tapped out

Let me start by saying I'm grateful Madi's issues are as small as they are. We could be much worse off than we are and I'm thankful that's not the case. So...blood draw was horrible. Madi's graduated to the full grown adult method, no more quick sticks on the heel. I had to put her on a small padded table shaped like a T. The arms of the T had straps for her arms but we didn't use the straps, nurse asked if I would hold Madi still. Yikes! Madi did really well with the first stick but the nurse couldn't find the vein so she was moving the needle around in Madi's arm, reinserting it here and there, poor girl couldn't take it. I have never heard Madi cry that loud or hard. She was trying to wriggle free (don't blame her) and grabbing fists of my hair. That's alright baby, pull as hard as you need to, Mama's sorry! After a couple more tries we switched to the other arm. I got a few seconds of consoling during the switch but they didn't do much good, Madi was wound up. The left arm was better but when the needle went in again Madi lost it. By the time it was over and I could pick her up she had sweat through and left marks on the table plus I had a puddle of tears, some mine and some Madi's. I am so incredibly grateful blood draws are not a scheduled part of our routine. To those parents where they are, you are saints for enduring that time after time. It took a good while for me to get Madi calm enough to put her in the car seat. On the way out the nurse apologized for not getting the first arm and said "she's just so big." Really? That's what you come up with - she's chunky?/! Grrr.

I was put in my place on the way out. We passed a family getting discharged and the little girl in the wheelchair was bald. I'm not sure what her health issues are but most little girls aren't bald by choice. Thank you Lord for putting things into perspective and making me appreciate what I have. Our bad days are still good days in comparison.

blood draw

Today Madi and I have to head out and get her blood drawn. We've not had to do this since the hospital so I'm not sure what to expect. The last draws were taken from her heel. A quick stick and then they filled the tiny straw looking things with blood from the little stick. I hope that's what we have today and not the adult way with a needle in her arm and a vial. Either way, this has been a tough week for Madi.

On the bright side, since the children's hospital is right by St. V Women's we're going to stop in and visit with our NICU family. A visit is long overdue! Since we're going out in public I had to pull out the cutie-patootie outfit. Madi demanded 2nd breakfast before I could get her all the way dressed so here are some shots of the top:

I'll try and get a car seat shot of the entire outfit. Gotta run, need both hands on the baby.

gorgeous

Besides having the most beautiful blue eye color, Madi has eyelashes every girl desires. They're long and curl up on their own. I'm jealous!

Madi just got her Synagis shot for January (protects against RSV). It's a fairly quick trip to the doctor. Check-in with the nurse, any questions for the doctor, quick check of length and weight, shot and you're done. We weren't excited about the shot but we were excited to see how much Madi had gained. She didn't disappoint.

Madi is 12lbs 8oz - twelve and a half pounds!!

No wonder she's back to eating every three hours, she's a growing girl! The every three has been wearing on Dan and I and not that it's about us but we were looking for suggestions on how to get at least four, maybe five hours, between her night feedings. Today I asked about adding rice cereal to a bottle at night and didn't get the thumbs up. Our pediatrician's recommendation is to start rice cereal at four months or 14lbs. Bummer! Maybe next month. In the meantime we're going to work on Madi's distaste for formula. The little bugger is a smart one, she can tell when we've fortified a bottle with formula and she won't eat as much. We don't add a lot, one teaspoon to 3-4oz of milk but Madi can taste a difference. Doc recommended taking it down to 1/2t more often and then work back up to 1t in two bottles. Keep these bottles at night so the extra calories are when she's sleeping and hopefully we'll stretch out Madi's night feedings. We are definitely open to suggestion!

The RSV shot is a weighted dose so how much medicine is determined by how much Madi weighs. The syringe can hold 1ml. Madi's dose is at .8ml now so if she gets too big by next month we'll have to go with two shots. Not looking forward to that prospect. I don't think we're going to get out of cold and flu season without a double shot.

We're very lucky that Madi's not a crier. She'll groan and grunt to let us know she's unhappy, maybe cry out once but she doesn't cry enough to require deep breaths in between. Unless it's shot day. I got five minutes of wailing today. Red eyes, big tears, quivering lower lip and flailing arms and legs turned me into a big softie. I dread the day I have to discipline her and be the cause of those tears. I will not say "this hurts me more than it hurts you" because I thought that was the biggest bunch of baloney growing up. I was always willing to trade  emotional pain for a sore backside! What kid wouldn't?/!

Madi seems to have recovered from the trauma of the shot and is sound asleep. From past experience we're in for a night of cuddling. Madi likes to be held and comforted after shots. Any volunteers?

10lb gain

As you can see I've been busy on the blog today. Madi's been content to watch the ceiling fan but I'm quickly running out of time. I have more to post, that'll come soon, but wanted to let you know that Tuesday Madi was 11lbs 8oz so we're awfully darn close to a 10lb gain since birth. Ah...may...zing. Madilyn the Mighty!

rubber ducky time

Nana came over on the 29th and helped with bath time. Madi likes bath time which is good because it would be tough to teach her to water ski if she didn't enjoy the water. Tough, not impossible. Madi was lounging in the tub and splashing around. She continued the amusement after the bath so I was able to snatch these photos. After we got her dried off I was trying to find an outfit that was long enough and would fit around her belly. Too bad there wasn't a video camera to capture that comedy. Mom and I laughed so hard. Poor Madi looked like a cooked sausage, splitting at the seams. One wrap around shirt didn't even get to the middle of her belly. That day was reassurance that we'd moved from preemie sizes to newborn. We finally settled on an outfit that was on the border of too small but she hadn't worn it yet and it was cute as can be. It lasted a couple hours. Oh well!

I got you bear!

Remember when the bear was the same size as Madi? Not anymore! This was December 17th's comparison.

the bear only goes to her belly button now

I roll in all the right places.

Here's the comparison on December 27th. She's growing out of control!!

The bear has gone from her belly button to her elbow!

Christmas

This Christmas was a little unusual for us. Instead of traveling to see family we kept close to home and didn't venture out much. The fear of Madi catching RSV made us home-bodies. We did spend a little of Christmas day with my family and Dan's parents were able to join us for lunch. Next Christmas we'll head out and battle the germs but this year we're keeping a watchful eye on our little miracle. Between my immediate family's Christmas on the 20th and Christmas on the 25th her little Christmas outfit got a bit snug. We went to put it on her Christmas morning and the little bugger had grown enough that her toes were pushing out the ends of the footies.

More pictures on the Pictures page

the whole family

Papa & Nana Kindred

Grandpa & Grandma Stone

worn out baby