Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

I typically don't wear my rings much around Madison. I worry that they might scratch her. Yesterday, however, she pooped right before we were getting ready to leave for daycare. I took her back upstairs and laid her on her changing table to change her diaper. She always pays so much attention to my hands, but this time she seemed to notice something new. My rings! Her eyes just lit up and she kept reaching out her hands to touch them. Every time she'd touch them, she'd let out a little squeal. Daddy came in to see what we were doing, and I informed him that he's in big trouble. His four month old already loves diamonds!! ;-)

4 Month Checkup

Madison had her 4 month checkup yesterday. At one day short of being 19 weeks old, Madison weighed 12 pounds, 6 ounces and was 25 1/4 inches long. She's growing so well!

She's turning into such a ham! haha! She babbled and cooed the whole time Dr. Darnell was talking to me. She's constantly making noises now. It's too cute! We have this one noise that we do a lot back and forth. I was so surprised when she did it back to me for the first time.

Madi did a lot better with her shots this time around. She spent the day with her Grandma (Bowen) and More Grandma because I really didn't want to send her to daycare after having shots. Mom said she was a complete angel though and was really entertaining all day. I was so happy that she did better this time! She only cried a little during the shots and then fussed some afterward. The funny thing about it is that she didn't fuss afterward until the nurses that administered the shots talked to her and then she'd start to fuss. It was like she was just mad at them! haha!

Dr. Darnell said we could start rice cereal. I think we're planning that for sometime this weekend. It's going to be interesting, I'm sure!

Swine Flu Scare

We had Madison tested for swine flu on Monday. The whole experience was frustrating and scary! The good news is she doesn't have swine flu...or RSV...or the normal flu...or several other things.

Monday morning I got a call from one of my favorite people at Madison's daycare saying that she just wanted to let me know before I dropped Madison off that they had a confirmed case of swine flu. She said that I should probably call Madi's pediatrician because there was a good chance she had been exposed to it. The little brother of the infected child is in Madison's room. Also, the little girl with swine flu was in Madison's room for awhile on Friday.

I was a little concerned because Madison's nose had been very runny. And she'd been coughing and sneezing a lot. We were still pretty convinced it was just a cold though.

I turned the car around and Madi and Mommy headed back home. I called the doctor at 9:02 and explained the situation. I didn't actually get to talk to someone until about 1:30...which really annoyed me! They called in an order to have Madison tested in the lab at Women and Children's. I was so thankful Matt met us there, because I really didn't want to do it alone. She wasn't very happy about having the swab shoved up her nose. But she stopped crying as soon as I picked her up. The lab tech told us that the results would be ready in 4-6 hours and would go to the doctor that called in the order. I hated leaving there knowing that we wouldn't know anything until morning.

I called as soon as the office opened on Tuesday. Madison's results came back negative. I was so thankful!

Cereal Addictions and Sleeping in a Crib

Here's what's been going on with the Smiths:

- Matt is finding out just how tough his LPN Program is going to be. He's had soooo many tests! Yuck! He's doing really well though. He's always been so great with time management.

- June has been missing Matt terribly since he started school. It's pretty typical for her to follow him around, but lately she cries (meows) loudly as she's doing so. Before she only did this when he was in the kitchen making a turkey sandwich. haha!

- Adele is still missing me, I think. She's been great with Madison...soooo much better than I ever expected her to be. Yet, I know she's terribly jealous. She's always been super attached to me, but I really think she's worse now. She's laying on top of the printer as I type.

- Madison and I have both had a bit of a cold. We're both getting over it now though. Thank goodness!

- Last weekend we had a visit from Uncle Charles and Aunt Patty. It was so great seeing them! Madison had been up for quite some time before they came, so she was in desperate need of a nap by the time they arrived. She tried her best to fight it, but we eventually got her to sleep!

- Matt and I have gotten into a pretty good routine. We've always been a really good team, so adjusting to him being on a new schedule wasn't really all that difficult. We are still getting things accomplished pretty easily, even with him being super busy. I must admit, though, that we still don't have the whole dinner thing down. There are many nights that we end up just eating cereal for dinner because we don't feel like cooking anything. However, I'm convinced that a lot of this is simply due to the fact that we both love cereal!

- Madison slept in her crib for the first time on July 31st. She and I spent the night with my mom and dad on the 1st, but she slept in her crib again on the 2nd. She did pretty well with it. She only woke up once each night between 9:30 and 4. I slept on her floor though from 4 until it was time to get up because she stirred a lot. I put her back in her bassinet to sleep until last night since she was sick (It just made me feel a lot more comfortable). She didn't do as well last night. I made it through the night without having to sleep on her floor, but I did have to go to her 5 times to get her back to sleep.

- This past weekend, we all packed up and headed to Williamstown. We left Friday when I got home from work and went straight to the Relay for Life. We were a little worried about how Madi would do, as this was her first real "social event". She loved it! She really enjoyed just looking at all the people. Her eyes got so big when we walked under a balloon archway. She is just so curious!

- Today on my way home from work, I met my mom and dad at ToysRUs so that we could pick out an exersaucer for Madison. It was her 4 month birthday present! haha! Daddy put it together as soon as I got home. We let Madison play in it for a few minutes. I had to help her maintain her balance, but she really enjoyed playing in it! She's just not quite big enough for it yet.

- I really wish I could update this more often. Something always comes up though every time I sit down at the computer. I think I've been trying to finish this post for about a week now!

Grandma Peggy feeding Madison

The day after the Relay for Life - she was so exhausted! She slept from midnight to 7 and then got up to eat and slept with Daddy on the couch from 8 until noon!

Madison's new favorite sleeping position

Cuddle time with Momma

"Whatcha doing, Daddy?"

Snoozing in her Pack and Play

Tummy Time! She's getting so strong!

Bathtime Girl

Four Months

Sweet Madi,

When you were in NICU, one of your nurses said the following to me:

"She's such a sweet baby, but she's got attitude. Not a lot of attitude, and not in a bad way. She's got just enough not to get pushed around in this world."

I'll never know how she could be so right about you when you were less than a day old...but she was.

You are such a sweet baby...a very happy, easygoing baby. But there are definitely times that we see that little attitude. When you're so sleepy and just don't want to give in. When we take your bottle away to burp you. It's still so funny to me to hear you scream and watch you kick and fight to lay back so that you can eat more. I remember when we had to strip you down to your diaper and put ice cold wash cloths on you to get you to eat. You have come so far!

You have changed so much in the last month. You want to sit up ALL the time. You absolutely love to lay down and have Mommy or Daddy pull you up to a sitting position by your hands. You can keep your head level with the rest of your body so well now! Sometimes you even try to pull yourself up on your own, but the only part of your body you can get to lift up is your legs. You think you're such a big girl!

You are our pride and joy and we love every single thing about you...especially that little attitude of yours!

Sound asleep in your crib...a few hours before you turned four months old!