After a pretty hectic last few days, I'm finally making the time for a real blog post. Thanks for your patience. I knew these days would be hectic, but it is amazing how fast the days go and how little I can actually 'accomplish'.It all started for Eva around 2am on the 1st of March. I woke up to Eva having some contractions about an hour later. I asked Eva if everything was OK...she said "define OK. I've had regular contractions for the last hour". I was immediately awake. These contractions were a bit of a surprise for both of us, since the doctor said the day before that it looked like it would take a few more days.
(Above, Quinn shortly after his first bath. During his bath, he also had his first poop.)
We waited a few more hours until the contractions came every 3-4 minutes before going to the hospital around 7:30am. Of course, when we got checked in, they started measuring the contractions, and they were only every 5-6 minutes - only 2 cm of the birth canal was open, and we needed 10cm. We were afraid that they would send us home to wait a bit longer.
We went to the breakfast room and had a few bites to eat...then went back for further measurements. Around 11:30 (two hours after the last measurements), Eva was having regular contractions and the birth canal was 4cm open. Not bad progress.
(Above, Quinn getting weighed: 3450kg; 7lbs, 10oz)
Thankfully, Eva was far enough along that she went into the birthing room. A super cool room with a huge tub, two high tech birthing chairs, stereo, and a super old fashioned 'birthing stool' - circa 1920.
The midwife convinced Eva to go into the tub to relax a bit. Eva's not much of a tub person, but she was up to trying anything to make the pain go away. As it turns out, the tub was a great suggestion. Eva went from 4cm to 10cm in less than 2 hours. Now the pushing was going to begin.
(Above, Quinn getting measured: 52cm, 21.5")
Eva had to push for two hours to finally get Quinn out. There were some birth complications, but both mother and son ended up just fine.
(Above, in a pose he will hate us for. He looks like an old man here.)
It was a pretty powerful feeling when I saw Quinn's head come out. As I had been warned, he was a dark purple color. Not exactly the cute picture of youth that you imagine you'll see.
It was pretty tense for a while: first, his umbilical cord was wrapped at least 4 times really tight around his waist. His lower body was really white, as if the lower body was completely without blood for a while, and really long and skinny. I thought his legs and feet were dead and lifeless.
Second, he wouldn't cry. He was completely silent. At least I could see him move and knew that he was alive, but it was pretty scary for Eva. She asked him to cry for him (something we won't ask for again).
(Above, Quinn and his dad taking some pics while Eva was in a post birth operation. They had to take some blood and took it from his finger...hence the band-aid).
Thankfully, Quinn cried shortly thereafter and his legs were OK. Whew!
I got to cut the umbilical cord. Very cool. It was a pretty amazing moment when the midwife put Quinn on Eva's chest for the first time. Definitely an emotion that is undescribable.
(Above, Quinn and his dad)
Unfortunately, there was an emergency C-Section for another woman, so Eva had to wait about 2 hours for her post birth procedure. The nice part was that it gave us some time with Quinn before the procedure. It also gave Eva's parents a bit more time to get to Erlangen.
(Above, Quinn with his Grandmom: Oma Göttgens)
Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. So far, Eva is recovering well. She's still tired and sore, but she's taking it all like a champ. Quinn has passed all of his prenatal tests so far. He's feeding well and sleeping a lot.
He doesn't really cry that much, but we're sure that will change soon. Eva will come home from the hospital tomorrow morning. We're definitely looking forward to our new future as a family of three.
(Above, Quinn with his grandfather: Opa Göttgens)
Finally, why 'Quinn' you ask. Well, it's pretty simple, actually. Quinn is the fifth Robert Gould. It is a long tradition in my family that started with my great grandfather. When my great grandfather (RRG), his son (RRG, Jr.), out of respect for his father and the great man that he represented, refused to change his name to RRG, Sr.), which was common at the time. That tradition was passed on when my father and then when I was born.
Robert Rutledge Gould V is named after his grandfather, RRG III - a great man, from which I have learned a great many important life's lessons. It has not always been easy, and my father has not always chosen the easy path, but he has almost always picked the right one.
As with most children, the older I get, the smarter my father becomes.
So...I still haven't answered the question: Why Quinn. Well, each of us Robert Gould's have had a nickame based from our name. These names usually changed as we got older (I was Bobby when I was young, Rob since college, and I was always "Robert" when my parents were mad at me). In this same tradition, Quinn is a nickname derived from his full name: Robert Rutledge Gould V. But, slightly different, Quinn's nickname is derived not from Robert, but from the V.
Latin for the number five is Quintus...the long form of Quinn.
While I'm rambling about family tradition from my family, I will also mention a few other items about my (and Quinn's name). The name Rutledge has a direct connection on my dad's side of the family and might be (never confirmed) connected from Edward Rutledge, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independance. You can find more information about Edward Rutledge and Charles Carroll (another signer of the DoI to whom we're related) at:
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