I Love My Cousins!

Olivia, Kristin, Rick, Madelyn & Owen

I’m a little late getting these posted, but better late than never, right? :)

When Madelyn was born, the hospital had a rule that no children under the age of 12 could visit due to the RSV season. Unfortunately, Olivia, Madelyn’s only girl cousin, had a bit of a meltdown when she found out she couldn’t see her in the hospital. Fortunately, we made arrangements right away for both Olivia and Owen to come over to our house to meet her.

Here are some pictures from the afternoon…Madelyn is still very anxious to meet her other two cousins, Mac and Ethan. We are hoping they will get to visit in March!

Two Weeks Old

Today Madelyn is two weeks old. She is doing so well and is growing like a weed!!

Chris and I are both battling bronchitis, with Chris on the verge of pneumonia. Fortunately, we are both on antibiotics and should no longer be contagious. We were concerned about Madelyn though so we brought her into the doctor this afternoon. The doctor gave her a clean bill of health and we were quite relieved. She gave us some signs to look for over the next few days, but all in all she said little ones are pretty resilient to these kinds of things.

Now, as I mentioned, Madelyn is growing like a weed. They weighed her at the doctor’s office today and she now weighs 7 pounds, 6 ounces. Chris and I looked at each other in complete disbelief, and giggled out loud. In a week and a half she has gained almost a pound! The doctor overheard our conversation and when she came into the room she let us know that this was a real good weight. We knew she was a great eater, but had no idea how well she was really doing. :) This all came as a nice surprise especially since the breastfeeding thing didn’t work out…I feel good about her eating habits and know she is getting what she needs. However, I think Madelyn was listening at the doctor’s office because she only ate half what she normally eats when we got home. Poor little girl. I think we made her feel bad. ;)

(Click an image to view a larger version)

No More Umbilical Cord

Today also marked the day Madelyn lost her umbilical cord! As silly as it seems, we were so excited! Now we can give her a real bath! We are hoping she will like that more than the sponge baths we've had to give her...we'll keep you posted on that one. :)

A Lasting Impression

We also made a stop at Wee Piggies to have impressions made of Madelyn's cute little tootsies. She was such a good girl while Lorraine dipped her feet to make the molds. We are going to have a shadow box made with her picture and these little feet. Once we get a picture that we want to use we should have it in about 3 weeks. We can't wait, and will surely share the final product once it's complete.

A Very Special Gift

Today Madelyn received a very special gift from her Great Aunt Kathy. When I opened the box and read the card, tears filled my eyes. Just when I thought I was getting over those roller coaster emotions, they snuck up on me again. :) Aunt Kathy sent a note to Madelyn explaining that the gift she made especially for her included “stories” about her Great Grandma Smith. She wrote to Madelyn that when she is older she needs to talk to her to hear all about Great Grandma.

When I opened the gift, I found a precious quilt and pillow handmade by Aunt Kathy. In each square of the quilt, she embroidered a special picture that indeed showcases one of Great Grandma's many talents and loves. Along with these pictures she included a different day of the week. The pillow was also handmade to match the quilt.

As I looked at each stitched picture I was taken back to the times when I was little and spent many days with Grandma Smith. Each picture brought with it a special memory from my childhood and again, tears filled my eyes. I am happy that Madelyn will have this special gift to treasure always.

Look at Me...I'm One Week Old!

Today Madelyn is one week old! Chris and I can hardly believe time has passed so quickly. We know this is just one small event that will come and go so soon. It makes us a little sad to think about how fast she will grow, but it is a reminder for us that we need to enjoy her every second of every day because we know she won’t always fit so neatly in our arms. Here’s to you, Baby Madelyn! We love you!


Click an image to see a larger version.

We decided to take her week-old picture in a place that will help us track how much she has grown. Our goal is to take a picture each week until she’s one month and then take one monthly.

A Star is Born!

Introducing Madelyn Claire!

February 11, 2008

4:07 PM
6 lbs, 7 oz
19 1/4 in

Two days ago, Baby Madelyn made her way into our world. We are so excited that she is finally here…it was quite an adventure! Here's her story...

On Sunday night, around 11:30 PM, I woke up feeling some minor cramps with a backache. I tried to change positions to help relieve the pain, but nothing really seemed to do the trick. So, I got up with a book in hand and went out to the living room to read so I wouldn’t wake Chris. Little did I know that he was awake, too. He called for me and told me to come back to bed. So, I came back into the bedroom and read a couple chapters in our baby book to him. After reading, I still felt the same. Chris and I joked that this could be it. We waited things out for a few hours, and then I called the triage station at the hospital and asked them if I should come to the hospital. The nurse asked me some general questions and by the end of our conversation, she told me to stay home and relax. Apparently if you can talk through your contractions, they are not so serious. So, we waited. Chris gave me a back rub and I took a long hot shower, both of which made me feel a little better. But by 5:30 AM, things were starting to pick up a bit. I could still talk through my contractions, but by 6:00 AM, that luxury was gone. Chris quickly jumped in the shower and we were out the door by 6:30 AM making our way to the hospital. And what a ride that was….by this time my contractions were about 7 minutes apart and definitely more powerful. I even diluted our conversation with several expletives.

We arrived at the hospital at 7 AM, and the triage nurse checked us into the examination room to see how far along I was. Fortunately, I was already dilated to 5 centimeters and the nurse assured me they would not be sending me home, but would instead get me checked into a Labor and Delivery Room (LDR). Of course the only thing in my brain was, “Cool. Dr. Tom said I had to be a three to get an epidural, so I am ready for the drugs...WOO-HOO!” The nurse did some other tests and asked several pages of questions, but she did eventually follow through with her promise, and by 8 AM we were in our Labor and Delivery Room.

By the time we got settled into the LDR I had already progressed to 7 centimeters. I told our nurse that I needed her to call the anesthesiologist NOW so I wouldn’t miss the window of opportunity for the epidural. :) He was in the room by 8:30 AM, and I was pain free by 8:40 AM. Ahhhh….now I was able to relax. The epidural did slow things down a bit, but who cares?? All I knew was I didn’t even know when a contraction was at its peak and I thought that was awesome. The nurse continued to check me and I was gradually progressing, so they pretty much left me be. We invited my friend Michelle to the delivery so she could take pictures for us. This ended up being a blessing in more than one way. She kept Chris company while I nodded in and out of sleep over the next few hours, and that helped keep his mind off everything that was going on in the room.

More good news…this just happened to be Dr. Tom’s on-call day. How lucky can we possibly get? Dr. Tom came in a checked me throughout the process as well, and at one point she mentioned she thought Madelyn would be about 8 ½ pounds. Listen, don’t mention that to a woman who has still yet to push the baby out. Seriously. She said that and I was now a little scared to push. Well, if I’m being honest, I was a lot scared. But it wasn’t until the last examination by the nurse, when she proclaimed, “Wow. Your baby has a really big head.” Okay, again. Don’t give this kind of information to the woman who is just about ready to push this little being out of her. So at this point I looked at Chris and told him I was not feeling real well. He reassured me it was just a case of nerves and that everything would be just fine.

At 3:30 PM the nurse said it was time to start pushing. I looked up at Chris and before I could tell him I was seriously reconsidering this whole thing, he looked down at me with tears in his eyes. The emotion of it all had hit him, and he knew we were only moments away from meeting our little girl. Tears filled my eyes, and I smiled knowing how much we were about to gain.

I won’t go into the gory details, but I pushed for 30 minutes, and at 4:07 PM, Baby Madelyn was born! And what a perfect site was she! Chris and I were overcome with emotions and couldn’t believe our eyes when they laid Madelyn on my stomach. Going into this phase of the pregnancy we knew how very blessed we were and what a true miracle it all was, but it wasn’t until this moment that we would feel the truest kind of love known to anyone. Love at first sight.

Sleepless in Glendale

They kept us in the LDR for two hours and then moved us to our room where we would spend the remainder of the time. Once we got settled, and had all vitals taken, we were visited by our night nurse. She mentioned that we may want to have the nursery take Madelyn for the night so we could get some sleep. Chris and I laughed at the thought, asking her who would do that? Seriously, you’ve just welcomed a new life into this world and now you’re going to send them away??? That’s crazy. So here we are, in our little room (not exaggerating) hanging out with our little peanut. And the next thing we knew it was 5 AM…and we hadn’t gone to sleep. It was at this time that Chris looked at me, both of us with eyes half-closed, and said, “Maybe we should let her sleep in the nursery tonight.” I looked back at him and said, “That is a fantastic idea.” :) So on Night Two, we sent Madelyn on her very first sleepover to the nursery, and we both got about 6 hours of sleep. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy letting her go, but I knew if I didn’t get my sleep there was no way I could properly function for Madelyn. I woke up a few times missing her terribly, but I forced myself to get back to sleep. I think that was probably one of the wisest decisions Chris and I have ever made. Hopefully will continue down that path…

Our Little Love Bug

Madelyn is the most perfect baby we have ever seen. No. Seriously. We know we’re the parents, and that makes us incredibly biased, but we know we’re right. She is perfect in every way. We can’t help but to sit and stare at her, looking at her perfect features. I just want to eat her up. She is precious, and extremely alert. We are amazed at how much she wants to look around and get to know her surroundings. It’s not difficult to get completely wrapped up in her sweetness and her already forming personality. We can’t wait to share her with the world! Although she has already had many visitors who came to see her in the hospital, we know everyone is anxious to meet her, and there are many of you who live far away, so as usual, we are posting some pictures from the last three days so you can at least get a sneak peek. We hope you enjoy them and we will continue to update this blog to keep you posted as we start to find a routine for our new life with Madelyn.

Click here to see the pictures. There are three new albums: Madelyn is Here, Hangin' in the Hospital, and Going Home. A huge Thank You goes out to Michelle for helping us capture all these great moments!

Week 39

First, I wanted to share a funny story with everyone…

My sister, Kristin, called me this morning to tell me that Owen woke up and was running around the house saying, “Madelyn was born! Madelyn was born!” Kristin tried to tell him it was just a dream, but he insisted she was here. He even said, “She is because Papa sent a picture on the computer!” Too funny. :) That story made my morning! Obviously Chris and I are not the only ones who are excited about her arrival. ;)

Here’s the latest scoop from the doctor:

We have finally made progress!! I am 1 centimeter dilated; -2 station (she has dropped enough for Dr. Tom to feel her head); and 60% effaced (cervix is thinning out).

Dr. Tom’s next on-call date is Monday the 11th so she asked if I wanted an elective induction. I really wasn’t quite sure what to say. I am so excited to have this baby, but I really don’t want to force the issue. I asked her if inducing me would make for a harder labor. She said yes. Well…say no more. Why would anyone ask for a harder labor? I asked her for her opinion and although she is always politically correct, she said if I was hesitating at all that I should wait. She said sometimes if you rush into it, and things don’t progress fast enough you end up needing a C-Section. With that, she said, sometimes comes guilt. I don’t want a C-section unless it’s absolutely unavoidable so that helped make my decision, too. She also said they’d have to do 3 cycles of gel and if that didn’t move things along fast enough they would send me home. I don’t want to go through that. I told her we’d consider induction if I go past my due date (next Friday, February 15th). She said that was a good idea.

So, Chris and I will have a little talk with Madelyn tonight and remind her that it would be nice to have Dr. Tom deliver her. Perhaps she’ll decide to make an appearance next week all on her own. :) Whatever the case, it won’t be long now…

Dude. Where's the Diaper?

So what does a cool guy do to prepare for the birth of his first child? He goes online and finds the hippest diaper bag possible. Remember, however, that “hip” is relative. ;)

Dr. Tom told us about a diaper bag that would make toting a baby and a bag at the same time much easier…it’s the Diaper Dude. :) Once Chris did a little research, he decided this was indeed the bag for him! Not only is it designed to be easy to carry with a child in your arms, it has cool “daddy” type designs and colors that include things such as camouflage, dragons, skull and cross bones and even the peace sign. Now, if you know Chris, you know exactly which one he chose…and if you don’t know him that well, see the image below. I am happy that our society has finally decided to start creating items for men so they, too, can feel like they are part of the whole process (Read between the lines: Thank God someone is finally making something to help the Dads of the world take part in the diaper changing experience). And if it’s a bag that makes them feel better about changing a diaper, then get ‘em the bag! ;)

Of course, you know I’m joking here. I know Chris is going to be a great Dad who will gladly change diapers. :) It has been so refreshing to see his excitement with all of this. As a matter of fact, after Friday’s appointment, I could see the disappointment on his face when Dr. Tom said we hadn’t made any real progress. He is so anxious to meet his baby girl, he can hardly stand it! Fortunately, it won’t be much longer now… :)

38 Weeks

Yesterday we went to our weekly doctor’s appointment to find out if I have made any progress since our last visit where I was dilated a “dimple.” Nope. Everything is just as it was last week. Still only a dimple dilated and Madelyn has not dropped any. She is as happy as a clam in there. :) Which I suppose isn’t all bad. She will come when she’s ready. Dr. Tom asked if either of us was a procrastinator. We both smiled and pointed to Chris. She joked that we’ll know whose character traits she’ll have if she comes early or late. ;) And of course I thought to myself, “At least be on time, Baby Girl.” :)

Dr. Tom discussed elective induction with us, although that will only be an option once I’m past 39 weeks and I have started to dilate (at least to a 3). If we go that route, she told us that her on-call days were Feb 5th, 11th, and 23rd. We would love to have her deliver Madelyn, but we know those chances are slim. We’ll just have to wait and see. Besides, from everything we’ve read, seen, and heard, it appears that the nurses do most of the work anyway. The doctor’s roll is typically that of a “catcher” so really, does it matter? ;) I laugh every time we watch an episode of A Baby Story when the doctor has the woman pull the baby out, literally. Every time I say, “Are you kidding me?” Listen, that’s what they get paid the big bucks for…I am not interested.

In the meantime, our bag is packed in the car along with a comfy pillow, and the car seat. We are ready for her arrival when she decides to get here. At the very longest, she will be here in 22 days…of course we’re hoping for 15 or less. :) Stay tuned…