2 months

This week you turned 2 months old and you don't look much like the newborn that we brought home. You are now the chunkest of chunks, weighing in at 12lbs 9oz (88%) which is great! Mommy loves your little tiny rolls! You did great getting your shots today at the doctors office and after you finished crying daddy said I wish I could go buy you a treat for how good you were. You have daddy wrapped around your little finger sweetheart! This month your cheeks have gotten fuller and your eyes have gotten so much bigger! Your also quite the talker, I can't wait till you say your first word! We have also started you on a schedule and your usually in bed by 8. Sometimes you fall asleep in daddy's arms and I just stare at the both of you and think how in love I am. People always say how beautiful you are.. and boy are they right! Your a beautiful little girl. You also started smiling alot this month, I love the little toothless smiles you give us! Although most the time you only smile for daddy, not so much for me.

I love you sweet girl. Happy 2 month birthday! xoxo

My Breastfeeding Story "Why it's not as easy as they say it is"

My New Favorite Blog that I follow called Milk Friendly

I couldn't even begin to tell you how many times while pregnant people would ask if I was going to breast feed. My answer would be well of course I am going to try but who knows how its actually going to work for me. Due to the fact that I was induced meaning my body wasn't ready to go into natural labor and I had to take petocin to start contractions, my breasts weren't ready to produce milk. Boy was that stressful.. I remember laying in bed on night #2 with a hungry baby, and I wasn't producing milk to feed her. So I asked the nurse what my options were and she said well.. you can give her formula but I highly discourage it. Made me sign a release form stating that I was told the cons of giving formula to my new baby, and that she might not want to breast feed once my milk came in because she had already been given a bottle. I literally stayed up till 3 in the morning staring at this form.. not knowing what I should do. Baby is fussy, I'm a new mom who wants nothing more than to breast feed her child and I can't. I asked myself over and over again.. why is this so hard.. I thought breast feeding was supposed to come naturally.. Well I gave in and formula fed my baby girl and guess what?! she breast feeds just fine! The lactation specialist said to me the next day, #1 goal is to feed your baby no matter how you have to do it, she needs to eat and don't feel like a failure if you have to give her formula. I have struggled with breastfeeding to this day and she's 6 weeks old.

I found this blog and I'm hoping its the answer to all my prayers, I emailed the author and she actually started texting me with tips on how to produce more milk. As of now we are having to supplement with formula because I couldn't keep up with how much she wanted and needed to eat. But we are now back to nursing 100% until she's full and no formula is the goal.

I have all these recipes for lactation cookies and an order to drink a TON of water and eat a TON of oatmeal. Fingers & Toes crossed that my supply will increase!

If only the "milk man" delivered.. & I've come to the conclusion I feel TERRIBLE for cows..

Xo Matt, Ashlie & Madeline

One Month Check-Up

Just waking up this morning!

Yesterday on our walk, Love her face!

Today we had our one month appointment with Madeline's pediatrician, and it went great. I am so relived that we found a Dr that we love, he so caring about what is going on with her progress and just has a sense of humor that makes every appointment enjoyable. We have been having minor issues with Madeline gaining weight, so every week we have been seeing a lacatation consultant to get her weighed, as well as adjusting the amount of food that she intakes each day. She is supposed to be getting up to 36oz of breast milk or formula every day, but it seems my body doesn't want to produce that much. So what we have started this week is giving her what we can of breast milk and supplementing formula as well with each feeding. Today is day 2 of the new feeding plan and she is doing great! Today at the Dr she weighs a whopping 9lbs 6.9oz thats 1/2 a pound more since she got weighed at the Dr two weeks ago! GREAT NEWS!!

We go back in a month and we hope she is up a total of 2 pds!

Xo Matt, Ashlie & Baby Madeline

Happy 1 Month Birthday Madeline!

1 Month Photos!

Can't believe our baby girl is already 1 month old!! Things have been going great, she's just a doll and so easy going! Only cries when something is actually wrong and sleeps a solid 6 hrs most nights except when we wake her up to eat. She hasn't changed much since the day we met her except that she smiles more, so we are looking forward to the many milestones in the years to come! Tonight we are celebrating by having dinner at home as a family of 3 and I'm making a mini cake with a number one on it!

Love you baby girl!!

XO Matt, Ashlie & Madeline

Back to the Real World

Some of Madeline's Newborn Photos!

Time sure does fly by... It seems like just yesterday we were checking into the hospital getting ready to deliver our baby girl, and now she's already over 2 weeks old! Matt & I both were off work the last two weeks, and it was great getting to bond together as a family of three. I can honestly say that I married not only my best friend but I truly found the one person in the world that completes me. Our time together at home brought many memories, most were happy moments but of course some that were challenging but together we got through it. Becoming parents have brought us closer, every time we look at our daughter we can't believe that we created her. We honestly can't imagine life without her!

Over the past two weeks we have been pretty busy, finishing her nursery, attempting to get a routine down and showing off our bundle of joy! One of our best friends had a baby in December, and Matt's best friend welcomed their little boy a mere 3 days after Madeline was born! So she will be surrounded by babies that are very close to her age! I loved being pregnant while two of my best girl friends were expecting as well, made it easy for me to be able to ask questions and know what to expect.

We love you baby girl!

XO Matt, Ashlie & Baby Madeline

A week old

Getting ready for our 1st bath Jan.24th. 2012

My whole world!

IT'S BATH TIME

All clean

Goodnight everyone

Matt and I were just talking last night that we can't believe our baby girl is already almost a week old.. The love that we have for our little girl is unbelievable, I knew we would love her more than anything but I could never explain the feelings we have. The thing I love the most is when Matt holds her and just stares at her, Madeline has her daddy wrapped around her little finger.

She had her first check with Dr. Bill her pediatrician and he said she looks great! Weighing in at 8lbs 3oz and eating and sleeping great! We go back on February 3rd and by then she should gain a pound. Numerous people have offered to babysit her for my birthday which is a week from tomorrow, but I can't imagine spending my special day without her. She's currently in the next room sleeping and thats hard enough being away from her while I sit in her nursery and blog.

I love you little girl! Here's to many many many more memories!

Xo Matt, Ashlie & Madeline

Madeline Grace

First time holding Madeline Grace January 20th 2012 7:41pm

Getting all clean & measured 20.5 inches long, 8lbs 15oz

First footprints

Weighing in! Largest baby in the hospital this weekend

Matt & I holding her hands right after she was born

We went to the hospital Friday January 20th at 7:15 am to be induced at 40 weeks, and Matt and I were beyond excited. We still can't believe that our little girl is actually here! Labor went by pretty fast, and I'm very proud of how I handled the pain. Matt also said I did extremely well for how long we were in labor (little over 12hrs) It was a beautiful experience and now neither of us can take our eyes off her. The hardest part of the whole experience was when the nurses had to take her out of the room throughout the two day stay that we were there. I would just stare at the clock and count down the seconds until our baby girl was back in the room. Matt would even walk the halls asking when we would get her back because we couldn't stand to not be with her.

Things are going great, and baby Madeline is a picture perfect baby. Throughout the entire pregnancy we have gotten a lot of advice from our family and friends and even complete strangers. What I don't understand is why people bring up the negative over and over again? Matt & I have the same theory if you say something that is possibly true but negative counter it with a positive statement. A little bit of sweet and sour. Most common thing people say "You just wait... say goodbye to sleep... say goodbye to your life.." and we say "Here's a toast to the sleepless nights, the crying and frustration of transitioning into parenthood" We both agree that yes there will be nights and moments for the rest of lives that we are stressed out more than we ever have been before but its all worth it to see our little girl smile. Together Matt & I will do whatever it takes to protect our little girl and to make sure she is getting the best health care. Tomorrow we have our newborn checkup with the pediatrician and then we will have an update on how well our baby girl is doing, so I will update again very soon!

Love our family of 3!

XO Matt, Ashlie & Madeline