Lighthearted and Quirky; Life with L&Q

My husband and I always knew we wanted to have more than one child. When our son, Logan, was around 1 year old, we agreed to start the journey of baby #2. Around March 2021, I stopped taking birth control, thinking there would be some time for it to leave my system. Little did I know, the universe had quick plans for us.

After COVID-19 had derailed my wedding planning a bit, me and 4 of my close girlfriends, my cousin, aunt and mom all had an epic Jersey Shore Bachelorette party planned for June 2021. Jersey Shore was a staple for me as I have always been obsessed with the MTV show and there was no better way to celebrate than to party at the Shore. A couple weeks (or days?) before the trip, I had once again started feeling the morning sickness and drowsiness that comes with pregnancy. My husband and I were still working from home at the time, and we had a nanny to watch over Logan during the day. I snuck out to the store to get a pregnancy test, just to check, and it was positive right away! I ran into the garage where my husband was working, and we were both overjoyed once again! I ran upstairs where our nanny was with Logan and showed her the test and she was shocked and also very happy for us.

Fast forward to my bachelorette party, everyone met at SeaTac Airport and when I was not participating in the celebratory champagne toast, everyone knew something was up. My friends and family were shocked that I was pregnant again so quickly (as was I), but they were all so happy for me and the trip was still just as I expected. I still lived out my Jersey Shore bachelorette party dream!

After my bachelorette party in June, I came home and had the worst gallbladder attack (pain in the upper chest) after eating scrambled eggs for breakfast. I had had one of these when I was pregnant with Logan which landed me in the hospital after a traumatic ambulance call at 1am, but at the time the doctors had said it was just bad heart burn (eye roll). As if heart burn would put me into a state where I was shivering, cold sweats, couldn’t breathe or walk, racing heart rate. I wish those doctors would have been more investigative during the first experience, but this time I knew it was something much worse than heart burn. My husband took me to the ER and the nurse quickly identified that I needed more tests to determine I had several gallstones, and one was blocking the flow to my liver. At 8 weeks pregnant, I needed to have emergency surgery to remove my gallbladder entirely.

I am happy to say the surgery went smoothly and it started a whole new dietary life for me. The gallbladder’s main function is to help the body digest fat, so after having it removed, I was told to eliminate all fatty foods for 6 months and slowly add them back in. I took this very seriously as I was still pregnant and used it as an opportunity to really buckle down on what I was putting into my body. I went with a pure vegan diet for 1 year and I was feeling the healthiest I had ever felt! I had no desire to add back unhealthy foods because I believed at the time that the unhealthy foods were what caused the gallstones in the first place, so why add back foods that made me so sick? (I later found out more about gallbladders and the emotions that are stored there, which I will get to in another post).

Other than the gallbladder situation, my pregnancy with baby Q was smooth. I elected for a planned Caesarean section (C-section) because of the traumatic experience I had with Logan (unsuccessful induction and botched epidural leading to an emergency c-section while under full anesthesia). On February 1st, 2022, at 3pm PST, Quinn Coventry Callahan was born!

Quinn has been the perfect addition to our family. I tell anyone and everyone that from the moment she was born, I knew she was the smartest person I have ever met. I am not exaggerating at all when I say that even as a baby, Quinn is so intelligent, logical, funny, charming, everything I could want in a daughter and more. Shortly after her 1st birthday, Quinn and Logan started going to daycare and within 4 weeks, her teacher (who adored her) said Quinn was already running the show. By 2 years old, she spoke in full sentences and still everyday she keeps all of us in line. Her favorite thing to do is to talk about what is going to happen each day and what her schedule is.

Quinn’s birth chart is also very intriguing to me. She is an Aquarius Sun, Aquarius Moon, and Cancer rising. Aquarius is known to be the most intelligent signs, highly independent, and rebellious. Aquarians don’t follow the crowd and will always look out for the greater good. This mixed with her Cancer rising (same as Logan), means she is super caring, loving, and always willing to help her friends and family. I have had multiple people confirm that her and Logan has known each other in past lives, and they are two peas in a pod. Their relationship is the sweetest with such funny and cute interactions. I am so excited to see what they do in this life; they are going to change the world.