April Showers...

I'm baaaaaccckkkkk!!! Ha! Its been awhile, the last month has been keeping us pretty busy! The weather is getting nicer each day (thank God!), we are filling our time taking care of our little one and trying to survive ;) Hopefully soon we'll be able to play outside in the sunshine. 

First Easter! My pretty girl:

Ryan's project this summer is to get our yard looking nice and he's off to a good start! Last weekend we went to Home Depot to pick up some flowers to fill in our front flower bed. He ripped out the dying/crusty-brown hedge and replaced it with some good looking plants. It will take some time to fill out but I think it looks so much better already:

 

Not much is new with me... just busy being a mom! I feel so busy yet all I pretty much do is hang out with my babe.... lol... Its exhausting. Seriously. But when people ask me whats new, I really don't think they're wanting to know how many diapers I've changed....

 Or if I've received my mandatory spitting-up-on for the day ;)

 Wait... This week I did celebrate my 26th birthday by chopping off all my hair! I guess that counts, right? It was enough to donate to locks of love and I am loving the new look. I would snap a quick selfie and insert it here, but I would not be doing myself any favors.

Lets just say I haven't managed to squeeze a shower in today due to my "busy schedule" ;)

Another month, another milestone! 

Maddie can roll over BOTH ways now and is already teething at 3 months! 

Apparently, she is a superbaby. 

Or a "Child Prodigy" as her Grandpa Joe likes to say... 

hahahaa

We also made made our first trip since baby to see family and friends in Oregon. Traveling with a baby is stressful but it was well worth it. Madilyn was able to meet her Uncle Joseph, Great Grandma & Grandpa and many family friends that were all excited to see her. The trip started off with a flight to Portland - I was so worried about this part, but she did great! No crying! Amazing....

 

Our first stop was Salem, OR, to spend the night at my grandparent's house. My brother Joseph was able to come down from Portland as well to meet his niece. It was a good night! Unfortunately, Maddie was a little cranky and verrrry tired from traveling:

 

So tired she couldn't even stay awake long enough to burp after her night time bottle:

 How sweet is this? Here's my Grandpa holding me back in 1988 and now holding Maddie .... We didn't even mean to replicate the picture... I just love it.

 

Then we moved on, down to my hometown of Canyonville, OR, to spend some time with my Parents and attend my best friend's wedding reception. On our last day, we spent the afternoon at the Galesville Lake for a BBQ. We had lots of fun!

It is my hope that she will always feel at home with both sides of her family. 

And I know one thing for sure.

Madilyn Harper is so very, very much loved. 

No matter the distance.

 Or the time between visits. 

This will never change.

Now, we are back home and life is back to normal. 

Ok fine, now for the good part...

The last month's worth of pictures from my phone.

If you insist....

Heehee  ;)

I love this so much it hurts:

But wait, theres more! 

Hope you enjoyed our update!

See you next month :)

Life as we know it...

Its March! Maddie is almost 8 weeks old and doing so well. She is starting to smile socially now and its been fun watching her work out her facial expressions. She is usually the most smiley and happy when she is waking up from a nap, a trait she does not get from her mom...

She has slept through the night multiple times now!!! Although, last night she reverted back to 3 feedings - not sure why. Boo.

She also knows who her mom and dad are; I've noticed that she can pick out my voice amidst others and will stare at me when I'm talking. She also gets so happy when Ryan comes home from work and she usually greets him with a couple goofy looking grins :)

We are attempting to take her out of the house now. I have done very little just me and Maddie outside, so I look forward to the weekends when Ryan is off work and we can try to all go out together. However, our outings usually just consist of quick coffee or errand runs.... Which are always soooo EXCITING, let me tell ya ;)  But hey, baby steps. The last thing I want to do is end up in a grocery store half way through my list with a screaming baby and no one there to help me. I'm sure it will happen eventually but I'd first like to build up my tolerance! haha

Speaking of tolerating baby-screaming, 2 month vaccines are happening next week and I'm dreading it. Ryan is going to come with us to hold her down, as I'm sure I will be too busy blubbering uncontrollably... LOL! Looking forward to that ;)

Also, we decided that it will be best for me to stay home full time to take care of Madilyn for a while. So I won't be going back to work this month, but I think its for the best. We can't imagine handing her over to a day care at this point, it makes me feel sick to my stomach to even think about it. I'm not sure how long I'll be at home, we'll just take it one day at a time for now. All I know is that being a good momma is the most important job I'll ever have. Period. I'm excited that spending time with my sweet babe can be my primary focus!

Here's the newest bunch of pictures off my phone... I think I may need some more memory soon! Enjoy :)

Just keep swimming...

Wow! How has it only been four weeks? It feels like at least twice that, probably due to the lack of sleep Ryan and I are getting... but I must say, the days do seem to go by fast when your changing a diaper or making a bottle every two seconds... Haha! Don't get me wrong, I knew newborns were tough - but it is one thing to imagine getting up 4-5 times a night and another thing to actually live it. So this is kinda how I feel right now:

 

Parenthood has definitely been an up and down experience so far. The first few days home, our little one just didn't know what to make of this new world so she decided it would best to fuss as often as possible. Thankfully the next week got much easier, just in time for my family to leave and Ryan to go back to work. The first 2 days I was completely on my own went great! And then this happened:

  

SOMEONE (not naming names) decided to turn into CRAZY person for the rest of the week. Thankfully, my lovely sister in law came running when I called her and she could only hear wailing on the other end of the phone. We determined that my poor baby is having some tummy troubles, she maybe developing some colicy-type issues. So we've tried just about everything you can try in this situation - switching formulas, different bottles, medicine drops, warm rice packs, tummy rubs - unfortunately nothing has seemed to make a consistent difference and so we are still trying to figure out the best way to cope. 

However, we still do have a few good, calmer portions of the day when the screaming dies down to a dull roar ;) Here are some pics from our better moments:

She already knows the importance of physical fitness! Here she is practicing her Tai Chi... Haha

 

Those CHEEKS:

Giving kisses, pretending she didn't just spend the last hour screaming her head off:

Who? Me?? I'm an angel!!!

So for now, we'll just keep swimming, just keep swimming.....

A BABY STORY...

A week after my due date, our baby finally decided to make her grand debut! Madilyn Harper Rouse was born at 10:23 pm on January 8th, 2014.  At birth she weighed 7lbs 13 oz and measured 21.25 inches long. I had to be induced because our little one had no intention of making an appearance anytime soon. After a long labor with several complications (of course! lol) she finally arrived and instantly our world got sooo much better.

My very first ultrasound at 10 weeks:

 My very last pregnant picture, 41 weeks miserable:

One of the first pictures taken of Maddie. She was still a bit swollen so her cute little face was so chubby!

Tuesday night we went to the hospital to be induced as I was a week past my due date and feeling very uncomfortable. They started me on the induction medications around 10pm, therefore I was unable to sleep all Tuesday night due to increased contractions. Around noon on Wednesday, the pain was getting quite uncomfortable and the nurse thought it would be best to give me an epidural at that point, so I could try to get some sleep. After receiving the epidural I was able to nap a couple hours, but then my heart started racing sometimes up to 160 beats per minute for no apparent reason. The doctors were concerned and ordered several tests to be done to ensure I was holding up alright. After a echo-cardiogram and an EKG showed nothing seemed to be wrong, my heartbeat was chalked up to stress and possibly a side effect from the medication I was given. Either way it was wearing me out and after a sleepless night, it definitely added to my anxiety to think that something was wrong with my heart! Around 9:30pm, the heart monitor that the baby and I was hooked up to started going off and the nurses rushed to my side. They informed me that the baby's heartbeat had dropped dangerously low and I needed to change positions immediately. They soon realized that it was time for me to push and called the doctor in. Madilyn was born at 10:23pm and placed on my chest, her little cry was best sound I have ever heard.

Unfortunately, I was only able to hold my baby for a few short minutes before things started going downhill. The nurses and doctors were unable to stop or slow my bleeding - I was hemorrhaging fairly badly. After about 2 hours or so they were able to get it under control, but during the time I was losing blood I started shaking uncontrollably and then started vomiting. Because I had no food in my stomach, they were unable to give me any pain medication and my epidural had run out, so it was definitely the most intense part of my labor experience. Finally they were able to give me anti-nausea meds so they could then give me pain medication, however, the anti-nausea meds they gave me were a narcotic so I got realllly high. I started making up words, muttering nonsense and got really paranoid that I was dying. At about 3:30am,  I was finally calm and stable enough to be transferred to a recovery room. However, I was unable to feed or hold my precious baby until I woke up the next morning.

Thank God everything turned out ok! And I'm so thankful for the little miracle that he blessed us with. The outcome was absolutely worth every ounce of pain I had to go through :) And I'm so excited for what the future has in store for our family!

Here are a few more pictures, for your enjoyment ;)

Here she is in the hospital, getting her hearing tested and then me holding her the next morning:

 

Chillin at home, mean mugging in the first picture and then taking a nap on Mommy's chest:

My mom holding her first Grandbaby and Ryan helping our niece hold her new cousin:

On our way to Madilyn's first doctors visit:

At the doctor... she looks terrified! Poor baby:

Then she zonked out aferwards at home. Doctor appointments can wear you out!

The past week has been the most eventful week of my life, but we couldn't be more grateful to now have a happy, healthy, calm baby girl! 

2014 is looking like its going to be our best year so far :) YAY!

The Waiting Game

Well.... Its December 22nd, exactly 10 days until my due date. I'm getting antsy! Pretty much doing anything is painful at this point so I can't wait until this little girl is out of my belly. I can't help but think "This is it!" at every little twinge or contraction, however, nothing major has happened yet - although today I've been having more spasms and stabbing pains than usual... Could this be a sign?!? Lets hope so ;)

My Mom came up to help me with some last minute things a couple weekends ago, we made a freezer full of meals and washed/folded about 6 loads of baby things. We cleaned and baby proofed a few areas of the house, so I feel good to go! She will be coming back at the end of December and will hang around until after we have the baby. The rest of my family won't come up until mid-January to meet the new addition, which will hopefully give me a couple of weeks to recover as long as she doesn't decide to be stubborn and come late. PLEASE OH PLEASE let this baby not be stubborn!

Ryan is busy wrapping up some last minute house projects. He just finished installing a wood burning stove after removing the gas stove that came with the house.  We won't have to worry about making a railing to go around it to keep the baby safe until next winter when she is mobile. We're hoping to save money by using it as a major heat source and I think it will pay off! There is something about a wood stove that just makes the house feel more like a home anyway:

Christmas is just around the corner and I've been busy shopping (Amazon Prime is a life saver), wrapping presents and baking! A couple days after deciding we didn't need a Christmas tree this year with everything else going on, I felt like a major Grinch and changed my mind. Ryan went down and bought a tree, set it up and decorated it with my "supervision"... LOL! I wasn't feeling very well so I just pointed to where I wanted the ornaments placed... hahahaa, He is the best!

We decided to just do stockings for each other this year, in an attempt to conserve our Holiday spending. However, a few days ago I noticed 3 rather large boxes under the tree addressed "To Emily from Santa".... Welllllll then... So much for just stockings! Now, in my desperate attempt to avoid holiday shopping at all costs, I began Pinteresting homemade stocking stuffer and present ideas. I came across homemade firestarters - which I thought was perfect since we just put in the wood stove!  I went to work making Ryan a box full of these firestarters... Well, long story short, Pinterest is a BIG, FAT LIAR. For one, these firestarters are not nearly as cute as they were supposed to be. And two, it didn't really occur to me that a stocking full of empty toilet paper rolls stuffed full of dryer lint might not be the most suitable present to get on Christmas Day... LOL... Once I came to my senses (after making about 20 of these firestarters) I decided that this was not a worthy Christmas gift, no matter how desperate I am to avoid department stores right now. I gave them to Ryan early to use and good thing because they don't even work well.... TOTAL FAIL:

Annnddd, we have a stocking for our cat. Yes, we are definitely those weird cat people - Don't judge! Heehee :) Anyway, apparently a more appropriate name for Mozart would be "McGyver". He found his grocery bag of stocking goodies, ripped it apart, chewed a bag of treats open and chowed down early! HOW RUDE! So yes, technically we got duped by a cat. Which is just sad. Here's the culprit after he passed out in a food coma:

My last day of work was Wednesday... I had hoped to last until Christmas Eve but with the way I've been feeling I knew there was just no way that was going to happen. I'm glad to have the 2 weeks off prior to my due date so I can relax (if that is even possible!) and my only responsibility is being massively pregnant. YAY! I ordered a few books to keep me occupied, however, instead of diving into them right away I started re-reading The Hunger Games series for the 4th time... Typical. Ryan doesn't understand my love of repetition, neither do I really. I am aware that I have a few strange habits but I can't help it! ;)

In other exciting news, Ryan won a FREE paid day off work for winning the "Ugliest Hawaiian Shirt" contest at his office's Holiday party. YAY! I had a feeling that he would win when he brought home this little gem to wear... check out this horrifying thing:

Well, that is all for now... Here's to hoping that my next post will have some sweet pictures of our healthy baby! Merry Christmas to you all!

Giving Thanks

We have a lot to be thankful for this year! November seemed to fly by fairly quickly, although this last week has been a little rough. Exhaustion is catching up with me now but the worst part is I'm just sooo tired of being tired! How ironic...

I have a few things left on my "before-baby-comes-to-do-list", so I recruited my mom to come up and help with some last minute things.... she's the best! I'll be picking her up at the airport on Friday and she'll stay with us for a long weekend to help me prepare for the next few months. I'm thankful that she is willing to come all this way just to help me with a few tasks in order to ease my pregnant mind.

The main things we'll be working on are:

- Making a few weeks worth of crockpot meals to freeze

- Cleaning the house top to bottom and baby proofing

- Washing and sorting baby clothes

***If you have a favorite crockpot meal, please share it with me! I've been pinteresting recipes for a while but would love more ideas.

As for November happenings, we had plenty to keep busy with....

I was surprised by my coworkers and boss in early November with a cute little party/baby shower at the office. I'm so thankful for their support and friendship! They showered me with presents and I even got a gift certificate for a prenatal massage. Whaatttt??? Best present EVER.... Which reminds me - I need to schedule that ASAP otherwise it might end up being a postnatal massage!

Next, my lovely sister in law, Ada, threw me a little baby shower up here. She did a wonderful job and will definitely be my go-to person for party planning ideas in the future! I'm thankful for her generosity and constant support. Here we are, relaxing on the couch after the party and this sweet boy wanted to say hello to his cousin:

We placed a few online orders for some last minute baby items... Shopping has become a strenuous activity that I no longer enjoy... lol... So I'm very thankful for the internet! And Mozart is thankful for the boxes to play in ;)

I'm also thankful for my husband's remodeling skills! For the last year, we've been using the original oven that was built into the house in the 1960s. It worked but was so tiny I couldn't even fit a cookie sheet in it! Not to mention that last Easter it locked our meal in there and Ryan had to go at it with a SAW to get the dang door open... Haha! Last weekend he tore apart the kitchen to get the old oven and stove top out, then installed a newer oven. I never thought the day would come when I would get excited over a kitchen appliance... but it has :)

 

 

I'm also thankful that I only have 5 weeks left of cooking this baby! I'm excited to see her face yet anxious for the events to come. The doctor says I'm measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule and estimates that the baby already weighs 6 pounds. I'm hoping this means she'll arrive slightly earlier than expected... however, the doctor thinks that I'm just going to deliver a larger than average baby... How is this freaking possible?!? Whhhyyyyyyyyy...... LOL

Lets just pretend the doctor didn't tell me this information and completely SCARE ME OUT OF MY MIND. And I would personally be EXTRA thankful if you would so kindly keep your fingers crossed in hopes that this baby STOPS chowing down so her momma can have a smooth delivery!

35 weeks:

We're thankful for so much more than what I can list in this blog post. We are blessed with 2 supportive families, friends and a God that constantly provides for us. We are truly grateful for all the love and generosity we've been shown these past few months and hope that you had a November packed full of things to be thankful for too!