Madison's 4 month!

*I realize this is quite a bit late, but better late than never I suppose.


Baby’s Weight: Madison now weighs 13lbs 14 oz! Mommy’s big girl!

Baby’s Height: Baby Maddi is 25 ½ inches long. She definitely has her momma’s legs! She is wearing 9 mo. baby pants because her legs are so long!

Baby’s Routine: Maddi has set more of a routine in the last month by herself if we're at home and not on the go--she will follow this routine to T. She wakes up between 7-8 am, eats every 3 hours on the dot. Her schedule is usually as follows: 

8 am: Breastfed

9-10am: Nap 

11am: Breastfed

1pm: Nap

2pm: Bottle of Formula (6 oz)

2-5pm: Cat naps, Play time. 

5 pm: Bottle of Formula (6 oz)

5:30-7pm: Play time with Daddy when he gets home from work

7pm: Swing while Mommy and Daddy eat dinner, cleanup. 

8pm: Bathtime, and Breastfed

9pm: Bedtime :) 

New Foods I liked: Maddi is still being breastfed and formula fed strictly—2 more months and we can begin solids! I want to feed her bananna’s and sweet potatoes already!! Haha. Kidding—while I look forward to feeding her something other than milk, I can wait because I absolutely enjoy breastfeeding my Maddi girl when I get the chance to. I just look forward to making my own baby food and seeing her master, yet another milestone. I love watching her grow!

New Discoveries I made: Maddi discovered her feet in the last month. She is chewing on her hands and feet constantly. She has rolled over from back to tummy once and is now perfecting the rollover from tummy to back.

Maddi chewing on her feeties :)

My Accomplishments: She is learning to giggle, rolling over pretty well, and have learned to place all things in your mouth! Silly girl! 

Places I Went: We went to Cali again for a week while Daddy went to another training, and we attended your Auntie Amber's Wedding on the 22nd of October.  :)

Maddi and I at Auntie Amber's Wedding 

Special Memories: We were able to go to Hawes Farm, the pumpkin patch while down in Cali for a week. Your VERY FIRST pumpkin patch-- We went with your Auntie Lesly, Uncle Chris, Grammy and Papa Mike. 

Maddi sportin' a Halloween Outfit

Maddi, Mommy, Grammy, and Papa Mike at Hawes Farm

Random Day in Cali--Auntie Les came to visit. 

Went to the Sundial Bridge with Aunt Missy and her boyfriend--Breast Cancer Awareness

Happy 4 Months Madison Kay-Jean!! 

Our 4 day Weekend: Recap

*GASP: I'm seriously updating before Maddi's 4 month!! Proud moment. Hopefully my blogging will continue to grow and get better. It's much needed.

Thursday: We went to Christopher's Organizational Day at work.. Maddi and I watched Daddy play some football, Chris and I ate some BBQ and chit chatted with everyone he works with. The weather sucked!!

Miss Maddi all bundled up!

Thursday night, hung out with the Ulrich's! :) Love them! We had pizza and watched a movie--annnnd Amanda and I might have stayed up till 2 am chatting/gossiping! ha!

Friday: Amanda and I went to Michael's and I bought a TON of ribbon to make some bows for Maddi. I'm also attempting to make a tutu bow holder. Will def. make a post with the results of both!! :) It was also the first time I left Maddi with her Daddy, FIRST TIME ever! He did a wonderful job and I feel sooo relieved. Not that I didnt think he could do it, I guess it's just me, or "mother's instinct" that was worried something would go wrong.



First bow attempt--turned out 'okay'.

My little model--showing off mommy's bow skills. Ha!

Hopefully they get better with practice.

 

Saturday: Chris and I were able to go on a DINNER date :) We went to Korean BBQ and than out to a friend's Halloween get-together! Soooo much fun!! Chris was a creep from this video. Haha! I dressed as a zombie--hardest costume I've ever had to be because I have never done scary? I'm weird. I know. Special Thanks to Auntie Amanda and Uncle Sam for watching miss Maddi! :)



Christopher and I

The "Creep"

Sunday: Maddi, Chris, and I LITERALLY lounged ALLLLL Day. Didn't do a darn thing but eat, watch some football, a couple movies and LOTS OF NAPS! :) hehehe. Love those kind of days.

Monday: Sad to see the weekend come to an end--but we had a great "extended" weekend. We are doing our PILES AND MOUNDS of laundry today! 

YUCK... but it must be done.

How was your weekend?

Kayla's 24th Birthday

Kayla's "Golden" Birthday--She turned 24 on the 24th. :) We decided to throw her a little surprise party. Miss Kayla thought we were just doing dinner at Tres. Little did she know, we had all planned a little scheme. Lesly was to pick Kayla and her brother up. However, she would conveniently forget her clutch at home and need to go get it. After all, she needed her ID to have a few drinks with the birthday girl! The rest of us waited patiently anxiously back at the house to surprise Kayla as she walked in to retrieve Lesly's infamous clutch. I also fibbed and told Kays I wouldn't be able to attend dinner because I had not found a babysitter for my Maddi girl. Hehe--we're so sneaky.

Anyway, it all went as planned and it was a success.

And here we all are in our cute dressies! :)

Birthday Girl --Happy 24th Kays!

We had wine, cheese, spinach dip, etc.

I also found a recipe for these amazing Strawberry Jello Shooters on Pinterest that you can find here. 

 (Side note: Pinterest was an amazing invention--GENIUS)

After eating, chatting and spending time at the house, we called a cab and headed on out. The girls introduced me to the Kareoke Cab and we headed to LaSalles. 

Miss Les and I at LaSalles

Kareoke Cab ride-Don't laugh too much at our silliness. :) Love these girls!  HAPPY 24th KAYLA!!

Madison's Three Month Birthday

*I need to improve on my blogging skills--at least posting weekly, instead of monthly. We'll see how that works out. ha.

Baby's Weight: Maddi doesn't have another appt. until she is 4 mo. However, by my calculations on the scale (if my scale and calculations are accurate) she is roughly 13lbs.

Baby's Length: Madison was measured at 22.5 inches at her last appointment. My guess is she has grown at least 2 inches since. She's a tall baby :) Takes after her mommy in that department--will make for some dreadful middle school years. I was taller than most girls and definitely taller than all boys.. hehe.

Baby's Routine: No real routine during the day.. we just go with the flow. Maddi sleeps and eats whenever she pleases throughout the day. However, we have established a bit of a nighttime routine. Around 8:30 or 9pm we give Maddi her bath, swaddle her in her swaddleme blanket, nurse her and she is out. My princess will sleep pretty consistently through the night after her last feed. Generally from about 10pm until 6am. Although, last night was rough...I blame the vaccinations for that though.

New Foods I Liked: Still a combination of breast milk and formula. Grandma and I did let her suck on red licorice for a sec. ha. Not sure if she liked it or not. (I know, SUGAR. blah blah blah--but I did it anyway. Shoot me.) Can't wait to start some veggies in a couple months!!


New Discoveries I Made: Has discovered her voice--she loves to coo and screech. ha!She is still LOVING to chew and suck on her hands. She also began rubbing her feet together--so thinking her feet will be discovered soon!

My Accomplishments: Maddi's head control is perfected :). Smiles constantly--a much happier baby these days.Waiting on her first giggles! She is able to roll from her tummy to back.

Places I Went: Spent pretty much the entire month in Cali-went to Maddi's first fair, and had a slumber party with her Aunties in Paradise.

Special Memories: Spending the month in Cali while her daddy was away "playing army"--well training in the field. Special Memories include--slumber party with some of her beautiful aunties, going to Maddi's first fair with family, meeting and spending time with more family members, and of course celebrating Maddi's 3 Month and Grandma's 45th birthday. 

>>Here are some pictures from the past month:

Daddy kissing his babygirl goodbye. He was leaving for the field. 

Maddi and her Aunties! (Kayla, Lesly & Andee)

Baby Orangutan Hair!..hehehe. 

I always call her monkey--So stinkin' cute!

Meeting cousins Ashur, Ebin and Lucien for the first time. 

Maddi went and watched Auntie Lesly and Auntie Kayla play volleyball. 

Auntie Les made her a tie-dye onsie to match their team. :)

Auntie Lindsey and Uncle Josh bought this cute little costume for miss Maddi.

My little Love bug!! :) 

Maddi's first fair experience: Caricature of the princess

Grandma, Grandpa and Mommy--enjoying corn dogs.

 What is a fair without corn dogs?

Watching the Destruction Derby. It was a bit chilly. 

Grandma's 45th Birthday! 

Madison Kay-Jean at 3 Months:

Maddi Kay is now 2 months!!

Baby's Weight: Madison now weighs 11lbs and 4 oz. Up four lbs since birth :). Growing way tooo fast for mommy!

Baby's Length: Madison was measured at 22.5 inches at her check-up appointment yesterday. Grown three inches!! Craziness.

Baby's Routine: No real routine during the day.. we just go with the flow. Maddi sleeps and eats whenever she pleases throughout the day. However, we have established a bit of a nighttime routine. Around 8:30 or 9pm we give Maddi her bath, swaddle her in her swaddleme blanket, nurse her and she is out. My princess will sleep pretty consistently through the night after her last feed. Generally from about 10pm until 6am. Although, last night was rough...I blame the vaccinations for that though. 

Miss Maddi and her favorite--BATH TIME! :)

New Foods I Liked: Baby Maddi is still being breastfed. Will also have formula when needed. She is on the "strict milk" diet. haha. Couple more months before we can begin feeding other foods :)

New Discoveries I Made: Madison has discovered her hands! She loves to suck on them. Also a sign of hunger, so it can sometimes confuse momma! LOVES ceiling fans--I hear most babies do. But definitely a good babysitter when I need to get a few dishes done! :) She's still liking bright lights..sunshine, blue LED light coming from the fan, the color and movement on t.v., etc.

My Accomplishments: Maddi's head control is almost perfected :). Still doing her "mini push-ups" during tummy time and have her sitting in her bumbo a few minutes a day. She LOVES to sit up.

Places I Went: Madison went to Seattle with mommy and daddy and Auntie Amanda and Uncle Sam. We went to Pike's Place to the Farmer's Market. We also went to the Rainforest Cafe. Yummy. Madison also took her second trip to Cali. We spent a little over 2 weeks at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She visited her aunties and uncles.

Special Memories: Spending over two weeks in Cali with my parents and Maddi was amazing. We were able to see so many people and everyday brought a great memory. Maddi met some more aunties, great-great aunties, uncle timmy, and cousins. 

 

Sending Daddy a special birthday message--Daddy's birthday was August 14th.  

Madison Kay-Jean at 2 months old:

Madison at One Month

 

Baby's Weight: Madison now weighs 9lbs and 6 oz. Up two lbs since birth :). Love my chunky monkey.

Baby's Length: Madison was measured at 20.5 inches at birth, but at her doctors appt. 3 days later she was 19.5 inches. Today she is 21 inches.

Baby's Routine: No real routine yet for baby Maddi. While mommy would LOVE to set a routine and schedule, baby Maddi has other plans and sleeps and eats when she wants. ;) She generally eats every 3-4 hours and sleeping patterns are ALL over the place. She wakes at a different hour every night.. no set time. I can generally judge that she'll wake every 3 hours from the time she falls asleep at night.

New Foods I Liked: Baby Maddi is only eating breast milk every 3-4 hours and will be for her first six months as recommended by her pediatrician.

New Discoveries I Made: Madison notices sounds, but mainly voices and will turn her head in the direction of the voice. She also likes bright lights and will generally look in the direction of any light--LOVES the big living room windows and the sun shining through.

My Accomplishments: Maddi's little head is getting much stronger, and is able to control her head movements fairly well. She is doing her "mini push-ups" during tummy time.

Places I Went: Madison took her first trip to Cali at just 4 days old. She did so well on such a long 10 hour car ride--I contribute this to the fact that newborns SLEEP soooo much. ;) She also went on her first trip to the zoo on the 24th of July. We went with Auntie Amanda and Uncle Sam--she slept in her stroller for most of that trip as well. Mommy bought her 2 new books from the zoo. "Big Babies, Little Babies" and "First Animal Pictures". Can't wait to read them with you babygirl. 

Maddi in her zoo outfit from Auntie Amanda :) 

Polar Bear at the zoo! Loved it.

Chris, Maddi and I also took a quick trip to Mount Rainier. It was such a beautiful day. We hiked about a mile to one of the many waterfalls on the mountain and it was amazing!

Chris, Maddi and I.

Special Memories: Mommy's favorite holiday is the 4th of July--She took baby Maddi home to Cali to share with friends and family such a special holiday. Not only did many family and friends get to share a holiday with us, but they got to meet precious Madison. We went to the parade, had an amazing BBQ, watched the Red Bluff firework display, and of course watched and played with our own fireworks. It was a great day!

Madison Kay-Jean at One Month:

Madison's Birth Story

*This is a little over a month late, but definitely deserves a post.


On Friday, June 24th, I had my bi-weekly visit with Dr. Eun to check the usual blood pressure and weight gain and an NST to make sure everything was still well with baby. Dr. Eun said I was only dilated 1 cm and 80% effaced. He also assured me that if she was not here on her own, she would be here by the 4th of July. As I walked out the door, he said "Just don't have her on Sunday, I have a wedding to go to". I thought to myself, I doubt she will be here on her due date and I was hoping she'd at least come on her own. No induction please.


Friday night, Chris and I went to eat at BJ's Brewhouse so I could fulfill a Santa Fe Salad craving. Little did I know, that'd be my last meal before having my precious babygirl.


Later that evening, I began having a few contractions but nothing I was too concerned about. 1 am early Saturday morning (June 25th), I began having what seemed like consistent contractions and horrible back labor. I decided to head to the hospital around 11:30 am Saturday morning--The nurse checked me and I had progressed to 2 cm and was 100% effaced since my appointment the day before. However, my cervix was still high so the nurse went ahead and sent me home. I was devastated because I was in so much pain and was sooo exhausted. The nurse gave me a shot to help with sleep since I had been up for more than 24 hours at that point. As soon as we got home, I went straight to the bedroom to get some sleep. Annnnd FYI, sleep is nearly impossible to get while having contractions. I was able to relax and rest a little bit before contractions started getting really hard and painful.


About 8:30pm Saturday night, Chris ran a hot bath for me to help with the contractions and horrible back labor that I was having.


9:30 pm rolled around and my contractions were so painful that I was in tears. Chris and my mother in law thought I should head back to the hospital but, I thought I was just a wuss and did not tolerate pain well. I was only 2 cm the last time I went in..and I was in so much pain. I wanted to be sure when I went back to the hospital, I was going to stay!! I was not going back until I was going to be admitted.


Around 11pm, I got up to use the restroom and seen lots of blood. That FREAKED me out--so I figured, maybe it is time to go.


11:30pm: We arrived at the hospital. The nurse checked me and said "Oh no, you're 8 and a half cm--you're not going anywhere". Hooray! I was in shock. Excitement and nervousness set in. I was going to be a mommy to a babygirl soon! The nurse began putting an IV in my hand and asked if I'd like any pain medicine..Epidural or something to "knock the edge off". I declined at the moment and said we could play it by ear.


I progressed from 8 and a half cm to 10 cm in the next hour and around 12:30 a.m. I felt the urge to push. Everything progressed so quickly that I did not get any pain medicine. My doctor was not at the hospital yet, so "no pushing" was allowed. My body was naturally pushing--it is definitely difficult to try to hold a push when your body does it naturally. Doctor made it around 1 a.m. and after 45 mins of pushing at 1:45 a.m. on June 26th, my baby girl was born (ON HER DUE DATE--Doctor still made it to the wedding he had planned. haha!) Chris got to cut the cord and even got a little teary eyed. Madison Kay-Jean Monchamp weighed 7lbs 5 oz and was 20.5 inches long. She has a head full of black hair and is a spitting image of her daddy--she is beautiful. She does have mommy's long legs though. ;)

Here she is (just a few minutes old):

 

A special side story: My mom was here in Washington for 2 weeks prior to Madison's birth. She had to head back to California to take a test for a job. She was upset and stressed thinking she would not make it back to Washington before the birth of her granddaughter. She and my dad both made it right at 11:30pm when I was being admitted to the hospital. My mom later learned she did EXCELLENT on her test and was offered the job at the post office. My parents made it with 2 hours to spare, my mom passed the test and received the job offer--this could not have been planned by me or her--I have the big man upstairs to thank for that. God had this plan all along. I am so grateful for his plan. :)


The birth of my daughter was so surreal and has definitely left an imprint on my heart--the best day of my life. I am a mommy.. Wow! Loving every minute of it.. Here is to our future Maddi Kay! Mommy loves you sooo much.