Merry Christmas!

I know it has been a long time since my last post...sorry! We can’t believe that at this time last year we were announcing that we were pregnant and having a little girl. Now our beautiful Madison is 7 1/2 months old. Wow, how time flies! Our sweet little girl has given us a run for our money but I think we are headed for great things.

At her last check-up (about a month ago) she was 90th % in height at 27 inches and 90th % in weight at 19 pounds. Her acid reflux is virtually gone and we are all thankful for that. She has her two bottom front teeth in and her two top front teeth will be popping out any day…we can see them! She can sit and play and loves to bang things together. Her favorite thing to do is rub things across her mouth to make the “Indian call”…”Ah ba ba ba ba”. Madison is starting to attempt crawling…she gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. She is just starting to move forward!

Mommy and Madison go to Gymboree 4 times a week to play! Madison loves the big parachute and all the bubbles. Mommy has been making homemade baby food and really enjoys mealtime with Madie! It is very messy but lots of fun. Her favorites are papayas and avocado (we call it papayacado), sweet potatoes, and squash (aka squish-squash). Cheri is still “trying” to work as a substitute teacher but the work has been very slow. She misses being in the classroom and is hoping the work will pick up soon. Nolan is still working at Newport and is working harder than ever to support his family.

Please keep in touch! And we promise to do the same! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

4 Months...already???

Well...our little girl isn't so little anymore! She is in the 90th% for her height at 25 1/2 inches and 95th% of her weight at 16.4 lbs!!!!! I guess the meds and the formula are REALLY working now!!! She is on previcid 2x a day and she is now on Soy formula. The spitting up is still there, but ohhh, sooo much better! After she eats we put her in her chair for about an hour and it helps keep the food down. It's a little boring but at least she isn't barfing everywhere.

She "talks" a ton and now loves to blow raspberries...getting her face wet and yours if you are too close! She LOVES her feet and holds on to them whenever possible. She lets you know when she is excited...licking and waving her arms like she is trying to fly...I love it! We are still in gymboree, (three times a week because mommy loves to get out of the house!) Her new nickname is "Mad-Dog" because she punched a little girl in the eye during tummy time! The girl cried but was ok...we don't encourage this type of behaviour but at least we know she can defend herself...LOL!

3 month pictures!!!

Madie is 3 months old...wow time is FLYING!!! We have started Gymboree classes and we LOVE it! She looks at all the other babies and mommies and never me...I guess she gets to see me all day! She loves sitting up and looking around. She is reaching out and grabbing everything...especially my hair...OUCH! She is hilarious in the bath, kicking and splashing the water everywhere, making a huge mess. She is now talking up a storm! Sometimes it's soft and cute and sometimes it seems like she is yelling for attention. Her smile will melt your heart...she loves to smile! We are in a pretty good routine with her now!!! She sleeps about 10 hours at night and takes about 4 one-hour naps during the day. She loves her stroller and enjoys our morning walks. She is such a cutie pie...we just adore her!!!

Check out her 3 month pictures we had taken at Sears in the Cerritos Mall!!!

Acid Reflux Stinks!

Poor Madison has been having some trouble for quite some time now and we have finally figured it out! For the past 2 months she has been very fussy after she eats, screaming and crying. Sometimes she cries so hard that there are tears and farts!!! She was also throwing up a TON! sometimes she would cough or choke after she ate and she was throwing up in her sleep! We changed her formula and feeding schedule with no change so we finally took her to the doctor. They started her on Previcid for acid reflux, (to help ease the burning in her throat). After a week with no improvement the doctor suggested some tests. We had to take her in for an ultrasound on her stomach. They wanted to make sure her insides looked good and were working correctly...they were. So the doctor sent us to get an Upper GI test. It was awful! First they had her in this cold room with nothing on but a diaper. Then they strapped her tiny body to a piece of plexiglass, hands straight above her head! Since they were taking x-rays I couldn't stand by her, I had to go to the other side of the room and could only see her through a tiny window! They fed her some barium and moved her around and took pictures while she digested it. She was SCREAMING!!! We just cried together through the whole test! Come to find out it was a good thing we got the test done. Her food was staying up in her throat and chest, and having a hard time making it to her stomach (which is why she was barfing all day). They also discovered that she was aspirating her food...it was going from her throat into her airway (which is why she was coughing and choking all the time). They have now put her on a second med that she takes 3 times a day to help her get the food to her stomach and stay there. We have now been on both meds for about 2 weeks and we have seen a pretty good improvement! She barfs way less although she still screams after a bottle (still tears and farts too)! Doctor is having us stay on this for 3 more weeks before we try anything else...hopefully it will just keep getting better! It's so nice to only use 2 burp cloths a day instead of 10!!!

Ear piercing!!!

I debated and debated and finally decided to get Madison's ears pierced! She did great...only cried for about 2 minutes. My mom, Lyndsie, Cameron, Kerrington and my friend Maria were all there to help out! She looks so adorable with her bling! I think she looks so much older now.

Madison's 2 Month appointment

We just got back from Madison's 2 month doctor's appointment and the doctor said she is doing FANTASTIC! She is 9.5 LBS now (25%) and 23 1/2 IN (90%). I can't believe she has only gained one pound...she looks so much bigger, we thought for sure she would weigh more. The doctor also said that her head a and neck control is that of a 4 month old! Madison is on the "Baby Wise" schedule so she is eating every 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours and she is sleeping 9-10 hours at night!!! I still get up at every moan and groan but at least I don't have to get out of bed to feed in the middle of the night. The extra sleep has done wonders for me!

Her smile is infectious, just like her daddy's! She gets so excited in the morning when she hears my voice, you can see her looking around for me. When she finally finds me she has the biggest gin and chuckle, and now a few bubbles! She knows the sound of Velcro means the swaddle is coming off and she stretches like she forgot she had limbs! It is hilarious! She is loving her bath and has been kicking her feet in the water. She makes me smile all day long! I LOVE hanging out with her. She is really developing a fun little personality...although, she isn't afraid to SCREAM at you if you do something wrong or take too long to feed her! New pictures will be up soon!

A typical afternoon for Madison...

Today Madison woke up at 9:30am READY to eat…fussed all the way to her room and up until I got the bottle in her mouth. We turned on our Sesame Street CD, like we do EVERY morning. It took her about 20 minutes to take the 4 oz bottle and 2 NICE burps. Then we made our way to the changing table. That’s when our favorite song came on…”The Monster in the Mirror” by Grover. Mommy danced her BEST dance and Madison kicked along to the beat with a HUGE smile and a couple of coos. It was AWESOME to see her get so excited. It’s always good when we both start our days off with smiles!!! Then I changed her and we had play time! We played on the floor mat and touched all the fun animals. Then we practiced tummy time…until breakfast came up! Ooops! Then I got her in the BABY BJORN and went downstairs, so mommy could have some breakfast. I ate some waffles (standing up at the counter) with her strapped to my chest…spilling some syrup on her head and arms…another ooops! She quickly let me know she was over the Bjorn and we went back upstairs to put her down for a nap. She got swaddled…got the Binky…and was rocked to sleep. She was down for a nap by 11:00am, with mom watching her on the monitor. Half hour into the nap she is whining…lost the Binky! Mom fixed it and she’s back to dreamland. Mommy takes this time to check email with the monitor in hand.
It’s 11:45 and she is up again. I try to insert Binky…but she is SMILING!!! She just melts my heart with her crooked, toothless grin. I decide to pick her up because I think she’s hungry AGAIN. I put her in her bouncy chair, on the counter, while I make the bottle and she is totally FLIRTING with herself in the mirror. Again, heart=melting! We play by the mirror for a few minutes until she assures me she is hungry. At 12:00 we go in her room and listen to KEARTH 101 while she eats and I sing the songs I know to her. This time 30 minutes for a 5 oz bottle and two more GREAT burps, (think drunk frat boy)! When she finished eating I laid her in her crib with the mirror and got her bath ready. (Do you see a trend? She LOVES to look at herself!) I gave her a bath and she seemed to really enjoy it. I found that it is much easier to get a naked baby out of the bath when there are two people, but we made do. I wrapped her up in the towel and a warm sensation came over me…yep…she PEED on me…AGAIN. (Anyone know how to get a baby out of the tub and to the changing table with out getting peed on?) Then I got her dressed and we went downstairs so mommy could eat lunch. This time I put her in her vibrating chair, (and nothing got spilled on her)! She was looking sleepy so when I finished I took her back up to her room and as soon as I sat down to rock her she was out! Did not even swaddle her! So, I got back up and put her in her crib…back to dreamland for Madie, back to the computer and monitor for mommy! AARRGG…she lost the Binky again…so I put it back in her mouth and give her a few minutes of butt pat, but I do it on the side, trying to stay out of her field of vision…OHHH GOOD…I think she’s out again! We’ll have to wait and see…(it’s now 2:15)! She’s crying AGAIN…this time with a fist FULL of her own hair in her hand! Re-insert Binky, more butt patting and she’s out again (it’s now 2:35). NOPE…back up again…this time I take her out and rock her…tired of going back and forth I brought her back in my room and I lay her on the bed next to me and wonder…Why won’t she stay asleep? (Now it’s 3:00).

Any suggestions on how to get her to take a nap longer than 30 minutes???

Our Hospital Stay

Sad but true, Baby Madison has already spent several nights in a hospital at only 5 weeks old! Here's the story...

She wasn't her normal sweet self over the weekend...way more fussy than usual and had a hard time sleeping. I didn't think much of it, thought it was a growth spurt. Then Tuesday morning Nolan left to work on a machine in Colorado. She was super fussy all day, cried more than ever. After one of her naps I noticed she was really hot. Luckily, Lyndsie came over to help me take her temp...didn't want to try the dreaded rectal temp alone for the first time! It was 101.5! I freaked out, called the on-call pediatrician who said I need to go to the ER right away...then I started balling and freaking out even more! My sweet sis-in-law was amazing at trying to calm me and she called my mom to help. My mom came right over and we took her to Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children's Hospital. She was taken right away for a chest X-Ray, they drew blood, got a urine sample via catheter, and attempted a spinal tap (tried 3 times and never got a clean sample). Then they admitted us to a room where they stared an IV, antibiotics, and put her on a heart monitor. It was AWFUL!!! Hearing her scream while they poked her tiny little limbs trying to find a vein...and Nolan was out of town...I was an absolute mess!

We stayed at the hospital until Friday. I spent every night by her side, sleep deprived, and annoyed by LOUD beeping monitors. My amazing mother would relieve me during the day so I could shower and get a few hours of sleep. Finally, all of her tests came back negative for bacterial viruses. Turns out she has Enterovirus Meningitis, sounds bad but it is pretty much just a typical flu. It is very common in babies, especially in the summer. Because babies have underdeveloped immune system they always admit them for at least 48 hours since the viruses can move very quickly.

We are home now, (Nolan got home Friday night, he missed it all), and she is doing great! You would have never known she was sick. Unfortunately, she is still considered very contagious so we are confined to the house for 2 weeks! It's ok...just more time to spend with my cutie pie!

She is starting to smile and coo and it just melts my heart...I see so much of Nolan in her tiny face and I just love it...knowing we made this beautiful baby just makes me love him more. He spent his first Father's Day in bed with her watching golf and baseball all day! It was adorable!

Also, thank you all for your well wishes, prayers, hugs and kisses...they were needed more than you know...and for those of you just finding out we know you love us too! It was such a whirlwind event I only had time to post quick messages on Facebook.

Madison's Newborn Pictures

We had Madison's pictures taken when she was just 7 days old...

The rest of Madison's newborn picture session is now online at www.jessicalakephotography.com; there you will enter the website and at the bottom right corner click the tab that says "proofing". Once there it will ask you for a password and you'll enter: madison.

We hope you enjoy these pictures our little sweetie!!!

To make is easy we posted a link to the pictures...just look in the right hand column to find the link! ENJOY!!!

She's 4 weeks old already!

Wow, how time flies! We can't believe our little munchkin is already 4 weeks old, and she is doing great!

We were released from the hospital on Mother's day. The day started off great and ended up awful! We had a super rough first night...I think Madison cried from 1am to 4am straight! Since then we have settled into a pretty good routine, (thank goodness!) I am having a tough time breastfeeding so she is mainly getting formula, which might be a good thing, since she goes between 6 and 7 hours between feedings at night! You'd think I'd be well rested...but, no...still exhausted! She's still a guessing game that takes up all my brain power!

We have made it out of the house a couple of times and she has been pretty good. She has already been to the ranch! She doesn't always love her car seat but she is starting to get used to it. She really enjoys her bath time, but like to pee on mommy before mommy can get a diaper on her...mommy needs to learn to move faster!

Being a new mommy has been hard at times but overall she is a wonderful baby and we are truly enjoying having her in our lives. Over the last weekend we were all lying in the bed together...Makalani included, and Nolan and I just laughed at our cute little family and talked about how great our new life is.

If you haven't met little Ms. Madison yet you are missing out! She's a sweetheart!

Madison Kaye Real has arrived!!!

Our baby girl is here!!!  Madison Kaye Real was born Friday, May 8th, 2009 at 12:32AM.  She weighs 8.7LBS and is 21 in. long.  It was quite an adventure to get her here.  

I was attempting to go to bed Wednesday night when I started feeling funny.  I tried to go to bed but I just couldn't stay still.  I started having strong, consistent contractions about midnight.  They started out about 10 min. apart but quickly got closer and closer together.  By 5 am we knew we were in true labor and called our doula, Taffy.  She came right over and we started doing some breathing and laboring positions to help me cope with the pain.  I was determined to stay home as long as possible.  We were able to labor at home for a while.  We finally decided to head to the hospital at 10:30 when my contractions were about 2 minutes apart and the pain was getting pretty bad.  We were able to check right in!

We were excited to see how far I had progressed, since I had been in labor for 10 1/2 hours already...I was only a 4!  The pain was bad and I wanted the drugs but I decided to try to stick it out a little longer.  At around 2:30 they checked me again and I was at a 5-6 and in more pain than I could handle...I had been laboring for over 14 hours on my feet...I never sat down!  I decided I needed the drugs...my feet hurt too bad to continue.  Wow...the epidural was AMAZING!!!  I finally got to lay down and I was a lot more comfortable.  

A couple of hours later they checked me again and I was a 6...I was wondering if this was ever going to end!  My wonderful husband, amazing doula, and loving family stood waiting to see what was taking so long.  It was so frustrating!  The doctor finally decided to break my water, hoping it would move things along, and the scariest thing happened.  It seemed that the entire hospital staff ran into my room.  No one said anything, they were all over me moving me around, talking all technical, it was scary!  Turns out that there was a dip in the baby's heart rate after a strong contraction.  This slowed everything down...I stayed dilated to a 7 for the rest of the evening.  

The doctor finally came in and suggested a c-section, which I was totally against.  But she talked me into it because I had been laboring for a full 24 hours now and I was stuck at 7 and a -1 (the baby was still really high in the birth canal).  The doctor explained that even if I made it to a 10 I would still have to push and she was thinking I might not have the energy.  I was very upset but decided that a c-section at that point was better than an emergency c-section if the pushing was too much.

They prepped me for the surgery and in I went... 1/2 sad I missed out on natural delivery, 1/2 happy I was finally going to meet her.  The surgery went well.  Nolan held my hand the entire time.  It was amazing  when they held Madison Kaye in front of my face for the first time. Nolan left to cut the umbilical chord and watch them clean her up. He brought her back to me and let me look at her while they finished stitching me up. She was beautiful!!! I was in love!!! 

Nolan and the baby went to the nursery and I was taken to recovery. At about 3a.m. we were admitted to a room to get some rest. Later that day Madison Kaye was brought to us. Here are some of the pictures.(please see pictures to the right, we are working on posting an album)

 

 

 

 

39 Weeks and counting!!!

I just had my 39 week appt. and all is still well...after a little anxiety! I went in for what I thought was going to be a 10 minute quickie exam turned into be being there for an hour and a half. Apparently, my blood pressure a little high and they wanted to rule out any complications. He, the doctor, said he was going to do a routine exam and actually did a sweeping of the membranes and checked for dilation. WOW!!! Not what I expected and not something I would ever want done again!

After that they monitored the baby's heart rate for 20 minutes, they drew some blood, and did an ultrasound to check the fluids inutero. All of the tests came back great! The doctor told me to go home and have sex with my husband! That was the only advice...I bet Nolan will thank him later!

So, I'm now back home with my feet up, thinking my mom is wonderful for helping me put the final touches on my nesting projects. I'm also waiting for my adorable husband to get home from work!!! Oh...yeah!!!

38 Weeks...Tick Tock!

So, I apologize for the delay...it sure has been awhile since my last update. I was busy working, and I loved my job, but it took a lot out of me and I wasn't up for much, just wanted to sleep! My 3rd trimester was more exhausting than my 1st! Now that I'm not working I figured it was time for an update...all the nagging helped get me motivated!
I just had my 38 week check up and all is going perfect! The doctors had me stop working earlier than expected (by 3 days) and I think it was a blessing in disguise. Since then my blood pressure is back down and the swelling or edema is much better (although my feet still look like small boats and I have temporary loss of my ankles!) I feel great and I still love being pregnant. My little Madison isn't a kicker...she does daily yoga! She's really fun and just stretches away so it doesn't hurt, it's sorta soothing. I just sit and watch my belly move and laugh. I'm going to miss being pregnant!!!
Last week at the doctor's office Nolan realized that I am full term and our little girl could come any day...he turned pale white and had to sit down! He's been so sweet and he's been taking good care of us...even been feeling some sympathy pains!!! He's been singing to her and he picked out the most beautiful song...I cry every time he sings it to my belly. I just keep imagining him holding her in his arms singing to her (smile and tear)! Lyrics are posted on the side...
The next update will be very soon and I promise pictures of her room and our crazy nesting project we've been up to!!!