new discovery

Picture this:
     It's three hours since Madi last ate and two hours since I went back to bed. Madi's fussing because she woke up ready to eat, now. She wants to alter the schedule, skip the diaper change and go straight to eating. I'm working as fast as I can to snap up the onesie again after some fresh britches. Madi's still grunting and groaning, ready to eat. It's time for her meds so I've gotta amuse/distract her for another minute or so. I'm humming and rocking her back and forth while measuring syringes, she's still fussing. All the sudden I don't hear fussing anymore. I look down and this is what Madi had discovered:

Just to be sure it wasn't an accident I pulled her thumb out to see what would happen. She waved her hands around a little bit, kinda whimpered and then put her thumb right back in. It's not the way I usually see kids suck their thumb but hey, it's her first time.

Christmas photo shoot, take 1

Photo shoot for our Christmas card. Family pictures to come later, this was all about Madi. Cute ones and funny ones.

  so proud of that double chin

  pre-sneeze

  Who's the cute baby? I am.

  Elvis lip

Hey, what's that? Wonder what it tastes like...  

  Mmm, fingers.

  no more Mom, I'm done!

noisy sleeper

While Madi was grunting and groaning in her sleep this morning I grabbed my camera.

smiling in her sleep

try sleeping through this all the time

December 6

     So today is my original due date. Had we gone to term I'm sure I would've gone into labor this past weekend. Probably early morning Saturday when the roads were getting covered in snow and INDOT hadn't salted yet. Just a guess. There are times I miss not having the chance to rush to the hospital in labor or be big enough to use my belly as a shelf. Maybe not the last one but...
     I've been curious to see how big Madilyn would be at term. We know what she was at 25 weeks, wondered what she'd be at 40. Here's the comparison.

delivery date:  1lb 11oz and 13.5" long

due date:  8lb 9oz and 21" long

Just a little difference between those pictures! Look at the thigh chub, so proud. Our pediatrician thinks Madi will be on track with term babies before she's a year old. We kept hearing that it's usually by two-years old before the field is leveled so we're pretty excited.

      Tomorrow should be our last every two week eye exam appointment. Nice to know Madi's eye blood vessels are fully grown. There weren't any signs of ROP so we shouldn't have to worry about poor eye sight other than what she might have inherited. We also have our consultation with First Steps tomorrow. First Steps can provide therapy and other interventions if Madi is showing any signs of developmental delays. Tomorrow is just paperwork but the evaluation should be shortly after.

wide awake

Madi is such a talker! It's super cute during the day but just not as cute at 3am. Once she starts using words we'll have to start active listening to what she says or we might end up promising a pony for her 2nd birthday or whatever else she comes up with.

All ready for the Colts game.

Pete & Bruiser keeping guard.

back online

     I know, shame on me. If we were still in the NICU I wouldn't have gone this long between posts. But, since we're at home now our schedule's changed just a tad. It's true what they say about not knowing what you have until it's gone. Don't misunderstand, we're grateful Madi's home but there are nights I miss our uninterrupted sleep when she was safe and sound in the NICU. When she first came home Madi got confused on nights and days. We have that fairly resolved but now she's battling reflux. Last week the doc prescribed baby Zantac and it's helped immensely. Lack of sleep has been my biggest challenge. All you parents out there are probably reading this with a knowing smile and chuckling as your own memories come flooding back. Once we get the reflux completely under control I think the sun is going to shine a little brighter at our house.
     Madi's grown to 8lb 6oz since discharge. Even with the reflux, she loves to eat. Besides the Zantac we're limiting the number of bottles she gets to cut down on gas and confusion. We've bought a couple different bottles to see if one helps reduce her discomfort. I hear good things about the Dr. Brown bottles but struggle to get excited about all the pieces so we'll see how these new ones work first. Madi can't get embarassed yet so let me tell you, the kid can belch...and pass gas. I'm somewhat jealous because she'd beat me in a competition.
     We went to the pediatrician this morning and got the green light to cancel the weekly visits. We go back after Christmas unless something comes up. There's a quick visit to get a Cynagis shot between now and then but that's it. Cynagis is one of Madi's protections against RSV. RSV could put Madi back in the hospital so we're following doctor's orders. The other protections are us hibernating until Spring and frequent hand-washing. While we're not bringing Madi out, we are taking visitors. I welcome some adult conversation!
     That's it for now. I'll post more soon. Don't forget to check the picture page!