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| Madelyn Faith 6 Weeks |
Madelyn Faith is two months old, and I can hardly believe how exhausting, challenging, and exciting our life has become! Madelyn is a great little baby and loves to be held and cuddled. So in honor of her being eight, almost nine weeks this blog entry is dedicated to her top events and favorite things from her first eight weeks!
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| Madelyn slept away during the rehearsal |
Number 8: Aunt Bethany's Wedding Weekend
At four weeks old, my sister Bethany was married at a lovely ceremony at Mountain Branch Golf Course. I was in the wedding along with Olivia, who was the flower girl. It was a crazy, busy, weekend, but such a great time! Olivia successfully wore her dress the entire night, it was touch and go, because she would not wear the dress at home! Madelyn Faith was a darling, sleeping in anyone and everyone arms. She was able to meet so many cousins, aunts, uncles, and close family friends. The weekend was pretty chill, so she stayed bundled up in her swaddle blanket most of the time at the wedding. It was a very memorable weekend and the two girls were so amazing with the chaos and excitement. We are so happy for Bethany and Bryan!
Number 7: Madelyn's Favorite Place to Sleep
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| In the rocker sound asleep! |
At her one month appointment Madelyn was diagnosed with Acid Reflux. This explains her crankiness after eating and why she cries when we put her down flat. Dr. Landcaster recommend she sleep elevated and she has medicine to take three times a day. As a result, we decided to let her sleep in her rocker full time. Man oh man does she love that bed! It was given to us as a gift from my sisters in law after Madleyn was born and it has been the best gift yet! It seems very comfortable to us, almost like a hammock. She has been sleeping much better and was in that full time for about a month. Then I, starting to panic a little about starting daycare, and began to transition her back into the bassinet. It was a tough week because she would not sleep for longer than 40-minutes to an hour during the day, but one night I just went for it and she slept fine! She still sleeps in the rocker, which is so convient to carry places, but is in the bassinet full time again. The medicine seems to be helping a lot, and it is obvious when we have forgotten to give her the medicine. You can honestly seen the pain on her face when she spits up. It is very sad. For now though, we she is feeling great and is all smiles. Not to mention an amazing sleeper! The next step is out of our room and in with Olivia...um, we are waiting on that for now!
Number 6: Bath Time
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| Splashing with her hands! |
We have another water baby for sure. The first bath was a little touch and go, Madelyn screaming the whole time, but the second bath she relax and loved it. We give both girls a bath together and Madelyn loves to splash and watch Olivia. Olivia loves her bath already, and adding Madelyn to the mix is so much fun for her. She loves to laugh at her and especially "help" with washing her. We have to remind Olivia to be gentle and not dump water on her head. We encourage her to get her belly, but she really likes the head. Madelyn is a great sport and does not seem to mind the water being dumped in her face. I think it is going to be more exciting when Madelyn can actually sit up and splash back at Olivia. Oh the times to come...
Number 5: The Restraint Swaddle and the Pacifier
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| Olivia wanted to sleep next to Madelyn on the floor. |
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Both kids simply crave the coziness of the swaddle. We swaddled Olivia until she was almost six months, and we started doing the same with Madelyn. One difference though, Madelyn will break out of the swaddle and then wake her self up, hitting her face with her hands, trying to suck her thumb. So at about 3 weeks of age, I pulled out the big gun swaddle....The Swaddle Blanket, which is complete with a Velcro strap to secure her in. This has made a huge difference and she sleeps much more soundly. I feel awfully bad because it seems like we are putting her into a straight jacket, but she is sleeping better and who can complain with that!
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| Asleep with pacifier in her mouth. |
The other trait that Madelyn has is a desire to suck and Olivia would never really take the pacifier, but Madelyn loves it. We had had quite a struggle with keeping the pacifier in her mouth. Dan and I had a rule with Olivia never to put her down with the pacifier in, but with Madelyn we have not choice. As soon as that falls out she will wake up. It can be quite frustrating, and we are constantly playing the game I call, "Pacifier Wars." The good news is when she is finally in a deep sleep the game ends, but can sometimes last thirty to four-five minutes. On the other hand, at night she usually sleeps without needing it replaced. So we play the game during the day, mostly. Since she sleeps upstairs, I use the stairs as a work out. I feel like we need to put a positive spin on it! She still tries hard to get that hand in her mouth, and recently we have let her fuss a bit more to get that hand in her mouth. I would rather deal with the dental bill, and have a good self soother! I will probably look back on these days in a few years and say why is she still sucking her thumb.
Number 4: Fall Adventures
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| Larriland Farm Pumpkin Photo |
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Peach and apple picking, vising the pumpkin patch, family walks, Raven games, and Maryland tailgates are all the fall adventures we have enjoyed as a family. We love Larriland Farms in western Maryland and have gone twice this fall. It has become quite a tradition to pick apples in the fall and then get our pumpkins. The farm has hayrides, animals, and a hay maze. Last year we went with Olivia and she was not quite walking, but this year she tore up the hay maze! Madelyn was comfy cozy in the Bjorn and was earned much attention. My favorite fall picture was at Larriland with the girls sitting by the pumpkins. We also visited another farm, Elioak Farm, which has more things to run and play on and more animals to pet. We visited this farm twice, once with Courtney and Addie, and once with the Joy family. Again, Olivia had so much fun this year and really liked feeding the goats. Madelyn slept most of the time during each visit, but we have pictures to remind her and I can envision next year she will be keeping up with Olivia!
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| Before the walk |
One of my favorite parts of the fall is the weather and football. We have had great fall weather and have taken advantage of the days. One event we did participate in is the BWI Family Fun Run/Walk. Three years ago, Dan and I ran in the event, but this year we walked with the girls. We let Olivia out the last half mile, and she was hilarious! She wold watch the other people walking by and the stare at the planes taking off next to the walk. My favorite part was at the end of the race. She reached the finished line and everyone starting clapping. She stopped and starting jumping up and down! It was so cute because she caused a traffic jam. Madelyn spent most of the race sleeping in the stroller, but the end she woke up and grandma has to bring her across the finish line.
Football is our other favorite. We have been to most of the home Terps game this year and that was possible because my parents willing watch the girls. The other games we brought them to the game. Olivia was fascinate by the crowd, the players, and the Turtle. Madelyn also woke up for the game and was a cuddly little girl. We are certainly a football family and on Sunday spend the day watching the Ravens. Most of the time the game happens during nap time, or dinner time! When Olivia wakes up her favorite part of the game is eating cheerios and cheering for the plays that "all fall down and get boo boos." Then she will say, "they need band-aids." So cute! Madelyn has also become more observant and is starting to like the colors on the TV. I cant help but wonder what will happen next year with two mobile kids.
Number 3: Daily Outings
I like to keep the girls busy and we have had quite a few outings while I have been home. We frequently visit the library, Storyville, the mall, and have play dates. Olivia's favorite has been walking in the cemetery behind our house. She likes that because she can get out and run freely. Madelyn is such a good little travel and will stay in her car seat or the Bjorn. Again, I get a lot of looks from other moms, saying, "I am impressed you are out and about." My reply is, "We get bored at home and need to stay active." I feel like you need to get out and about to break up the day. We are usually home by 11:00 for lunch time and nap! The only issue, it is really hard to take picture when out by myself, so we have no pictures of our adventures!
Number 2: The Play Mat and Bouncer Seat
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| Including Madelyn in our puzzle play! |
Just like her big sister, Madelyn loves the play mat and the bouncer seat. What a life saver these have been. We actually purchased a new mat for Madelyn and it has more bells and whistles than our original one. It is so much fun to watch her stare and try to hit the various toys hanging from the toy. She is really getting good at hitting them and if you step back and watch she will just start to smile! It is great because this toy will entertain her for quite a bit of time.
She also loves the bouncer seat and will fall asleep in it, one day we played puzzles and Olivia put the pieces onto Madelyn. Most days though we have to move her upstairs because Olivia will see her sleeping and feel like she needs to be bounced. So she will walk over to her and really bounce Madelyn. Of course she wakes up, crying. So we quickly put an end to the sleeping in the bouncer. Poor thing!
Number 1: Madelyn Loves Her Family
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| Playtime with my girls |
All smiles for her family. Madelyn has become quite observant and her face really lights up with a toothless grin whenever we put our face in front of hers. She really loves to watch Olivia and when she focuses on her she will watch her for quite a few minutes. My favorite time of day is when Dan comes home. It is fun to watch him hold Madelyn and when she realizes who is holding her she will smile wide for him. I look forward to seeing the interaction between the two girls. Olivia has been wonderful with her and the way she looks at Olivia I hope they will be close!
Madelyn has become quite a happy little baby and that smile just lights up my days!
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