Polyphonic Mila

We like this quirky, colorful robe-
wearing choral band called The Polyphonic Spree. In her "sleep sack" Mila looks like a member of the band! Rock on, MQ.

Music Lesson

Happy Baby

Our friends Jason and Ashley gave us this cute little outfit. The hat says "happy baby" and that is exactly what Mila is!

A BIG Thank You!

We would just like to say a great big "Thank You" to all of our friends and family who have been so wonderful to us over the last few weeks. We have graciously received such tremendous support and love through your thoughts, prayers, gifts, food, calls and visits. Mila is so blessed to have you all in her life!

Having Fun

We really enjoyed our first week home with Mila. Overall things have been smooth so far--Kelly is bouncing back quickly and Mila is eating and sleeping quite well. Joel is back at work. But we're still spending most of our time looking at or talking about Mila! As you can likely decipher from these photos, we have a lot of fun with her.







To clarify--This was Joel's idea...but she actually seemed to like it in this drawer!

A Few Firsts

Here is what Mila has been up to during her first few days...


Blowing kisses.


Cuddling with Daddy.


Taking a ride to the doctor, first time in the car seat.


Taking her first walk around the block, all swaddled up in her stroller.


Begrudgingly letting Mommy dress her up in cute outfits.


But above all, (when she isn't eating like a little piggy) she spends most of the time sleeping like an angel.

What's In A Name?

A few people have inquired about Mila's name...it took us a while to decide for sure on what to name our baby girl. But the very day we considered "Mila," we knew it was the one. Mila (pronounced Mee-la) is Slavic and means "loved, dear, or pleasant." It is a popular Ukrainian name, which we liked since we live in Chicago's Ukrainian Village. Also, Kelly has always wanted to honor her Grandma Mimi, and the name is a nod to her.

Joel really liked Quinn, and Kelly was easily won over. She liked that it rhymes with Lynn, her mother's name. Also, it is Irish which was very fitting as Mila Quinn was born on St. Patrick's Day. Plus, we think "Q" as a middle initial is pretty cool. It also just happens to be the last name of our current Governor here in Illinois--not a big deal, but kinda neat.

And yes, as those of you who know Kelly might have suspected, she did first consider Mila after hearing Tim Gunn pronounce a contestant's name on this season of her favorite TV show, "Project Runway."

I'm Ready For My Close Up!

A few more hospital pictures of sweet Mila Quinn...

Under the warming light.


Tiny ear.


Tiny, wrinkly toes.



Proud Papa.





The new family.

The First Five Minutes of Life

Getting weighed.

Footprints.

Eye drops.

At The Hospital

So, after going in on the due date at 4pm for a routine ultrasound, we found out that Kelly's amniotic fluid was really low and the doctor wanted to induce labor immediately. This was a bit of a surprise to us and made us a little anxious, but we thought it was best. Joel went home (somewhat frantically) to grab our things, and came back with dinner. The first night at the hospital was very uncomfortable and Kelly didn't sleep at all, but when the morning came Kelly was in a better mood and even did some yoga in the room.


The medicine took longer than expected to kick in so we passed the time filling out a maternity record book, watching TV, listening to music and going on Facebook.


By the second evening, the contractions were kicking in big time. Kelly was in a lot of pain, but wasn't dilating very much. The process was going to take longer than we thought. They broke her water around 6pm and that hurt like CRAZY. The contractions grew stronger and the doctor decided to give Kelly the epidural. Though it hurt badly going in, it really helped...at first. Since neither of us had slept much the night before, and since the doctor was going to give Kelly a sleeping pill, Joel went home for a few hours of rest (the chair for dads in the labor and deliver room was not at all conducive to sleeping.) But after Joel left things got really bad. Kelly became sick, vomited several times even though her stomach was totally empty since they didn't let her eat all day, and had to wear the oxygen mask because the baby's heartbeat was low. Also, the epidural seemed to lose its effectiveness and every contraction was brutal. All the numbness she had felt before went away and doctors were hesitant to give anything else that might affect the baby. By 6am, awake again all night, Kelly was in tears, called Joel who came back in an instant, and told the doctor she felt like she had to push. Kelly still wasn't dilated as much as she needed to be, so they offered her a drug that would help "take the edge off" and make her groggy. She slept for two minutes, fought through contractions for two minutes and repeated this until about 9:30 when she couldn't help but begin pushing. The doctors and nurses came in and prepared for the birth. Kelly pushed, with Joel supporting her right by her side, for one long hour before little Mila's head appeared. The staff began cheering, Joel had tears in his eyes and Kelly asked "What the hell was that?!" They told her it was the head, to give one more hard push, and out came the baby in a gush! It was so surprising. They put Mila right on Kelly's chest.



Little Mila Quinn was born on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 (St. Patrick's Day) weighing 6lbs 15oz, 19 inches long.