First Christmas

Although we have a very sick child on our hands, Madison still had a pretty good first Christmas. On Wednesday we had my extended family's get together. We had some good food and opened a lot of presents and of course did some Christmas carol singing. Madison had a great time with everyone and did a little walking too.

 Half of the chaos at my grandparents' house.

On Christmas Eve, we went to our church's candlelight service which was great as usual. Madison got a flashlight to play with (instead of a candle of course!) and a cross ornament with the colored beads similar to a salvation bracelet like we all made in VBS when we were younger. Unfortunately Madison started to feel hot again and ended up sleeping on my mom most of the service.

Isn't that the most pitiful face?

With Uncle Stephen

After it was over we went to my parents' house for some amazing food. Madison's great-grandparents came after the service as well.

Feeling better?

We got home and got her in bed late, but ended up being up at 3 am. Madison was extremely hot and was running about a 103 fever. We had been keeping her on Ibuprofen and Tylenol but she was throwing up after she nursed. We're not sure how much medicine actually got in her system. Christmas morning came along and she felt much better. She "opened" her gifts and really enjoyed playing with them. My parents and grandparents came over for a good meal after that and she enjoyed some good sweet potato souffle. My favorite, too! She became feverish again after a few hours and fell asleep and slept on my mom for a long time again. I made a call to the doctor to talk to whoever was on call (of course she would get sick for the first time on Christmas day!). She was still very fussy and would randomly start crying. She had a hard time breathing through her nose and would snort a lot too. Although hesitant, we went on to Newnan to see Brad's family and her behavior didn't change. She got a lot of good toys, though.

We got home late, gave her medicine (she threw it up again after eating), put her to bed, and was up around 6 am. She was having a hard time breathing, was still hot, and threw up a TON of milk after nursing again. I guess we should have realized all her congestion was draining down her throat and upsetting her tummy, so milk didn't help too much. We got ready and found the nearest Urgent Care center. We got her back up and were the first ones there. The results? No ear infection, but a really red throat. She still had a fever and was very congested and fussy. They prescribed Amoxicillin which should knock any type of bacterial infection out, whether its strep or something similar. If it's viral, the fever won't go away and we'll have to take her to her regular doctor this coming week to make sure, but either way it has to run it's course.They were concerned about her hydration with all the throwing up so she is on Pedialyte all day, Amoxicillan twice a day, and Tylenol and Ibuprofen the rest of the time. No wonder she's not herself! Even though she hasn't had hardly anything to eat in a long time, she had still gained 2.5 ounces since her last appointment on Monday. We are not worried anymore, my guess is that it is Strep since she already had a flu shot. We just want her to feel better because she is usually so happy!

Madison's new toys!

Overall our Christmas was good, though. I never knew how excited and happy I would get seeing Madison's face light up when she opened a present. I don't care if we got a thing, as long as she was happy. We of course remember that it isn't about the gifts, but about Christ's birth. We did our traditional reading of Luke 2 on Christmas morning. Thank you Lord for the ultimate gift of Your Son, and our first Christmas with our baby girl!

Update: First Steps!

I know I already blogged today, but had to update. Right before bed this evening Maddie took her first few steps! It wasn't many, but she did it all by herself between me and Brad. She was having a great time. I wasn't able to get it on video in time, because she was starting to get sleepy. I'll try to get one later, though. We're so proud of our girl!

9 Months Old!

I can't believe Madison turned 9 months old this past Saturday. Only 3 months until she's 1! She's still our little baby, though. She is such a sweet, happy, and talkative girl and rarely cries. She's up to new and fun things every day:

• She likes to point at things and "talk" about them...mostly da da du du da type words. She'll carry on a whole conversation with a clock, which is one of her favorite things. Everyone seems to have them above their mantle so that's where she always looks.
• She is having some more separation anxiety around strangers if she just woke up or came from somewhere quiet. If not, she's very sociable and tries to grab complete strangers' glasses. She still prefers Mommy the most, and loves her Daddy too. She also loves her Grandmommy very much and always greets her with a big smile, hug, and wants her to hold her.
• She gives the sweetest, slobbery kisses with her tongue out a little.
• She loves to clap when you tell her to clap or say "yay"
• She is speeding down the furniture unbelievably fast, and is pulling up on everything possible. She likes to stand in her crib and point and talk by herself-she does this after waking up for a good 45 minutes. 
• She does great with her walker and only needs 1 finger to walk. The doctor gives it another month or so before she is walking. She can also stand up by herself for 5-10 seconds if shes not too distracted.
  
• She still does the army crawl, but only half the time. The other half of the time she crawls normally up on her hands and knees. I still don't get it!
  
• As far as we know, she still has 8 teeth. I'm hoping she is not teething again with the fevers, diarrhea, and throwing up still.
  
• She is still not into eating much, whether it's baby food, table food, or nursing. It's hard to get her to eat hardly anything--she would much rather play and walk around. However, she lets me know when she's hungry to nurse. She has a certain little whine she does and she gives me the stare down if someone else has her. I guess it's still a comfort thing too. She's also in love with her sippy cup.
  
• Everyone covets her red hair. I never knew how many people would threaten to steal her from me because of her red hair. People come up to me (or my parents) and say "I want her" or "I wish my grandbaby (or baby) had red hair" or "She just has the most beautiful red hair and is going to be so beautiful when she's older." We've probably had at least a hundred people comment on her hair color since she was born. Forget about us blondes and brunettes, red is in!

We had her 9 month check up today. Madison is very average, perfect, and right on the money as the doctor put it. Not bad for having such a low birth weight. She was 18 lbs. 4 oz. and 27 3/4 in. long which is all 50th percentile. She is starting to become long and lean, and hopefully stay that way! Her disinterest in eating combined with wanting to walk and crawl around is finally showing. Right now she's in 12 month clothes, although she still has those cute little rolls on her thighs, which make things like leggings pretty tight! She also got her finger pricked to check her iron levels. She did great and her level was 13.7 which was normal.

Our doctor is very different than most "by-the-book" doctors I've heard about. I really like our doctor for that reason. He explains things well and is very honest about them. Most doctors will tell you you shouldn't let your child be in a front facing car seat until they are 12 months old AND 20 pounds. It is definitely 5 times safer if your child is facing back. Our doctor said it is more of an issue of their mobility and if they are almost walking, then it is ok to turn them around. (Brad seems to think that means that they can control themselves better, with motor coordination, etc.) Here in another month or two we may be considering doing that. Madison would LOVE to face forward I'm sure. She cries if she gets bored and tired and has no one to play with or look at. It would definitely help me when I'm driving to not have to listen to her fuss! Being the protective mother that I am though, I still make myself remember that its much safer to face back. Her feet are touching the back seat though, so we may have to switch her soon anyways.

The doctor also talked about the weaning process now that she is 9 months old. I plan on gradually weaning Madison around 12 months or so, but even then it may be hard for me. It is such a sweet, bonding time that you can't describe. We are so close because of it. I know a lot of moms cry during their last nursing session. Obviously I can breastfeed as long as I (and Madison) would like, but they recommend that babies get breastmilk until 12 months old at least. Our doctor said that is just an easy number for them to say...Most babies can be put on whole milk or something called Next Step at 10.5 months. That was very interesting and I've never heard of that before 12 months. My mom told me that back when we were babies the norm was they were supposed to be breastfed until 6-8 months at least. So times have definitely changed. It all depends on the baby and if they're gradually weaning themselves, I'm sure. For now we're going to shoot for nursing 4 times a day in addition to eating 3 times a day.

We had to go ahead and make our next appointment for her 1 year at the end of March! I'm not looking forward to all the shots, but it will be an exciting time when our baby turns 1.

Christmas Pictures

A few pictures from our photoshoot with Heather, who did such a wonderful job as usual!

Flashback Friday

Here are a few pictures from when we went to Jason and Mallory's wedding in Illinois. Madison was just an itty bitty 2 month old. A chunky little thing though :)

She got to visit the St. Louis Arch which was kind of scary in the little pods going up! Very cool view, though.

 

At 3 months old, she went to Sarasota, Florida with my whole family to lay on a towel and be a bathing beauty. She had some pretty cool sunglasses, too.

 

Then she decided to try out some swimming and sport her little bathing suit, hat, and t-shirt her great-grandparents got her.

 Lots of fun traveling for only 3 months old!

Wordless Wednesday

It's getting harder to resist those eyes...

Having Too Much Fun!

We are training Madison to be like mommy and run cross country. She can also kick a soccer ball pretty well too. But we'll be happy with whatever she wants to do :)

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She also thinks that if she can't see Daddy, that Daddy can't see her...hence the burying of the face in the couch! Run, baby, run! She gets so excited when Daddy comes to get her.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's Great To Be A Mom

You may have heard this before but I wanted to post it because it's so true!

A conversation between friends….
We are sitting at lunch when my friend casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of “starting a family”. “We’re taking a survey,” she says, half joking. “Do you think I should have a baby?”
“It will change your life,” I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.
“I know,” she says, “no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations…”
But that is not what I meant at all.
I look at my friend, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable. 
I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, “What if that had been MY child?” 
That every plane crashes, every house fire will haunt her.
That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse
than watching your child die.
I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub.
That an urgent call of “Mom” will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moment’s hesitation.
I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career,
she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby’s sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of her discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.
I want my friend to know that everyday decisions will no longer be routine.
That a five-year old boy’s desire to go to the men’s room rather than the women’s at McDonald’s will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.
However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.
Looking at my attractive friend, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.
That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child.
That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years….not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.
I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My friend’s relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.
I wish my friend could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have
tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.
I hope she will understand why I can think rationally about most issues, but become temporarily insane when I discuss issues that will affect my children’s future.
I want to describe to my friend the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. 
I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or a cat for the first time.
I want her to taste the joy that is so real, it actually hurts.
My friend’s quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes.
“You’ll never regret it,” I finally say.
Then I reach across the table, squeeze my friend’s hand and offer a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings: the blessed gift of God and that of being a Mother.

Flashback Friday

So I was looking back over some old pictures, and had no idea had huge I had gotten. No wonder my brother called me a blimp.

Going on 40 weeks. Yikes...

About 2 days later.

Madison Using Her Walker

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Today has also been a wonderful day. Our good friends Matt and Jessica just found out that they are having a sweet little boy in May!! We can't wait to meet you, Keegan! Also, the Kelley's adoption was just finalized, and sweet little Kenna is theirs forever! She is 21 months old now and I know they are ecstatic. Congrats, everyone!