Madison: 6 weeks old!

Here we are, with sweet Madison, 6 weeks old, 7 weeks old tomorrow.  Cannot believe it!

Every week I have been dying to blog.  But honestly, many things come before blogging on my priority list (i.e. load of laundry, showering, going to the grocery store, calling a friend, going for a walk, ...you get the idea).

Madison was born early on Saturday and we went home from the hospital on Monday.  Emily stayed with us until Wednesday, showing us basic baby things like swaddling, giving her a bath, taking rectal temperature, giving her gas medicine, and helped me a ton with breastfeeding and pumping.  The first weekend home, Dad and Kim came to visit.  It was such a blessing to have them.  Dad cooked all weekend filling our freezer to the brim with meals ready to go for when church friends stopped bringing meals.  Kim cleaned our entire house, I mean, it's probably cleaner now that it ever has been.

The first week...

Tiny little thing

This is one of my favorite pictures of her!  I LOVE her expression and Bryce smiling down on her.

First bath time!

The day before Dad and Kim arrived, the symptoms started for what seemed like food poisoning or a stomach bug.  I called the OB/GYN and asked about it, but they told me to take immodium and drink lots of fluids.  I went an entire week wondering what it was.  Finally, I went to my family doctor the next Friday and found out that I had c.diff.  Ugh.  They special-ordered me a strong antibiotic to take for 14 days to get rid of it.  Needless to say, 3 of the last 6 weeks were pretty horrible.  I had very low energy, a low grade fever, was in the bathroom all the time, sucking down all the gatorade I could, and running on very little sleep with a newborn.  It was not fun.

The next weekend, Connie and Roger came to visit.  They cooked us dinner and helped take care of baby so we could get extra rest.  It was really nice having them (especially at 6:00 am when we handed Madison off after feeding so we could get an extra couple hours of sleep).

Those first 2 weeks were a whirlwind.  I actually kept a little notepad next to the couch and wrote down notes so I would remember what those days were like since I was delirious most of the time.  We had a lot of visitors, meals almost every other day (such a blessing!!), and a lot of sickness.  Bryce even got a sinus infection around the time when I got sick.  Here's what I wrote down:

• Don't know what we'd do without Emily here.  We've said that a ton in the last few days.
• I have married the most amazing man.
• I didn't think I could love a child this much.
• Breastfeeding is hard, annoying, and time consuming.
• My brain is seriously slow.  My memory literally feels blurry.
• I am sick of documenting every poop, pee, and feeding.
• I do not like breast pumping, especially since I don't have a hands free pump.
• It is really hard to "sleep when the baby sleeps".  All I want to do is clean, wash, organize, go on my computer.
• I cannot wait to get out of the house.
• It's so amazing how getting dressed, putting on makeup, and showering can make you feel like a new woman.
• How many gadgets and things can a 2 day old newborn need?!
• What day of the week is it?  What time of day is it?
• My emotions are all over the place.  One moment I feel like crying, the next, I feel like screaming.
• I am so paranoid about everything with the baby--germs, broken limbs, her "noodle neck" as I like to call it, whether she's eating enough, whether she's sick, etc. etc. etc.
• Thank God for Bryce.
• I do not know how single moms do it on their own.  They are amazing for surviving.
• It will get better.  It will get better.  People keep telling me.
• I can't believe this little human being is ours.

Aunt Judy also came for a few days during the third week to help us out as Bryce started going back to work.  It was really nice that he was able to slowly go back.  He took the first whole week off and most of the second.  The third week, he started going in around 11 or 12:00pm every day to let me sleep an extra couple hours.

Good news, Madison is doing great!  Each day, we just find ourselves staring at her, amazed at the blessing that she is, and so thankful for her health.  We are learning so much.  We literally could stare at her for hours.  She'll do the littlest thing and we yell for the other saying "Look!  Did you see that?"

We are also surprised at her holding her head up when we go to burp her (and how loud her hungry cry can be).  We haven't done much tummy time to strengthen her neck, mainly because she holds up her head the entire time we burp her.  She has started smiling a little bit, but not on a regular basis yet.  The first 3 weeks, she was eating every 2 hours, 24/7.  Weeks 4-6 have been pretty fussy with week 4 being the worst.  We also moved to only breastfeeding during week 4, so that could have something to do with it.  Evenings have been the fussiest, most difficult time of day for her. Too bad that's the time that we have with Bryce home from work! :(  This week has been a little better, so I'm hoping the "6 weeks=peak fussiness" is true and she quickly grows out of it.  We think she may have gas and/or acid reflux.

Breastfeeding has been an interesting journey as well.  Being sick has made it more difficult and we had to supplement with formula to feed our hungry girl.  It was very frustrating because not only was I breastfeeding for 40 minutes (she barely got anything), I was feeding her a bottle of formula for another 30 minutes, and then with burping and changing, each feeding took around 1.5 hours (and it was almost every 2 hours that I fed her).  Around 4 weeks, I stopped doing formula and started only breastfeeding except for a bottle of formula before bedtime.  Now, she feeds about every 3 hours, waking up only once at night (yay!).  In the evening, I breastfeed around 7pm, then we take turns taking showers and playing with her, until around 9 or 10 when Bryce feeds her a bottle of formula.  Meanwhile, I run off to bed and sleep until she wakes around 2:30 or 3:00am.  She usually wakes again around 6:00 or 7:00am.  Nap times are still very random during the day.  Hopefully we get into a schedule sometime soon so I can get something done and have a baby break!

I have to say, these weeks have not been the easiest.  It has been hard.  Very hard.  The huge life change is one thing, the 24 hour care, breastfeeding, long fussy evenings, and trying to figure out why the crying or why she won't sleep.  We are constantly asking: Is she hungry?  Is she dirty?  Is she tired?  Is she swaddled?  Does she need her pacifier?  Is she warm enough?  I have a feeling that when I look back, the first few weeks will not be my favorite, mainly because they are hard!  Each week has proved to be better (more fun and easier) than the last, which is very encouraging.

4 weeks...

Big alert eyes and dark hair just like her daddy when he was a baby.

Skinny little chicken legs

This coming week, I am getting back into the swing of job-work again.  Wish me luck!

5 weeks...

She knows where she belongs.

Love those eyes.

Poor thing has what Bryce calls a "cul-de-sac" with hair mainly in the back and on the sides.

Precious sleeping girl

The many faces of Madison at 6 weeks...

Almost got a smile out of her!