sick of washing it. Then, I ice my bruise breast, and eventually get back to sleep.

It was a night.

Speaking of crazy....

Quinn is a wild and crazy baby. She never stops moving, and exploring. Our neighbor brought Quinn over a Valentine's gift today, and commented on just how wild Quinn is.

Here is some photo evidence of her craziness.

Photo 1:, she never stops moving. Can she just sit and play? Never, she slides, arches, flips, scoots, rolls, and yells.



Photo 2: She went nuts for some oatmeal and apples tonight. She ate it with great urgency. She had it everywhere. She wanted the spoon. She wanted the container. She wanted more. She ate double what I normally feed her and was covered from head to toe. So, I took a shower with Quinn for the first time. She thought it was kind of weird, and did not love it, but tolerated it ok.


Photo 3: After our shower, it was time to burn off some energy, so she would be ready for bed. She played in her jump up, but really only wanted to touch and lick the walls, and particularly interested in putting her hands in the one place they are not allowed....

Tubes

Quinn has become very skilled at getting her cannula out of her nose. It is rare that she has it directly in her nose these days. She pulls and stretches it and rubs and moves it constantly. In fact, right now it is skewed to the right and closer to her mouth than her actual nostrils, but she is breathing alright and it is pointing in the right general directions, so I am not going to mess with it. She loves to rub her little face against my shoulder/chest until she can get it out her nose. She also loves to pull it into her mouth, or bat it up so it is sitting on the bridge of her nose. I am hoping this is all part of the process of Quinn ultimately weaning herself off of oxygen.


We have a doctor's appointment this afternoon to discuss her eating. We have really good days, and not so good days. Overall, I think (as does the occupational therapist and the doctor) she has made progress, but there is clearly something that it is getting in the way of her eating 100% orally. So, we are going to see if we can make a new plan, and get this girl eating. It is our biggest stress right now. I think it is time to ask you all for some more vibes of the eating variety. Quinn needs them. Also, it we can get eating than that is another tube we can get off her cute, little face!

Kisses

Quinn now gives kisses. If you kiss her, and then ask for kisses she will put her open mouth against your cheek. It is adorable. The other night when my family came over, I was showing my mom Quinn's new skill, but instead of kissing my cheek, she dove (first time she has ever dove for someone) for my mom, and kissed her cheek. It was super adorable.

Also, now that it is getting cooler (you know from seventy degrees to snowing in a week's time) I am loving putting Quinn in baby legs (leg warmers). They are so cute, and so much easier to manage than tights.

And now for a bunch of random photos of Quinn from the last week or two that I have been meaning to post....

Guess who's back?

I regained my status last night as the worst pumpkin carver ever with this beauty! (You might recall that Ali may or may not have stolen the title from me last year.)


Any guesses of what it is suppose to be? Guesses from last night, included a witch, a maple leaf, a turkey....




.....It is an owl, clearly.

More to come on our spook-tacular night soon!

Peeping Tom

What would you do if you looked out your baby's third story window and saw a man peeking into her crib?

Would you take a picture? That is what we did!

And then we watched him for awhile and hoped he would make it over to the other window while we were still there.

It was cool. And loud, but mostly cool.

Dalan wants to start doing the same thing. He was in awe. I was pretty impressed too.

Have you ever watched a window washer on a multiple story building? It is awesome.

Exciting day

Quinn had an exciting day.

She moved to a new room, a room with big east facing windows. It is bigger, and brighter.

Old room
See that window behind the equipment. That is the window Quinn was passed through after she was born

New room!

She also got to wear clothes for the first time. She wore a darling onesie that her Great Aunt Mary Lou gave her. She looked so cute. After we put it on, she left her arms straight out for a couple of minutes. I am not sure she knew she could still move them. She is doing a good job of maintaining her temperature, and is working her way to an open crib. (notice no feeding tube....see next paragraph)


She also pulled her feeding tube out four times today. Crazy baby. I think she is trying to tell us she is ready for nursing. She just needs to lower her oxygen needs a bit, and then it is go time.

She also got to snuggle with her mom one time, and her dad two times. See that string/tie hanging down from the gown. Quinn loves to hold them while we snuggle. She always wants her hands touching something.



She can move her head on her own, and moves it from one side to another at least once per holding. Strong baby.

She also smiles all the time now. If people are laughing in the room, Quinn is likely smiling in her isolette.



She was awake and alert today. It was adorable. While I was holding her this morning. We just looked into each others eyes. It was very special.



She continues to love her binkie. She chomped on it all morning long. She totally attacks it like an alligator.

Passed out after a good chomping session.

Mini-Quinnie

Here are some pictures of Quinn from the last two days....I know I wrote two posts without including a picture of the wee babe...so bad. Some people out there are very mad at me right now.

Sleeping with her cute blue bow.
She has been so peaceful and relaxed since getting off the ventilator.
She now weighs 3 lbs, and 5 oz.

Quinn and her binkie.
She went to town on that thing this afternoon.
She would suck so hard and fast that it would not stay in her mouth.
She tries to hold it in on her own now.
It was so fun to watch her.
Her eyes were open, and she was so happy.
She smiles now.
And we are pretty sure it is not gas, but real smiles.

Quinn sleeping after kangaroo care.
Hands in face.
Cute green flower in her hair.
I am bummed it turned out so dark.
But look at the pretty face!

New moves

Today, Quinn rolled over from her back to almost her belly, before the nurse caught her. No, I am not kidding. Our 2 and half pound baby rolled over! We had just gotten done with our kangaroo care (pure heaven), and they put her back into her isolette. The respiratory therapist was arranging all her tubing, and Quinn rolled from her back to almost her belly as the nurse, who was on the other side of her isolette getting ready to tuck her in, caught her, and moved her to her belly in a safer manner. Quinn LOVES sleeping on her belly, and apparently has now found a way to put her self into her favorite position.

Earlier in the afternoon, Quinn was sleeping on her left side, and attempted to roll to her belly, but this time her snugglie was in the way. I got a picture of this attempt (it is kind of dark, though.) Crazy, strong six week old baby (31 weeks gestation)!



Also, Quinn's hair is looking lighter and lighter. In person, it looks more blonde than red or brown. It will be interesting to see what color it ends up. It also looks thicker.

Sir Pumps A Lot

Tonight I knighted myself as Sir Pumps A Lot. However, instead of touching both of my shoulders with a sword in a ceremony with the queen, I just attached two plastic breast shields and bottles to my breasts that were hooked up to a vacuum-like suction machine and pumped away. Good thing Quinn is now getting full feeds of breast milk (Go, Mighty Quinn) (and I am a champion of breast milk) or I might lose my motivation to keep pumping. What? You don't believe that I am deserving of such a title, let me show you my freezer....



There are over 100 bottles stored in there, not to mention, the 25 or so that are already at the NICU. I am pretty sure we are going to have to buy a deep freezer this weekend. Problem is, we have no where to put it. I suggested the porch, Dalan says that it is too hillbilly, I say who cares. Dalan is looking into if we can put it in our storage unit.

And now for the Quinn update, after all, that is why most of you are reading this. Not that I blame you, she is really stinking cute!

During her evening cares, we swab her mouth with a damp sponge. This is to keep her mouth moist, and to help remove any built up drool. She usually does not mind it, however, I plopped it into her mouth while she was yawning. It must of caught her off guard, because she was not pleased! She pushed my hand away with some force, and kept pushing until I left her alone. She is a feisty, little thing.

She has also been more awake and aware during her cares. Both last night and this afternoon, her eyes were wide open, and she was just so happy. She was stretching and playing with her ears, and mouth. This afternoon she even managed to get her thumb back into her mouth. She sucked on it, along with her knuckle and fist for about a half an hour. She is a cute, little thing.

She has also been rocking some cute and sassy bows lately. Love it. Thanks to all the nurses who help accessorize our little one. She also continues to insist on having at least one of her feet untucked from the snugglie, and her hands up by her face. She ends up in the funniest positions. She is full of personality, that is for sure.