Don't Drink Diet Coke

Madeline has been very fussy with gas a few nights this week. By process of elimination, I have determined that this must be because of me drinking a glass of diet coke at lunch (this is all the diet coke I drink since I know I need to avoid caffeine). So, bye, bye diet coke :( See you again in 4 to 10 months!

Madeline has been making noises (other than grunts and crying). The noise kind of sounds like a chicken going "brawwwwwk!" I know that years down the road Madeline will love that I wrote that! Maddie, you're getting more and more beautiful every day!

Quick Updates- 6 weeks, 2 days old

Lost cord - 3 weeks and 6 days, must be a record!

Have given more smiles. The biggest and brightest was 11/10, your daddy's birthday

Went almost 6 hours between feedings last night. However, I was up until midnight with Hadley and again at 1:30am from hearing your congestion, so I didn't get to enjoy 5+ hours of continuous sleep.

You are still congested. You don't have a cold. Apparently this is fluid from birth that is still working its way out. No runny nose or fever, just fluid high up in your nose. I hate how it makes you choke when it gets in your throat. I get out what I can when I can using the bulb syringe, saline drops, and a humidifier. Most of the time I can't get it though. Fortunately it doesn't cause you to fuss.

Tonight was your first time to really fuss about your stomach bothering you. I have no idea what I ate, but you were pretty uncomfortable, fussy, and gassy for at least 20 minutes. We were able to comfort you the rest of the evening, but I could tell you didn't feel wonderful.

You are so bright eyed now! You like to lie on my chest, raise your head, and look around. You also like to relax with your head against my chest and look at whatever there is to see.

Some days we take naps together while Hadley naps. I hold you against my chest with the boppy around for extra protection. I love this time. I get some rest as well as bond with you. You are growing so fast that I feel like I'm not getting any time with you. Really, you're already 1.5 months old already!?! You're getting so big too. It fills me with love and breaks my heart at the same time.

Hadley loves you very much, sometimes too much. I caught her just before she shared (threw) a couple of books on you in the swing. She's very sweet to you and is great at giving you the pacifier. She also likes to get thisclose to your face and almost yell, "HI MADELINE! IT'S OKAY MADELINE." I know the two of you will be good friends. Hadley's already tried to share her treats with you. I think you'll learn quickly that she'll do this... You two sisters better not team up against me! ;)

Oh how I love my girls!

1 month old

Madeline is one month old today!! How has a month passed by already??? Yesterday she smiled at me :D I was holding her up and saying silly things. To my complete surprise, she looked right at my eyes and smiled the most beautiful smile!

I took a couple of pics of Maddie today. I'll post those 'soon'...

Oh Poor Madeline

I had to break the news to Madeline that she might not be the cutest baby for a little while. She lost her cord on Sunday, got a bath, and then I realized that her hair is falling out just like Hadley's did :( She'll look like a balding man for a little while. I wonder if her hair is going to be blond and stick straight out like Hadley's did when it grew back in?? That will definitely be cute!

Poor Madeline #2 - she has a cold! You could hear the stuffiness, but not get to it with the bulb syringe. I was finally able to suction some out an hour ago. She seems to be breathing better. Fortunately the cold doesn't appear to be bothering her, just an inconvenience. She actually slept from 10:30 until I woke her up at 2:30am! I wouldn't have woken her up except her congestion and gas woke me up. There wasn't much point in trying to sleep for another 15 or 30 minutes, so I woke her up to suction her nose (or try) and feed her. I wonder how long she would've slept?? Even though I was up very briefly at midnight with Hadley, it still felt nice to get a 2.5 hours of sleep in a row! Maybe this will continue... For now, let's get this baby better!

Milestones

Madeline FINALLY lost her cord today. I think this may cause her to have a partial outtie? As a result, she also had her first real bath today. She didn't love it, but she didn't cry the whole time either.

Sleep where art thou?

As I've said before, Madeline is a great baby. She does allow me to get sleep. However, the last two nights have been difficult. She's still going straight to sleep after eating, but then she wakes up again in 2 (rarely 2.5) hours. Sometimes it is because she's hungry. Other times it is because she's fussing while making a dirty diaper. I am able to feed, burp, and change Madeline in less than 30 minutes, unless she pees on her clothes... which she did twice last night (that doesn't add that much time though). But, that only leaves 1.5 hours for sleeping, assuming Hadley doesn't wake me up during that time.

So, my goal is to figure out how to increase Madeline's sleeping time at night. I do let her fuss a little bit when I think it hasn't been long enough between feedings, but not too much because I don't want Hadley to wake up. Plus, I am trying to anticipate Madeline's needs so Chris's sleep is disturbed as little as possible. Most days I'm able to catch a nap during the day (which makes a WORLD of difference), but Chris can't do that because of work and/or he's not a daytime napper.

Maybe tonight will be our lucky night! I know Madeline can sleep for 4+ hour stretches as she has done so before. She will figure it out soon. As for me, this is why I'm on maternity leave! I can only image the quality of work I could produce on this crazy sleep pattern.

3 weeks old!

Madeline turned 3 weeks old yesterday :D She is such a joy! Words cannot describe the blessing she is to our family. Madeline is an easy baby. She sleeps well in her bassinet. She eats well, and fast (which is nice at night when I want to get back to sleep). She rarely ever spits up... however, when she does, it's A LOT. Now that I think about it, she hasn't truly spit up in 4 days. Maybe she's past the projectile spit up phase?

Madeline had a great 2 week check up! The doc said she looked fantastic! Her stats were:
8 pounds 8 ounces (Hadley was 7 pounds 14 ounces)
21 inches (Hadley was 20 inches)
Head Circumference was in the 17th percentile (Hadley's was in the 90s I think)

Looks like Madeline is on track to be slightly bigger than Hadley, but who knows!

Here is a list of happenings from the last 3 weeks:
-Madeline enjoys her sponge baths. She actually fell asleep while I was washing her hair.
-Her cord has not fallen off yet. Hadley's took a while too.
-We've only had 3 "rough" nights. Seems like too much red sauce (from lasagna and pizza) mess up Mad's belly. That was the cause for part of the rough nights. The last night was a combination of an upset stomach and then being wide awake until 2am.
-Madeline hasn't had an inconsolable crying fit. Even when her tummy hurts, she cries until she's passed gas/made a dirty diaper and then wants to be held. It's like she relaxes better by being cuddled. Makes sense!
-I took Mads to the doc at 10 days old because of a clogged tear duct. Unfortunately, they would not give me the prescription over the phone. Fortunately, when I arrived for her appointment, they sent us directly back to a room that had not been used all day in a section of the office that also hadn't been used. I greatly appreciated this due to all the children coming in with the flu and/or H1N1 (swine) flu. She was already 8 pounds and 1 ounce at this visit. My babies grow fast! Now worries about reaching their birth weight at 2 weeks ;) God blessed me with good milk and good eaters!
-Hadley is a very sweet sister to Madeline. She says, "Hold it!" and many other things. Hadley's very patient with Madeline when she's crying. She'll say, "It's okay Madeline," or "Madeline's crying," or "Madeline's sad," or "Don't cry Madeline!" She hasn't once gotten irritated with Madeline crying, not even during the 15+ minutes of crying in the car. I was very proud of Hadley's patience. Hadley loves her sister very much!
-Madeline has a gorgeous smile! We get to see her smiles when she is dozing off. I am excited to see her first real smile!
-Her hair is not falling out like Hadley's did... at least not yet. It is also lighter than Hadley's was at this time.

I know there is much more to mention, but I can't think of everything right now. Plus, it's 10:30pm, so I want to go to bed!

We will most likely combine the blogs soon so that you can read one blog for info on the girls. Having one blog will also make it easier to update since almost all stories will involve both Hadley and Madeline.

Thanks to everyone for all the meals, diapers, prayers, and congrats! We are so blessed to have two healthy, beautiful, kind daughters. God is good!