Making His Official Debut on the Social Scene

As of yesterday Quint is 6 weeks old and in his first 6 weeks he has been a very busy little boy!  Already he has traveled throughout the state of Pennsylvania and up to New England!  

Rehearsal Dinner - Quint had a great time!

 Memorial Day weekend, at the ripe old age of 2.5 weeks, we headed down to New Freedom, PA for the wedding of two dear friends, Amanda and Adam.  I was a bridesmaid so we began the process of learning to be flexible and adaptable right off the bat.  Quint was a wonderful little guy throughout the weekend.  He made his first (and maybe last) trip to a nail salon, wrapped in the Moby (attached to me), attended his first wedding rehearsal and dinner, attended (part of) his first wedding and wore his first dressy outfit!

Dressed up for the wedding

Dressed up for the wedding

Quality time with Aunt Chuck (Amanda)

Aden finished with his school year on June 9th and we have been thrilled to have him home during the days.  Quint and Daddy have been spending quality time together.  Aden has a knack for making him smile.

Morning snuggle time

My little cuddly guy

Quint is a very good little traveler though he definitely prefers to be moving.  He tends to let us know that he'd prefer not to be sitting still, particularly at red lights, stop signs and in traffic.  For the first time in our lives we have started aiming for pot holes and rumble strips...and I'm not really kidding.

Real smiles started to show up around 4 weeks

Food coma

The next big event was Quint's first trip to the Breen Family Reunion over Father's Day weekend. We broke up the typically 10 hour drive by going part way the first day, staying in Rhode Island with Uncle Biggie and Auntie Sue Sue and Meghan.  In general everything went very smoothly, though we had to stop to eat every few hours.  On the way home we went by way of my Dad's in Vermont and visited him for Father's Day. 

 For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Breen Family Reunion, it is an annual reunion for my mom's side that takes place every Father's Day weekend in New Hampshire.  It is a huge deal in our family, complete with a cookout, softball game, raffle, horse race (wooden horses - better described in person), Saturday night activity, and other Irish shenanigans.  There are generally approximately 75 to 90 people (?) in attendance.  It is a pretty awesome event.  We've been having it at the same place for 25 years and we've even been featured in Reunions Magazine. My grandfather has 7 siblings and they are considered the first generation.  My mom is the oldest of the second generation, I am the second oldest of my generation (after my brother Casey) and Quint is the first member of the 4th generation and "The Littlest Breen."  For many years there was a t-shirt (made by my grandmother) circling around from kid to kid, worn by the youngest child at the reunion.  Unfortunately it had been lost, but my aunt had a new one made and thus Quint was sporting it throughout the weekend.  He made quite a splash, constantly surrounded by an adoring crowd.  He had the chance to meet PopPop, my grandfather and his great grandfather and Mamie Joan as well as many great and great great aunts and uncles and a ton of cousins!

Chillin' with Auntie Liza

On display

Surrounded by admiring ladies

With PopPop and Mamie Joan

In addition to being a good traveler, Quint has started sleeping through most of the night - 6 to 7 hours in a stretch.  He is getting much better at holding his head up and follows Aden and I with his eyes much of the time.  He has begun making noises other than grunts and cries and has some moments of seeming to want to giggle but it just doesn't quite come out yet. 

The next 6 weeks will be just as exciting as we have a birthday party (cousin Benjamin) and 3 more weddings in July - Aunt Amy (my best friend), Aunt Claudia (my step-sister) and Auntie Meg (my sister).  Stay tuned for more tales from the exciting life of Quint Wertz!

Let's start at the very beginning...

As you may know by now, we welcomed our son, Harold Aden Wertz V, or Quint as we are calling him, into the world on Tuesday, May 8th at 11:03 PM after being induced that morning.  He was 7 lb. 14 oz. and 20.5 inches long.  The whole process began at 7:15 AM and our lives changed in a wonderful, amazing way in such a short period of time.

We arrived at the hospital at 7:15 AM and Aden and I enjoyed some quiet time of relaxation, conversation and merriment... at least until mid-afternoon when things got painful.  We played cribbage, talked, and I introduced him to my pregnancy indulgence - "What Not to Wear" on TLC.  I texted my mom & sister and said it was like vacation, only I was wearing a hospital gown and hooked up to an IV.  :)  The rest of the afternoon and evening wasn't so vacation-like, but in the end we had a beautiful new son and in that time and over the course of the next week, I gained a much deeper appreciation for my husband.  He was the most amazing coach ever and took care of me so sweetly, gently and selflessly. 

I am amazed at how much love I have for our little guy.  I love watching Aden with him as well - I think it is safe to say that we are both smitten and the lack of sleep, etc. pales in comparison to how awesome it is to finally snuggle with him.  Since having Quint I have come to appreciate my husband, my bed, sleeping on my back, pain medications, my supportive family, my Creator, and far more in much greater dimension!  There are so many little joys as well as great discoveries and truths that we have only begun to understand.  Who knew you could sit and look at the same little person for so much time and be filled with so much joy!  ...And who knew you could change so many poopy diapers in one day...

First full day home from the hospital

Meeting Auntie Meg

Oma and Quint having quality snuggle time

Buddy meets Baby (the beginning of a beautiful friendship)

"He's a lumberjack and he's ok..."

Family time on Mother's Day

Auntie LoLo came up for an afternoon

"Just because I'm wearing a ducky outfit doesn't mean I'm not a tough guy!"

Sing our song to Quint..."Sweet Pea, apple of my eye..."

Quint wore this on Aden's first day back to work in honor of his daddy.

Meeting some of the cousins

Grandpa singing a song to Quint

First outing - weight check at the doctor

First bath - He's really excited!

Tummy time!

More cousins and family!  Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Tara, Madeline & Caitlin

Grampy and Quint

Having a heart to heart

He found his thumb!  But he hasn't found it since. :)

Holding his head up all by himself!

Mommy & Quint time

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Sometimes (often), things don't work out as I planned. As of today I am one week over my due date.  Do I really have anything to complain about?  No.  Was my plan and schedule different than what has transpired?  Yes.  Is it the end of the world?  No.  Has it been a frustrating week?  I'd be lying if I said no. 

41 weeks and baby is content in the belly...

I am reminded of our house hunting/moving process last summer, when we had to move our belongings into storage and live with a friend for two months as we found the right house and went through the rigorous process of getting a closing date set.  It is in times like these that I find I have to make a choice about how I will respond.  How will I handle the unknown or better yet, Who will I allow to handle the unknown.  Is it up to me alone?... or am I able to relinquish control over the situation, realizing that an attitude of surrender to One who is greater is a far better choice!  Ahhh waiting...it always builds character, but it's not always easy.

It is easy to let fear, anxiety, discouragement, frustration, annoyance, etc. hold mastery over us.  But I am reminded of James's words in James 1:2-4, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  Now this week hasn't been full of huge trials, but it has surely tested my patience.  I have learned that everyone has an opinion and everyone means well, but at the same time it's not always helpful or encouraging...a great opportunity to practice patience and grace.  I am not typically one to be fearful, but when you're thinking about the well-being of your baby and your well thought out plans that aren't turning out the way you'd hoped, is easy to let the voices of fear and anxiety speak loud and clear. 

So, tomorrow morning we are going in for an induction.  And maybe we will have a baby tomorrow, and maybe we won't, but he will come when he is ready.  As I was reminded last summer during our moving process, it is always better when I have surrendered to the timing and terms of my Creator and Heavenly Father because ultimately He sees the big picture and His perspective is eternal while mine is limited, finite.  It is in the surrender that I find peace and comfort.

"Be still and know that I am God."  Psalm 46:10

39 weeks and getting sassy!

Love having pregnant friends. Bethany at 28 weeks and me at 39. 
Sabra wanted to get in on the fun too!

Baby Boy has been the token male at many bridal showers this spring.

41 weeks and still going strong.

Long overdue (this blog post that is...)

No...this isn't our baby - it's our niece, but I just think it's so darn sweet and a great preview of what is to come!

34 weeks

36 weeks

38 weeks today!

So while I'm not long overdue as far as the baby is concerned, I'm getting awfully close to my due date, April 30th!  As of today I am 38 weeks along.  As of last Sunday I was considered full-term so little baby boy could come to visit at any time and be just fine.  I would like  to finish my semester at Lycoming, get my grades in, clean my house, etc. before he comes, but you just can't plan these things and that is ok!  It is a great way to learn to be flexible and open to whatever God has in store. 

Creative treats with a monkey theme

We are excited and ready!  I had several wonderful showers provided by supportive friends and family and it was so wonderful to catch up with old friends, colleagues, students, etc. and to know that our baby boy is going to be magnificently loved by many.

Two great girls - with Amy and Lauren

A very creative shower game in Williamsport... "Everybody poops!"
Or guess what candy bar was melted to look like baby poop.

With Mom & Meg

The nursery is just about ready and much of the clothing, sheets, blankets, etc. are washed and ready to be used & worn.  Today Aden installed the car seat into my car and yesterday he installed the diaper sprayer.  For those who are not in the cloth diapering world, this is a little gadget connected to your toilet, very similar to the sprayer on your kitchen sink.  It is used for spraying off cloth diapers.  I hear it makes cleaning poopy diapers waaaayyyyy easier!

The closet...between gifts and hand-me-downs, this little boy is going to be stylin'

I will leave you with my husband's quote of the day (and it's only 7:45 AM!).  As he began to paint my toenails this morning I assured him it was ok if it wasn't perfect.  He responded, "I have painted many model cars, which is a lot like this."  And I must say, this might be the nicest toe nail painting job I've ever had!