Brian's Triathlon

Brian ran the Oswego Triathlon on Sunday, August 7th.  Madelyn and I went to cheer him on as he swam
750m/ 0.5mi in a huge abandoned Quarry then biked 20km/ 12.8mi and ran 5km/ 3.1m.  Brian did really well given that he hadn't really trained much the month of July since he was so busy taking care of me and Madelyn and that a week before the race he realized the swim was twice as long as any of the other triathlons he had ever done!  Luckily he headed to the pool quick to make sure he could even swim that far which of course he could!

Here are some photos:

The swim was Brian's first "open water" swim and a large mass start where about 50 people went in  together instead of 4 people every 5 seconds like the other triathlons he had done.  He said he got kicked quite a few times and even had people swim over him since they couldn't really see anything.

Waiting to go in (Brian's trunks have the green stripe on the side)

The Quarry

The Start

The Start

Brian's somewhere out there swimming

Brian's the person dead center

Yeah, he did it! (Brian's the one with no swim cap on)

On to Transition and Biking:

In Transition (Brian's in Green)

And he's off!

And he's back!

On to Transition and Running:

Now he's running!

He's back from running and almost done!

He finished in 01:32:03.6 which is awesome! 

Click Here for Brian's Professional Finish Picture

What was Madelyn doing the whole time?  Sleeping most of the race away in the baby bjorn. She was probably the youngest spectator at 3 1/2 weeks old but she was happy to cheer her daddy on.

 Here's a photo of Madelyn and Brian after the race :)

Her shirt says "Daddy's Little Girl"

Pacifiers, Baths & Bottles Oh My!

We offered a pacifier to Madelyn on Sunday, July 31st since she had a strong desire to suck.  She didn't really take to it though and kept pushing it out of her mouth.  We waited so long since they recommend not giving them pacifiers or bottles until breastfeeding is established but now I wonder if she ever will take it.  She seems to enjoy it for awhile sometimes but can't really hold on to it.  Perhaps she will learn as she gets older or figure out how to keep her hand in her mouth which is her favorite way to sooth herself.

 

A very common look of Madelyn's

She looks like she's smiling :)

She loves her hands!

Her little feet

Madelyn's umbilical cord fell off at exactly 3 weeks which means she can now take "real baths!"  Her first water bath was on Saturday, August 6th. She liked it better than the sponge bath but baths still aren't her thing. I think though eventually she learn to love them!

Not so sure.

Happy to be sucking on her hand.

All wrapped up and with Daddy

Madelyn surprised us both and sleep from 10:45 pm to 5 am on Friday, August 5th. I woke up at at 3:30 am and was surprised it was so late and she hadn't woken me up yet.  I went to check on to make sure she was breathing :) but everything was fine so I let her sleep.  Too bad it wasn't the next night when Brian could have used some good sleep the night before his triathlon. 

I pumped for the first time on Saturday, August 6th which I had been trying to do all week but it's hard to pump and hold a baby so Brian took care of her for me while I figured out how to work the pump.  Madelyn took her first bottle at exactly 4 weeks on August 9th. Brian fed it to her since they recommend someone other than Mom to do it and for Mom to be out of the room so that they don't get mad and want the breast.  To my relief, Madelyn was happy to feed with me later than night. 

Good Job Daddy and Madelyn!

Other Great News!

After meeting a old friend for lunch and ice cream on Friday, August 5th where I explained that IF we got our deductible back from the car accident it probably wouldn't for a long time maybe even a year, I was pleasantly surprised to find it in the mailbox when I got home!  Yeah!

Madelyn meets Delaney!

My good friend Becca moved to Ohio this summer but she was back for a weekend and Madelyn got to meet her daughter, Delaney, who is almost 11 months.  They were too cute.

We tried sitting them next to each other but Delaney was too curious!

Delaney giving kisses???

Delaney checking out Madelyn

Great-Aunts Visit!

My aunt Jane and Nancy and Uncle Jim came to visit so they could meet Connor and Madelyn for the first time.

We figured out a way to put all three kids in the back of Brian's Outback so that we could take a trip to Cantigny with our visitors.  It was fun having the kids all in the backseat. Juliana was great at keeping the babies entertained!

Here are the kids all packed up:

Meeting Jane!

Grandma with Connor, Juliana & Great-Aunt Jane with Madelyn

At Cantigny

Juliana and Grandpa on the tanks

Beth and Juliana

What Madelyn did while at Cantigny

Jane and Nancy with Madelyn

 Bonding with her Cousins:

It's crazy to think that Connor and Madelyn will be in the same grade. She has some catching up to do but Connor had fun showing her how he kicks his feet and makes the toy go.

Connor having ball kicking his feet, Madelyn just watched him

Cousin Love :)

Saying Good-Bye at Luigi's

Brian & Madelyn

Juliana giving Madelyn a kiss

The Dads and their kids

Juliana and Madelyn are matching :)

The whole gang!

Thanks for visiting Jane, Nancy & Jim, it was fun!!!

Small but Loud

Some things we have noticed a lot are that she gets the hiccups after almost every feeding!  And that she makes a lot of loud noises (ie: burps and farts) for being so small.

I also love the face she makes at me when she is done breastfeeding. I'll have to try to capture it for you guys. To me, she is saying "that was mmm, mmm good and now I am all done."

Favorite Photos:

Madelyn with Dad when we got home from the Hospital

Baby Burrito!

Tummy Time at the hospital

Doctor Appointment Updates

The good news is that I can now drive. My doctor released me on Thursday, July 28!  It's so nice not having to rely on others to tote you around.  I am sure it's more of a mental thing.  The doctor said I looked great and was moving around well so hopefully my incision will continue to heal well.

And on Friday, July 29 Madelyn had her two week appointment and now boasts 9 lbs 14 oz!  Crazy girl!  That's almost a pound over her birth weight and I thought she would have trouble gaining back her birth weight by 2 weeks!  Everything looked good at her appointment.