October 2003 Archives

Alecia is definitely understating it...Maddie's first bath was an absolute disaster. She was miserable, and we were worthless. We'll have to do much better next time, or our kid will someday be the "smelly kid" in her elementary school class.

Everything else is going well, though. Maddie is getting more on a schedule for eating and sleeping, and is constantly showing how strong she is. She still isn't really aware of what's going on around her, though. Our voices don't draw her attention or sooth her like they eventually will, and the only smiling she ever does is due to gas. But she does grin broadly in her sleep, and it is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Those of you who know me know that I am a very verbal person, and I like to make people smile. So Maddie not responding to my voice and never smiling frustrates me. I consider it my job in life to keep her always smiling, but I have no ability to make her smile at the moment. I'll keep up the bad jokes and silly games, though. I know the day is coming when she will laugh--even if it is at me, and not with me. :)

Anyway, we put up some more pictures today. There should be four albums to view, now. Let me know if you see any less when you log in to Snapfish. We tried to photograph her smiling in her sleep, but she somehow sensed the camera and made a weird face whenever it flashed. We also took some pics of the new rivalry between Astrid and Maddie. Astrid (the cat) only wants to lay in places reserved for Maddie (her crib, her changing table, etc.). She didn't even move when I laid Maddie on top of her! I think she's trying to make a point. Maddie took things into her own hands, though. When the cat jumped up on the changing table the other day while I was cleaning Maddie up, Maddie swung her little fist and literally knocked the kitty into the air. She's one tough baby!

Oh, and besides those pics, Alecia has been using the baby to make personalized greeting cards:

Anyway, more pics (and a piece of video) should be up soon. Oh, and I'm taking Maddie to work on Friday. I'm pretty excited about showing her off, even if she's not so excited about seeing Turner for the first time.
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Maddie is three weeks old this week and is doing great. She's on a schedule now (much to Mommy and Daddy's delight) and is staying awake more during the day too. Not that you'd notice, since most of our pictures are of her sleeping. Still, though, we're trying to capture more of her awake. (Maybe it's just that we're too mesmerized by her when she's awake to take pictures). She had her first bath this week. She didn't like it much, but it was a learning experience for all of us. :)

She's most awake in the evenings when Bill gets home from work. At this point already, you can tell that she's a daddy's girl.

Look forward to pictures of Maddie's first Halloween in a few days.
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I'm a terrible photographer, but this is still my favorite picture so far of baby Maddie. Aunt Julie bought her the sexy leopard-print dress, and Maddie seems to love it. Great, when she's sixteen, we'll be having major arguments about thongs and leather pants. (Who am I kidding, by then, culture will have swung so far that wearing bulky clothes will actually be considered risque!)

For more pics, click on the link to the left and visit our section on Snapfish.
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We've stopped posting pictures on our own site, and are now linking to our very own section on Snapfish.com. We will still use pushthepulldoor.com to post news about our family, and to let people know when we've added pictures to the Snapfish site. Also, all pics (wedding, vacations, etc.) that are already posted on this site will stay where they are. To find out why we're making this change, click here.

Also, you may have noticed that I changed the background image and some of the colors on the site. Change is good. Embrace change.
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It's hard to believe, but our baby girl is a week old already. She's doing really well and is an absolute joy. I can't imagine life without her.

Days and nights are still a little confused, but we're hoping that will change in the coming weeks. Like her daddy, she loves to sleep (to the point that we have to wake her for feedings). And her expressions! She keeps us laughing all the time. We can start to see her personality already.

In an effort to be better about posting more recent pictures, we've decided to use a site called Snapfish.com for all of her pictures. We'll still use this site for her updates, but pics can be seen at Snapfish. The great thing about this site is that you'll be able to order prints of her pics as well, if you like. Below is the link you can use to view her photo albums. Currently, there are ones from her birth day and some from her first week. We still have a few more to add to her first week from the past few days, but those should be up soon. I look at them and it's amazing to see how much she has changed even in a week.

Maddie's Photo Albums

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YES! Madeleine Elise McLochlin is on the scene!

After a rough delivery, baby Maddy (or is it Maddie--we've never had to spell it!) is here. I'm at home, uploading pics, instead of spending time with the baby, so here's the shortest possible version of the story:

Went into the hospital with serious contractions on Thursday afternoon. Pain was intense, epidural administered when mommy hit four centimeters. Dilation (and contractions) slowed when mommy hit 9.5 (you need ten for delivery). Different methods of induction were tried over one very LONG and sleepless night, but every effort caused the baby's heartrate to dip frighteningly low. Finally, Friday afternoon--after about 30 painful hours of contractions and scary moments--a c-section was decided on by the doc. Baby was delivered, healthy, at 12:47 pm on Friday, 10/10/03. My parents' tenth grandchild, delivered on the tenth day of the tenth month, from delivery room ten? Coincidence? Could be...

Anyway, Madeleine Elise McLochlin was 6 lbs., 13 oz., 20 inches. A thick head of dark brown hair, many bruises due to the failed attempts to deliver vaginally, and some massively strong arms. She's unbelievable. Stubborn and beautiful just like her mom. So tiny, yet such a wise pair of eyes (an old soul, Alecia already calls her). She likes to be walked and sung to, hates to have her arms confined by swaddling, and makes more funny faces than Jim Carrey.

I'm about to head back to the hospital to get back to my wife and baby (maybe stopping at Papa John's on the way to pick up a treat for mommy). If you want to say hi, you can stop by anytime Sunday. We're at Piedmont hospital, room 251. Don't worry about calling first, we'll kick you out for feedings but let you in any other time. For those of you that are long distance, the number to the room is 404-605-1251. We'd love to hear from you, but we may not stay on the phone long (we're kind of distracted).

I did manage to get some pictures online (while simultaneously washing baby clothes and giving the dogs some love). I screwed something up in Photoshop and butchered the thumbnails, so you won't get a sneak peek at the pics. You'll have to settle for clicking on each text link and seeing the slow-downloading, full version. BE WARNED: The pictures don't do her justice. They were all taken yesterday, shortly after the birth. She is already less-swollen and strange looking, and as beautiful as a baby could be. :)
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I'm wondering how many days we can go saying that...

I'm subscribed to an online pregnancy calendar that gives me daily updates on the progress of the baby and the pregnancy. Even that isn't showing any updates anymore.

Things are good with us. Just waiting for Munchkin to arrive, as you all know. We were sure that he/she was making an appearance on our actual due date last week, but it turned out to be false labor. Contractions were 3 minutes apart and the doc told us to head into the hospital. As soon as we got there, they tapered off a little in intensity, but were still consistently 3 min. apart. After about 3 hours of monitoring, we were sent home. Apparently, the contrax weren't "productive". I was given two sleeping pills and told to go home and get some sleep while I still can, since it could be "any day now." The whole sleeping pill story is funny enough by itself, but I'll leave that story for Bill to tell. I honestly don't remember anything about the rest of the night anyway. :)

A quick Happy Birthday to my grandpa, whose birthday was yesterday. And also to Connor, whose birthday is today. Hope you guys had/have great ones!

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We had another doctor's appointment today. She told us there is no progress, and to come back in a week. The baby seems healthy and happy, but does not want to leave the womb. I completely understand.

Since we have nothing else to report, I thought I'd share a site that we saw on TechTV last night. I never thought I'd be a cat fan, but now that I own one (against my will, originally), I find them much more agreeable. Except for the ones like "Britney," who hate everyone.

Check out Britney and other cruel cats like her at My Cat Hates You. Maybe one of the strangest websites since the now-defunct "Cat-scan.com". Yes, that was a site where people actually put their cats on desktop scanners and shared the hilarious pictures over the internet...
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