3 weeks old

It's amazing how fast time goes. Today Quinn is 3 weeks already. And it is going great. At her 3 weeks checkup with the pediatrician she weighed well above her birth weight 7 lbs 10 oz (3459 grams) and she grew 1 inch. He was very satisfied with how she is doing, which made us very happy of course.

We do notice that she is getting more active and has more awake times during the day (and sometimes also during the night).

Her umbilical cord is not completely gone yet, so we're still giving her sponge baths instead of bathing her in her baby tub. She loves it most of the time, as long as it's not taking too long.

Showing off her hair. I'm wondering how it's going to be when she gets older. The black does seem to get a bit lighter already.....

Washed and dressed and ready to go eat...

She likes sleeping with her arms up above her head.

We put her in the bassinet of her stroller at night, nice and cosy....

but during the day she sleeps in her crib.

Dad took mom out for dinner on Valentine's day, so oma had the honor to feed her her first bottle. She had no problem taking it and had it down to the bottom in almost 5 minutes! Opa was almost too late taking the picture.

After eating she likes to lay in her playpen for a little while listening to her music mobile....

or looking at her toys....

We want to raise her bi-lingual, so I speaks Dutch to her and dad English. And you cannot start too soon with that. It does seem she's paying attention already to her Dutch lessons.

January 29, 2010

We were waiting patiently the last few weeks for our little girl to come into world. She didn't seem in a very big rush as January 23rd came and went, and also the days after.....So it was time to take some action. On January 27 we went back to the Dr Kincheloe, where we decided that he was going to induce me (or as grandpa Everson put it....the doctor was going to seduce me) on Friday morning. So Thursday night we went into the hospital, getting ready for the next day. Being put on the monitors, there already were contractions visible, but in my opinion nothing more intense than what I had been feeling in the previous days or even weeks. So we were still pretty relaxed. Ryan was with me of course and we had brought a movie to pass the time. Well, I don't know if it was the movie (which was very boring) or the side attack they gave me, but around 11 pm the contractions were starting to get closer and closer and actually also quite painful. I was supposed to get another side attack to prepare for the inducement, but the doctor decided that wasn't necessary anymore. This baby was ready to come out. With the wonderful support of Ryan (he did a great job), the nurse and doctor Kincheloe, Quinn was born at 9.40 am. She weighed 6 pounds and 13 ounces (3080 gr) and was 19 1/4 inch (49 cm) long.

Proud daddy holding her for the first time. He was also in charge of cutting the umbilical cord. He did admit he was a little bit nervous about where to cut it when he was handed the scissors, but luckily Dr Kincheloe didn't give him too much cord between his fingers to cut it at the right spot.

Daddy was also on diaper duty a lot the first days. After a little bit of practice, he got the hang of it soon.
Opa (grandpa) and oma (grandma) Oostvogels arrived in Green Bay a few days earlier already, so of course they came to the hospital right away to see their 3rd grandchild. They were so excited to meet her and are happy they can stay for some more weeks to enjoy every moment with Quinn as much as possible.

Also grandpa and grandma Everson couldn't wait to come to the hospital to meet their granddaughter.

The first picture of the three of us together. One happy family. We're so blessed.

We had to undress our little sleepyhead to try to keep her awake during feeding time. As you can see, it's not working at this moment.....

Dr Kincheloe came back the next day (on his free Saturday) to see how we were doing. Being my doctor since I moved to the US and throughout the entire pregnancy, I was very happy he was there for the delivery as well.

On Sunday we were ready to go home. So it was time to dress her in her own clothes for the very first time.

Opa and oma Oostvogels gave us a really welcome home feeling by hanging up pink and white decorations in the kitchen and living room. What a nice surprise that was.

Stay tuned for more news about Quinn. I'll update the blog with her arrival and first week as soon as possible.

Welcome to the world Quinn Petronella

She is finally here! Our little girl Quinn Petronella is born on Friday January 29 2010 at 9.40 am. She weighs 6 pounds and 13 ounces (3080 grams) and is 19 1/4 inches (49 cm) tall.
With her black hair (from mom) and little nose (from dad) she really is our perfect little sweetheart.