SURREAL

Currently I can't seem to pull myself out of this dream that I have been in since February 3rd. I keep going to bed at night thinking I will wake up and once again be pregnant and nothing that has taken place over the last week and a half will have actually happened. I keep asking myself over and over "Is this real?"

Do I really have 2 daughters?

2 beautiful daughters?

Plus a wonderful husband to top it off?

Am I really that blessed?

I think someday it will seem less surreal, but for now I will just enjoy the dream.

Meanwhile, Adalyn has really warmed up to Quincy. She is constantly asking where she is, wanting to check on her, wanting to lay with her, and laughing at little things like when Quincy hiccups or opens her mouth wide enough for Addie to slip her finger in there. It has been so fun to watch.

So far Quincy has made the transition to 2 kids very easy. She never cries... only whimpers when she is hungry and is content to lay with you or by herself. She isn't affected by noise... which is really helpful considering Adalyn isn't a quiet child. We have really enjoyed having her home and watching Adalyn interact with her.

Quincy Lynn

(Warning: The following post may be very long and contain details that are considered TMI. Reader Discretion is advised!)

The past week of my life has been a blur, and felt more like a dream than reality. On Wednesday, February 3rd, I woke up at 2:30 in the morning for a seemingly normal bathroom trip. When I didn't quite make it there, I thought "Hmm... that's weird. Guess I am losing all control of my bladder!" When I finished in the bathroom and began to head back to bed I again began to leak. Since it was just a little bit I cautiously woke Devin up and said "My water might have broken... I'm not sure." While standing there explaining the situation I had some major leakage and said, "Yep, my water definitely broke." At this point Devin got out of bed and began preparing for the trip to the hospital. He called his wonderful mother, who came right over to stay with Adalyn. We finally got to the hospital around 3:30 or 4 am and explained that we were having a C-section. The typical preparations began and Quincy Lynn was born at 6:25 that morning. She had the smallest cry, and a head full of dark, curly hair. She weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20.5 in. long. They said she looked great and I luckily had a chance to hold and nurse her. Adalyn was even able to come and see her. Then suddenly things took a turn for the worse... The nurses noticed that she was turning blue and in their examinations of her thought she might have pneumonia. She was taken down to the NICU right away. This was the process of the next week:

Day 1: Quincy was taken to the NICU and they began tests to see if she had respiratory problems or pneumonia. She was hooked up to IV's and oxygen.

Day 2: The doctor decided to do a Lumbar Puncture to check if Quincy had a viral infection or meningitis. Basically they put a needle in her spine and pull out some fluid to test. She was sedated but they weren't able to get a sample. She was still unable to breath without a high flow of oxygen.

Day 3: This was probably the worst day for Quincy and it was really hard for us to watch. They decided to try the Lumbar Puncture again and luckily they were successful. After that her IV went bad so they placed one in her head... it took about 7 sticks before they could get the IV in her scalp. Because of this the team working with her decided that it would be better to do a Picc Line (running a line through her arm and directly into her heart). They tried 3 times on both arms and weren't successful. Later in the day they decided to try through her umbilical cord and again they weren't successful. All through this she was sedated and the monitors indicated that she wasn't improving. At about 10pm they tried the picc line through the umbilical cord again and it worked. They began running her antibiotics through there.

Day 4: This is the day that she was finally left alone... with the picc line in she didn't need to be poked and prodded anymore. She got some good rest. They also began feeding her through a tube that ran through her nose and down to her stomach. They started with just a little at a time to see what she could tolerate.

Day 5: Thanks to the faith and prayers of so many people, Quincy made a sudden turn around. She began breathing better, was more alert, and was tolerating the milk well enough that they could increase how much they were giving her. By the night time they had decreased her oxygen to 1/4 of a liter (she started on 2 liters) and even began feeding her with a bottle.

Day 6: She was taken off of the oxygen and began breathing on her own. She had no problems and was even able to start breastfeeding and had her first bath. Her cultures came back clear indicating that her pneumonia was gone. Because of this the team began discussing whether she should be discharged or not. They decided that because she had improved so much that she could be discharged after her 7 day antibiotic was complete. We began all of the discharge requirements... we had to watch some safety videos and Quincy had to pass a car seat test (sitting in the car seat for 1.5 hours while maintaining her breathing). She passed.

Day 7: She was given her last dose of antibiotic and was discharged to us. She finally came home.

Adalyn has had mixed emotions about this. She likes looking at the baby but doesn't quite understand how everything works and gets frustrated. She is doing well with the change but it will take a little time for her to get used to having Quincy around.

We are so happy to finally be at home with both of our daughters. We can't thank everyone enough for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. And we are especially grateful for our wonderful mothers who have helped with taking care of Adalyn during this last week. We appreciate you all more than you know!