Meet the Moo

Let me introduce you to Miss Madelynn.

Madelynn Rene' was born at 12:13am on November 1st, 2009 Madelynn weighed 7lbs-9oz and was 19.75" long, though she looked so tiny! From my very first contraction until he birth it was only 11 hours and active labor was short. 6pushes and Miss Maddie Moo entered this world with a set of lungs on her :) Madelynn had 5 'suck blisters' on her hands and wrists due to the sucking she did on them while I was pregnant. Moments after being placed on my chest she was sucking her thumb. She was a natural sucker and has never had an issue with breastfeeding.

At about 5weeks old Madelynn developed what I would consider colic. She would cry almost nonstop from 4pm-9pm and the only thing that offered any relief was to put her in my Moby Wrap and get it very snug around her. I'd dance and bounce around the house and she'd finally give it up. When it wasn't those hours, she was happy and very content just watching her brother. She flashed her first smile December 12, 2010 and it is always on her face. The picture about was her very first smile, that I happened to catch on film. This next photo was one of her sweet smiles 2weeks later.

Madelynn, aka Maddie or Maddie Moo, aka The Moo has been a pure joy! She is so full of wonder and very curious about everything that is going on around her. In January Madelynn took a HUGE liking to Tummy Time and started holding her own head and chest up off the ground with ease. She loved being on her tummy, and would get fussy rather quickly when placed on her back.

Since birth it was very apparent that Madelynn wanted to suck She took to breastfeeding wonderfully and I quickly became a human pacifier. She would suck on anything you put in her mouth and by the end of January/early February Madelynn had discovered his thumb and fingers...sucking on them almost constantly. When she wasn't sucking her fingers, Joshua was usually forcing a paci into her mouth anytime she made a sound-she has the BEST big brother ever!

March came along and The Moo turned 4months old. Her colic was gone by the end of the month, but somewhere in the beginning of the month, Madelynn learned a new trick...how to scoot and army crawl. She would roll around (started rolling over the end of January/early February) and scoot if there was something in clear view that she wanted...look out world, Madelynn was on the move!!

Then came April...Madelynn was 5 month old, and now she is crawling on her hands and knees in addition to the army crawl. She could get to anything she wanted to get to if given enough time. Baby proofing has taken on a new meaning in our house, as I was not prepared for a mobile baby this early. Joshua didn't crawl until he was 8.5months old and was fully walking by 10months, so I figured I would have more time, but Moo proved me wrong. Now my house was safe, wires tucked away for the most part, but I wasn't prepared for the lack of understanding that Madelynn would have once mobile. Telling her 'no' means nothing, and at 4/5months you can't do much other than moving them countless times a day away from that which they should not have. I love this photo and the look of determination on her face :)

Ok, and now here we are...May and Miss Madelynn is now 6 months old. What can I say about this little beauty? She's a mess-and I love her more than I ever thought possible! Madelynn can sit, army crawl, crawl on her hands and knees and will occassionally throw in a 'bear crawl'-moving on her hands and feet with her body completely off the ground. She loves to torment her brother, taking away toys or books he's reading and or playing with, but she's a pure joy and Joshua adores her! She started eating solids this month and she loves almost everything she has tasted with the exception of rice cereal. To date she has had: avocados, peas, carrots, pears, green beans, apples and sweet potatoes. She also eats oatmeal instead of the rice. She is typically up 1-2times a night to nurse. She goes to bed around 6:30/7pm and wakes up in the morning (for good) around 7-7:30am. This was taken today, as she discovered the only space she could get through to leave the living room :)

So there you have it...Madelynn in a nutshell! Now we can begin tomorrow with current things :)