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Crazy Q

Quinn is silly. Quinn is crazy. Quinn loves getting a laugh, a cheer, and some claps from her audience.

This includes doing yoga, backflips, putting things on her head or wearing silly clothes. (and a Broncos cheerleader outfit is silly.).

And Wacky Hyjinks Ensue

Raul has been up to more mischief as he explores our house, and gets his report ready for Santa. (We all know Quinn thinks she is now on the nice list, although last night as she was almost asleep she sat up and told me she was nice and naughty.) 

Here is what Raul has been up to this week, aka, THE RAUL REPORT:  

We caught him on the counter with Quinn's car up on blocks, and Raul under it, trying to fix it.

The next day, the car was next to the Christmas tree, and Raul was at the very top of our tree.  So, I guess he fixed his car, and drove it to the tree, so he could climb and get a good view of the entire living room.

Then this morning, we found him hanging on the clock, with a note reminding us that there is less than 24 hours until Christmas!  Quinn was amazed.  She kept looking between the tree and the clock, trying to figure out Raul and his tricks.

Quinn gets that Raul is tricky, and loves to try to find him and point out where he is that day in the house.  She knows his name, and she can usually tell you his location (car, tree, clock).  I bet next year, she'll better understand his job to report back to Santa about whether she is being naughty or nice.


Here are some other things we have been up to in the last twenty four hours.  There is never a dull moment.  And she never sits still, except when she is reading, which she actually does quite a bit of, but that is the only time.

All Gone

Attitude of Gratitude

The last 17 months have been hard. It is not easy to have a new baby, and it is especially not easy to have a new baby who has a whole slew of medical and extra needs. However, even though it has been hard, we have made it. We are thriving and striving as a family, and Quinn is a perfect little toddler (who still has some extra needs...but is perfect, none the less.) And the reason we are in such good shape is because of our family, friends, and the community. We would not be here without you all, and I don't know if I say it enough, but thank you and we are forever grateful for all the support we have received.

We have received support in so many ways, and I will never be able to repay everyone who helped us get to this point, but I do hope people know that I think about it everyday and I am so appreciative.

I want to say thank you to everyone who prayed, sent vibes, and thought of Quinn when she was so small and in need of so much love.

I want to say thank you to the nurses and doctors who saved her life.

I want to say thank you to everyone who respected our need for space and healing right after Quinn was born.

I want to say thank you for every kind text, email, card, voice mail, and phone call we received.

I want to say thank you to everyone who let me complain, cry, or share my joy with them.

I want to say thank you to everyone who watches Quinn (our parents and siblings) while we are at work.

I want to say thank you to everyone who brought us dinner. I want to say thank you to everyone who has given Quinn a gift.

I want to say thank you for everyone who contributed to Quinn's March of Dimes team, walked with us, and came to her party.

I want to thank everyone who was patient and understanding with our time of house arrest, and helped us keep Quinn so healthy.

I want to say thank you to everyone who cleaned our house, and helped put together our nursery. And thank you for all those offers to clean our house.

I want to say thank you to everyone who has given us pictures of Quinn.

I want to say thank you to everyone who continues to love and be a champion of Quinn.

We are really so grateful, and appreciative and lucky. Thank you!

In addition, I am especially grateful for Dalan. Kind, loving, and patient Dalan. This journey has been crazy, but I literally would not have survived without him. Thank you for being you...a fabulous husband, dad, and friend.

County Fair

Last Thursday, Dalan and I took Quinn to the Salt Lake County Fair. We initially took her on Wednesday, but it was $7.00 to park, and even with free admission, it seemed like a lot of money. Dalan saw on their website that Thursday they had a parking special and it was only $1.75 to park. That seemed much more reasonable to us.

Quinn had a blast, and it was a fun afternoon, despite being hot! It was in the high nineties, and it was quite the contrast to being in San Fransisco and bundling Quinn in fleece jackets, hats, and gloves only days before.

Highlights include:

1. The petting zoo. We got to pet goats, sheep, ponies, bunnies, turtles, camels, and llamas all in the same inclosure. Just like you would find in nature. There was also a zebra in the petting zoo, but in his own cage with signs saying do not pet. When I walked over the there with Quinn to show her. We got yelled at to not pet it, even though we had no intention to do so. Ah, the joys of the fair.

We also made friends with a couple in their late 80's in the petting zoo. The woman kept calling Quinn a boy despite her pony tail, and lacy pink flowery outfit. She patted Quinn on the head, and told us she wanted to sneak her some water from her water bottle, but told us she couldn't because, "his parents were watching." She was very sweet, although a little confused.



2. The pony ride. The men running the pony ride thought Quinn was a little small to ride. I assured her she was an expert, and would be just fine. He asked if she was brave, and again I assured him she was. She rode her pony, although with less enthusiasm than usual. I think it was because they never stop the horses, and Quinn did not get to give her customary hello pat to the horse. When her turn was up, the man commented on how WELL she did for being SO SMALL. What can I say, she loves riding horses.



3. We saw the animals raised by the 4-H kids. Quinn loved the cows and pigs the best. My favorite pig name was "Porkahantus."



4. We saw the displays and crafts made by the 4-H kids. It was nice and cool in this building and was a nice break from the heat.

5. We did not do any of the other rides. We skipped the merry go round, because at this age Quinn does not know the difference yet if we go on it or not. Upon returning to the car though, and looking through the information booklet we were given at the gate, all the rides we only a dollar from noon to 4:00 pm, so I guess we should have let her. If we go next year, it will be on Thursday (or whatever their discount day is), because there were tons of discounts and other deals throughout the entire day/evening.

All in all, it was a fun activity. It makes me excited for the State Fair next month.

Crazy Hair Quinners

I have about a billion photos I need to upload of Quinn from the last week. Hopefully, this weekend, but in the mean time, here are some photos of Quinn and her crazy hair. It is getting longer. It is getting thicker. Some days, crazier. But more and more fun to play around with and do.

(yep, that is cartoon Jesus on the TV in the background. Dalan was watching American Dad.)

(Back of the head ponytail)

So, a random story....I am part of this online preemie community thing on Facebook. They asked people to enter their babies' birth weight as a Mother's Day thing. Anyway, Quinn weighed the least out of all 250 people who participated, and when I was telling Dalan about it, I refer to it as, "Quinn won." Weird right, it wasn't a contest in the first place, and since when does being the smallest preemie make you the "winner." Damn me, and my competitive ways! Oh, and Dalan thought Quinn really had won something for being the smallest as I won a prize from this site earlier this week. So, I really confused things with my poor word choice.

Not at all my night

1. I have allergies or a cold. I was thinking allergies, but now I am not so sure. Either way, a runny nose is not fun. Quinn's nose is also slightly runny, but she could be teething.

2. Quinn has decided that sleeping in her crib is for suckers times 100. She used to fall asleep and stay asleep in under seven minutes. Now, it can take up to an hour to get her to sleep in the first place. And she wakes up like a feral cat. (Or wolf....Romulus, anyone?) She is all arched over on her back, bright red, and screaming. She doesn't even look like herself. We do this at least two times a night. She used to just wake up, need her binkie, and go back to sleep. She now requires a lengthy rocking session, or a cuddle session on the couch.

I guess we need to do some sleep training. However, I am hesitant to let her cry it out for a few reasons. If she moves too much her pulse-ox. monitor goes off, and I have to at least look in on her anyway. She can pull herself up on the bars on her crib, and I am afraid her hurting herself in an attempted escape. She is hooked up to two sets of wires/tubing and I don't want her pulling her g tube out/ get all tangled up. Which leads me to my next point....

3. I pulled her g tube button, balloon inflated and all, out tonight. I went to put her in her crib, got the tubing caught on her railing (because I am barely tall enough to get her in to her crib, I really have to reach to get her in there), and heard a pop. Even though I had never heard that sound before, I knew it was bad news bears. Quinn cried, but stopped immediately when I picked her back up. Leading me to believe the cry was about cribs being for suckers, not about any sort of pain. Ran down stairs, got the necessary supplies, and put her button back in as stomach milk (grossest thing ever) spurted out of the open tubing all over the place. It was awful for me. Quinn was never too bothered. Quinn then thought it was time to party, but quickly calmed down, and actually went into a deep enough sleep, that I put her successfully in her crib!

4. Quinn's monitor just alarmed like crazy. It was telling me "sensor off", even though it is clearly on. I fixed it for now. Usually, to really fix those types of malfunctions, you need to take the sensor off her foot, and reattach it or get a new one. And you always wake up the baby in doing so. And there is no way in hell I want to risk that right now. However, I will probably end up having to do it right around one am. It really is going to be one of those nights!

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.

Random Ramblings

Quinn has injured herself twice since Thursday. First, she got a fat, purple lip from banging it against the car on her walker right before our doctor's appointment, of course. He just laughed and said he thought she had been sucking on a pen. He and his nurse also commented on Quinn's wildness. Is it a good or bad thing when a medical professional who specializes in working with children calls your baby wild? Next, she cut her cheek on a stacking cup when she dove from a sitting position onto her belly. Wild, I tell you. I am sure more will come as she becomes more and more mobile. Boo to that.



Piper got a new bed. Hooray to that. No more smelling old one. She has a big, fresh one to ruin now! Piper has been on one lately. She also has been a little eccentric, but she is spiting us on a nightly basis, eating diapers, and just needy. Good thing Quinn is always up for some open mouth kisses. Quinn and Piper are really beast friends. Quinn loves to try to scoot/crawl toward her, and still likes to talk to/call her. It is all very sweet. Piper is very patient with Quinn, and loves the attention.




I made some baby food tonight. I love it. It is one of my favorite mom duties. It is so easy and cheap, not to mention healthy. If you are thinking about doing it, I recommend baking things (apples, pears, yams, squash, etc) rather than boiling. It is easier, and it smells so good. I just pulled some baked pears out of the oven, and I want to dish up some vanilla ice cream and eat them myself. I also made some peas tonight. I love how bright green they are. Piper loved the cast off/fallen peas. We'll see tomorrow if Quinn likes them too.



Quinn loves music, but you all know that. Her all time favorite song is "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green. Yesterday, we were watching music videos on youtube, and she was calm and enjoying it, but as soon as we listened to that song, her body started to twitch, and she was bobbing her head to the music. Dalan and I laughed so hard. Girl knows what she likes. Then, this morning Quinn was asleep in my lap, and the Jackson 5 came on the TV, and she instantly woke up, and started to dance. Crazy girl.

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....

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.

Little Miss Expressive

Quinn has been making the cutest and funniest happy faces. She now knows to smile for my phone. Or she loves to see Mayor Goldie Wilson (the name of my phone), because it is so shiny and gold. Either way, it equals big, goofy, adorable expressions!

(She makes this face all the time now. It is adorable and sweet, and so happy!)

(The tubes aren't gone for good.
Getting close on the oxygen.
And Quinn is just very skilled at removing her feeding tube.)

(Cute, happy babe!)

(Not a yawn...just a big, open, happy mouth.)

(Blowing happy spit bubbles!)

(Talking up a storm!)