Five Weeks Old

It's hard to believe that Trip is already five weeks old! He is getting a little bigger and filling out more. He's working hard at holding up his head. We're now getting a four hour stretch of sleep at night, which is really nice. He's spending a little more time awake during the day, too.

Family Time #3

We're sad to see our last family visit come to an end. We've had a great time with Dad, Erin, and Nana. Now we have to get back to "real life." Kirk went back to work this week and I will be doing the same in two weeks.

Kirk and Dad at the Colorado National Monument

Trip and his Granny

Talking to Great Nan

Trip slept in the Sleepy Wrap through most of our time at Mesa Lakes.

Fishing with Grandpa- Trip kept reaching for the reel. Unfortunately they didn't catch anything.

The three Kirks

Four generations of Quinlivans

Family Time #2

Here are a few pictures of our time with Mom, Jerry, and Grandmama.

Grandmama with her third great grandson.

Trip was having a good time sitting with his Gram.

Four generations

Papa, Daddy, and Trip.

Three Weeks Old

Trip was three weeks old yesterday. Here he is hanging out in his swing, which he absolutely loves.

First Bath!

Trip's umbilical cord finally fell off on Friday night, so he got to have his first real bath yesterday. We weren't sure how he would like it, but he was very happy. His tub is still a little big for him, but it fit perfectly in the kitchen sink, which makes baths much easier for us.

Deciding if he likes the water.

Getting all clean.

Cozy in his towel from Grandpa and Noni.

Looking Cute

Family Time

Our first family visit is coming to an end. Trip has sure enjoyed having his Grandpa, Noni, and Aunt Rachel here. We've been spoiled having all the help. Dad and Kirk have been working on lots of projects around the house and the garage. Mom and Rachel have helped clean, sew, and take care of Trip. Dad finished Trip's cradle and Mom and Rachel spent many hours finishing the camo quilt that I had started. Both projects will require posts of their own because they turned out so great.

Trip is always happy in his Noni's arms!

Grandpa's first time holding Trip.

He likes to prop himself up.

More Birth Day Photos

Our friend Seth came to the hospital just after Trip was born and took these great pictures. Enjoy!

Just moments after birth he was already making his mother proud by raising his hand. I wonder how many times he heard reminders to raise his hand while in the womb.

All cleaned up and in the recovery room.

His feet are so big that they almost didn't fit in the space provided for his prints.

He sure loves his daddy and his daddy sure loves him!

Trip's Birth Day

This post is long overdue. I've been waiting for pictures that our friend took, but haven't gotten them yet, so we'll make do with the couple I do have.

My due date was Friday, July 24. The day came and went with a few contractions, but no labor. I had been waking the mall or a variety of air conditioned stores daily for a couple of weeks in hopes of getting things going. My neighbor and I had also been walking our neighborhood. She was determined to help me have this baby. On Saturday evening, Kirk and I set out to walk the track at our nearby middle school. By the time we went to bed around 11:00 pm, I was having contractions but they were still sporadic. I told Kirk that I would keep timing them while he got some sleep. I was able to rest for a while. Around 3:30 am, I woke up having painful contractions, so I got up and started timing them again. They were still sporadic, but happening between 8 and 2 minutes apart. By 6:00 am, I couldn't do anything during a contraction, so I woke Kirk up and told him that we might be needing to head to the hospital soon. He got up and started getting himself ready and getting our things together.

We arrived at the hospital around 8:00 am and were escorted to the best room in the labor and delivery wing, the only one with a private hot tub. We had been praying that we would get that room, so we were very thankful when the nurse took us right there. I was dilated to between 3 and 4 cm and was almost fully effaced, so the contractions were definitely working. I continued having strong contractions and Kirk helped me a lot by rubbing my back (which hurt tremendously during contractions) and encouraging me. I could not have done it without him there. The nurse got the hot tub ready and I was able to sit in it for an hour or two until it was time to start pushing. Once I got out of the tub, things went really fast. My bag of waters was still intact, so the doctor broke it and within probably 20 to 30 minutes, Kirk Richard Quinlivan III (we're calling him Trip) was born. He arrived at 12:08 pm. Kirk got to cut his son's umbilical cord and a couple of minutes later I was able to hold and nurse him. He weighed 7 lbs 4 oz and was 19.5 inches long.

The whole experience was great. We are so thankful for how well and relatively quickly it went. We had a wonderful nurse who was very helpful and kind, but was also able to be firm giving directions when she needed to be. Our nurses in the recovery room were excellent as well.

Here are a couple of pictures from the big day:



A couple of funny things about the stats:

• For almost the whole pregnancy, Kirk was telling people that my due date was July 26 instead of July 24, which ended up being the day Trip arrived. I guess he knew best and I never should have corrected him!
• At the baby shower with my coworkers, one of the games was to guess when Baby Q would be born. One lady actually wrote that she thought he would be born at 12:08 pm. How crazy is that? Another coworker guessed correctly that he would weigh 7 lbs 4 oz and someone else predicted that he would be 19.5 inches long.