I'm going to deliver Maddox at Presbyterian Plano Hospital (I had Quentin at Trinity Medical Center, which is now called Baylor Carrollton). Trinity was a great experience, but I've actually been a patient at Presby Plano twice in the last couple of years now (for my emergency gallbladder surgery and an ER trip) and my OB also delivers there. I love the facilities and the people... and it's actually a tiny bit closer to our house than Trinity. Our dear friends have delivered both of their babies there, and I loved the big rooms when we visited them. Joe and I will take the Labor/Delivery Tour next weekend, but this past weekend Quentin got to take the Younger Sibling class (for kids 2-5 years old). The first activity was to make a craft for his brother (a foam picture frame decorated with stickers and drawings... of course Q's was quite cute, that little artist). Then the nurses read the kids a story about bringing baby home and the things to do/don't do once the new baby has arrived (be gentle, don't wake a sleeping baby, etc...) Then they got to practice wrapping up baby in a blanket (a burrito as Quentin called it!), and he did a great job and was really proud of himself. Next they gave all the kids doctor's masks and hats for the tour of the nursery (we got to see two brand-new babies!) It was such a fun experience and I think Quentin was the perfect age to really learn something new (there were quite a few two-year-olds and I wonder if maybe they were too young).
After his class, Quentin carried his little three-inch baby doll (that he's had since he was one) around the house with him everywhere: singing to, hugging, feeding, burping, changing, and dancing with "practice Maddox." Then on Sunday, he specifically asks us if we could go buy a baby doll that's "the real size that Maddox will be, once he's born." We took a trip to WalMart and perused the selection of baby dolls. For those of you that know Quentin well, he's always been very vocal about what are "boy toys" or "boy things" and that he doesn't want to play with "girl toys" (not sure where he gets that, because Joe and I certainly don't believe in that. Ah, the things our kids pick up from their classmates...) So for him to walk down the baby doll aisle, pick up every single one and inspect them (we needed one with blue eyes, "like you and me, Mommy") until we found the perfect one, was quite the sight to behold. He finally settled on a baby doll gift set: it had a 12" doll complete with two outfits, a bassinet, pillow, teddy bear, bottle, plate/spoon, and the baby laughs/cries and kicks his legs when you push his belly. It was on clearance for $5 so Joe and I agreed we could take it home! Quentin has not let that doll out of his sight since then: he has slept with him both nights, and Q is constantly tending to him and making sure his needs are met.
It warms my heart to see Big Brother Quentin in action, and I know he's going to be such a great helper when Maddox arrives! We are discovering more and more the blessings of having our kids five years apart; of course, this wasn't always our plan but it's certainly a reminder that God knows what we need better than we do. :) We feel extremely blessed to welcome another son to our family, and Quentin is going to be the best big brother EVER!
