January Sleeping Issues--Again, Seriously!?

At least they like to cuddle!

I don’t know what it is about January and my kids, but man oh man, when they are babies they do not like to sleep at all during this month!  I don’t know if it is because we are coming off the high and craziness of the Holiday season, or we just run them so ragged they are overtired, but we struggled with Madelyn’s sleeping this month.  I think back to two years ago in January 2010 with Olivia and it was rough.  She became overtired because we did not follow the sleep schedule over the holidays, a schedule we were unaware at the time we had established.  So this year I was determined to keep things normal over the holidays and consistent.  The sickness threw us for a loop, but we were getting back into a groove by the end of the month.  At this point Madelyn was still in her pack-n-play in the office and Olivia was in her crib in the shared room. 

Over the Christmas break we start with sleep training by letting her cry for five minutes before we rushed in to replace the pacifier or swaddle her up again.  This progressed pretty well and for three nights in a row at the end of break, she slept through the night…like really through the night!  6:15-6:30!  Go Madelyn Go!  So we decided that she was probably done eating at night and we could begin step two of sleep training.  We were not going to replace the pacifier anymore and let her start self-soothing.  She cried for a while on Friday in early January and then for the next four nights we did not hear from her again.  Another victory!  This was way easier than Olivia.  Time to make the move from the pack n play into her crib and with Olivia.  The first two/three nights were rough.  She cried on and off for quite a while before settling herself down and falling back to sleep.  Poor Olivia!  I felt bad for her to be at ground zero of the crying!  Madelyn continue improve though.  The only downside was she was awake, talking in her crib around 5:45/6:00.  Not a huge deal I will take that, if she continued to sleep through the night.  Her talking in the crib did wake up Olivia, so her new wake up time this month was 6:15 versus her old 7:00 time, again not the end of the world. 

For about a week things calmed down.  Then Madelyn started crying during the night again.  We figured it was because of a cold, again.  She was all congesting and Olivia was coughing too.  To Dr. Lancaster we go, finding out both girls had ear infections.  Back to Giant for more antibiotics, only to find out we needed a different card for our prescriptions, so back home, and then back out to Giant.   This was a really fun afternoon.

The antibiotics helped both girls and sleep improved again.  Then another night the next weekend, Madelyn finds her pacifier in the middle of the night and fussed for the next hour.  She got her fingers stuck in the pacifier and as she would get it in her mouth and fall back to sleep, relaxing her hand, it would pull the pacifier out of her mouth.  I went in against my better judgment, and helped her get her fingers out of the pacifier.  She finally went back to sleep for good that night.  The next few nights we would sneak into her room and grab the pacifier out of the crib when it would fall out of her mouth.  It kinda helped, but she would wake up and cry for about 20 minutes at night.  Our daycare women, Miss Sharon, suggested we just get rid of the pacifier, if we were going though all this trouble.  She can put herself to sleep and is a good self-soother.  It was really cute because when we arrived back to her house at the end of the day last Friday, she was excited to report Madelyn did not use the pacifier all day!  She took two naps and only fussed for a few minutes!  We were equally as thrilled and packed up all the pacifiers and put them away, so Olivia could not be the helpful other sister and put it in her mouth!  Friday night—success!  Saturday night, not so great, she cried on and off for 45 minutes in the middle of the night.  When she woke up her diaper was huge, so I thought maybe it was uncomfortable for her.  The same crying happened again on Sunday night.  Convinced something was wrong, I took her to the doctors to be sure her ear infection has cleared up.  It did.  And Dr. Lancaster explained she is going to bed so early, she might be crying because she is hungry.  The new plan was to feed her in the middle of the night again and see how that went.  Frustrated, and feeling like a  awful mom because I am not feeding her when/if she is hungry, for the rest of the week I have gotten up and fed her.  I play a game with myself now.  How fast will she eat and get back to bed.  Things are better, but we still feel like Madelyn will have to do another night or two of crying it out and it would not be fair for Olivia.  We made the choice to move her crib into the office until she is fully sleeping peacefully all night long! 

 I do not know what is going on in the month of January with my two girls, but I for the second time as a mother, I am glad to see this month come to an end!  As I write this blog entry, I am realizing we lack consistency in our sleep approach.  We can only move forward now and hope to get this girl sleeping better soon! 

A December to Remember!

Merry Christmas!  Puryear Family 2011

Madelyn's first Christmas was a memorable one for sure, but leading up to the actual Christmas celebration was a little...insane!  She is quite the happy four and a half month old baby now, but it was a rough go of it during December.  Olivia continues to thrive as well, talking up a storm and making us laugh on a daily basis!  Before I get ahead of myself, lets recap Thanksgiving!

Breakfast time with the girls

The Wittman Family, Jill, Steve, Emma, and Ava, were visiting the Beach for Thanksgiving this year, and we of course had to make the trip to celebrate with them and the other Puryears!  Besides leaving something at home and having to head back, causing Madelyn to scream the last 25 minutes of the trip because she was starving, the ride down was quite pleasant.  We had a great time catching up with the family, eating lots of yummy food, and even got to spend time outside.  The Wambolt family, Scott, Carol, Brayden, and Blake, also came down on Friday and all six grandchildren played together.  Olivia had so much fun with the cousins, and it was great to watch them all playing together.  We have great memories of that weekend, and I just love when all the cousins get together.  Thank goodness my in-laws built a big enough house to hold us all! 

We tried to get all the cousins in one place at one time!

The Thanksgiving break was enjoyable, but it was time to really get into a groove!  I was finished with Maternity Leave right before Thanksgiving, and only worked two, three day weeks.  However, it was time to work full five days weeks and get Miss Madelyn and Olivia adjusted to daycare full time.  Olivia loves Miss Sharon, our daycare woman, so she was not really my worry.  Madelyn seems to be very alert and aware of where she is and therefore, usually has a rough time sleeping in new places.  I was worried she would not sleep at Miss Sharon's and we would be dealing with an over tired, cranky baby.  However, she slept!  Even on her second day at daycare, she gave Miss Sharon BIG smiles. I feel confident both girls are in the right place, and we feel blessed to have Miss Sharon in our lives.  The transition back was pretty smooth for everyone, but just after our the first full week back, the tides turned and the waters became pretty rough! 

Olivia had a runny nose and a little cough after Thanksgiving, but we did not think too much about it. She seemed to have recovered by the middle of the week and when we received a call about being the Holy Family in our churches theatrical performance of Walk to Bethlehem, the first weekend in December, we thought it would be an experience for Madelyn to play Baby Jesus and Olivia was a sheep.  The night was pretty chilly and we bundled up for our performance!  My mom, Julie, was the narrator of our scene and Tyler was a Shepard.  Olivia just loved preforming for the groups of people!  She would say, "hello people" and then she would tell them which way they were to go after my mom was done narrating the scene.  Madelyn on the other hand was a warm and cozy Baby Jesus and slept in my arms for most of the time!  We arrived home late that evening and both girls were exhausted!  I nursed Madelyn and was hoping she would sleep through the night because she ate two hours later than usual.  However, I was severely wrong!  She usually wakes up once in the night to nurse and then goes right back to sleep. However, she decided to wake up at midnight, then two o'clock, and then four o'clock, and finally six o'clock!  It was pretty crazy and uncharacteristic of her.   Dan and I attributed to the fact she was overtired and went to bed late.  Then Sunday night the same type of situation.  She was awake about the same amount of times on Sunday night, and she was starting to cough.  We figured since she was outside on Saturday night, she probably had Olivia's cold...great!   The other thing that changed on Sunday was she would only nurse on one side.  Monday night brought the same result and she even refused to nurse.  I figured she was exhausted and she had enough to eat, but I was wrong.  Around 10:00 pm she started crying and it lasted for more than five minutes, so we went in and realized she was all stuffed up.  I immediately took her into the shower to break up some of her congestion and then at 11:00 I nursed her again, and figured we would be good for the night.  Not so, at 3:30 am she was awake again and Dan went in to calm her down.  Then she was awake again at 6:00.  With only five hours of sleep, we decide something was wrong, and we needed to call the doctor!  On Tuesday we had our first visit to Dr. Lancaster and she diagnosed Madelyn with a type of respiratory virus and the start of an ear infection, which explains why she was awake each night and would not nurse!   Dr. Lancaster instructed us to start a nebulizer treatment with her twice a day and she was on antibiotics too.

Neb Treatments :(

The next two weeks were rough.  Madelyn refused to nurse, and the nebulizer treatments were agonizing!  I started pumping full time and she would only take a bottle.  This was emotionally rough on me, but we pushed forward.  On Monday, less than a week after we had been to the doctors, Madelyn's entire body broke out in a rash and she hardly slept that night, again!  Tuesday December 13th, Olivia had a dentist appointment and we decided to keep Madelyn home too, hoping for a doctor's appointment.   Two bits of news happened on this day.  First Olivia's upper right tooth needed to be pulled in order to preserve her adult tooth, and Madelyn had an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin.  It seemed that a fall that Olivia took in the Spring, which chipped her left front tooth, had an impact on the right tooth too!  We also discovered that Madelyn's ear infection was healed, but she had a reaction to the medicine. Whether she is allergic is still to be determined, but for now she will no longer receive amoxicillen medicine!  At this point, ten days before Christmas we started to heal, and boy was it a LONG few weeks!  However, the joy that Olivia had on Christmas morning melted our hearts and made the rough seas of December worth all of the struggles!

Christmas Morning, chillin in bed!

Christmas was an amazing event this year!  We were finally all healthy and happy! On Christmas Eve, the girls and I spent the day at my parent's house because Dan went with Laura to the Ravens game.  We did our traditional appetizers and were able to make it to two different church services, the children's service and the 7 pm service.  By 7:00, both girls were exhausted, but we pushed our luck and it worked out fine.  Olivia spent the sermon playing with my iPhone and Madelyn slept the whole time.  After the services we had several people compliment us on the girls behavior, but my favorite was, "wow she is two and knows how to use an iPhone!? My mom can't even turn it on!"  Aw the joys of technology!

The Puryear Christmas 2011

Christmas morning was equally as memorable!  Olivia and Madelyn awoke to a new play kitchen, the best present ever, in front of the tree!  Madelyn had fun playing with her new Pooh toy and Olivia hardly noticed there were other presents under the tree!  It was so enjoyable, and Olivia kept saying, "Santa brought me kitchen!  Thanks Santa!"  It melted our hearts and it was so much fun that she understood Santa!  So our morning was relaxing and it was wonderful being a family of four!  Then after nap we went to my parents for more family time.  We had quite an extended family event with greatest and one of her friends from Heartlands, and of course the newlyweds, and Kym had a friend celebrating too.  It was quite a bit of people and made the day jolly!

After Christmas we headed to Ocean City to continue our Christmas celebrations at the Puryear's!  The first night, we decided to try to do an all you can eat crab leg dinner with both girls, Laura, and Jean and Lee.  I am happy to report it was a success!  Olivia had fun eating the crabs for quite a while and even the dinner we ordered her.  Madelyn was a bit cranky and finally fell asleep in my arms.  This worked to my benefit because the whole table was offering pieces of crab meat and I did not have to work as hard for my meal :)  Thanks Madelyn.  We were there for about 2 hours and when we left all of our bellies were full and we did not cause a scene in the restaurant!  The next few days were relaxing.  We celebrated Christmas, ate lots of great food, and played lots of games.  It was just what our family needed after our crazy December sickness.  This week we also had very successful nights of sleep with Madelyn and she started sleeping through the night!  However, this did not last...more to come on that issue! 

Addie, Olivia, and Madelyn, ringing in the New Year

Finally we headed home and we celebrated New Years Eve with our traditional group of friends, Monica and Rob, and Courtney, Kris, and Addie.   We had a great night with appetizers and old time games.  The girls all headed to bed and the fun began!  Our lives have changed so drastically in the past two years, but we still know how to celebrate and have fun...even though we are just in the comfort of our house!


December was definitely a month of struggles, chaos, and lack of sleep, but the look on Olivia's face Christmas morning and the smiles from Madelyn made everything worth it!  We are quickly learning that no matter how rough it can get with two young kids, the smiles and happiness outweigh it all!

So here is to 2012...bring it on!  We have many, many more pictures in the online albums.  Check them out here if you want <https://picasaweb.google.com/116339140741596376327>

Happy New Year! 

8 Things during Madelyn's 8 Weeks

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!

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

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

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

Olivia wanted to sleep next to Madelyn on the floor.

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! 

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

Larriland Farm Pumpkin Photo 

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! 

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

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

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! 

Earthquakes, Hurricanes, and Flooding-Oh My!

Madelyn at one week old, sleeping away!

Where to begin!  It has been quite an eventful three weeks home with Madelyn!  Three weeks ago today, she arrived during quite a lightening storm and continues to survive the natural disasters!

At 5 days old, while all the house was napping, I heard a boom come from Olivia's room.  I think to myself, "why is Olivia awake and how did she get books to drop?"  Suddenly, the dresser begins to rattle and the TV looks like it is going to  fall off the dresser!  Not quite comprehending what is happening I run to the top of the stairs and yell down to Jean, "is this an earthquake?"   I hear a little cry from Olivia's room and Jean is standing over the pack -n- play on the main floor.  There are many thoughts that flash through my mind, but suddenly it is over!  In the aftermath of the 5.8 earthquake on August 23rd, we were fine and had quite a scare.  Olivia woke up from her nap at that time, and Madelyn just slept right through it!  Dan was at school and we connected after a few minutes, but he was fine and Howard County Schools sent everyone home at that point to check the structures of the buildings.  Lee, in Ocean City, did not even realize that an earthquake had just struck!  One natural disaster down and two more to come!

Little bit of floor time!

On Saturday, August 27th, at 8 days of life, Madelyn experienced another major event.  Hurricane Irene, a category three storm, was traveling up the East coast.  Dan and I did not really buy into the hype that the storm brought, and did not worry to much about it.  However, we did need groceries for the week, so one advantage to having an 8 day old is that after the 5:30am feeding, I headed to the store before the frantic crowds hit!   I was in and out of the store by 7:00am and we hunkered down for the day.  The media was hyping up the fact that we may have power outages and downed trees, and I was praying that we would not loose power!  After a visit from Carol, Scott, Bradyen, and Blake, who came to meet Madelyn, the rain started to come down.  Laura come over for a little Hurricane Party/Fantasy Football Draft Party, and the lights only flickered once.  I went to bed still praying we would not loose power!  When I woke up at 4:30 am to feed Madelyn, I looked outside and the entire neighborhood was black, the rain was coming down, and the wind was blowing hard!  However, our side of the street still held onto the power!  We never lost it, but the rest of the neighborhood was out until Thursday!  We felt very grateful for maintaining our electricity.  The rest of the area was a mess.  We had several roads closed around us from downed trees and Dan even had the first day of school off because of lack of electricity!  It was quite a memorable event.

A visit from the cousins! 

Finally, during the past week it literally rained for the past three days! Thanks to the former Hurricane Lee, we had the left overs this week.  I have been going a little stir crazy, and we tried to go out somewhere each day.  The hitch in that plan was that Olivia woke up from her nap on Tuesday with a 102 degree fever!  We visited the doctor on Wednesday and it was another virus.  There was nothing we could do except Advil and fluids. Upon arriving at the doctors the skies unleashed.  It began to rain as hard and as fast as it did with Hurricane Irene.  Yay, two kids to get to the car.  Luckily the nurse offered to keep the girls at the door and I could pull up the car.  I was soaked, but the girls were fairly dry!  Olivia kept staring at me, saying, "Mommy wet!"  Thanks Olivia I did not realize!  Wednesday caused many trees to fall again and flooding on many roads.  There are crazy videos of Old Ellicott City streets looking like a river!

On Thursday we headed to the mall for some dry entertainment.  We met up with Miss Sharon, our day care woman, at the Story time.  Olivia had a great time and we even rode the carousel!  Madelyn was a good little girl and we had a brief stop at the food court to have a bottle and a snack.  I was so excited to have a successful outing with both girls on my own!  It is the little things!

Best of Friends!

Madelyn continues to grow and eat well.  We are struggling to understand how to keep her asleep.  She is very strong, and really likes to use her sucking reflex.  However, the pacifier does not stay in her mouth.  She could be dead asleep and if that thing falls out she wakes up and starts to cry!  I told Dan we are not putting her to sleep with the pacifier because I do not want to play that game all night long.  So far we have won the battle.  Haha!  The other challenge is when we swaddle her, she will slowly get her arms out of the blankets.  This was not a huge deal with Olivia she would continue to sleep with no issue.  On the other hand, Madelyn will then start trying to suck her thumb, fingers, or hand...and wake herself up, crying!  Feeling frustrated, I pulled out a blanket with Velcro called a SwaddleMe.  We never really used it with Olivia, but with Madelyn it is like a straight jacket like contraption!  When she is in it she cannot get her arms out.  This allows her to sleep longer...most of the time.  We often hear her let out grunts and cries trying to get her hands outs.  Once again...one for the parents!

The BIG sister!

Olivia is doing very well.  She loves Madelyn and is very interested in her "feeding."  She will tell me "Madelyn feed other side".  She loves to help change her diaper and see her poopie.   Lately Madelyn has been spitting up and Olivia will say, "see spit up, gross."  We have gotten into a bit of a routine, espcially in the morning.  Madelyn will sleep until 8 or 9 am.  Olivia and I have breakfast and play for a bit.  When Madelyn wakes up to nurse, Olivia will say, "watch Gabba now."  I reply yes and we head to my bed to watch her show "Yo Gabba Gabba" while I quickly feed Madelyn.  It is a nice break for everyone, and the only 25 minutes of TV she watches!

~First bath~

So Miss Madelyn has had quite an adventure filled first three weeks!  She has visited the library, the zoo, and the mall.  She also drank her first bottle and took her first bath!

We gave both girls a bath at the same time and that has been cute.  We had to encourage Olivia to put water on Madelyn's belly not her face!  Madelyn cried the entire first bath, but the second one was much smoother! 

We also fed Madelyn a bottle and that is a huge step for me!  I like the fact that I am not the only one who can feed her now.  It makes us a bit more mobile and I can give Dan a bottle to feed to her and I can sleep a bit more at night!

Life with two girls is going well!  This week will be exciting, and Madelyn will be meeting many new family members because Bethany's wedding is on Friday!  We look forward to Olivia being the flower girl and celebrating with Bethany and Bryan!

Welcome Madelyn Faith

Introducing...Madelyn Faith

Madelyn made quite an entrance into the world!  Before we get to the drama, let me explain her middle name.  As most people know it took us 18 long months to conceive Olivia.  We decided to name her Olivia Grace because by the Grace of God we became pregnant!  Madelyn was a bit easier and we determined she need to have the middle name Faith because we have always kept our Faith that everything would work out the way it is suppose to be!  Keeping that thought in mind we awaited the arrival of our little girl and she lived up to that middle name during labor!  

Such a diva already!

Because this was my second child, my doctor offered to induce me on Thursday, the day after my due date. I was a bit nervous to be induced because my first labor was fairly "easy", and I did not know how my body would react to the procedure.  I agreed, figuring that if a spot was open, then it would be the right choice.  Plus it was a lot easier to have a plan of what to do with Olivia than the unknown!  So on Thursday August 18th we arrived at Howard County General, after dropping Olivia off at my parent's house.  I was checked in and had an IV started before Dr. Esposito checked me out.  When he entered the room I could tell something was not right.  He did an exam and determined I was 2 centimeters dilated and 60% a faced.  Then he said, "we just had about 5 women arrive at Labor and Delivery and there is not enough staff to cover everyone."   He then explained that since my procedure was an elective induction, I was probably going to be sent home.  Honestly, I was fine with that outcome.  I was nervous about this to start with, and I took it as a sign it was not the right time.  Two hours after arriving at the hospital, we left to go home and wait!  

Another thumb sucker?

Talk about everything happening for a reason, when we arrived at my parents house, Olivia felt warm to me and my mom thought so too!  After taking her temperature, I decided to call Dr. Landcaster and  ask her if we could come in for a quick check.  I was worried it was an ear infection and with the possibility of a new baby soon, I wanted her on antibiotics as soon as possible.    That afternoon it was determined she had a virus called Hand, Foot, Mouth, and it would just take time to pass.  PHEW!  At least it was not  an ear infection.  Dan and I decided we have been pretty bad about washing her hands, after we are out in public places, so we will be better about that!  That afternoon, we gave her lots of love and fluids and she seemed to be better.  

Fast forward to 8:30 pm.  We are watching "The Dilemma" downstairs and I start to feeling something. About ten to twelve minutes later I feel it again.  Before alerting Dan, I keep track of the timing and about half an hour later I tell him to start timing.  He determines I am having contractions about ten minutes apart.  At 9:30 pm we call my mom and ask her to come stay the night because this baby is most likely coming soon!  We also called Dan's mom, Jean, and tell her she should probably leave in the morning because she was going to help with Olivia.  We wait out the contractions and about 12:00 am call the doctor to let him know.  I was ready to get to the hospital and get an epidural so we could rest a little bit before the fun begins!  We then discover Dr. Esposito is still on call and he says to come in he will check me out.  

12:30 am we leave for the hospital and at 1:00 they put me in a room to determine if I was going to be checked in to stay or go back home.  As an awful nurse tries to get an IV needle in my arm, poking me about four times before she "gives up," Dr. Esposito checks me out.  He determines I was now four centimeters and 100% a faced.  I would be staying and having this baby!  YAY!   Then as he begins to ask me about pain medicine and I say I would like an epidural, the lights in the entire hospital go out!  An awful lightening storm knocked out the power.  Less than a minute later, the generator begins and we have lights again!  But what a shock!  

Proud Daddy!

The next adventure began when moving rooms.  Since they were unsure if I would be admitted, I was in a small room first.  When it was official, the nurses then had to move me down the hall to an actual Labor and Delivery room.  I had to get up and use the bathroom and while I was in there, two nurses took the bed I was in and started wheeling it down the hallway without me!  So we rushed to keep up,  I holding the back of my gown closed, and Dan carrying three bags!  As we approached the room a contraction started and I had to hold onto the doorway for support all the while a third nurse says, "there goes your ride!"  Thanks lady!  As I think back it was all pretty comical, but in the moment I was not a happy person, who was still missing an IV line!

Cuddling with mommy!

Finally,  I get to the room (minus an IV) around 2:00, and I immediately ask about an epidural.  At this point the contractions are about 2-5 minutes apart and growing with intensity!  My new nurse, who I loved, says I have to have a whole bag of IV fluid first!  She quickly put in my IV and I waited!  UG!  How long will that take?  She did not know for sure, but 30 minutes later and many painful contractions, the epidural is given!  What an instant relief!   I cannot imagine why a woman would choose to have a natural delivery anymore!  Epidruals are magical!  At this point it was about 3:00 am and Dan and I were able to catch a few hours of sleep.  Sorta...

From 3:00 am until 5:00 am, when the Doctor came to check me, the nurse kept coming in to check me and move me because Madelyn's heart rate was getting funny readings.  Nothing to panic about, but she wanted to keep moving my position.  At 5:00 I was about 7-8 centimeters dilated and Dr. Esposito decided to break my water.  Then he said he would be back to check later.  Another half an hour goes by and I am in and out of sleep, and I begin to feel the sensation to push.  Suddenly at 5:30, Dr. Espostio comes in and says, "I don't like the her heart rate.  Let's see where we are now."  At this point I am now fully dilated and he says it is time to push!  YAY!

~7 pounds and 4 ounces~

The pushing begins and Dr. Esposito disappears for a few minutes and we find out later he had to help another doctor because the baby was stuck!  When he reappears, he observes her heart rate and after two more pushes decides it is time to get her out!  He says, "we need to vacuum her out, now.  You are so close I would hate to do a C-Section."  I said, "Yes.  I do not want a C-Section"  Literally a minute later I start pushing on another contraction and suddenly she is out before Dan can count to ten!  It all happened so fast, and they wanted her to get checked out by the NICU first that Dan did not even get to cut the cord!  It was a little chaotic at first, but everything ended well with a healthy 7 pounds 4 ounces, and 20 inches long baby girl, delivered at 5:52 am!  To be honest, over all that was an amazingly easy delivery, which fits her middle name!  We kept faith she would arrive when it was time and she did! 

Puryear Family of Four

It was so strange to have this little girl in our arms by 6:15 in the morning.  Thinking back to Olivia's labor and delivery it was about 14 hours, so I figured it would be the same time frame.  Nope, Madelyn arrived 10 hours later!  We had the entire day to spend with her and she was able to meet most of our immediate family that day!   

The Puryear Sisters

The most special part of the day was when Olivia met Madelyn for the first time!  She immediately wanted to hold her and give her kisses!  It was a precious moment, and it is a memory that will always stay with me!  So our story continues as our family grows!  We are so blessed with love and support of family and friends, and two beautiful girls!  

PS- I am adding pictures of Madelyn below the matching picture of Olivia.  So scroll down the right side and see how the two girls compare at the same ages!

Washing Hurley

Today we caught Olivia giving Hurley a bath!  It was hilarious and I was able to catch a little but on my iPhone! 

"Olivia-isms" at 21 Months

 Kids say the darnedest things! The past few weeks we have really been laughing at the things coming out of Olivia's mouth!  We wanted to write down the ones that really made us laugh and share them with you!  So in no particular order, here are the ten "Olivia-isms" that have made us laugh recently:

Jumping in her crib for approval of her name on the wall!

1. While getting the new room ready for the girls' room, Dan was hanging up their names above the cribs.  He wanted me to be in the room, so I could guide him as to how I wanted them hung.  I pulled in Olivia's little table and we painted with watercolors, while he worked and I supervised!  While hanging the first letter in "Lil Sis's" name he bent the nail and cried out, "Shit."  I said Dan, "Little ears are listening" and he replied by saying, "Shoot."  Olivia, painting on the white paper, looks over at Dan and says,  "Shoot...Daddy Shoot!"  We both started cracking up of course!  For the rest of the afternoon, every nail that he put into the wall, Olivia would say, "Shoot."  Lucky for us this word has not stuck with her.  She has said it a few times, but not like that afternoon!

2. Every time Olivia sneezes we say, "Bless you" to her.  Well recently I sneezed three times and she looked at me with this half smile on her face.  I smiled back and she said, "Bless you."  It was the sweetest thing ever!  Then Dan sneezed the other day and she said it to him too!   

3. Are you kidding me?
Yesterday we went to the zoo and left around 6:30, so we brought her green "night night," which is her blanket.  When we arrived home she pushed night night down onto the seat and I said to her, "are you going to carry night night inside?"  She replied, "no."  I looked at her and said, "Are you kidding me!"  She looked at Dan and with her hands thrown into the air yelled, "are you kidding me?"  Dan and I looked at each other and laughed so hard!  This morning she said it again, when prompted, but it is so cute!

Running after that little alligator

4. At the zoo, the keepers brought out a huge python snake and an alligator.  Olivia was too young to touch the animals, so the keeper put it down on the ground and it started to run away.  The keeper encouraged Olivia to walk with them and she loved it.  Suddenly, as we watch from a close distance, she says, "hug gator."  Dan quickly caught up and made sure she was not approaching the animal!  A few minutes later while watching the python again, she started to run over to the alligator again to hug.  We decided at that point it was time to move along! 

5. Again with a zoo story, we were watching the elephants and the Zoo Keeper was right there, answering questions and feeding the elephant.  Olivia kept calling the elephant a monkey, but that is another story!  About five minutes later, the Zoo Keeper's walkie talkie went off and he announced it was time for him to go eat dinner.  He said good-bye and walked away.  As he was walking across the elephant habitat Olivia asks,  "Where he going?"  Without waiting for an answer she says, "He go potty." 

"There he is!"

6. She constantly wants to know where Dan and I are, or where Hurley is in the house.  She will ask, "Where Mommy go?" or "Where Hurley go?"  When she finds me or the dog, or the object she is looking for she exclaims, "There she is!" Her excitement makes it seem like we went away for hours.  She was also doing that in the store the other day.  It is kind of an ego boost when a person is so happy to see you!

7. We  understand and realize we have a full blown toddler, but seriously the asking questions over and over and, repeating herself is starting to wear us down!  It is funny most of the time.  For example, on our way to the zoo, she told us like seven times in a row where we were going.   "We go zoo, we go zoo, we go zoo..." or she will ask for her milk over and over, "I drink milk...I drink milk..."  It is very cute, but there are just some times when I am like I heard you Olivia!  I am sure this is payback for what I did to my parents!  

8. She has quite a large vocabulary and is picking up new words on a daily basis.  However, when she doesn't know the name of something she just says, "This...this" and points.  Most of the time we will give her the words, but other times it becomes a guessing game.  She has to repeat, "this...this" until we figure out what she is talking about! 

9. "Do again!"  You know Olivia really likes something when she laughs and says, "do again!"  Her recent favorite is smelling her shoes and then saying, "pee-u" she laughs so hard and then says, "do again!"  There are many other examples of course and she is such a happy little girl! 

10. Finally, I made the mistake of telling Olivia her diaper was HUGE and then showing her the inside of the diaper.  Now each diaper change she lays down and says, "I see huge" and I have to show her the inside of the diaper!  When it is a messy diaper, I exclaim, "oh yucky" and of course she replies, "I see yucky."  Needless to say, diaper changes have become interesting! 

Maryland Zoo Picture

There are more sayings of course and as I was writing this entry, more sayings begin to pop up into her vocabulary.  We have really enjoyed this past week with just Olivia.  Life is about to get a little more crazy, but honestly, we would not change it for the world!  Dan and I are having a blast watching Olivia grow and blossom each day!