Quick update

Just a quick update.  It's been quite a while since my last update so I appologize for that.  Madison is doing fantanstic.  She is a cute, healthy, and very spunky little girl!  She is now 9 months old.  She just started rolling over on her own, and she started eating baby food.  She's quite the big girl now!  She is now safe to take outside now that flu season is gone, so that has been nice.  She loves going shopping with us.  Madison is a very energetic personality and needs constant entertainment.  She is going to be a handful when she starts walking!  Here's a recent picture of Maddie taken on St. Patrick's day.  Just look at those chubby cheeks!  We love it! 

We've braved the first few days with Madison home!  We haven't got much sleep, but this is much better than going to the hospital everyday!!  She is doing really well.  After some initial curiosity, our 2 dogs, Rusty and Cooper have adjusted to having a new little sister.  Today we take her to a doctor's appointment for an eye exam (routine).  That's about it for now.  Here's some more recent picks of Madison getting ready to head home in her car seat, and some other pics from our home.  Enjoy!

MADISON IS COMING HOME TODAY!!!!

Finally, after exactly 8 weeks of being at the hospital, Madison is scheduled to come home this afternoon!!!  It's been a long journey filled will lots of ups and downs, but in the end Maddie pulled through it all like a true champion.  We are very proud of her and are soooooo excited to finally have her in our own home.  All of the doctors have been very pleased by her progress--so much so that they are allowing her to leave at the very earliest age they possibly allow for premies.   Ahhhh, no more tubes & montitors attached to her--no more traveling back and forth to the hospital everyday (it's 30 min. away).  It will be so nice just to have our little girl home with us.  We feel very blessed and lucky that everything turned out well.  We want to thank everyone again for their support throughout this difficult time.  Please continue to check this blog for more updates about her progress at home.  Also, in the near future, we will be announcing a new website which will contain information about Maddie (where she is registered, etc).  Thanks again everyone!  

Exciting Day for Madison!

Madison is always making funny faces.

What a cutie patootie!!

Madison's first bath!!

Notice her foot sticking out as daddy tries to get her in the water!

Her first bottle feeding!!  She drank 28ml out of 40!  Pretty darn good for her first time!!

Cuddling with daddy after an eventful evening.  

Madison had a great day today.  We got to give her her first bath today.  She really seemed to enjoy it!!  She was surprisingly relaxed and was smiling afterwards.  After her bath, the nurses bottle-fed her for the first time.  She did really well and was able to drink about two thirds of the bottle!!  That's our little champ!!  

4 pounds!!

The many faces of Maddie!!

Madison reached exactly 4 lbs. yesterday!! That's nearly twice the size she was when she was born! Madison hit another preemie milestone yesterday; she is now big enough to be in an "open crib", which means that she is no longer enclosed in the incubator. It makes us a little nervous at the thought of her being exposed to the open air (and noise). In a way, it was somewhat comforting to know that she was protected in her little incubator, but she seems to be doing great without it, plus it makes for better picture-taking!! Another great thing is that Madison has been practicing with breast feeding. She seems to know exactly what to do, but she is still not quite strong enough (sucking) to pull it off. We are hoping that it is just a matter of a week or so before she becomes a pro! Here's some more recent pics for you. Enjoy!

Sorry for the lack of entries lately! It's been a week since the last! Anyways, Madison is doing great! She was recently taken off of her oxygen air flow completely!! Yup, she's breathing on her own just fine. That's one less tube covering her pretty little face! She is now 3 lbs. 12oz and should hit 4 lbs sometime next week hopefully. She's doing so well that there is a possiblity that she will be able to come home sooner than later. It could be anywhere from another 3-5 weeks before we take her home. It all depends on how well she is doing. So for she's looking good! I'll post more pics soon!

Madison says:"Look, I'm a baby burrito"!

(left) Madison says: "Rock on!"

(right) Madison in her new "daddy's little princess" outfit.

Madison is doing well. She's looking cuter than ever. No issues or concerns to report. She's just a 3 lb ball of cuteness!!