Social Butterfly

This past week has been busy!  I took Maddie to school and introduced her to all of the teachers and to my students.  She seems to have gained a whole new set of adoring fans!  

That same day she developed her first cold, and when she's sleeping or eating she sounds like an old man snoring.  Poor thing!

Yesterday we held a small open house to introduce our friends to Madeleine.  She did a great job of socializing!  However, once it was over she was done for the day.  And for the next day.  Being a social butterfly is seriously exhausting.

Today we went to the pediatrician's office for her one month visit.  Madeleine is now 9 pounds, 2 ounces!  She's gained a little more than an ounce a day since our last visit.  I swear there was one point when I fed her at 3am and then at 4am I was certain she had gotten bigger (but perhaps I'm just sleep deprived).

More pictures coming soon...

Ta Da!

We had a big weekend, followed by an even bigger day today!  First, Madeleine discovered that she has hands!  She stared at them in confused fascination and watched them move.  We were spellbound.

After an exciting morning of hand watching, Madeleine got to meet my friend Heather on Saturday, but I wasn't coordinated enough to get a picture.  Then Maddie had just enough time to eat when Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jenny arrived (they would like Madeleine to note that they were the first family to come visit her).Both Jenny and Jeff were a little nervous that maybe they were holding her the wrong way, but they were awesome and Maddie loved having them visit.  We did exciting things like watch Maddie, feed Maddie, change Maddie, and then we all went for a walk to the Baltimore Cupcake Company and indulged in some yummy cupcake goodness.  Fun was had by all.

In developmental news, Madeleine has been working on holding her head up for the last two weeks and doing little mini push-ups, which has impressed us (and our pediatrician) greatly.  

But today, she really outdid herself.  I mean, really.  See for yourself.

At first, Maddie was just hanging out with Zoe.  They seem to be becoming friends, or Zoe has figured out that in order to be in pictures she needs to do cute stuff with Madeleine.

Then Daddy put Madeleine on her stomach...and she began to do her little push-up while Zoe looked on...

then she pushed herself onto her side...and then...

ta da!

Yes, that's right.  Our preemie baby who was supposed to be born TODAY and who is only four weeks old rolled over.  We were both there to see it, and that reminded me of how grateful I am that Dakota works at home and that I'm going to stay home to raise our little girl.  I wouldn't want to miss moments like that for anything.

Doable

Everything seemed more manageable and less overwhelming this week, from feeding to cloth diapering to dealing with less sleep and even with little household chores - it's all just starting to feel more doable.  I even vacuumed and made cookies while Maddie hung out in her sling!

We haven't noticed anything that makes us say, "Oh, she's got your nose," or "Awww, she has my smile," but we have decided that she and her Dad both have the same response to hunger - extreme grumpiness.  Madeleine also seems to have inherited my patience level, so when she's hungry, she's hungry NOW!!!! and she's a grump.  A cute grump, but a grump nonetheless.  While it's not terribly endearing to hear her screaming about all of this, it's neat to see her little personality emerging.

Back to Black

And she's back up to birth weight!  Yay!  (I suppose I shouldn't reference my daughter's weight gain by the title of an Amy Winehouse song, but, eh). At our appointment with the pediatrician on Thursday, Madeleine was back at 7lbs, 6oz - she had gained 8oz. in 8 days!  Whoohoo!  The pediatrician seemed impressed that she gained that much just being breastfed, so I feel great about Maddie and my progress in that realm.  So of course, today she's past her birth weight...and I believe we've officially moved into the 0-3 clothes.  Here are a few shots of Maddie in some of the newborn onesies:

It's a bit ironic...in order for her to wear her tree hugger onesie yesterday so I could get a picture, she had to be in a disposeable diaper...her cloth dipes were a bit too big for the onesie to snap shut!

She's laying in her crib  in this shot, and about 30 seconds after I took the picture she spit up all over  the bedding.  She hasn't slept there, but we've now rewashed the  sheets!

Our little thinker!

Look at those chubby little legs!  I love them!

Maddie also lost her cord, so we were able to give her an immersion bath instead of a sponge bath.  As we began to lower her into the warm water, her eyes opened wide, she knitted her eyebrows together, and she lifted up her legs so they wouldn't get wet.  Slowly she relaxed and we even got a few smiles out of her!  

Notice the little belly button?  So cute!

Now we're off for some more feeding and a walk.  Up next?  Maddie's working on holding up her head and pushing herself up with her arms while on her tummy!  Pics to come, of course.

Vacation and Retirement

Yesterday I thought I might fall over from lack of sleep as Maddie ate every 1-2 hours around the clock. Today, I feel like I had a little vacation overnight! Madeleine went three hours (3 hours!) between feedings, not once, but twice! Which means I got two hours of sleep TWICE! I'm a new woman, but I have a dirty little confession to make. I gave in to the pacifier last night. Madeleine would not be soothed by anything. She was fed, changed, cuddled, sung to, swaddled, shooshed, swung, sided, and clearly, the only S* we hadn't tried was suckled - so I gave in, gave her the pacifier, and felt like a bad mom for doing so. Fortunately, she used it for a few minutes, dropped it, and fell asleep.

Last night she lost her cord, too, so now we have a cute little belly button to look at. It's not really an innie or an outie yet...it's looking about half and half.  

And have I mentioned the lungs on this child? Remember when they did the amnio to see if her lungs were fully developed? I can't imagine if they were more developed than they are. She has a scream that echoes in rooms that aren't really echo-prone. Anything can bring on a scream - a diaper change, a clothes change, being set down (what??? no one's holding me?)...a friend told me her baby doesn't really cry. Well, mine does - quite dramatically. I suppose I should have seen this coming.

And in sad news, today we'll probably be retiring some of Madeleine's newborn clothing. Those adorable Pumpkin Patch onesies her dad and I picked out when we found out she was a girl are starting to S-T-R-E-T-C-H across her expanding frame, and the cute GAP naturals onesies are just a little bit short and snug. Fortunately, Carter's has more generous sizing, so I don't have to put away all the newborn clothes at the same time, which is just a bit traumatic. I'll be back later with some pictures of Maddie in some of her soon-to-be retired clothing.

* The five S's are from Dr. Karp's The Happiest Baby on the Block and usually swaddling and shushing take care of Madeleine's cries.

Two Weeks

I can't believe Maddie is two weeks old today!  I noticed her little fingers are filling out and getting bigger, and I almost cried.  My little girl is already growing up!  

Here's what she thinks of that:But she's not too big for this:

First Walk

Today we took Madeleine for her first walk.  I carried her in her adorable sling, and she seemed to love it.  She made little "eh, eh" happy sounds all the way to the coffee shop and back.  This little one was made for city life!

Naked Day

Dakota went to Babies R Us and picked up Maddie's new playmat.    I'm impressed that he came home with the right one because there was a cool space playmat right next to the floral one you see in the picture (the one we registered for) and he was very tempted by it.  

At the moment we're enjoying Maddie's nakedness a lot because we've used all of her clothing on her and the brand new washer and dryer aren't quite ready to wash and dry our clothes yet!  The plumber is coming over tonight to hook up the hot water line and the gas line, and then the fun really begins as the pile of laundry is outrageous.  Anyone wanna come over and help?

Madeleine is still eating every two hours (or less!) and while this is wonderful news for Project Feed Madeleine, it's tough on me.  Each feeding takes between half and hour and an hour, and then there's only an hour left until the next feeding.  This is ok during the day, but the night?  I'm pooped, and I feel guilty sleeping during the day (I know, I know, nap when they nap - but I feel like I should be more productive!).  Dakota has been encouraging both of us to sleep, and we did take a very nice nap today.  And for your viewing pleasure, Maddie's bright blue eyes!

Eat Up!

Maddie's appetite has increased significantly since the jaundice has been reduced!  She and I were up every 1-2 hours last night (boy were we tired!), but fortunately Dakota took Maddie for a few hours tonight and I was able to nap.

At the pediatrician's yesterday we found that Madeleine is starting to regain weight!  In fact, she gained 4oz in two days!  Whoohoo!  Her billirubin levels went up slightly, but nothing to cause concern.  We get a break from appointments until next Thursday.

Gratuitous Cuteness

When we walked in the door all three kittens had to come over and check out Maddie.  Maggie was the most interested, Zoe really just wanted us to pet her, and Annie, of course, was scared.

I am so cute.

I used to be on the inside of mommy's tummy!

What a great place to hang out!

Bath time is, so far, traumatic.  Madeleine pulls the hood of the towel over her face as though maybe she can get away underneath it.  Much screaming ensues.

At work with Daddy already!

The cats have become a united front against their common attention-getting enemy!  We can't remember the last time they all laid on the bed together.

Tired but happy.  That about says it all!

Madeleine looks so much better now - she can wear yellow instead of being yellow!  And she loves her bouncer.