more to come!!

Good morning everybody,

Sorry we are so overdue on an update, its definately harder to type with a baby in your hands!!  :)

We'll will write more this evening but we know the most important thing is for you all to see more pictures in the meantime.

Here we go with a few recent favorites.

Love to you all, B,D,Q and the Frank

look ma no hands!

Picking out pumpkins!

is the heater broken again dad?

my first headshot!

best buds already!

A message from Mom...

Hey everyone!

I'm giving Dave a break from the blog, and thought I'd write a few thoughts myself. Hope this finds you all healthy and happy and enjoying this indian summer!
What a time of change. The leaves are changing color, the tempature can't decide if it's summer or fall, the grass is growing like crazy, and everyday my son changes.
My son. What an amazing thing it is to be a mom. I listened to my own mother say that she loves me unconditionally my entire life, but it wasn't until I had Quinn, that I actually heard her. I totally get it.
Speaking of mom's...mine came up to take care of me the week following Quinn's birth, and honestly...I don't know what I would have done without her. I didn't/don't want everyone to take Quinn from my arms, that's not what's helpful...it's the stuff I can't do while he is IN my arms that is helpful. That's exactly what she did. For a week straight, she brought me tea, walked our dog, filled my water glass, changed and rocked Quinn when I needed to shower, cooked all my meals, shared my laughter in the good days and held my hand as I cried on the hard ones.. Who knew that BECOMING a mom, would make you need yours more than ever? Thank you mom.. I love you and I understand you more than I ever have.
Life with Quinn is starting to feel more managable. I pride myself on being a pretty strong girl. After having a baby, I was/am as fragile as blown glass. That said, I am learning to manage it better, and I find so much more joy in the little things each day. Every day gets a little easier, and we are starting to find our groove around here. Either that, or I'm just so tired that I'm in a fog, and everything feels a little out of body. haha...it's probably both. We spend most of our days inside, feeding and playing and sleeping. (him not me) I'm still really sore, and I've had a little trouble healing the "inside", so I'm supposed to limit my walking to 20 mins a day and no hills...well, if you know where I live, there are hills in every direction from my driveway. I cheat a little, but mostly I'll be hanging out at home for a few more weeks. My two best friends are coming tomorrow to help, and I am so excited to have them here. Again, they are the type to help with the unglamorous stuff and give me more time to bond with my baby. I love my girls, and my friends have been incredible.
Frank has been amazing. We were never worried about him, but more so..would I still be able to be a good mom to him as well... It's all working out. He has become SO watchful over Quinn. If someone takes Quinn out of the room that Frank is in, he follows. If Quinn is on a bouncy on the floor, he sits or lays next to him. It's been so endearing to watch. I'm so grateful for Frank, and I definitely have enough love for everyone. Dave takes him for walks everyday and we give him as much attention as we can.
Dave is as wonderful of a dad as I thought he would be. He loves being with Quinn. He can spend hours staring at him, and he is getting the hang of holding him. I don't think Dave had really ever held a baby till his own! He bounces him in the middle of the night, and changes him for me so I can get a few more seconds of sleep. He makes me tea and fills up my water.. He doesn't cook for me yet, but hey...nobody is perfect. =)
We had some trouble getting enough breastmilk from my breasts for Quinn. (I had a breast reduction in my early 20's) I tried really hard, and took everything the midwife's recommended, but he wasn't gaining weight the way he should've been. Therefore we had to start supplementing. It was a hard thing to hear, and hard on the ego, but whatever makes this baby thrive...I now breastfeed him everytime he is hungry (about every hour and a half) and then after he pulls away, I give him about 2 ounces of formula. He is gaining weight now, and we are all adjusting. Thank goodness he still takes me as well as the bottle. The good part about this is that Dave can be apart of the feeding and it's helping thier bond that much more. The only time I don't give him a little "extra" is at night.
Well, we going to eat dinner and start our nightly routine...bedtime for us all these days is about 8:30p. It's a different life, but the most incredible journey I've ever been on. It's far from blissful everyday, but it's raw and real and filled with such adventure and love.
Goodnight from the Hall's and enjoy the pics below!!

Till we meet again...

-Brooke

Frank and his Brother!!

My serious face!! Or makin a doody face..could be either. =)

So excited to help. What an amazing man I married.

A few more pics......

Hello everyone out there.   Wanted to post a few more special pics as the days keep going and Quinn is growing and evolving by the minute.

We are so proud, (did I say that in every blog?)  :)    He is going to be one spoiled kid but in a good way with love not benjamins!

We have made most of this week all about seeing how long we can stay in the house in our little bubble.

So far we have made it out of the house two times,  once for a pediatrician appt, and second for a short walk in which turned out to be a bit much for Brooke after being in recovery mode.

I will need to get a little work done next week, so leaving these faces for the first time will be devastating.........

Dave

Wow how good is this shot!

Dad just beaming with pride!

Dad doing what he does best at 6 am......

Kicky legs with mama!   he needs some meat on those tooth pic legs

Looks like some big feet to me

pictures

not sure how this is going to come out on the blog but here goes.

Mama and Quinn are doing great!!   

Just chillin.......

His first pair of golf shoes.........

Quinn comes home......

First before sharing some of the most recent stories and information about Quinn, Brooke and I would like to thank everyone for all their calls, emails, and text with support!!   We have been in our own little bubble since Quinn was born, so we are sorry to not get back to you, but please know we will.  Please continue to check the blog while we learn to be parents!    :)

Hello from Quinn!!!     We brought our baby boy home from the birth center yesterday.  The car ride home was as never racking as it could possibly be.  I usually drive around town not even thinking about what I am doing, but things just change once this little perfect human comes into your life and is dependent on us!!

We are lucky to have a situation where Brooke and I can spend a lot of time with Quinn before going back to work.  It will kill me to leave every morning when I have too, but I unless Wednesday's Powerball hits, I have to.  

Its just mesmerizing to watch Quinn, I think I burned two hours straight yesterday just laying on the bed watching him.  Brooke is a fantastic mother already with great instincts, and with some great advice from midwives she has nailed breastfeeding.

I am feeling pretty confident with Quinn ,  changing, burping, and holding come pretty easy to me in my mind at least.  Others who see might not agree but I will continue to believe I am Mr. Mom.

Quinn is so aware of his surroundings already,  he has a tight grip and strong legs, and I would have to think I will be chasing him around everywhere in a year or less.  His eyes are wide open at times and actually appears to be tracking some movement at 3 days old!!   probably not realistic at this point, as I don't think he can see at all yet,  but I am happy he is so far along.

Attaching a few pictures for enjoyment,  more to come in the future.

Dave, Brooke, Frank, and fresh off the press, Quinn!

The end and the beginning

Hi everyone,

not feeling too awake at 3:30 am right now but had to update you with this.

Quinn is here!!!! Mama is doing incredible and we were so happy to welcome Quinn into the world.

He is happy, healthy, and one big boy!

8lbs, 15 ounces. 21 inches long.

More to come when I can keep my eyes open!!

An afternoon of waiting

Hey Y'all,

So not a ton to report since the last blog from Brooke this morning,  but I thought I give you a little information from a different perspective,  as expecting mothers don't always hear so well  :)

As Brooke mentioned we are SO excited to meet this little guy, but our thoughts are really with his safety at this point because we never expected the tests yesterday to show anything but positive news.  It's a little scary not to know exactly whats going on in there and the tests are pretty vague, but we are thinking positively and have every reason to believe that it's just simply time to come out and not push our luck.

We met with our midwife this morning at the birthing center around 9 am.  She wanted to talk to us and explain in person about the tests and the next step.   Had the tests been normal, we would have been able to wait this thing out longer naturally, but we don't want to take any chances with him and "its time to get things moving" as she said for his safety short and long term.

What this means is the beautiful consumption of Mr. Castor Oil.   Brooke just took shot 3 of 3  of the recommended 2 oz shots of the dreaded Castor Oil.  Each shot is two hours apart for a 6 oz total over 6 hours.  As this marinates in her belly, all hell should break loose and get this baby out before the Giants/Colts game on Sunday.

Apparently its awful, and for those of you that know me, I like to try anything, so yes I did try it (big surprise) and its NOT good.  Great for belly rubs, not to drink.  This treatment should, 80-90% of the time get "things"
moving outbound (including baby) rather quickly.  Enough on that. 

We appreciate all the love and support we have received and Quinn can't wait to meet you!

I will continue to update as things move forward.

With love,   Dave, Brooke, and Q