Looooong Update!

I can't believe Madison is already 6.5 weeks old!

This may be somewhat of a boring post, and is probably more for me than my readers in some ways, so sorry! I just wanted to document some things while I remember them!

Here is a picture of her from yesterday morning...in her car seat. She hates her car seat, and she promptly started screaming after I took this photo. We were on our way to Hy-Vee for some grocery shopping. Luckily she settles down a bit once the car (or cart in the store) is in motion.

Anyways, I thought I'd touch on a few baby choices we've made in caring for Madison. I know I don't know everything, and I'm sure we're making some "mistakes." I'm just doing what we think is best for Madison.

*I am open to comments/suggestions/feedback/questions.*

Feeding

So far I've managed to stick with breastfeeding. The first 3 weeks were horrible. I'm not going to lie. I had two major breakdowns about it. I'm also not going to go into details (on the blog anyways). But, things are much better, and I'm really glad I stuck with it. I plan to continue nursing until she is at least 6 months old.

Pacifier

Before Madison, I was always against using a pacifier. And, once I started breastfeeding it's recommended you wait anyways. However, we (Josh) occasionally give one to her if she's really upset. I decided I'd rather have a calm baby than a screaming stressed out baby if I'm not around. I also take one with me when we're out...like yesterday at the grocery store. So, I'd say I've compromised on the pacifier issue and only use it in emergency situations.

Sleeping

I'll admit it. We are currently doing something I thought I'd never do, and I can't believe I'm doing it. As of the past 2-ish weeks, we are co-sleeping. Madison sleeps next to me in bed during the night. I know that this can't happen for forever, but after trying it once (at Josh's suggestion) and managing to sleep with her for 4 hours straight, I was hooked, that is on getting decent sleep again. I did some research on-line though, and am comfortable with our decision on letting her sleep (safely of course) in our bed with us for now.

I'm currently researching how to transition her to her crib, and my goal is to have her sleeping in her crib by 12 weeks. I know it will not be easy...for her or me.

Right now, she falls asleep in my arms. She likes to be walked/bounced around to be put to sleep. Sometimes she likes to be rocked. She'll sometimes stay in her swing or bouncer after falling asleep, but will wake almost immediately if laid in her crib or bassinet.

Even with all this talk about her sleeping habits and feeling like I've been slacking on working her into better sleep habits, I still remind myself she is only 6.5 weeks old! It may be how I justify things now, but I know I'll only be able to hold her in my arms and watch her sleep for so long before she is too big, so I try to enjoy those moments now.

(After a bath.)

Schedule

Of course I'm interested in scheduling my baby's day!!! Usually she goes 3-4 hours between feedings. So, she eats for 30-45 minutes, then has awake time for 30 minutes-1 hr., and then naps for 1.5-2 hrs. before repeating the cycle again. After her "late" feeding around 10pm, we'll go to bed, and she'll not wake until 3 or 4am for her early morning feeding. After that feeding, we go back to bed until 7 or 8am before we start our day.

More About Madison

Madison is very alert during her awake time, and I love being with her as she is learning about the world around her. She will lay and watch her mobile in her crib and/or play on her play mat for a good 10-15 minutes (depending on her mood) at a time.

She'll humor me for about 5-10 minutes during tummy time until she gets frustrated and starts crying. Yesterday she ALMOST rolled over!! At least, she got onto her side and was kicking her legs, she just couldn't make it quite all the way over.

She loves looking at the lights. She loves staring at our wall hangings in our family room.

She's able to make really solid eye contact now. She'll smile at you, and sometimes laugh. She sometimes coo's at you, and it seems as if she really wants to talk but just can't find the words. She loves sticking out her tongue.

She's got a great grip, and loves grabbing Mommy's hair. Last week she grabbed her own hair and screamed so loud because she couldn't figure out how to let go and was pulling her own hair! Poor girl!

(In an outfit from Great G'ma Bev.)

I'm so proud to be Madison's Mommy, and Josh is without a doubt a fantastic Daddy. Parenthood is more than I could have ever imagined.

Wow! This is LONG! If you've made it to the end, congratulations, and thanks for reading!! If you didn't read it all (don't worry...I don't blame ya) and just checked out the cute pics, thanks for that, too! :)