Our Sweet Bug

We can't get enough of her little face!

 

These were taken on Father's Day. Quinn was hangin' on the patio with Daddy while he worked on his road bike.

Confessions

Quinn, my hope is that you will read this blog when you are older. Maybe you will even scan through it if you choose to become a mom yourself. Just in case you decide to read it then (when you are trying to figure out how to be a mom to your own baby and are doubting yourself), I want to confess some things. Here it goes.

 

Quinn, your mom has not mastered this whole parenting/running a household gig. At all. Yes, I am feeling more competent each week as I get to know you and as you can do more and more. But look at our dining room table! It is covered in laundry. In all honesty, our laundry may or may not get folded. And it may or may not get put away. I confess that sometimes I get dressed in the dining room, pulling things from the piles at random, in hopes that I have time to get the clothes on before you wake. Sometimes I do manage to move the clothes upstairs, where they are often stored in a heap in the crib in your nursery (since right now you sleep in our room). The clothing may not get folded or put away while in your crib, either; although they have a better chance than when hastily set on the dining room table. I confess that even though the Georgia humidity is awful, sometimes I am grateful for it. It gets the wrinkles out of my unfolded clothes once I put them on.

You are an incredible night sleeper and I am so glad. I would rather be faced with the dilemma of not being able to organize our home than to be completely exhausted each day. Since you sleep so well at night, this means you are awake most of the day, leaving me little time to clean the house or myself. Most days, I take a two minute shower and yank my dripping wet hair in to a pony tail as fast as I can. I confess I have only blow-dried my hair once since you were born.  It was the day of our professional pictures, when you were 8 days old. That was nearly 10 weeks ago now. If you look closely in those pictures, you can see that my hair was really only half blow-dried (you started crying for mommy so I quit early), because it is half curly and half straight.

So if some day you are holding your little baby and feel completely inadequate because your house looks like a disaster zone and you just can't seem to get on top of organizing things, please know that it is ok! Or you may see commercials on TV where the moms look completely put together with perfect hair and spit-up free outfits. As you watch these, you may feel like you are a sloppy mess. But don't let it get you down, dear Quinn. Your own mother went through the same thing.

The most important thing, Quinn, is to focus on your baby. When we play together all day, I don't think about laundry or how I look very often (I have moments, though!). You flash your beautiful, bright smile at me unconditionally and that is what fulfills me. You will feel the same way when your child smiles at you and their eyes sparkle. It is truly magical!

You will be able to put your house in order again later. Last year when I longed for you, I easily put away my laundry with a heavy heart. But you will never get those first moments back with your child. So try your best to let go of trying to do it all. Your mom really needs to take her own advice right about now! Thanks for putting things in to perspective for me, Quinn! I love you.

Yesterday's Walk

 

Chad and I just watched some clips from when she was a newborn and we are blown away by how much she has grown in the past two months. In this clip, we are starting out our evening walk in the neighborhood.

 

Compare this clip to the two below of her when she was only one week old. She has changed so much! I am suddenly realizing why people say that it goes by fast.

 

Quinn, you are just incredible. I get tears in my eyes when I watch you as a newborn. What am I going to be like when you graduate high school or college one day? I am this sentimental about nine weeks ago!

 

 

This clip above shows you sound asleep with your serious, furrowed-brow  sleeping face that I adore.

 

 

This bottom clip shows you on your changing table, squirming around and looking so brand new!

10 Weeks Old!

Quinn, you are now 10 weeks old! Look at you in your hospital hat. You have definitely outgrown it. I am feeling very sentimental about this. You are smiling a lot now. And you have really started to suck on your fingers and fists this week. You are really growing and changing!

Your Two Month Appointment

On Monday, you had your two month appointment. You are a tiny little bug, Quinn! You are 10 lbs, 5.5 ounces and 21.75 inches long. You are in the 22nd percentile for weight and 17th percentile for length. The doctor says you are healthy and thriving and that you make very good eye contact for your age. The hardest part of the appointment for me was watching you scream while getting your shots. I hate to see you in pain! Even worse than the shots was our drive home. You were still upset from the appointment and you don't like your car seat to begin with. You cried harder than I have ever seen you cry. It was so hard to leave you in your seat as Daddy drove us home. I wanted to take you out and comfort you in my arms. I could tell you wanted to be held, but I had to wait so you would be safe. I love you so much, Quinn. This was my first taste on how difficult it is for a mother to see her child in any sort of pain. When we got home, I held you and you slept as I held you for two hours. It was just what both of us needed.

A Special Day

Yesterday was my 36th birthday. It was also Quinn's 2 month birthday. It was special that we shared this day of milestones. Here she is in the morning in her swing, studying her mobile very seriously.

 

Quinn, Mommy doesn't make you wear headbands and bows regularly. You spend a lot of time in simple onesies and sleep n' play pajamas right now. But for your monthly milestones, I try to dress you up just a bit. You look so adorable in them!

 



Chad decided that it would be funny to make me a matching sticker for my birthday. So he constructed one that said "432 Months" for me! We amused ourselves with lots of pictures.

 

 

 

You thought it was pretty fun for a while.

 



 

But then you let us know that we had taken enough pictures for one day.

 

 

It was amazing for me to reflect back on my birthday one year ago. I cried all day. We had recently had our fourth loss and I was officially the dreaded "advanced maternal age." I wondered if I would ever become a mother. Fast forward one year, and here you are in my arms, sweet Quinn! You are teaching me so much every day.