Doctor Appointments Galore

Yesterday we went to Quinn's check up. She measures in the 90th percentile for height and weight (13 lbs, 10 oz, 24 inches tall). All seemed well with the check up and the shots (3) were, well, shots and she screamed bloody hell. The nurse asked if I wanted her to have the sucrose drops to offset the pain of the shots. I said yes, but oddly enough the nurse gave Quinn the sugar about 5 minutes BEFORE the shots - um, isn't the point of the sugar to distract Quinn from the shot being given??? Quinn was like, "mmmm, yummy, sugar, mmmmm, this is better than milk, slurp, slurp ..." (5 minutes elapse) ... "What the F&^% was that! OUCH! BLOODY HELL, MY LEGS!!!".
Noah had his kidney check up yesterday with the pediatric nefrologist (is that how you spell it?). Noah's good kidney is in the 95th percentile for size which means it is growing beyond normal expectations for his age which is good - it can compensate for the non-functioning right one. The only hurdle at this appointment is that they needed a urine sample from a 2 year old who is not potty trained. um... So they taped a bag over his penis and we had to wait until he peed. No
ah turned a 30 minute appointment into a 2 HOUR appointment because he apparently didn't have to go (or didn't want to go because of the tape/bag/awkwardness of the whole situation). After a tour of each water fountain in the complex with dad, he eventually went and then, so did we.
Lastly, I had a doctor appointment on Tuesday to have my finger looked at. I pulled a stupid hangnail and it got infected (yes, for those who remember correctly, I did this once before in grad school and they had to pull my freaking nail off - yes, I should have learned from that). My doctor put me on some stronger antibiotics and told me to check back Thursday to report on the progress. Well, there was no progress - no better, no worse, just red, swollen, throbbing, and hurting. She sent me to a general surgeon this morning who shot me up with local anesthetic (which numbed my whole finger except the part where he had to cut, oddly enough) and then sliced it open to drain what had become an abscess. So, now I have a huge gauze wrapped, throbbing finger that is hopefully on the road to recovery. Heidi is right, why is there some strange relationship between my delivering of a child and some strange infection/abscess shortly thereafter???

PS- you should know that it was very difficult to type this with the bloody stump on my right ring finger, so I do not apologize if there are typos! :0)

Blueberry Picking

Noah, Quinn, my mom and I left Manchester Tuesday morning for Stockton Springs, Maine. It was a 4 hour drive and I was a bit anxious because I've never driven that far with Noah, let alone with Quinn (and my mom!). Thankfully Quinn slept for 3 hours straight until she woke up hungry. Noah talked (and talked and talked) for 3 hours straight. We stopped at a grocery store with an hour to go so I could feed Quinn and we could use the bathroom. We arrived around 4:30 to meet Connie, Mike, Allison and Josh for wine and a lobster dinner! The beach was all rocky so Noah loved to splash and throw rocks. We found shrimp, snails and hermit crabs on the beach. We also found little toads in the woods leading down to the beach. Noah loved the ocean and could have spent hours throwing rocks. On Wednesday we played at the beach a bit more and headed out to a seafood restaurant for dinner. Although Quinn was awake for most of the day she slept soundly through dinner (thank goodness) and we all enjoyed our fried fisherman's platters (UGH and YUM at the same time). Thursday brought an adventure to Staples Homestead to pick wild blueberries. Quinn, Noah, mom, Connie, Mike and I headed to the fields and picked a total of 12 quarts of blueberries! It was a lot of fun and made us all a bit obsessive about picking berries (just a few more ... ). After lunch and a bit more beach time we hit the road at 2:30 and arrived back home at 7:00 after a more painful drive back (more stops, more complaining, more tears, and more milk stops than on the way there). All in all, better than I had imagined the drive. Thank goodness, because we are headed back to Maine for a week long vacation with friends in early September - only this time the drive is a bit longer! Off to make some blueberry muffins...

Urban Adventure

We live 45 miles north of Boston and almost never go to the city. Last night was free admission to the Boston Children's Museum so we decided to make the trip. Being minimalists, we packed only a diaper bag and hit the road. We arrived at the T station for Noah's first train ride. He liked it but not as much as we had expected him to. He liked the pigeons and hot dog vendor outside the station a bit better. I realized why no one else in the subway had infants with them - it's disgustingly gross and the crowds leave you wondering if someone is going to accidently bump into your baby. Thankfully, no one did.
The museum was very busy (being free admission & a very rainy evening) but Noah didn't seem to notice. He was most interested in the extensive train set and could have spent all 2 hours there driving dirty, beat up trains around a track similar to the one we have at home (did we need to come to Boston for this?). We finally convinced him that there were more "play rooms" to look at besides this one (3 floors of fun at the museum). He checked out "Peep's World" , "Aurthor's Place" and some Tool station. When it was all said and done we arrived back at the car at 9:30 - WAY past Noah's bedtime and we discovered that he (and we) never had dinner! A quick drive through Wendy's at 10:00 pm had to suffice. He only wanted to eat the french fries. After his 10:30 bedtime and french fries for dinner we felt a little like bad parents but knew that his first trip to the BCM was worth it. Mom needed to sleep in until 10:30 this morning to recover!

To Kate, Our Only Reader...

Hi Kate! Since I didn't think anyone really read this I have been slow at adding entries, but now that I know YOU read it I will try to update it more frequently. The point is to keep track of Noah and Quinn's growth through this like a journal, so it may get boring. Thanks for reading, we love you! Noah wants to type someting:

bbbbbbbbvvvvvvcccccccxxxxzzzzzASDFGHJKKLLL;'''
111111122222333334567890QQQQQWEYUIOP[]\
LOVE, NOAH

Noah-isms
- Who's that somebody's? (Who does that belong to?)
- In the back way (in the trunk or in the back yard)
- What'd he dude? (What did he do?)
- Hold my handles (hold my hands and help me get up / down)

IN THE GROOVE

Monday was my first day home with both Quinn and Noah with no help. At 6:30 Noah was singing in his crib and Quinn was smacking her lips for some milk. By 7:00 everyone was fully awake and I had finished breastfeeding Quinn. I got Noah dressed with a fresh diaper and out of his pajamas while Quinn watched us from Noah's crib (Noah thought it was funny that Quinn was in his crib). We came downstairs and got breakfast for Noah (cinnamon toast of course, with no crust) while Quinn took a nap in her swing. Then Noah and I played play-doh for a bit and then I brought everyone upstairs so that I could attempt to take a shower. Noah played quietly in his "closet" (playroom) and Quinn hung out somewhat quietly in her bassinet while I took a 5 minute shower. The house did not burn down in those 5 minutes. Noah did not open the baby gate and throw himself down the stairs. Quinn did not roll over onto her belly and suffocate in her bassinet. These were all images I conjured up in my brain while I washed my hair. Noah and Quinn were so good that I actually managed to get dressed AND dry my hair before I was needed again. Around 8:30 Quinn decided she wanted some more milk, so I breastfed her on the couch while Noah was treated to a half hour "signing times" video. Quinn was back to sleep by 9:00 in her swing and I took Noah upstairs for a book followed by a nap. THEY BOTH SLEPT FROM 9:30 to 12:30! If every day could be like this I will be convinced that my job is easy! We'll see.

A NEW ADDITION

Baby Quinn has arrived! She joined us on Friday morning, May 29th at 9:00 in the morning. She arrived somewhat easily and completely healthy. I made a swift recovery and we are now adjusting to life as a family of 4. It's shocking to me how quickly that happened. 3 years ago it was just Chris and I ... now it is RARELY Chris and I. Noah has adjusted pretty well. He only asks me once a day to put baby Quinn down (usually when I am breastfeeding and he needs something). He is learning to be patient. He is very tender with her and speaks to her in a high pitched, caring voice like an adult would. It is very cute and he is quite sensitive around her. I am continually surprised by how GOOD he is. For example, today (Chris was "watching" him) Noah asked daddy for a piece of paper. Chris was checking something on the computer and not really paying attention to him. Noah persisted to ask for a piece of paper. As it turns out, Noah had found a stash of Sharpie markers and had the cap off one of them. He was walking around the living room patiently waiting for chris to get him some paper. When Chris finally noticed that Noah had permanent markers Chris got quite nervous and asked Noah what else he colored on. Noah calmy said, "nothing, I need some paper!". Any other 2 year old would had added their signature to the walls and couch, but not Noah! More news soon...