Quinton

 Quinton is my eldest and an absolute gentleman.  He does at times have what I call "the only child syndrome" but he is a very smart boy.  He loves his siblings and he is very protective.  He is shy but loves to be the class clown.  He really enjoys music and loves opera and musicals.

Quinton is my first born.  Quinton is the first grandchild on both sides.  Quinton is the first great-grandchild on both sides.

I found out that I was pregnant with Quinton when I was about 5 months pregnant and I was 18 years old.  The first time I got an ultra-sound to see how far along I was in the pregnancy I was told the sex.  It was very surreal not only being told that I was pregnant but that I was having a boy.  I was not working at the time and had left home to live with my boyfriend so I started buying things each week.  I used what ever money I could sneak from my partner, as he liked to spend all of our money on drugs and alcohol.
NB:  I was not drinking or doing drugs.

I put a pram and porta-cot on layby and paid them off week by week.  I also bought items such as singlets and nappies.  By the time Quinton was born I had been able to buy the porta-cot, pram, a cot sheet set, quilt, and a couple of clothes.

My labour came on pretty quickly once my water broke spontaneously.  Prior to my water breaking I had no pain.  Ten hours later my son was on my chest and he was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.  I was immediately flooded with a love that was so great it was hard to contain it.  Along with the absolute unconditional love that I had for my son I felt fear.  Fear that anything bad would ever happen to him.

Two weeks before I gave birth to Quinton my partner did a hit-and-run and was then sentenced to two years jail when Quinton was exactly 8 weeks old.  However, I had left him when Quinton was one week old and moved into my own two bedroom unit.  My partner had been physically abusive with me during our relationship and one night he threatened me with a machete that he was waving too close to my then one week old son.  I knew then and there that I had to leave and protect my son.  There was no way I would let him hurt my son or even be in the position to be able to.  Quinton's father has not been in the picture since this day.  For many reasons but the main one being that his attitude has not changed and continues to think that he deserves to have contact and believes that he has every right to abuse, harrass and threaten me in order to get it.