Gotta Love Nice People

I felt brave enough yesterday to go grocery shopping after Madelyn got her shots.  Things were going well for the first half of the trip, but she started getting fussy towards the end.  I get to the checkout with my buggy full of groceries, and Madelyn decides she had enough and the water works started.  The lady in front of me was finishing paying for her groceries and pushed her buggy aside and told me to just take care of my baby while she loaded my groceries on the counter.  Then, she took all the bags and put them in the buggy and offered to help me at my car (which I told her I had it under control then). So nice!  Didn't think strangers were generous like that anymore :)

Madelyn is 4 Months!

My baby girl is now 4 months (about to be 5 months). She went for her shots yesterday, and I have to say did pretty good. She was whiny a good bit throughout the rest of the day though :( Here are some things she is up to now:
* weighs 13 lbs 1 ounce
* is 25 1/2 inches long
*likes to talk more, in a high squeal at that
*has dropped her late feeding and is now going to bed at 8pm and waking at 6:30 am
*sucking her thumb more the past week
*rolled over accidentally once, trying to see the television
*not a big belly laugher, likes to chuckle instead
*eating cereal 3 times a day

Madelyn is 3 Months

Our little booger is growing so fast... She has started sucking on her thumb and sometimes fingers. She prefers those way more than her pacifier. Justin doesn't necessarily like it though. He feels it will be easier to take a pacifier away in the future, not much you can do with her sucking her thumb. However, Madelyn is winning :) Here are some pictures!

Madelyn's First Beach Trip

Justin is starting a new job with home health and has two weeks off before he has to go back to work. We decided to take a vacation to Port St Joe, Florida to fish and just enjoy the beach. We had a blast and thanks to Justin's mom, Grandma Sandal, we were able to enjoy fishing together while she babysat Madelyn. It was super hot so we didn't get Madelyn out on the beach much, but she did get to enjoy the shore one morning before we left!!

Madelyn is 2 Months!

Madelyn continues to amaze us at how fast she is growing. She is still in 25% for weight but is now 23 inches long (2 inches longer than at birth). She eats every 3 hours now and continues to sleep soooo good at night :)

Madelyn is 1 Month

These past four weeks have been the fastest and most amazing weeks of my life! I love my little Madelyn :)

She has gotten over her jaundice and is gaining weight slowly but on track.

*Facts on Madelyn James*

• 25% for her weight and 75% for her height





• eats every 2.5-3 hours





• she usually has to be woke up to eat during her night time feedings





• she sleeps a lot during the day

Nursery

I spent so much time on Madelyn's nursery and loved every minute of it! I painted canvases to hang on the wall above her crib, made a butterfly mobile and a lampshade covered with light pink rose petals. God knew what he was doing when he sent me a baby girl :) Justin's mom made us a monogrammed cornice board for the window and his dad made an awesome corner book shelf that Justin found decorative pieces to add to it that makes it go so well with her crib and dresser.

Thanks to my wonderful husband, I was able to get the crib and dresser that I really wanted.. it is sooo adorable!

First Trip Out of the House

Our first trip out of the house with Madelyn at 3 weeks was to Callaway Gardens in Georgia. Justin wanted to go and see the azaleas at their best! It was gorgeous and Madelyn did sooooo good. We couldn't have asked for a better baby!

Madelyn's First Bath

At two weeks, Madelyn's umbilical cord fell off, and she was ready for her first bath!

She was a little unsure at first when her Daddy put her feet into the water. Then when she was put in the water the actual water works started! She was not liking this at all...

As we finished up the bath, we pulled her out of the tub to dry her off and as soon as the cold air hit you would have thought we were beating her! She screamed as loud as she could, and snorted a few times ;) , until she was dressed fully in her nightie, nice and warm.

Good thing she has gotten used to the baths and actually seems to enjoy kicking in the water now!

Madelyn's Arrival

I was soo uncomfortable when my 40th week came around that I began hinting around to my OB to induce. He decided that if Miss Madelyn hadn't come by Saturday, April 3rd (her original due date) that we would induce at 7 that morning. Finally, I had a date to look forward to that was certain!

Friday, April 2nd, I went to work just as I normally do. Justin and I went to lunch at Olive Garden, and I started complaining of back pain with braxton hicks (BH) contractions. Now, I had been having braxton hicks contractions for 4 weeks now and the back pain was no new news but the two together was different. Justin took my patients, he is such a sweet husband, and let me leave work after lunch that day.

That night I continued to have BH with back pain, and I asked Justin if he thought these were real contractions. He had no idea and I certainly didn't know either. Around 10 that night I began timing them and they were about 10 minutes apart but not real consistent. I called the labor and delivery unit at the hospital and they just told me to take tylenol, drink lots of water and keep an eye on them. They didn't want me coming to the hospital unless they were 5 minutes apart and continuous. So I decided to try and go to bed.

I finally began to drift off to sleep when a sharp pain in my back woke me at about 11:30. I dragged myself out of bed thinking I was never going to sleep. For some reason, looking back on it, I was never overly anxious about the morning (when my little one was planned to be arriving) which is weird. I would normally stress over this known fact. I guess the BH had all my attention and the back pain was growing which I was annoyed by. When I crawled out of bed, I noticed that I felt something running down my leg. Sure enough my water had broken and my contractions were now very much known contractions and coming every 3 minutes. I woke Justin and he was frantic getting everything ready and sped us to the hospital with his hazard lights on. I remember telling him, "honey.. there is no one on the roads. I think you can turn those lights off"

Once I got to the hospital, my contractions were way painful, again all in my back and I couldn't help but make bad faces every time they came on. I definitely decided on the epidural and let the nurse know as soon as I got on the labor and delivery unit floor. Shortly, those bad faces turned to uncontrollably moans. I was sooo thankful when the epidural came! I don't remember the actual needle itself, but I do remember when the doctor hit a nerve and my left leg jerked and I screamed. Oh, that hurt!!! Much later in the labor process, I realized that I could feel the contractions again and the only thing numb was my left leg. Ugh.. They made me wait another hour before giving me the epidural..needless to say the moans returned by then. I vividly remember the tape being ripped off of my back to insert a new epidural (got some burn marks for a few weeks from that one). During all of this process, I continued to listen to the monitor that was observing Madelyn's heart rate.. worried everytime it fell below 110 bpm.

Eventually, around 10:30 am Saturday morning on April 3rd, 2010 Madelyn came into the world with a vaginal delivery and help of a vacuum (thank God for that, I was too tired to continue pushing... she had been "so close" to being delivered for so long I had given up hope).

I got to hold her for maybe 30 seconds then she was whisked away to the side to get cleaned up. She wasn't too spunky though and had to be carried to the nursery for further suctioning of her lungs (she had ingested meconium during delivery). Supposedly, she perked up right when they got the nursery and it wasn't until 1:30 pm that I got to hold my baby girl.

Justin and I are so blessed for this precious gift from God. She is such a good baby, and we love her so much!!

We Are Pregnant!!

I know what you are thinking... well, that didn't take long. I know right? About 4 weeks from our wedding. We really didn't think it would be that soon either, but we are along for the ride in God's plan! We are blessed to be adding a new addition to our family!!

First trimester was rough. I had extreme nausea and some vomiting to go along with it. As the second trimester came along, I was feeling much better!! And with the third trimester, I was sooo tired and my back hurt and I was uncomfortable. Needless to say, I was ready for little Madelyn to make her appearance!

Honeymoon

We honeymooned in Belize, spending 4 nights on San Pedro island and the last days in San Ignacio. We had a blast snorkeling, fishing, touring the Maya Ruins and just hanging out together!

My favorite part was snorkeling the coral reef off of San Pedro. It was so beautiful, and we got to swim with nurse sharks and huge sting rays!

The Wedding Day

May 16, 2009 Justin and I married at Children's Harbor on Lake Martin.

The began with 100% chancen of rain. It was still pouring down rain from the night before and thunder and lightning were hitting everywhere! I had prepared myself for this, watching the weather report all week as the percentages climbed higher and higher for rain. The night before the wedding, I told myself it no longer mattered what the weather was like. I would get my wedding gown soaking wet if I had to, this was our wedding day and I was going to enjoy every minute of it...rain or no rain!

However, God had another plan and with five minutes before pictures began before the wedding the clouds parted and the sun was so bright. It was absolutely gorgeous for our wedding!! This is one day of my life that I will never forget. I love you Justin Sandal :)