Maddox - 1 Month

August 21, 2015

Baby Stats:

Weight

11.6 lbs on the home scale. At his 2 week checkup, he weighed 10 pounds which the doctor and myself were surprised since he weighed 7 lbs 14 oz at birth. The doctor had the nurse weigh him again to make sure it was correct and sure enough...it was. 

Length

21" at his 2 week checkup

Sleep

Maddox's first week I had to wake him to eat. I thought I was going to have a great sleeper when I got the OK from the doctor to not wake. Well after that first week...he started waking every 2.5 to 3 hours. In the past 2 weeks...he's had a couple 3.5-4 hour stretches at night. He's been sleeping in his crib since he was 2 weeks old. It's the same time frame we moved Turner to his crib which worked well. He also has at least one nap in his crib which ends up being his best nap it seems. 

Daily Routine

Life is so interesting with 2. Turner still goes to daycare 2-3 days a week. He for sure goes the days that Tate works late and then sometimes goes Friday depending on what we are doing. He loved his first day back. Our daycare provider told us he smiled non stop for the first hour because he was so excited to be with his friends. I love that he is still getting that interaction with the other kids. I usually go for my walk with Maddox to pick Turner up as it's within a mile of our house. On the days he doesn't go we always plan to do something in the morning because we both need to get out of the house..and Maddox usually naps the whole time while we are out and about. We usually run some sort of errand, go to the park, zoo, library or for a long walk. We get home in time for lunch and then he goes down for a nap at 12:30 and usually takes a 2-3 hour nap. Maddox is great and chill for all this. Maddox eats every 2.5-3 hours during the day. I will feed him before we go anywhere so that we are home in time for his next feeding. Turner usually plays while I feed him but if he is needy or get antsy, I will put on Daniel Tiger or Mickey Mouse. 

Feeding

Maddox has been doing great breastfeeding. He latched right away in the hospital. The first week it did hurt but now it's good. He eats every 2.5-3 hours during the day. He feeds only on one side for each feeding which I am not use to as Turner fed on both. So I always feel lopsided. On average, Maddox eats for about 12 minutes and is done. 

Diaper Size

We are still in disposables as we will be potty training Turner after labor day weekend so once we get through the size one diapers we have, we will put Maddox in the cloth diapers and I hope to only have one in cloth diapers. Maddox has been in newborn but they are a bit small but I'm trying to use them all up before switching to size 1. 

Clothes Size

Still fits into newborn sleepers but also wears 0-3 month size. Has already outgrown NB onesies.

Hair Color

Brown. I had a few comments on his 1 month pic I posted if he was a ginger. No, he's not...just the filter that made it look that way.

Eye Color

Blue just like his daddy and Turner. His lashes are growing by the day...I hope they get long and beautiful like his dad's and Turner's!

Milestones

Just like Turner, Maddox is very strong and is good at already holding his head up.
He's given us a smile a few times and we loved it!

Likes

The first week of life he HATED baths and would scream the whole time. Now he likes them.
Loves story time @ night with Turner
Loves the Solly Baby Wrap (most of the time)

Dislikes

His car seat which is horrible. He gets to a point when he's been in there for awhile that he is over it. Screams and cries like we are torching him. It's so sad and I can't listen to him cry like that so I usually have to pull into a safe place and calm him down.

Mama

I'm doing good. It's amazing how confident you are a second time around. I don't fret over things I did with Turner. I haven't cried nearly as much as I did with Turner either. There really is no time for rest when you have an active toddler. I did though prepare for Maddox's arrival better than Turner's. I had many meals prepped and frozen for the first few weeks after he was born. I didn't want to have to worry about that stuff and just relax and relax is what I did. I allowed my body to heal properly this time around. I have my 6 week postpartum checkup soon and look forward to a clean bill of health and the go ahead to work out.

Turner on left @ 3 weeks and Maddox on right @ 3 weeks

Maddox's Birth Story

Maddox's birth story is a total 180 of Turner's birth story. If we have a 3rd child, I will take Maddox's birth story over Turner's any day!

Maddox's birth story starts around 4 pm on July 21st. I was 39 weeks pregnant and was hoping to have him that day. I had a scheduled doctor appt at 3:45. I prayed on the way to my appointment that I would have progressed from the week prior and that stripping my membranes would start labor. Tate and I love the number 21 so having him on the 21st would have just made it perfect we thought.

At my appointment, I hadn't progressed passed 3 cm which bummed me out. My doctor then stripped my membranes which was so uncomfortable. While stripping my membranes...she accidentally broke my water. All the sudden I felt a gush and my doctor looked at me and said 'Well, I just broke your water and I did not mean to do that'. She then left the room to call the hospital to let them know I would be on my way and to be ready for me. She then came back and told me to go home, grab my stuff and head to the hospital. She said with baby #2 they usually come faster.

She left the room to let me get dressed and put on a 'diaper' because I was still leaking. I didn't have service but was connected to wifi so I instantly texted Tate to leave work and go get Turner from daycare and texted my mom to leave to come to our house. Tate tried calling but with no service he couldn't hear anything I said so I was trying to hurry so I could leave the clinic and call him back.

I left the clinic at 4:15 and first called my mom as she hadn't checked her text messages and we needed her to get on the road. I then called Tate who had already left work to go get Turner. At this point, I was not having any contractions so I felt like we had some time. My doctor thought we should have had my mom pick up Turner from daycare and we should get to the hospital within an hour, but I wanted Tate to pick up Turner and see him before having the baby.

I went home and finished packing up the hospital bag with last minute items. I got everything else in order for my mom taking care of Turner. By the time Tate got home, around 4:50 pm, my contractions were about 7 minutes apart and not super strong. Tate made me just sit still so contractions wouldn't come too fast since we were waiting for my mom to get there to head to the hospital. I sat there, timed contractions, literally gave orders to Tate on what needs to go in the car and what needs to be done and played with Turner.

I soaked in every minute I had left with my baby. This picture was taken at 5:24 pm on 7/21. Contractions at this point were about 5 minutes apart and getting stronger.

I called my mom at 5:45 to see where she was at. I knew she needed to get there fast since my contractions were getting closer together and stronger. We went outside at 6 to wait for her. We tried to get a selfie family pic of 3 but Turner wasn't having it. My mom finally pulled up at 6:15. My contractions by this time were about 3-5 minutes apart and lasting 1 minute. I quickly went over everything with my mom for Turner in between my contractions...and then we kissed Turner goodbye and headed to the hospital. 

We got to the hospital, they were expecting us when we got to triage and they sent me straight to labor and delivery...after signing a few forms first of course. We were checked into our room at 6:40 pm. Nurses came in immediately as my contractions kept coming faster. By this point they were only 1 minute apart and I feel like I was not getting much of a break in between. 

One nurse was trying to get an IV in my arm and she was having trouble. I kept asking for the epidural and they kept telling me I had to wait until a whole bag of IV was in me....and considering the IV wasn't even hooked up yet, I was getting nervous that I wasn't going to get an epidural. After 2 failed attempts to get the IV in me, the nurse called in another nurse to get it in and they did in my hand vs my arm. During this process my delivery nurse Megan checked to see how far along I was and I was dilated 6 cm.

As each contraction kept coming, Megan got everything else set up for the baby. She also checked me again after this and I was dilated 8 cm and the IV was barely moving. As I kept asking for the epidural, the nurses kept giving Tate the look that 'it's too late, not going to happen'. Not much later I felt the need to push. I told Megan this and she immediately called in the doctor. 

I started pushing a little past 7 pm as I felt the need to. After much pushing, Maddox's heart rate was dropping so the doctor needed to use the vacuum to get him out. She only needed to use it once on him and out he came at 7:36 pm, less than 1 hour from being admitted. Tate immediately announced it was a BOY.

After Tate announced it was a boy, I just kept saying his name...Maddox James. I was so excited to have another boy and get to name him with a strong, cute name :) I was feeling so excited that Turner was going to have a best bud for life. 

After they cleaned him up, we immediately did skin to skin. I couldn't stop staring at him and thinking he looked nothing like Turner (not the case at all...but at that moment, I didn't think he looked like his brother at all). I kept looking over him to make sure he was OK. As I was checking out his toes, I thought I didn't see any toe nails and panicked thinking he had none. I checked out his fingers and noticed he did have finger nails. I kept telling Tate, 'he doesn't have any toe nails, he doesn't have any toe nails'. Tate kept reassuring me he did. I told the nurse I don't think he does and she looked and said he does. Sure enough, he does...they were just deep ;) haha.

Even though I didn't get my epidural...I would still take Maddox's birth over Turner's any day. I always said that the only way I wouldn't get an epidural was if it was too late...and sure enough, that is what happened. Pushing and delivering him...was not painful. The contractions is what was painful. It didn't even hurt to deliver the placenta after or being stitched up from my 2nd degree tear.

Maddox's birth was also different in that he didn't require a NICU stay like Turner did. Maddox got to stay in our room. We loved it. I felt like we asked many questions for being 2nd time parents but when we have never experienced this kind of hospital stay, it definitely was like being first time parents for the hospital part.  

After less than 48 hours of being born, we headed home to start the new chapter of our family of 4. Feeling very blessed and grateful for this new miracle that joined our family. 

Maddox's Maternity Session

Even though Maddox made his debut last week...I still need to document and share my maternity session with him still in my belly. The photos were taken at Prospect Park in Minneapolis.

We had our favorite photographer, Kimberly Williams Photography, (she did our engagement, wedding, Turner's 3 month, 6 month and 1 year photos - apparently I've never posted these, opps) document this pregnancy for us. She once again, exceeded our expectations and I couldn't be more thrilled with how they turned out.

Here are a few of my favorites from the session...

I think he misses my seat bump ;)

I can't get enough of him!!!

My favorite of Tate & I

Maddox James

It's a BOY!!!

We are beyond blessed to announce the arrival of Turner's little brother, Maddox James.

Maddox joined us on 7/21/15 at 7:36 pm.

Maddox weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20.25" long.

Turner loves his baby brother. We are so grateful and thankful for all the messages, well wishes and congrats we have received via text, Instagram and Facebook. 

Birth story to come soon as it was completely different than my birth story with Turner.

Bump Day Baby #2 - Week 38

• Baby is the size of a pumpkin...which totally feels right ;)
• Baby just keeps gaining weight and loosing his or her vernix caseosa and lanugo. 
• No weight gain for me though this last week. 
• Measuring now at 39 weeks.
• Dilated to 3 cm and 70% effaced.
• Turner came to doctor with me and was such a good boy. He held my hand while I was on the table. He also wanted to play with everything in the doctor office except for the toys I brought.
• Eating candy like it's going out of style at work...serious problem
• Craving watermelon all the time.
• Nursery is done...I mean there is some organization I want to do but it's hard not knowing gender so it's pretty bare in the closet and dresser but we have everything on the walls, furniture assembled and ready for his or her arrival
• My to do list for home is minimal and I am feeling less stressed
• My to do list at work is out of control and that has me feeling stressed.
• Been waking up at night at least twice. Last night was good though and I slept through the night, but that is rare these days.
• Baby is still moving like crazy in there
• Had some bigger contractions on Sunday and Monday evening. Nothing worth timing since they were sporadic, but definitely ones that were causing me to be in pain.
• Got my car call cleaned, installed car seat, baby swing is put together and so is the bouncer...which Turner loves to hang out in ;)
• We celebrated Tate's birthday on Sunday with mini golf, grilling out and fun with friends. 
• I am hoping I don't have to see my doctor at my 39 week appointment next Tuesday. I'm hoping that baby actually comes that day...during the day!

I find it hilarious I thought I was 'big' at 18 weeks...haha

Week 38 bump date with Turner

Bump Day Baby #2 - Week 37

• Baby is the size of a wintermelon
• Baby is no considered full term (whoop whoop) and is gaining about 1/2 ounce a day
• Gained no weight this week so I'm still at a total weight gain of 19lbs which just baffles me.
• I'm measuring right at 37 weeks since the baby has no 'dropped' according to my doctor
• I'm dilated to 2 cm and 50% effaced
• My left ankle keeps swelling up and my varicose veins are not pretty...but only in my left leg. My doctor said that baby is sitting more on that side causing that. 
• Baby's heartbeat is 147
• Sleep is hit or miss. It's about every other night that I wake up during the night to either pee or just because I am uncomfortable
• The nursery is almost done...woohooo. This holiday weekend really helped in getting loads of stuff done. I can't wait until it's finished.
• Washed all the gender neutral clothes we have. Also been in full on nesting mode. Made 5 freezer meals and hope to make more before baby actually comes. I also made 2 batches of my green waffles and 2 batches of muffins to freeze.
• Turner is still being a total mama's boy. Love him so much and pray every night that this transition for him will be go smoothly. He keeps going in the nursery and telling me everything that is for the baby. It's so cute.
• For food I am still just craving fruit (Watermelon at the moment) and ice cream.
• Still trying to kick this summer cold I have. It's very unpleasant
• Looking forward to crossing more things off my list, the baby staying in there until at least 39 weeks and just enjoying some down time with my family of 3 before the craziness begins.

Week 37 bump date with Turner

Bump Day Baby #2 - Week 36

• Baby is the size of a honeydew
• Lungs are the only organ that needs to full mature
• Lost 1 lb since last week so I am only up 19 lbs right now
• No new maternity items purchased and won't the rest of this pregnancy
• Best moment is Tate got his cast removed and can now do some weight bearing on his foot. His help is needed so much.
• Also had another doc appt yesterday and got to hear the strong heartbeat of 153. 
• I am 1.5 cm dilated and about 20-25% effaced she thinks
• I am now measuring at 38 weeks. Doc doesn't think I will go much passed the actual 38 week mark. I hope to make it to 39 for work and home life purposes. Need to get more stuff in order.
• Baby is still moving like crazy. 
• Nursery still isn't done. We started building the 50,000 piece Ikea dresser last night after I had my panic moment from my doctor appointment. We made great progress and I plan to finish it tonight. I'm going to buy the crib on Friday along with other items needs to finish the nursery.
•  Been sleeping like crap...but I think it's because of my cold, anxiety and this baby. Had to get up to pee a few times.
• Tuner has been a total mama's boy lately. It's very difficult to hold him when I already am carrying so much weight and feel like I'm exhausted from already having to do so much with a husband who is limited. Turner wants mommy to do EVERYTHING. I love savoring these last few days with him as my one and only...but it can get super exhausting the way he is so needy.
• Work is crazy busy right now and I feel like I am drowning. Like they say...when it rains, it pours.

Week 36 bump date with Turner