Prayers and Some Q & A

You are wonderful! Yes, you! Were you thinking of my family and sending up prayers for us this week? Today Quint saw his doctor again and even though we're still trying to work through the congestion in his chest and the rashes he has - his ears are "perfect"! Our biggest worry was his ears, because we got a grim prognosis last Thursday - but today his ears looked perfect to the doctor and totally better. I could not believe it! We were so happy and grateful - I even told the doctor how many people we had praying for Quint and how I shouldn't have been surprised!

We're still keeping the breathing treatments and meds going - but the ears look terrific! Whahoo! No more draining ears!

Meanwhile, AB and I are slowly but surely trying to feel better. We're doing worse than the baby! Ha! We get lots of questions that are similar and I've had lots of questions come through about Quint and us - so here's your question and answer in between pictures:

Question: Don't you have dogs? Are you worried about the baby with the dogs? Is Quint allergic to your animals?

Answer: Yes, we have two dogs and one cat. Quint hasn't shown any allergic reaction to the animals as of almost six days home. As far as being worried about the dogs with the baby - the answer is a huge resounding NO. Anabelle (white/brown dog) thinks Quint is her baby. She sits wherever he is and keeps a very watchful eye on him. If he so much as fusses, she sits at attention and looks around as if the "offending" element were visible. Obviously, it would only take one single note of aggression to make me go into orbit - but there hasn't been any such response. They are both attentive and sweet to Quint and sit nearby when he is playing on his blanket.

Question: Come on! What are you doing to make that baby smile in all those pictures? Seriously - "what are you bribing that baby with to get all those smiles". "Are you feeding that baby sugar to get such smiles in all your pictures?" "How do you get Quint to smile in all his pictures?" "What a happy baby - but seriously! Does he ever cry?"

Answer: Ok - you are all too funny! Here's the truth: He really, really does smile like that a lot of the time. He sees the camera and it's like baby model time. That smile pops out faster than a pop tart in the toaster. He just loves to laugh and smile. We are so blessed! But, yes - of course - he DOES cry. When he's really tired, or really hungry - we can get a good solid screamfest going on over here. But he's still cute, even when he cries! It just doesn't happen very often.

Question: How are the breathing treatments going? Is Quint still sick? How do you get a 6 month old to take a breathing treatment? Doesn't Quint cry when he gets his breathing treatment?

Answer: Well, I've already talked about how he's doing above. But as for getting a six month old to take a breathing treatment - it's not that bad actually. I'm not sure if it's a Quint thing or a baby thing - but he sits quite still and just breathes. We think he might actually like it. Maybe it helps him breath easier and he feels better? Whatever it is - he's really amazing at it. He sometimes just falls asleep. When I first posted - I had a hard time with him the first two times - but Daddy took over and he's so incredible at it. Quint just seems to relax and if I walk in the room and say "hi!" he smiles through the mask. Cutest thing you've ever seen!

Question: How has Quint done since he's been home? How is Quint adapting to you and Anton? How are you all doing since coming home? What are the highs and lows of being new parents?

Answer: Ok, well Quint is doing amazing. He's such a happy and sweet little guy. He really and truly is a joy. As far as adapting to Anton and I - he's such a cuddly baby that we have not noticed any problem with attaching. He actually gets a little quiet and serious when other people are holding him - and then when he's handed back to Anton or I - the big grin busts out. One woman was holding him over the weekend and then he saw me and started fussing and reaching out to me - the lady said "oh my - how remarkable! He knows his mama already!" So that's a good sign!

The lows are that you absolutely cannot, cannot, cannot prepare yourself for the reality of the extreme level of responsibility that gaining a child carries. First time moms - there is nothing I can say to prepare you. I thought to myself that no matter how many times people tried to tell me how much life would change - I just thought "yeah ok, I get it". But it's absolutely a situation that you must be in to fully understand. Because it's a state of mind. It's not just a "we need a babysitter to go out tonight". Life just does not continue as per usual. You will not be able to completely adapt your old life to your new one. You cannot merge the two because things are just too different. Anyway - it's my new soapbox. It has nothing to do with the child - because of course you're so happy - but you suddenly find yourself going "what the heck just happened" - no matter how long you've prepared yourself. It just doesn't seem to matter in the moment - you're just different, and life is so different, and everything looks and feels different, and somehow, you didn't see it coming. Or you just didn't know exactly what to expect - so you don't know quite what to do once it's on you. Weird but true. Screw preparing - it's all out the window the minute they hand you the baby and walk away.

The highs are so much greater than the few lows. Of course, we have this beautiful son who is just such a delight. He's smart, funny, happy, sweet, and cuddly. We have waited a very long time to expand our family and he is just the perfect little addition for us. We love spending time with him and exploring things with him. We love kissing him, hugging him, and loving on him. He's so fun to be with and he's teaching us so much about selflessness and love. Not to mention the ability to be forgiving. He's just an absolute joy - and there is nothing better than seeing him smile or hearing him giggle. Someone asked us if we are having fun - and I would say "absolutely YES!" The other day we saw in the video monitor that he was awake from his nap. Picture if you will - two parents seeing first the monitor and then looking at each other. Smiles break out and then the "ABCB Baby Derby" breaks out as we vie rapidly through the living room and hallway to get to the baby first. First one to the baby gets to hold him and gets those priceless waking up smiles! AB won - but I got second place and lots of smiles too! What a boy!

Question: How does Quint sleep?

Answer: This was a very popular question! Soooo many people having asked us about sleep - and I am happy to report that Quint sleeps 12 hours a night and takes two naps a day. Keeping in mind he's young - and still needs lots of rest. But he's incredible! He sleeps like a brick! He loves his naps too - if he doesn't get them - he gets pretty cranky, so we do our best to accommodate! Tee hee!

So anyway - what's not to love? This little guy is a gorgeous and wonderful baby - we couldn't ask for more or love him any more. We are enjoying soaking up the baby loving. He's an absolute darling...