Eliot Spencer Quinn

Our spring blossom has sprung! It's a boy so I don't know how welcome the analogy is, but we'll go with it.

The labor went well, below are the cliff notes from my perspective, for full details you can call and chat with Sharon, she would love it.

Name: Eliot Spencer Quinn
Weight: 8 lbs. 15 oz.
Height: 20.5 inches



Tuesday April 3rd, 2012
4:30 AM - About the time early labor started, this is when Ira woke up and Sharon couldn't get back to sleep.
10:00 AM -We already had an appointment with the midwives so we went in for that, they said it could be labor, but contractions weren't consistent enough to warrant staying. Probably still early first stage labor.

So we went to Costco and stocked up on food and treated ourselves to a Costco lunch.

~ 3:00 PM - Contractions became more consistent at about 5-6 minutes apart, Sharon got more focused. Del and Mary Lou arrived from PA to help out with Ira. - Perfect timing.

~ 6:45 PM - Checked-in to the CT Childbirth and Women's Center - They are amazing! Sharon described it as 'Heaven'. The midwife was supportive as was the nurse on duty that night. - Dilated: 5 cm
~ 9:15 PM - Waters broke (literally burst) - Dilated: 9 cm
~ 9:30 PM - Second Stage Labor started - big pushes
~ 9:50 PM - His head came out slow and after a few pushes the rest of his body was not following. The midwife sternly commanded Sharon to flip out of the sitting position she was in and to get on her hands and knees. One of the babies shoulders was stuck against her pelvis, known as shoulder dystocia. We had an anxious few seconds, that seemed a lot longer, as the skilled midwife did a few maneuvers and the baby was born.

9:54 PM - Official birth time.

He didn't look good after coming out, you can see he is still getting all his color.
The flash didn't help either.

Cheers to mom! Sharon did really well.

Happy new father

We are all home, healthy, and happy.

Ira has been taking well to the new addition. He was a little hesitant at first, but he now affectionately calls it 'My(his) Baby' after some bonding time this afternoon.

Ira was his usual observant self when we first got home, not sure what
to make of the new baby.

He warmed up fairly quickly after he was able to get some alone
time with one of us.

A proud older brother.

Ira loves holding Eliot.

Some good bonding time...
may he always be so gentle and protective...

Thank You Mary Lou for being here with us! 

Ira and Eliot have taken well to Mary Lou.

Celebrating Eliot's birthday with a yummy cake.

She has been a huge help as we start to adjust our lifestyle for a family of four.

I don't know how Sharon is going to survive the three of us.

Spring photo-shoot-orama

This weekend was absolutely gorgeous.  We took advantage with some fun walks and in the process took a ridiculous amount of pictures.  Enjoy. 

 Something just clicked with Ira.  When you ask him to smile, he now actually smiles rather than making a scary monster face.  Let's see if it lasts. 

 Showing is age

 This town is covered with Forsythia.  I love it!

 Bwa hahaha.  And you thought I wouldn't be able to climb up here!

I usually hate even the thought of belly shots.  But you know, you're only 39 weeks pregnant once, or twice, or ten times depending on your clan's size.

 Caption suggestions welcome here.

 Stuck between a rock and a baby.  (Kristen gets credit for that one.)

 Every parking lot should have a sign like this.

 O.k.  You can come out now.

Have a good week every one!  We'll keep you updated if anything eventful happens.

2012 St. Patrick's Day

We had plans to party with friends, but they ended up getting pink eye.  And we all know how pink eye affects Sharon.  Highland games will have to wait for another time. Our unplanned event was that we ended up in New York City and saw some of the St. Patrick's day parade.

 Ira wasn't sure what to make of all the people in green.

We stayed long enough to see a few bagpipe groups go by and a a lot of policemen.

Sharon put her amazing cake decorating skills to work and made this sweet cake. She also perfected the corned beef and cabbage.

 Sharon's interjection:  This cake really makes me smile as I think, "My 3rd grader made that all by herself?!?" And then I realize that I don't have a 3rd grader, and that I'm the one who made the cake.  It didn't turn out how I envisioned, but it was extremely fun to make...and watch Ira eat.

Ira eating the "apple-con."

In other craftiness, we remember Ira drowning in most of his clothes when he was born.  So our solution was to buy a load of cheep onesies and tie die them for baby #2.  Sharon has experimented with quick and easy versions of the art, but never the real deal.  It was more fun the second time around, perhaps since Ira helped. 

Spring in Central Park

We decided to get a visit to the temple in before the baby came. Such a treat. Ira and I enjoyed our early morning walk through Central Park where spring was starting to unfold. We even caught some of the New York St. Patrick's Day Parade, picture are in our St. Patrick's day post.

Ira liked the pond with the Ducks

 I enjoyed seeing the green lace on the trees and the emerging flowers.

 

 Some early morning hockey. It was pretty with all of the mist coming off the ice.

 It was tricky trying to capture the moment with my cellphone, but I liked the way this one turned out, with the city and nature merging in the early morning light.

February Family Visit

It was great to have a visit from my parents and my youngest brother, McKay, while he was on his 'ski break'. We love seeing family and having time to catch up and talk. It snowed while they were here but we didn't get any skiing in.

Ira loved uncle 'kk', Papa, and Grandma

Sharon tried out some new recipes for us. These lemon pudding cakes were a nice treat.

My cousin Josh and his family came down for a day from upstate NY.

Ira also loved their visit. (He's a social kid). He was pretty goofy while they were here.

Kennedi, Ira, & Libby were excited they all had the same kind of pajamas. 

Ira was so sad to see them leave, he couldn't stop crying. We look forward to getting

together with them again.