Our First Week

I can't believe that Maddie turned one week old yesterday! Time is already flying by too quickly! This week has been a big week for us, being home and really learning one another. I never realized how many things you juggle with a newborn and that the phrase "sleep when the baby sleeps" really means you'll only get about 45 minutes of sleep every 2 hours! Maddie is such a wonderful baby though and we couldn't be happier! I think the only thing we could really ask for at this point is more sleep, but from what I've heard, we won't be getting that for quite a while!

On Thursday, we went to see a pediatric orthopedist who took a look at Maddie's right foot. She had a positional deformity there upon birth from being scrunched inside of me. The area beneath her ankle was slanted in to the right and her toes were pointing back towards her knee rather than straight out. Our pediatrician's office suggested that we see the orthopedist just to make sure everything is ok. And thankfully it is! Within about 2 seconds of seeing Maddie's foot, he said "She's perfectly normal!" My eyes started watering as soon as he said that! He confirmed that it is from being inside and that the muscles haven't returned to the normal position yet. He showed us a little muscle rub we're to do a few times at each diaper change and he said her foot should be back to normal in no time! Wahoo!! We'll be going back in three weeks for a follow-up just to make sure everything looks ok, but all is good!

On Thursday too, Maddie's umbilical cord stump fell off! I'm not sure when that normally happens but I wasn't expecting for it to happen so soon. We can now see her adorable "innie" belly button!

Here are a couple new photos we took of Maddie last night to mark her one week birthday. Isn't she just the cutest thing ever?!



We've been having fun figuring out whose traits we think Maddie has...you'll have to let us know what you think! We think that the shape of her face and her eyebrows are like David's. She also has David's toes where the second toe is a little longer than the big toe! She definitely has David's cute little ears too! I think she may have my lips and eyelashes. Her eyelashes look long to me and that's one trait of mine I wouldn't mind her inheriting! Right now her hair is a reddish brown so it'll be interesting to see what the final color ends up being. She may have picked up some red hair from Mama Teet and great grandma Mary though!

Our first week has really gone by quickly! David will be going back to work on Monday and I know Maddie and I are going to miss having him so much! He is such an incredible husband and dad - Maddie and I are so lucky to have him!! Mama Teet is coming into town this week too and we are so happy to have her here! She will be a big help to me with David being back at work and I know all four of us are going to have a wonderful time together. Thank you Mama Teet!!

This coming Friday (April 3rd), we'll be going back to the pediatrician for Maddie's 2 week check-up. I can't wait to hear how she's doing and see how much weight she's gained. When we went on Monday, she had dropped down to 6lbs, 4oz which they said was totally normal. She should be back at her birth weight by Friday though. She is a good eater, so I'm hoping that she may even be beyond that! I think she may also get a couple shots that day which will probably be harder on me than on Maddie!

We love you all and thank you for all your prayers and support!
Nile, David & Maddie

Madeleine has Arrived!

Late Thursday night/early Friday morning around 2am I started having some contractions and over the course of the morning they became more regular. We ended up calling my OB's office and got the go ahead to go the hospital at 11:30am and we headed right over. We were able to get checked in and squared away with no problem, but when they examined me, I was still 1-2cm dilated...I hadn't made any more progress since my check-up appointment the day before. The OB asked me to walk around for an hour to see if that would help things move along and sadly it didn't. But when the doctor examined me, she was checkin to see if I was 2cm, and I opened up to 3cm. At that point, they said I could either stay in the hospital or go home for a while and come back when the contractions were stronger. I was really uncomfortable so we decided to just stay at the hospital and I'm so glad we did! I couldn't imagine driving back out a few hours later with the more intense contractions going on! I ended up dilating to 4cm about 2 hours later, they broke my bag of water and things moved well from there. I requested an epidural as my contractions had become a lot more painful and all I can say is thank the good Lord for allowing someone to invent that!

About 3 hours later the OB came in to check my progress and I was fully dilated and ready to go! I pushed for about a half hour and then the OB had to step out to deliver another baby, so we were on hold for about an hour. When she was back, we started pushing again for another 2 hours and made good progress. The OB had to step out for another quick procedure at this point, so we waited out some of the contractions and when she came back we did our last half hour or hour of pushing. That was the hardest hour of my life! I was physically so exhausted that I didn't know where the strength would come from, just that it had to come!

Maddie arrived...absolutely perfect...on Friday night, March 20th, at 11:05pm! She weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 20" long. She is so beautiful!! We couldn't be more in love! Here are a couple quick pictures for you!

This is Maddie's very first photo!

These are some cute close ups of her adorable face!



And of course, when we dressed her to come home yesterday, we thought that showing her early love for the purple and gold LSU Tigers would be perfect!

Right now, we're back at home getting situated and realizing what is truly meant by "lack of sleep"! As soon as we have our feet underneath us again, we'll be sure to post more.

Love you all!
Nile & David

39 Weeks - We're Almost There!

Today I had my 39 week check-up and everything went well! Maddie and I are both doing good. Her heartbeat was great and measuring in the upper 130s/140 and my blood pressure and weight were good. Believe it or not, the last two or three weeks my weight has held steady at 170 lbs. I am surprised that I'm not gaining weight, but I know it's normal not to at the end. I was just thinking that with just about all of my appointments I was a little above the standard weight gain, so I hadn't really thought that mine would level off, but it seems to! As long as we're healthy, I'm ok either way!

In terms of labor, Maddie and I are in about the same position we were last week. I am pretty much fully effaced and 1cm dilated. The OB did a gentle membrane stripping which wasn't uncomfortable at all, so we'll see if that will make any difference. From what I've read, it can help kick start things if you're body is ready or if it's not ready yet, it really won't have an effect. While she was doing that though, I started dilating to almost 2cm (just from her feeling around), so she said things should move along easily once the contractions start. I just need the pesky contractions to get things going!

I also confirmed today that our induction date will be Friday, March 27th! I am the first person on the wait list for that day, so one person will need to go into labor before their scheduled induction in order for us to be induced on the 27th. They said though that this happens 99% of the time, so there's only a 1% chance that our induction date would get moved. If for some reason it does get moved, I'll have another check-up appointment next Thursday or Friday and will then be induced probably the following Monday (March 30th) if nothing has happened by then. So either way, we will be blessed with a March baby!

Our prayer request this week is that the contractions will start and everything will begin moving along. Please also pray for continued health for Maddie and me. This last week or so I've started to become really nervous over little things, just wanting everything to be ok with Maddie (is she moving enough, are her movements strong enough, etc.). Everything has been great so far...I just need to relax and not worry (hard for me to do!).

Thank you all for your love and prayers over these last nine months! It's so strange to think that our next post will probably be one announcing Maddie's arrival! We can't wait to meet our little girl!

Love,
Nile & David

38 Weeks...Getting Closer!

I had my 38 week check-up today and Maddie and I are doing great! Maddie's heartbeat sounded perfect and they said that she's doing really well. Wahoo!! She's staying around a -1 station so she hasn't fully dropped yet. I am still about 1cm dilated, but am now 90% effaced (up from 80% last week). The doctor said my cervix is very thin and if she pushed things, she could open it up to be 2cm dilated. She said that all I really need are contractions...those will cause Maddie to fully engage (drop) and will make me dilate more. The OB said she wouldn't be surprised if something happened this week, but also said that those are famous last words, so who knows!!

I asked about having her strip my membranes, which is something they do to loosen things up in there. Some chemicals are released by your body when they do that which in most cases will help bring on labor. The doctor said that she has an aggressive technique for that and didn't want to do that on me this week, but said next week it would be ok (although I'm seeing a different doctor next week, so we'll see what she thinks!). So we'll see how all of that goes!

My doctor also said that we want to set-up a game plan and chose an ending point for the pregnancy, if I do go past my due date. She suggested that we schedule an induction for either March 26th or 27th. I think we are going to go with the 27th if it works out, as that day will be best with our schedules and it's also just a fabulous day (both Ms. Teet and I were born on the 27th day!)! I should be getting a call later today or on Monday to get that scheduled. The OB doesn't know that I'll end up needing this, or going this far past my date, but just in case she said it's good to have something scheduled.

So that's all for now! Our prayer request this week is for lots of contractions so that Maddie drops down and my body dilates more. I'd love if she were to make her debut sometime this week!

Love you all!
Nile & David

A New Look

With Maddie's arrival getting closer, I thought we'd try out a more girly background for the blog! I'm not sure if this is the perfect one yet, but I thought it would be a good one to start with and we'll see how it grows on us!

I can't believe we have just 10 more days until our due date! The countdown is on and I am secretly (or not so secretly!) hoping that she arrives early because I am so anxious to meet her!

Hope you all are doing well! We love you!
Nile & David

37 Week Waddle

I think my waddle has officially set in! Before this week I would catch myself waddling every now and then, but this week it has become my de facto way of walking and getting around. I am now a true waddler!

I had my 37 week check-up appointment today and it was fantastic! Thank you to all of you who have been saying prayers that things would progress - they did! Maddie dropped a little more and is now at a -1 station. I'm also 80% effaced and 1cm dilated! Wahoo!! I am so happy that we are making good progress!

I also made up for last week's below average weight gain, and put on 3lbs this week! So I am now up to 170lbs (38lb weight gain overall). The OB wasn't concerned at all about my increase in weight and let me know that at this point it is mostly water weight and retention which is normal. The first reading on my blood pressure was high too, but when the assistant took it again, it was back down in a normal range. The two of those things combined (the weight gain and initial high blood pressure reading), made me a little worried about pre-eclampsia since Michelle had that. The OB wasn't worried in the least and said that blood pressure readings can get screwy towards the end of a pregnancy too. But just to make me feel better, the OB had some blood taken that they'll run tests on. The OB is 100% sure I don't have pre-eclampsia though since these two things are considered normal and I don't have the other symptoms, but was very sweet to accommodate me and alleviate my worries!

So everything is going really well! I couldn't have asked for a better appointment today. I am thrilled to know that things are progressing and we're getting that much closer to meeting our little girl! It's strange to think that we're only 15 days away from her due date!

Love you all,
Nile & David