Happy Easter!

Today was our first holiday as a family of three! It was a beautiful day here - sunny with a light breeze and about 60 degrees. We couldn't have asked for a better day! We took Maddie for a walk and her first trip through the park near our house and just relaxed together the rest of the day. It was perfect!

Joe bought Maddie an adorable "baby's first easter" outfit (thank you Joe!) and we were able to get some photos of her in it. She is such a sweetheart!

A close-up of the onesie...

And one of the feet on the pants...what you can't see here is that on the backside of her pants she also has an adorable cotton tail! So cute!

And a couple others..,just because!


Maddie has been doing great this week! Her neck muscles are really getting strong and she's lifting her head up a lot more! She's also able to see her crib mobile and follow the butterflies with her eyes as they move around. It's amazing to already see her growing and changing in these ways! I also read that within the next week or two she may start to make cooing noises and begin "talking" - that will be so neat to hear!

Love you!
Nile, David & Maddie

Maddie's 1st Video!

Maddie made her first video debut this morning on her 3 week birthday! David grabbed his flip camcorder and captured some really cute moments of her wiggling around in the crib, doing some tummy time and hanging out on her activity mat. She is a squirmy worm when she's waking up and you'll see her showing off her morning aerobics routines! David edited the video and set it to music, so please turn your speakers up! Our baby is such a cutie pie!



Love you all!
Nile, David & Maddie

2 Weeks Already!

I can't believe it, but Maddie is 2 weeks old today! I am hoping that time will slow down for the couple of months I have off!

Today we had Maddie's 2 week check-up with the pediatrician and she got a perfect bill of health! She is now weighing 7lbs, 7oz so she's 3oz more than she was when she was born. We have a healthy eater on our hands! And with that, I will say, we also have a healthy pooper! Oh my goodness, can the girl go! On Wednesday I think it was, I had my first experience getting pooped on by her. It was a classic welcome into motherhood! I was changing her diaper and as I wiped her hiney, she shot out some more for me and just covered my hand! Thank goodness she is such a sweetie and David was there to grab some wipes for me! We were just cracking up!!

Maddie is a champ at breast feeding and things there are going really well. We did find out that today that she probably has acid reflux which is what's causing her fussy periods and why she sometimes has trouble falling asleep when we lay her down in the crib. The pediatrician gave us some ideas on how to help this (sit her up more when she's feeding, elevate one end of the mattress, etc.) so hopefully these will help her (and us!) feel better soon.

At the pediatrician appointment, they also did a heal prick to test for a metabolic disorder. For the first time, I thought I may harm someone! Maddie's foot didn't bleed enough to get a sample with the first prick, so the technician had to prick her foot again and then had to keep squeezing her foot for about 15 minutes to get the sample. All the while Maddie is screaming bloody murder and it was so hard to see her in such pain and not be able to make it go away! She has to get some vaccinations at her next check-up and I already know I'm going to be a mess when that's over!

Today Mama Teet and I took Maddie for a quick walk around the neighborhood (just about 3 houses down and back!). It was a beautiful afternoon and it felt great to get outside. Here are some new photos we took we've taken this week.

Maddie just looking sweet as pie earlier this week...

A shot from last night's sponge bath...this must've been her one calm moment before the storm because she does not like (aka absolutely hates!) sponge baths!

Maddie all bundled up for the walk we took today, with her signature furrowed brow...

Some snuggle time with Mama Teet...

Maddie's cute little feet...they actually aren't that little, but are narrow and long. There's no denying they are cute though!

The last few days Maddie has proven herself to be quite the lady, always crossing her legs when we're holding her just like this (by the way, aren't the mary jane socks cute?!)...

We love you all!
Nile, David & Maddie

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