4 weeks

Yesterday was the four week mark since Madelyn was born. I can't believe how fast time goes! She's such a good baby, other than yesterday! She wanted to eat every hour in the morning, which made for a very tired mommy since it started at 6 am. But then in the afternoon she went back to her 3-4 hour naps between feedings and I was very happy!!!

In honor of my friend Rebekah, who now has two little ones and posted about a "tired mommy moment," here is mine - the first of many I'm sure!

I did some laundry yesterday in between seeing my best friend and taking care of Mady. I threw it in the dryer and thought nothing of it. Well, my wonderful husband brought it out of the dryer and up to the living room so I could fold it all. He proceeds to ask me if I was confused as to what kind of diapers we use. That comment alone made me confused so I looked up at him and there was a diaper (disposable, with a wipe!) laying on the top of the laundry pile!!! Somehow a diaper got in our hamper or Mady's hamper or something and went into the washer and dryer! No, I didn't notice it when I put the clothes from the washer in to dry, otherwise I wouldn't have let it go in the dryer. Well, of course I now worry that the washer/dryer was ruined but Matt went and cleaned them out and they still work... How do I know, you may ask, since I did laundry yesterday??? WELL..... my precious little girl decided to have a MONSTER blow out this morning as I was nursing her! It went through her diaper, sleeper and onto my boppy pillow!!! I'm so thankful the pillow itself is washable!!!

I went out to the gym today for the first time since I had Madelyn. Man, am I out of shape!!! I've lost 22 pounds, and have 14 more to lose but I'm hoping to get into better shape than I was before. I know I'm not supposed to work out until after my 6 week check up but I'm getting too frustrated sitting here and not attempting to work it off. So for now, I will take it slow and see how things go!

Below is a picture from our trip to North Carolina. 5 generations are shown (me, Madelyn, my great grandma Blair, my mom and my grandma Lemonds).

finally home

Madelyn and I made it home!!! We arrived last night around 9pm, after a long day in the car. She did great!!!! What a good baby I have!

We left at 6am on Tuesday morning and arrived at 9 that night. Wednesday consisted of relaxing around the house and taking the "5 generations" picture, which was the main reason for going there. Thursday we went shopping, where this little baby pooped through her clothes! Unfortunately, I didn't have another onsie in the diaper bag so she went in just her diaper on the way home! She had her fussy moments that day, in which every other woman in the house decided to "diagnose" her and tell me what to do for her. I ended up pretty frustrated and had to call Matt to calm down a little. Friday morning we left at 6am and she did great the whole way home!

I must say, one of the highlights, for me anyway, was getting to eat at Chick-Fil-A! Since we don't have those here, mom promised that we could go there if Madelyn and I went on the trip. We ate there Tuesday night for dinner and also at the mall on Thursday. YUM!

Well, Miss Madelyn is waking up and it's time for a bath and then time to eat. I'll post pictures later once I get them from my mom.

mini-vacay

Well, I'm pretty much packed for the little trip we're taking. The laundry is almost finished and then I can finish packing my bag and Mady's bag. Then I am taking a bunch of our stuff to my mom's tonight so the car can get packed tonight. We leave at 6am tomorrow morning and I'm just praying that she does well in the car. The plan is to stop every couple hours, not just to feed her but so she can get out of her car seat and just move around a little bit. We're hoping to find an outlet mall on the way there so we can not only get out of the car a little bit but find something super cute for my friend who just had baby boy #2 - Jackson is here!!!! I wish Indianapolis was on the way to North Carolina but it's not. I wanna meet this little guy and introduce them to Madelyn but that will have to wait I guess.
Matt and I are going out tonight for the first time by ourselves since Madelyn was born. Our 2 year wedding anniversary is tomorrow but since I am going to North Carolina in the morning, we're going out to dinner to Logan's and then to Cold Stone Creamery for dessert! I love Cold Stone - we went almost every night on our honeymoon in Hawaii (we got a ton of coupons for "Buy one get one" from a store we went to). So fun! Hopefully Madelyn will be good tonight while Matt's mom is here. We won't be gone long but even just a little time out together will be nice. Can't wait!

2 week dr. appt

Well, Madelyn had her two week well child check up today at the doctors. After taking her onsie off to weigh her, she screamed the whole time! She now weighs 9 lbs, 2 oz, and is 21 inches long! The dr. said she's in the 75th percentile for both height and weight so we have a healthy little girl! Other than the crying, she did great! The doctor actually said he was impressed with how we were handling her crying. A lot of new parents get pretty frustrated with continuous crying like that but since we knew she wasn't hungry (I fed her just before the appt), we changed her diaper and then basically just concluded she was fussy. He said we were doing well and knew we were good with her. He also told us that between now and her two month check up (the next time she has to be seen) we should go out just the two of us, "even if it's just for a walk, an ice cream cone or staying at home, the best thing you can give her is a good marriage." We'll see when this happens....
I also took her to see the people I work with. They all loved her! The doctors followed me down the hall to see her, my manager loved her and the nurses all wanted to hold her. It was nice seeing them all again and it will be nice to work again but sad at the same time since I don't want to leave her this soon! I go back in 3 1/2 weeks! She'll be fine staying at home with Matt but I still will miss her and miss being with her all day. If only I could be a stay at home mom.....

Little vacation

This weekend, the three of us went to my parents cottage for a few days. We went after church on Sunday and came home last night. Mady did great! Monday night, she ate at 8:45pm and didn't wake up again to eat until 4:30! Then she went back to sleep until 9 am! She was so good! She slept most of the day and even went on her first boat ride this weekend! Mom and dad have a pontoon boat so Sunday night we bundled her up and took her out. It was a little cold but thanks to my friend, Rebekah, she has a nice, warm fleece blanket that kept her nice and toasty.
Monday night, I went to change her diaper at 5am, and of course, as I was moving the dirty one, she peed on my mom's couch!
The one time I didn't use the changing pad, she peed.... good thing it was on the slip cover (which is washable) and then Mom used her Resolve fabric cleaner and it's all good now.
The dog even got used to Madelyn. At first, she kept sniffing her and wanting to be really close to her but then she got used to her and didn't mind when she cried.Matt and I with Madelyn all bundled up on the boat :)

Tuesday, the 21st, mom and I are taking Madelyn to North Carolina for a couple days. My great grandma lives there and mom wants a "5 generation" picture - my great grandma, my grandma, mom, me and Mady. It's going to be a quick trip - leave Tuesday, be there Wednesday and Thursday and come home Friday. This means no time with Matt on our anniversary (which is Tuesday, the 21st). He doesn't seem to mind but that's another thing and I won't go there :)
Anyway, I guess that's all for now.

8 days old

Today Madelyn is 8 days old. I can't believe it's been just over a week since she was born! Time has gone so fast and I know it's only going to go faster too! Today we tried tummy time and she seemed to like it for the most part. Matt was on the floor next to her, talking to her and playing with her. She did great!

Matt's still in the process of looking for a job. It's been 3 1/2 months now since he lost his job with Deloitte and so far, nothing has turned up. He's applied for a ton, 40+ jobs now. But, I'm taking it as a blessing in disguise as he has been such a big help with Mady and helping me since we've been home. I am a very independent person and it's hard for me to let other people do things for me. However, after having a baby, I am realizing it's okay to let people help me, especially since I'm still in pain and sometimes not feeling very well.

Anyway, Matt's dad is coming for a visit from Georgia this weekend. It will be nice for him to meet Madelyn and spend time with Matt too. Then it's off to the cottage for a few days to rest and relax and visit with some family!

Madelyn's birth

Well, since I have a few minutes I thought I would write about her birth, in case anyone is still reading this and wants to know.
I was induced at 3am on Tuesday, June 30. I went in to the hospital and they hooked up the pitocin and started the IV's around 4am. At 7:30 am, my doctor came in and checked me and I was still 3-4 cm. My contractions finally started at that time and then I just layed in bed and waited. Around 9:30-10:00, one of the residents came in and broke my water and checked me again - still 3-4 cm. Matt and I just hung out in our room, playing cards for awhile until the contractions got stronger. Around 11, I decided to get some pain medicine so the nurse gave me some stadol, and IV med. It made me a little dizzy and really hot so I decided to try to sleep before it wore off. My best friend, Sam, came to the hospital after her class and just hung out with Matt and I. Then, at 2:30pm, I decided enough was enough and got the epidural. That made everything better, at least for awhile. My mom and dad and grandma came to see us around 4 that afternoon and just hung out.
At 5:30, my nurse checked me and I was 5-6 cm! Yay for change! I was getting nervous that I would have to have a c-section since I hadn't made any progress throughout the day. My nurse was excited about that too (she was the nurse that trained me for my job there - she was awesome!) Then at 6 pm, the resident came back in to insert an IUPC (intrauterine pressure catheter) to get an accurate meaurement of my contractions. I was 6 cm for sure at that time, but my contractions were barely anything, which is why it took so long to dilate.
7pm rolled around and that meant shift change. I had the same nurse that night that I had when I was admitted and she was great! Mom and dad and grandma left to get dinner and Matt's mom came to sit with us. The nurse kept having me change positions to see if that would help and at some point, she checked me and I was 7-8cm. I was still getting the pitocin and of course the contractions still weren't that strong. However, around 9pm, I was feeling the contractions more and having a lot of pain. I pressed the button for the epidural and after 10 minutes, I had to press it again. I told my nurse and she called anesthesia to come give me some extra medicine. When the anesthesia nurse came in, she realized that my epidural had become disconnected so that's why I was in pain! She fixed that and then at 10:30, I was 10 cm! My doctor wanted to wait another hour just to let the baby get lower so at 11:50pm, I started pushing. I pushed for 50 minutes and at 12:40 am, on Wednesday July 1, Madelyn Grace Douglass was born! She weighed in at 8lbs, 11 oz and 19 inches long. It was the most painful thing I have ever felt but she was so worth it! Matt was the most amazing dad ever. He held my hand as we waited for things to happen, he gave me ice chips when I was pushing, and he constantly was giving me kisses and telling me how good I was doing. I don't think I would have been able to get through it without him.
I had some bleeding issues so Madelyn was taken to the scale and weighed and given her shots. Matt was with her as I wasbeing worked on. I think that hurt more than the delivery. The dr. had to get the bleeding to slow down and eventually it did, after about another 20 minutes or so.
Once I was cleaned up, parents were allowed back in the room and I have never seen someone so happy as my dad was that night. He could only stay a few minutes since he had to get to work at 6 that morning but he was excited. My mom and Matt's mom stayed a little longer and then left around 2am. Matt and I spent time alone with our new baby and I was able to feed her and then get something to eat my self. We moved to the post partum room around 3am and both fell asleep right away.
The next couple days were busy with visitors and learning about our new daughter but I wouldn't trade any of it. We had an amazing experience and now have a beautiful daughter!