Madeline's Blog

Okay, I know we're a little late, but let's all join in welcoming Maddie's newest cousin, Ariana Rhea! She was born at 12:15pm on March 22nd, and was 7 lbs, 10 oz and 20 1/4 inches long. Just look at that beautiful blonde hair and blonde eyelashes too! Congratulations Amy and Ronnie! She's beautiful!

Ariana loves her Mommy!

Here's Grandma! She doesn't look proud at ALL, does she?!

Such a cutie!

Well, Maddie is twelve weeks now (almost three months!), and she seems to be learning faster than ever before. Our big achievement this past week has been the solidification of a sort of schedule. Maddie goes down for a nap about an hour after she wakes up (I know it seems like a short time, but you should see how active she is in that one hour!), sleeps for an hour, and then is awake for an hour and a half before her next nap. She continues this throughout the day, an hour down and an hour and a half awake, though she sometimes skips a nap in the late afternoon. Her bedtime is between 9pm and 9:45pm, and -- get this -- she has SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT for the past two nights! She went from 9:45pm to 8am the first night, and I could not believe it! I woke at 4am, of course, since that is when she normally wakes up to nurse, but she was sound asleep. I puttered around (read: ate three cinnamon rolls) while waiting for her to wake, but she didn't! So it was back to bed for me, though I woke every hour to check on her. Last night she slept from 9:45pm until 7:15am, and though I still woke up at 4am on the dot, I was a bit less nervous that something was wrong and a lot more thankful that I could get some extra rest. In addition to sleeping longer, she does not always sleep in the "fencing" position anymore (with one arm bent up and the other stretched out in front of her face). This is an inborn reflex, and losing it means she will be able to reach for and grasp items easier. Here's a picture of Maddie sleeping with her hands down (excuse the blue socks -- Daddy likes to get a rise out of Mommy by dressing Maddie in the socks that clash most with her outfit):

Maddie has also become even better at lifting her head up, though we still have to struggle through "tummy time." Below are some pics of a typical session, with a description of what's going on included below each picture:

We set Maddie down.

Her head drops a little.

Her head comes up a bit to see what's going on.

Down it goes!

And she's crying.

Finally, Mommy gives up and lets her play on her back.

A few nights ago, though, it was as if Maddie suddenly decided that being on her tummy and lifting her head up can be fun! She lifted it up and kept it there for a long time, smiling and laughing. I hate to admit it, but I think Daddy's presence during this session had a lot to do with her amusement. Here are some photos of Maddie actually enjoying "tummy time:"

Hey, I can do this!

This is so much fun!

Oooooh! Pretty!

I know this is a little dark, but you can get the general idea of what Maddie's like on her tummy: Maddie Holding Her Head Up Movie (approximately 8 MB ) Again, The best way to view this movie is to click the right mouse button and then click on "save target as." That will download the video to the folder on the computer that you select. Then open the file or, if your computer gives you the option, click on "open" when the file is done downloading.

Maddie continues to do well sitting up when propped or while you're holding onto her arms. I just think she looks SO cute when she's sitting up.

Just look at the view from here!

Maddie is also working a lot harder on rolling over than she was last week. She really tries hard! Since she doesn't spend a whole lot of time on her tummy, she's working more at rolling from back to front, and she gets SO close! Maddie has a blast, though, when we help her roll from tummy to back; her eyes get real big, and she smiles a little smile. Here's a pick of Maddie as she's trying to roll from back to tummy:

Almost there!

As I said before, I really think Maddie has a better time when Daddy is there with her (I'm sure she gets tired of seeing me all day!). She just loves to look at him and laugh at him. She also likes to dance with him; I've told Matthew that it took a woman who can't even walk to teach him how to really dance (many of you know, Matthew barely even danced at our wedding).

Daddy's not the only thing more interesting than Mommy these days; Maddie has discovered the fishies mobile that hangs above her crib. I used to kiss her feet while I changed her diaper; now, the fishies take up all of her attention. It's cute, though, to watch Maddie look at them so intently as they go round and round:

It seems like Maddie has learned some new sounds this week, though she's definitely not using her old ones as much. She laughs a bit louder and more easily, though it still sounds like someone laughing so hard they're not making much noise then gasping for breath. Ah well. It's cute to us. Maddie has virtually STOPPED making the kind of coos she made a few weeks ago; those were quiet and had a very repetitive pitch. We can't figure out if the new "bear" sounds she's making are just louder versions of her old coos, or if she's replaced the soft little baby cooing altogether. It worries her mommy a little bit that Maddie constantly sounds like a bear riding a motorcycle, but her daddy doesn't seems to mind. Here's a movie of Maddie talking in her "bear voice." It can be viewed in the same way described above. Sorry it's sideways; we can't figure out how to rotate it, but it's a cute movie nonetheless : Maddie's Bear Voice Movie (approximately 8 MB )

This past weekend Maddie and I went to Springfest, a sort of carnival in downtown Fayetteville. We had a great time walking up and down the drag, looking at all the booths, people, and doggies (we've never seen so many in one place). While there, I bought Maddie a sling, which she LOVES! She never fusses when she's in it, and people stop us all the time to say "Oh, what a happy baby!" and to ask where we got the sling. Now, we all know that Maddie, though generally a happy baby, does not always appear as happy as she otherwise might. So, I say thumbs up to the sling; I'll have pics of it posted in the near future.

And finally . . . drum roll . . . Maddie went to the nursery for the first time this week! Aaaack! Mommy was a bit nervous, but Maddie did fine! I came in to check on her once, and she was napping, and when I went to nurse her the nursery workers had all of the little babies seated on some play mats on the floor. Maddie and another little girl were smiling at each other, and all seemed well. When she heard my voice, though, Maddie started fussing to let us know that she was hungry. But she didn't cry too much, and she didn't vomit on anyone, so I call that a successful venture. I don't have any pictures of Maddie actually in the nursery, but here she is after we came home, wearing her pretty pink and blue hydrangea dress (thank goodness for after-Easter sales!):

I love this one!

After we took the above pictures, it was time to get Maddie changed and ready for a nap. Madeline, of course, found this whole procedure to be absolutely hilarious, and acted accordingly:

I'm so pretty!

Yummy! Maddie LOVES eating her Sunday dresses!

In my undies!

Such a pretty profile!

Talking to Daddy!

What? You want to take my picture?

Time for a nap with Dad!

Maddie also went to see her Great Great Auntie Lois, who is the sister of Madeline's namesake, this week, and she had a good time napping and smiling and fussing. Here are some pictures of the encounter:

Well, Maddie's waking up from her nap now. Stay tuned for pictures of Maddie's trip to the park!

Well, we had Maddie's two-month appointment this past Friday, and all was well. She weighed 15 pounds, 11 ounces, was 25 inches long, and had a head circumference of 16 inches. She's a big baby! The doctor laughed at her size and showed me her progress on his growth charts; she's way above the line for the 95th percentile, but her growth curve looks the way it should. He asked if her reflux seems to be under control, and when I told him I'd switched her back to Zantac since her tummy seemed to hurt so much on the PrevAcid, he told me that the side effects of the latter are actually the same symptoms as reflux. So, if you suffer from those side effects, the medicine that's supposed to help makes the reflux seem worse! So I'm glad I trusted my instincts and switched her back; Maddie vomits more on the Zantac, but at least her tummy feels better! The doctor then asked how long Maddie is sleeping at night and told me that at this point she should be sleeping through the whole eight hours! When I told him she sleeps six hours but then wakes every two hours after that (whether she nurses twice or only once, then, depends on how long she slept -- eight or ten hours), he said if she starts to go less than three or four hours I might need to start her on cereal! I'd really rather not do that, especially not before she's six months old, so I'm hoping she just keeps lengthening her nights naturally. I've heard different things about starting solids; some people say cereal helps babies sleep longer, others say it makes no difference. Oh well. As far as babies go, my dad's advice holds true; opinions are like you-know-whats -- everyone has one and most of 'em stink.

The doctor -- Dr. Grear (he was very nice) -- picked up, poked, and prodded Maddie, and after a solid fifteen minutes of listening to her cry during his exam only to have her stop the moment she was in my arms, he commented on her rather picky temperment. He did it with a smile, though, and told me that babies who are a bit more difficult and "know what they want" early in life grow up to be fun, interesting children. I mentioned her particularly stubborn streak and the problems we're having with a bottle and he said Maddie could start taking a cup when she's six months. I never thought about that! Maybe then I can be apart from her for a few hours! A side note -- at least the PrevAcid experiment helped Maddie learn to take a medicine dropper, which she does rather well now. So, if I absolutely have to leave her for a bit, she can take that. Matthew asked how big droppers come, and I said we've got the biggest; he didn't seem to like my idea of buying a turkey baster and using that.

Low points of the visit were the doctor's discovery that Maddie's head tilts a little to the left, his opinion that I nurse her too often (heck, if she'd suck on somthing else I'd be glad to let her do it!), and, of course, the shots. I'd never noticed Maddie's head tilt, and was shocked -- yes, rocked to my toes -- when he pointed it out. Now, though, when I look back at pictures of her, I see that it was always there. Go figure. It's okay, though; I'm still head-over-heels for my crooked-necked little baby.

After the doctor left, two nurses came in with the shots, and I started tearing up as soon as I saw those little orange-capped syringes. Maddie was in a better mood by then, and I had to lay her down on the table and see her look up at me with her eyes filled with trepidation. It was as if she was saying, "what are you going to do to me now?" Then, on the count of three, the nurses struck, one on each thigh, with one nurse giving a second shot almost before the first was over. Maddie's eyes only widened in surprise as the shots went in, and then, a few seconds after it was all finished, she started crying. The nurses gave her sparkly band-aids, and I lifted her up and tried to calm her down, but she was determined to have her say. She cried for a good ten minutes or so. I think she was more angry than hurt at such an invasion of her person. As the appointment was winding down, while the nurse was writing down Maddie's growth statistics for me and Maddie was finally relaxing a little, I looked down and saw Maddie's leg, my hands, and my shirt covered in blood! I couldn't believe it, and after three tries to get the nurses attention, she finally looked and couldn't believe the amount of blood, either! I asked if such a thing could be normal, and the nurse said, yes, "some kids are just bleeders," but I was still a little unsettled while we tried to clean Maddie up.

After the appointment, Maddie promptly fell asleep in the car, and slept for the rest of the day and that night, waking up only to nurse. Here is a picture of Maddie getting her diaper changed at home after the appointment; as you can see, other than being tired, she was fine!

Later that day we headed for Texarkana for a visit, and Maddie woke up to greet her Grandma Debbie in typical Maddie fashion -- with a big smile! She had a great time staying at Grandma's house and meeting her Aunt Sandy and Devanah as well as Mom and Dad's friends the Poteets, Dr. Steeger, and others from Matthew's home church. As you can see below, Maddie loves her Grandma Debbie!

Count those chins!

Maddie loves Grandma!

While in Texarkana, I got the scare of my life; I fell with Maddie in my arms. I guess I'm just not as graceful as I used to be, and I tripped while walking out of the Golden Corral. Maybe it was the weight of the food, I don't know. I kept Maddie from hitting any pavement, though I scraped both my knees in the process, and I'm very grateful for the good Samaritan who helped me up and carried Maddie on to the car. This incident was so small I probably shouldn't even write about it, but I just wanted to note how such things leave an impression on us. I'll never, ever forget the lancing fear and panic I felt when I first realized I was going to fall with Maddie. Man. I think some of the most earnest prayers are communicated when there isn't enough time for words.

Moving on, earlier this week and especially while in Texarkana, Maddie began taking a HUGE interest in toys. She's started looking at them intently, and recognizing them as things she gets to play with. Her favorites are still her rattling Hippo, her Chickie Chickie, and Giraffer, but her baby mirror and Ephelant are quickly climbing the ranks. She holds on to them tightly now, and even -- get this -- grabs at them intentionally with consistent success! She really started doing this on Sunday in Texarkana, when she spent a good fifteen minutes reaching for, batting, grabbing, and pulling her Hippo while sitting in her carseat. Reaching for toys is an arduous task, I think, and one to which she devotes her utmost attention. She'll stare at a toy for a few minutes, then her arm will shoot straight out, her hand opens, and then it swings at the toy. Sometimes she'll miss, but a lot of the time she gets a piece of the toy and grasps it, shaking it to make it rattle or simply pulling it to her mouth. It's so much fun to watch! Below are a few pics of Maddie with Geraffer and Hippo:

And, of course, Maddie continues to be very active. Below is a movie of her taken while we were playing together; she loves to be the star of the show!

Maddie Playing Movie (approximately 8 MB )

The best way to view this movie is to click the right mouse button and then click on "save target as." That will download the video to the folder on the computer that you select. Then open the file or, if your computer gives you the option, click on "open" when the file is done downloading.

I know the updates are becoming more words than pictures, but once I start writing about Maddie, even if I'm trying hard to keep it short, I just can't stop. I've an urge to record EVERYTHING, and this has become a way for me to do that. Sorry, those of you who check in regularly; I'll try to keep it shorter in the future and to take more pictures! Until then, you have my permission to simply scroll past my drivel and click on those beautiful pictures of our little (big) girl!

Well, this has been an interesting week, to say the least! Maddie is now 10 weeks and 3 days, and she's interacting more with the world every day. She smiles when you smile at her, or even when she just likes what you're doing or sees a favorite toy. And she coos up a storm! She says "ah," "goo," "gee," "yah," "la," "you," "bloo," and any combination of the above when you talk to her, sing to her, or just look at her. Humans are not the only ones with which she holds extended conversations, either. No, the side of her crib, the fish on her mobile, an elephant that shakes when you pull his string, and a particular green rattle are some of her favorite partners. Maddie has also discovered "Razzing," and uses it to communicate a variety of moods. She makes long, quiet razzes when she's happy, short, loud razzes when she's having fun (mostly when she's on the changing table or getting ready for a bath -- boy does she LOVE being naked!), and quick, quiet razzes when she's about to unleash an angry squeal. If you're not careful around her and get too close, you'll get a faceful, or in my case my glasses full, of cute little baby spit (actually, it's only a little bit cute; mostly it's kind of gross). But afterwards Maddie compensates with a full body grin; the one where she pulls her legs and arms in and then throws them out, arms and legs flying (honestly, sometimes she looks like she's trying to run!), and smiles a smile so wide you can see the back of her little baby gums. She has all different sorts of smiles, now, too. Small, big, peaceful, excited, shy, they're all there. We're not really sure if the "shy" smile looks the way it does because she's really shy or if it's just a thing that babies do, but it's incredibly amusing. In this smile, Maddie grins at you for a moment and then buries her face in the chest of the person holding her, peeking out only to smile and then burrow in again. Below are some of her observant, surprised, and happy expressions from this week:

Maddie has all sorts of frowns and cries now, too. Sometimes she cries because her tummy hurts, but mostly she cries because you're not paying her enough attention. She wants to be talked to and held all the time, and you'd better do it if you don't want an earful! She doesn't just want to be cuddled with, either. No, her objective with the vast majority of her wails is to be walked, danced, run, or otherwise moved throughout the house, mall, park, or any other venue. She has what a friend of mine calls "altitude sickness"; she wants you to stand up with her and won't tolerate much else. Matthew is the BEST at indulging her desires in this area. He'll hold her against his chest, with her bottom resting on one of his arms and his other arm across her chest (she faces forward), and they "zoom" through the house (he takes big steps and walks really fast). She loves it! Maddie has also decided now that "tummy time" is almost completely intolerable. After all, she can't move down there and she can't see much while on her tummy. We still make an effort every day to put her down on her stomach, but lets just say it's not a strong, concerted effort. We have hearts, after all, and we don't like to hear her cry. And we have neighbors who probably don't like it much, either. Here were some of her more difficult moments this last week:

Still, even without much tummy time, Maddie is holding her head up well when she is on her tummy, and lifting up some of her chest, too. Occasionally she'll sort of balance it all on one arm while the other sticks out straight, and once in a while she'll lift her legs up a little bit while both arms are straight out from her body so it looks like she's doing some sort of Superman impression. She can also keep her back straight enough to remain sitting up if she's propped by something such as your leg or her Boppy, but any wrong move of that big 'ole baby head sends her leaning over into your waiting arms. You can see her sitting up with a little help in the picture of her at the computer at the top right of the page. She's getting better at maneuvering that big head, though, to watch EVERYTHING, and she can keep it almost completely in line with the rest of her body when you use her arms to pull her from laying down to sitting up. Here Maddie is propped up and looking at a book (Thanks to the Jaspers for the "This Little Piggy book!):

Maddie is also getting better at interacting physically with her toys. She is batting at them more, and will grab them intentionally if both they and her hand somehow intersect her gaze at the same moment. A toy laid near her hand is soon grasped and pulled to her mouth where Maddie is starting to mouth things, finally. Her favorite things to chew and to manipulate are her hands, which, when not in her mouth, feel, pull, and poke at each other over her chest (it lends new meaning to one hand not knowing what the other is doing!) Speaking of mouths, Maddie's is constantly leaking! Our little girl drools like you wouldn't believe! She soaks through her clothing in a short while, so we try to keep bibs on her while she's awake.

Here Maddie is eating her hands before bed.

Look at all that drool!

We mentioned this drooling to the doctor this week, whom we saw because Maddie was having some diarrhea, had a low-grade fever (her first!), was waking A LOT at night, and wouldn't take her naps. All-in-all, for the first part of this week she was a VERY cranky baby. The doctor said that she might have a tummy bug, and/or she may be teething. Teething! I hope not. I tend to think it's something else; I've noticed that many of her problems started after I switched her to PrevAcid. The medication itself might not be at fault, but the mixing and administration of it might (i.e., I'm not doing it right). It's imposible, after all, to get all the medicine separated perfectly and to mix it with milk in the dropper and fed to her fast enough to keep it diluted the whole time. So for the past few days I've gone back to the Zantac, and though her tummy doesn't feel the best it has ever felt, she certainly seems happier than she did a few days ago.

Though she is generally a very happy baby when her tummy doesn't hurt, we're still struggling with a few torturous tasks. Maddie still will NOT take a bottle unless we take drastic measures (we wrap the bottle in my shirt, and Daddy tries to give her the bottle while I leave the house), though Daddy got her to take several ounces on Monday. We tried using the Playtex Nurser system, and she seemed to accept it's softness at least marginally better than she did the Avent bottles. I think we're giving up on the pacifier; the only time we've ever gotten her to take it was when we put it (well, sort of stuffed it) into her mouth while she was sleeping (see pic below ). Maddie has a strong need to suck at times, but Mommy seems to be the only acceptable way to meet this need. So, I will continue to spend much of my day with a Maddie attached to me. Sleep is also an issue for us; Maddie doesn't want to do it. She fights to stay awake until she is absolutely exhausted, and then almost seems to drop where she's at. The doctor told us to let her cry in the crib for awhile, but neither Mom or Dad is able to do that very well. And since she cries to stay awake while we're rocking her and holding her anyway, we figure it isn't always that she needs us to hold her in order to fall asleep. In general, it is just TOUGH getting her down for her naps or for the night. The only time she falls asleep readily is in the car, and that's the only place where we really can't get much done while she sleeps!

In these pictures we are trying to get Maddie to sleep (by rocking and bouncing her):

She's outlasted Mama!

Her eyes are drooping (she and Giraffer have had a long day) . . .

She's rubbing her eyes . . .

Big yawn . . .

And finally! She's asleep!

Here at least we have a picture of her with a paci in her mouth so we'll recognize it if it ever happens again:

Well, Maddie's already asleep, but Mom has to get to bed now, too; we've got Maddie's 2-month appointment tomorrow, including some immunizations (Aaack!). We'll let you know how it goes! 'Night all!

Babies are sometimes hard to understand. As the old proverb says, if you want to understand someone, walk a mile in their shoes.

Can you find the baby in this picture?

This was a present from Grandpa Joey and Grandma Julie (but we suspect that Grandpa Joey was the deciding factor).

Okay, Maddie is now 9 weeks and 2 days. We've had a difficult few days, but hopefully we're pulling out of it. On Monday, Maddie didn't really want to nurse and only wanted to sleep, and, beginning at 5 pm yesterday (Tuesday), she's nursed every hour! Her the only break was between 12 and 5 am last night. She's even awakened from her short daytime naps to eat. She's been VERY fussy and really wants to be held. Finally, I turned her over to Matthew for about three hours today so I could shower and sleep, and boy, did it make a difference! Maddie and Matt get along so well. The two of them went to get us some Sonic for dinner, and after watching the West Wing, we gave her a bath, fed her some dinner, and down she went! She woke up about 1/2 an hour later to eat, but she's been asleep since then. I'm thinking maybe she's going through a growth spurt? But who knows. Sigh.

Well, I promised I'd put up some more pics of Lanette, Summer, and Dominick's visit, so here they are . . .

As you can see, Maddie loves her aunt and cousins! And she LOVES getting attention! Maddie really enjoys watching faces more than anything else, but she is learning to look at toys, too. One of her favorites is a yellow chicken (Well, there is some debate as to whether it's a chicken or a duck. But, as both Matthew and my mother said, on separate occasions and without consulting each other, "It's a chicken, look at it's legs!") that Grandma Lea got her. She'll stare at it with rapt attention:

Maddie and I play alot now, when she's not eating (!) or fussing, and I think it's probably far more tiring for me than it is for her. Still, she can get pretty tired as the day goes on. Here's a few of those weary moments caught on camera:

Thanks to the Killenbecks for the beautiful blue outfit!

Maddie continues to grow, and is somewhere above 15 pounds now. Because of that and her considerable tummy girth, she is edging into 6-9 month clothes. Here is a picture of her in a 6-9 month sleepnplay. It's a little big yet, but not too bad, eh? Better than the 3-6 month muscle tee you can see in the pictures above.

Well, time for Mom and Dad to hit the sack too. Goodnight all!

Who needs a TV?

dear professor gitelman:

i am sorry that daddy couldn't make it to class this morning. he got all ready to go, but then my tummy hurt and i was sad and i needed his attention. momma was very tired, and she had a headache.

i would like to promise that this will never happen again, but i'm not really old enough to control my emotions. i even needed help typing this letter.

yours truly,
madeline

ps as you can see, he must have done something right.