Madelyn Two Month Doctor Visit

Madelyn had her shots on Monday.  She cried but didn't scream so that's good. She, unlike most other children, did not like the oral vaccine.  I guess it's very sweet so most kids like it but she realized it wasn't breastmilk about halfway through.

Here are Madelyn's Stats. I included her other check ups for comparison.

2 Months:
Head Circumference: 15.5" (61%)
Length: 23.5" (83%)
Weight: 12 lb 11.8 oz (87%)

2 Weeks:
Head Circumference: 14.76" (80%)
Length: 21" (78%)
Weight: 9 lb 14.4 oz (90%)

4 Days Old:
Head Circumference: 14" (63%)
Length: 20.5" (80%)
Weight: 8 lb 11 oz (82%)

Birth:
Head Circumference: 13.8"
Length: 21"
Weight: 8 lb 15 oz

No pictures at the doctor but here's one that will make you smile

Our Little Cupcake!

Madelyn's New School

Madelyn started school on today and she did great! She mostly slept and ate but when I dropped her off she was sitting nicely looking around at everything.

I go back to work on Thursday so I am using these first three days to figure out how to get out of the house on time. Today went well but I do have some optimizing to do.  I was surprised by how much stuff I have to take to get out the door.  For example, I have my lunch box, my purse, my pump bag, Madelyn's bottle bag, Madelyn's school bag, and the diaper bag! Yikes!

Here's Madelyn on her First Day of School

 

She had class photos on Thursday, Sept 15th. It was nice because even though she didn't start until today, she is still in the class photo.  It was funny to watch the class of 12 infants take their class photo.  There are three teachers in Madelyn's room and each had 3 kids in their arms and the other 3 where sitting in front.  There was lots of crying since some of the kids were afraid of the photographer. Madelyn didn't cry though she was just looking around and happy to be in someone arms.

Here's what she wore for her first photos

So Happy--We are getting more and more of these!

Look Who's 2 Months Old!

Madelyn turned two months old on September 12.  She has been easier to get smiles out of lately but Brian is still much better at getting them then I am.  She is still sleeping fairly well although it is a PAIN to get her to sleep.  Sometimes it takes 2-3 hours to get her to fall asleep. We are hoping as she gets older and starts school, she will get better about soothing herself to sleep for the night. 

She is really starting to turn into a fun baby and seems to fussy only when she's tired but can't fall asleep (which happens a lot) or hungry.  She's been keeping her eyes open on walks and seems to be watching us more and more when we carry her in her baby carriers. She is getting better and better at finding her hands to soothe herself but still no luck in keeping a pacifier in. She'll take it but then it just pops out of her mouth! Oh well.  Maybe we'll have a thumb sucker. 

Here are here two month photos:

 

 

 

 

Look at the great neck control and she can hold it for a good 5-10 seconds and sometimes longer!

She likes to hide her smiles with her hands

Some smile photos that Daddy got out of her:

I placed her next to her "roommate". Preta seems to love sleeping in Madelyn's room on the bed.  Probably because the bed makes the window at eye level so it's a great look out place. Or maybe he really likes being close to Madelyn but I'd guess not. He is curious of her and will come up and sniff her while I am feeding her and Leia is not around. Leia is very protective of Madelyn even with Preta.

I put on her SMILE dress in hopes of getting some smiles but no luck

Last Mommy and Me Class

We had a last Mommy and Me class on Thursday.  Madelyn weighed 12 lbs and 7.5 oz so over the course of 4 weeks she gained 17 ounces.

Here's a picture of the whole class.

Look at the super cute gift Annabel's mom made each baby.  It's a burp cloth with Madelyn's name on it and some cute bows for her "hair."  The burp cloth is too cute. I don't know if I can use it!

Here's a photo of Harper and Madelyn wearing matching outfits from the week before.

Here's a photo of Annabel and Madelyn.  Oh my how they've grown!

Madelyn's visit to Omaha

Over Labor Day weekend, we took the "plunge" and drove the 7-8 hours to Omaha.  Madelyn did okay on the long car ride. We stopped for a 6 pm feeding (both ways) for everyone including Leia and Madelyn then we swaddled Madelyn in the car seat and went on our way.  She slept better than she normally does in the car so the swaddle helped but I did sit in the back seat for some of the drive helping her stay asleep.

Madelyn got to see her Grandparents again and meet her Great-Grandparents!  The weekend was farily low key.  Brian got to shoot at his uncles cabin and Leia had a ball playing in the "lake" and running around the cabin grounds.  This was the first time we had ever seen Leia swim so that was fun.

We looked over Brian's baby photos and decided Madelyn has his mouth and nose.  The Grandparents were also able to coax a few smiles out of Madelyn.Yeah! :)

Madelyn with Grandpa Hartsell

Madelyn with Grandma Hartsell

4 Generations of Hartsells

Madelyn with her Great-Grandparents

The Hartsell Girls minus Laura

Some More Firsts

First Night Out without Madelyn!

On Saturday, August 27, Brian and I had a wonderful date night.  Aunt Beth and Uncle Joe took care of Madelyn for us.  It was so nice to go somewhere and not have a diaper bag or an infant carrier or a baby! We went to Hugo's Frog Bar and felt like adults.  We had a wonderful dinner and even got free dessert since they found out it was our first night out after having a baby. When we picked up Madelyn, she was swaddled and asleep in the swing but we learned quickly that our little one wasn't so easy and was high maintenance.  But luckily, they said they would watch her again. Thanks again, Beth and Joe.

Brian & Katie out for a date night

So in honor of that night, I dressed Madelyn in her high maintenance onesie the next day :)

Thanks Aunt Beth & Joe. Sorry I was crabby. I'll try harder next time! :)

On that note, Brian and I have noticed that this past weekend Madelyn has really calmed down a lot and is having periods of time when she is wake and not crying. YEAH!!  I think a lot of this comes from her ability to soothe herself when she is able to find and suck on her hand.  We had been hoping she would peak at 6 weeks like we had read about.  Here's the graph that shows Hours of Fussing per 24 Hrs verse Ages in Weeks.  We hope that she continues down the graph.

Madelyn's First Smile for Mom (8/28/11)

This is the tail end of the smile. It was really big :)

Today we learned how we can safety swaddle her in her car seat.  Apparently the hole in the back of the swaddle is just for that purpose. We think this will make the drive to Omaha much more pleasant for all of us!

Madelyn Happy in her Swaddle :)

Madelyn's First Baseball Game (8/28/11)

Brian's work had a family event this past Sunday so we all went to a Kane County Cougars game.  Madelyn did great and only fussed when she was hungry. 

Consistently Sleeping Through the Night

Madelyn has slept through the night the last three nights.  She goes to bed between 7 & 8 pm and wakes up between 5 & 6 am.  It's great but I wish I could sleep through the night. I keep waking up wondering if she is awake or okay.  Plus, I wake up sore in the morning because she hasn't eaten in 10 hours!!  I am sure as soon as I adjust and get used to this, she'll be back to waking up for a nighttime feeding. Here's to hoping that she doesn't.

Some Cute Ones

Just a few cute ones for you guys to enjoy