week one

This past week has been wonderful. I have to be careful not to count the number of days I have left with Ben and just enjoy the gift of time I've been given. I can't write enough about how much Ben is such a special man. He has been a HUGE help, which makes me wonder even more how i'm going to do this by myself. He's constantly being attentive to Colter, helping with cleaning, holding the baby, making sure I get a nap every day, and just being an encourager.

 Because the pace of a toddler does not slow down with a new little one, we've pretty much just kept going. We've been doing shifts at night to allow each person to get at least 5-6 hours of sleep a night. (doesn't sound like much but man is it better than our first few days with Colter!) Madison is still in her super sleepy stage, so we've been taking advantage of that and having two sets of hands and have gone out on a few fun outings.

The calm before the storm.. first bath

Colter was really curious about her "bee bo" (belly button) and still talks about it falling off every time we change her. 

Not too mad yet

I want to go back inside mama!!

Ben took Colter to Pump it Up and they had a great time bouncing around together.

A natural papa of two. 

I had some ladies over to meet Madison, including her bound to be BFF Emma who is 2 weeks older. 

Little lady girl looks like this a lot. 

It's been so fun to watch their bond grow. 

She is awake some times! 

We ventured out to Snoqualmie Falls & the railroad museum yesterday.

When did this guy grow up?? I ask myself that every day. 

sweet slumber

Madison's 0 birthday party

The night we got home from the hospital, the Heavilands and Wornicks came over for Madison's 0 birthday party. I love when I look across our living room and see it covered in toys, people, and little ones. It's fun to think about how our living room has changed over the years- when we first bought the house it was just James & Saisha, now there are 5!

 

 

hospital & Colter's introduction

We had a fantastic rest of our hospital stay.. we got to send Madison to the nursery so we got around 6 hours of sleep and felt great heading home. We are so thankful for such great medical care.

Because Colter didn't come visit at the hospital, we were anxious to see him and went right to Jessie's. Our reunion was as sweet as ever as he came waddling/running down the hall after us. He was slightly interested in looking at Madison in the car seat, but that interest was quickly lost when he opened Madison's gift to him- a railroad crossing for his train set, and some road signs. He was in heaven and asked to carry them around the entire rest of the day.

We have felt so blessed with how he has responded to her so far. We know they'll be frustrations and resentments in the future, but for right now, he seems so tender towards her. He doesn't pay a lot of attention to her, but every now and then he'll say something like "Madison squeaked!" or he'll go look at her in the swing and tell us when the music stops. Her crying has been the hardest thing for him to understand and we've seen him get a little frustrated by it. We are looking forward to see their relationship grow and change over the years!

Madison's birth story/hospital stay

She's here! She's here!! She's really here! As each day ticked by past her due date, it started to feel as though we might never meet our little girl. After our dr. appointment on Friday, I had some mild braxton hicks, but nothing major to think I was actually going into labor. Saturday morning we had a great day together as a family. We walked down to McDonalds which has become a labor starting ritual (we went there the morning I started labor with Colter). This time we had a little 2 year old to entertain us with his pancake eating and play gym climbing. After Old McDonalds, we walked over to Whole Foods where Colter begs to ride the "race cars" (ie germ infested kids carts) around the store. I'm not sure what he likes more- the samples or the race cars. After the store, we went to the pet store to look at animals, and then to Barnes & Noble to play at the train table. We happened upon a Clifford themed story time complete with a life size Clifford character, which Colter immediately ran up to and started hugging. It was such a perfect way to spend our last morning together as a family of 3. I remember looking at him with his cute orange jacket and rain boots as he was stomping in puddles realizing what a big boy he is now. During the morning, my contractions were about 10 min. apart, and got to about 8 min by the time we got home.

Colter's nap rolled around and things started to get pretty intense. We had my brother and sister in law come over to help with Colter once he got up because I really needed Ben's support. My contractions went from 10 min. to every 1-3 min. and they got intense quick! We were trying to wait a little while longer before going to the hospital this time around and by 4:30 I knew we needed to get there quick! I had about 6 contractions on the way down to the hospital and then about 8 just from the hospital parking garage up to triage. I was a hurtin woman! They got me admitted quick and I got relief from the epidural amazingly fast. I went from about 6 cm to complete and ready to push from about 7-8:30. I pushed for 10 minutes, and out she came!! Our nurse kept waiting to take her dinner break until after the baby was born, and I felt bad thinking she might be a while- but she was right! Our little miss was definitely ready to come out!

Of course the moment your baby arrives, there are truly no words to explain the beauty and miracle. She is absolutely perfect, from her curly dark mullet, to her slight chin dimple, to her little crease on her nose by her eyes. It's hard to say who she looks like at this point, but she is simply a miracle, weighing in at 8 lb. 4 oz and measuring 20 inches long.

Oh epidurals.. how I love thee

first glances

Pure joy

We're happy.. not sure about our daughters!

We were so blessed to have our actual doctor be on call and deliver Madison! We love Dr. Johannsen!!

Our hospital stay so far has been absolutely wonderful. With Colter, everything felt out of control and overwhelming, dealing with breastfeeding issues and just the transition in general of becoming parents. This time around we've been able to enjoy her a ton - knowing what our normal pace of life with Colter is like. We've spent the day taking pictures, talking to family, and just enjoying being together. Unfortunately Colter threw up in the hospital parking lot, so we haven't been able to introduce the siblings yet. We're hoping he's not sick, just feeling anxious from knowing something is going on.

Getting ready for her first bath!

Definitely not a fan!

Everyone wants to know about her hair! here it is all washed up! Not quite as crazy as Colter, but not lacking in length!

Sweet banner my SIL Kelsey made

First of many many bows to come!

All in all, our experience with Madison has been an absolute blessing. Welcome to the world Madison!!