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My Name Boy Birth Announcement

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Quinton's Newborn Pictures

February 26, 2013, Tuesday

We got up and went to have pictures taken! That’s right. A family picture. I bought a gift certificate to a photography place called FotoFly about a month ago. They give you a 45-minute photography session, then they edit them within an hour, and then you get a CD with the edited images and the rights to the photos. I wanted newborn pictures of Quinton. And, a new family picture too. So, that’s where we went.

I thought I looked okay. But, when we went back to see the pictures, I was a little shocked to see my face so swollen. Sure, I still have plenty of baby weight (the belly and such). But, my face was more swollen than at any time during the pregnancy. I look weird in the pictures. At least, to me I look weird. And I have a pet peeve when people say they look bad in pictures.

Quinton’s pictures all turned out so cute. Actually, our family pictures turned out cute too, if you can overlook the swollen woman’s swollen face. I’m so glad we got newborn pictures with each of our children. They are kind of important to me.

I also made Mom sit down and get a couple pictures with Quinton. When we went to review the pictures, these were the pictures that actually made me tear up more than any of the sweet individual shots of Quinton. My mom is so beautiful. Inside and out. I am so glad that she is my mom..

To see the rest of our pictures, go to http://campfirebug.smugmug.com/Family/Quinton-Herbert-Hales-4-Days/.

A Little Bit of Quinton Heaven

February 24, 2013, Sunday

Quinton slept pretty okay through the night. Not great, but okay—considering how little he is. I woke him a couple times to feed and he woke me a couple times to feed.

There is something magical about having Quinton in our home. Of course, with Zachary, having a new baby was so exciting. But, when we had Emma, I didn’t get to experience this little bit of “heaven” that Quinton has brought. I was more concerned with Emma than enjoying her. I mean, the first three weeks of her life, she was in the NICU. I did not have a good experience with that. And when I brought her home, I was always concerned with her breathing and force feeding her. If she brought heaven with her, I missed it.

But, Quinton—I could just hold him all the time if I didn’t have other obligations (Zachary and Emma, for instance). He is so precious. He is so sweet. He is so beautiful. He is so peaceful. He is so perfect. Of course I love Zachary and Emma. But, it’s just different with Quinton. That’s fair to say, right?

We talked Mom into going to church with Mark, Zachary, and Emma. I’m glad that she did. It’s the first time she or Dad have been to our ward here. I think she enjoyed it.

That evening, Cambrea Corbett and Jeri Johnson brought our family dinner. So nice to have someone bring you dinner. In Parliament Park, we didn’t get dinner after we had Emma for a week. I was actually feeling really hurt, if the truth be told, because Mark was the bishop and we weren’t getting any dinner help. So, to have meals already lined up after returning home with Quinton was so—NICE.

Gas Pains in My Shoulder

February 23, 2013, Saturday

I’m pretty sure my insurance would normally let me have two nights at the hospital. But, since I was doing pretty good and since Riverton Hospital doesn’t typically accept Altius, I said I would go home Saturday. That was the target.

I had to take a class in the morning in order to get permission to be discharged. While I was taking it, Mark and the kids came to the hospital.

After I finished with the class, Mark went out to the van to monkey around with the carseats. He was gone a long time. In fact, by the time he came back, I was having a meltdown. Zachary and Emma wouldn’t leave me alone. They were being naughty. And—my shoulder started KILLING ME. No, seriously.

I was already having some pretty bad after-labor pains. But, this new pain in my left shoulder was so sudden and so freakish that I couldn’t handle it. I was absolutely crying by the time Mark came back. Pain + naughty kids = meltdown Mama.

When the CNA came in to check on me, I was just bawling. She said she’d send the nurse in to give me some more pain meds. When the nurse came in, she told me the pain in my shoulder was from GAS. GAS!!!! WHAT THE FREAK? Gas? It still hasn’t gone away. (And I’m writing this on March 3.) Apparently, it’s kind of “common” for surgical patients (i.e. c-section mamas). But, I wasn’t a surgical/c-section mama. Weird……………….