A weekend in the country

This weekend Quinn went on his first outing! We packed up his cloth diapers, several changes of clothes and the car seat and we all took the train to visit the grandparents. My parents live in a big, gorgeous manor house that they've converted into a bed & breakfast (www.maisonconti.com). We hadn't made it out of Paris since Thanksgiving so it was a huge relief to breath some fresh, country air and it was a joy to give Quinn a little change of scenery. The weather was gorgeous on Saturday and Sunday and we took some nice drives and even had a winter picnic (Quinn and my mom stayed in the car). We spent most of our time this weekend all admiring this handsome little boy though. He is infinitely entertaining... and it's amazing how much he is changing every day. It's so special to watch him becoming more alert and interested in the outside world. He has more and more moments of quiet wakefulness where he seems to just love looking around and taking everything in. He is especially fascinated by light... from the window, a lamp, the tv... he stares at any light source with such a wide-eyed contented look on his face that of course we all cluster around and stare contentedly at him for hours on end. With less naps happening for Quinn I'm getting even less done myself. Today he only napped for a half hour twice... enough time for me to eat my lunch and take a quick nap myself, but not enough time to do the dishes, unpack the suitcases or take care of any other work. Right now I'm writing one-handed while he nurses. I'm getting pretty good at doing lots of things one-handed... this boy eats constantly! Days sure do go by quickly with a child in your life. Wow.


Here is the Quinn man basking in the light in his favorite spot by the window at my parents' place:




Playing around with daddy...

Quinn and his hats

Quinn has received a plethora of adorable hats as gifts. He looks so cute in them that we thought we should show them off... so here's a photo series of Mr. Quinn modeling his many hats...

And then there was Quinn!

Emily: He has arrived! The little creature has finally landed on earth. How completely amazing.
He was born on Tuesday the 27th of January. He's already 11 days old. I'm sorry I haven't posted anything before but everything seems to take 10 times longer all of a sudden... I got out of the clinic 6 days ago and now that we're home we spend such a huge portion of our day just staring at this beautiful little boy, not to mention feeding, changing, cooing, etc.
The birth itself was wonderful and intense. I did it completely naturally which worked out well because I had done a lot of preparation classes and because Jos was such a wonderful help and support. The birthing center we were at was also completely fantastic. It was started in the 60s by Dr. Lebroyer who wanted to look at birth as a life event and less as a medical event. The midwives were really there for me and I was allowed to do things exactly as I wanted to... so I walked around, rolled around on a yoga ball, put on some nice music, took a hot bath, had Jos massage my back... it was long and hard but it was such a beautiful experience to have gone through together. I ended giving birth on my side after an hour long pushing session where Quinn kept coming down and yo-yoing back up. And then he was out and all of a sudden there was absolutely no more pain, only awe and joy. Apparently my first words (though I don't really remember because I was in some sort of alternate universe) once Quinn finally made it out were, "wooh, that was intense." The midwives put him directly on my belly as soon as he was born and Jos cut the umbilical chord. We sat and stared at him for an hour or two before they cleaned, weighed, tested and dressed him and then they brought me down to my room and Jos went home to share the event with my family. Uncle James just managed meet Quinn before he had to fly back to San Francisco. It couldn't have worked out better. I started my contractions in the middle of the night the day before James was supposed to leave, so when I got up at 6 a.m. he was able to quickly change his flight and stay two days longer. Hoorah hoorah!!
On Friday we came back from the clinic. We all walked home together, Quinn happily riding in his fleece sling. The birth center is just 20 minutes from us by foot and it was a wonderfully crisp, blue-skyed winter's day.
Now we're home. Quinn is doing all his baby things... feeding voraciously, pooing, sleeping in two hour spells... and we're soaking it all in.
Jos: Quinn William Houben-Wilson came into the light just 30cm away from my nose. I was holding E's leg to help her push while the midwife grabbed him. He landed on his mummy's belly, coughed a bit and started breathing and that was it. Short little breaths, about 4 for every single one I make, I counted the other night after he fell asleep on top of me. The closeness of us three in our home, the unconditional love, the light of the winter sun: Quinn floats around in it all with his little eyes wide open in quiet surprise.

an hour old

all dressed up and ready to leave the hospital

walking home from the hospital with Q in his sling

relaxing in his bedroom


sleeping with daddy