Two Months!

Yesterday Maddie had her two month shots and was weighed and measured.  She is now 12lbs (80th percentile), 22.5" long (50th percentile), and has a head circumference of 39cm (50th percentile).  Her doctor says she's officially outgrown any preemieness (is that a word?) she had.  Whoohoo!

But those shots...oh my.  She was really fussy yesterday afternoon and evening, and nothing would soothe her.  When we got her to go to sleep, she slept for seven, yes, SEVEN hours!  I kept waking to check on her and make sure she was still breathing, and I finally woke her up to feed her because the child's never gone more than four hours without eating!  She ate a little, fell asleep, and woke up fussy three hours later.  Dakota tried to give her a bottle but she wasn't interested, and today has been a further exercise in patience as the fussiness has continued (though the sleeping has been replaced with marathon nursing sessions).  Oi.

Grandparents Part Deux

Grandma and Grandpa Bailey came to visit the second weekend in May, and though I'm sure they were in love with Madeleine before, there was no doubt that they adored her after meeting her in person!   (She does have that affect on people...)

We ate out for the first time at a little Mexican restaurant, and Maddie slept soundly in her Beco carrier while I dropped salsa on her head.  Don't worry, I cleaned it up.  

Throughout their visit my arms were uncharacteristically empty as Grandma and Grandpa were very eager to hold our beautiful little girl.

For my birthday, Grandma and Grandpa watched Maddie so Dakota and I could go out to dinner.  It was strange being away from our pint-sized wonder girl, but nice to enjoy dinner without worrying about her...too much.  We hope to continue to plan some quality together time by swapping babysitting services with our neighbors or taking advantage of the services of others who would like some temporary cuteness responsibility.  Anyone?  Anyone?

And now for some more cuteness.. 

First Grandparent

Whew!  Where has the time gone? 

First, we had a weekend visit from Grandpa.  While he was here Maddie went for her first walk in the rain, then we picked up some yummy cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, and later Grandpa slept so well that he thought Madeleine slept through the night.  Ha!  Funny story.

Of course, they also found time to cuddle.

And there's more than ever to cuddle!  Maddie continues to have a very healthy appetite.  So healthy in fact, that all of her adorable 0-3 month clothes are getting a wee bit tight!  We've started in on the 3-6 month stash, even though little bit is only eight weeks old.  Here's her in one of her "big girl" outfits!

Madeleine also made her debut at church!  I was singing for a worship conference last Thursday morning, and so I wore Maddie in our awesome Beco baby carrier.  She slept through most of the singing, but she got pretty hungry by the end of the mini-set, so I had to pass her off to Pastor Kumar. Then on Sabbath she went to church again, but she didn't get to be upfront that time.  She didn't seem to mind, though she was not averse to the spotlight!  

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.