What a great weekend

We had a great time with Aunt Laura this weekend and were sad to see her go. Not only did she make us two very yummy dinners (who knew she could cook that well!) - but she also took the night shift with Madelyn last night and I was able to get 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep! It was amazing.

What else did we do this weekend you ask? Well - we did a lot of this.

Yup. Sitting on the couch. Laura holding Maddie while she slept. We also took a walk downtown and went to Stone Mountain for a nice hike but we didnt take pictures of those things. We brought our cameras but forgot.

Laura said a sad goodbye to Maddie but promised she'd do her best to see her again soon. Thanks again for coming!

Aunt Laura Meets Madelyn

Aunt Laura made it to Atlanta to meet our little sweetpea for the first time yesterday. She is in Atlanta for a conference so she only got to stay for a few hours last night but will spend Thursday thru Sunday (or Monday? Im not sure) with us before she heads back to bmore. I'm sure there will be more pics of her visit to come.

And here is Maddie in her new outfit which I absolutely LOVE! Thanks Andria and Diego! Im sad she'll grow out of it soon!

4 weeks old today!

Wow - I can't believe Madelyn is a month old. A part of me is so sad that she's already getting bigger and changing every day. But another part of me is excited for her to really smiling and being a little more interactive and is happy that we made it a whole month without breaking her.


She's doing so well. She is staying awake a little more between feedings and we're starting to see her personality a little more. It turns out she's not too big on falling asleep on her own - but we're working on it. She loves to flail her arms and legs around and makes funny faces to entertain her mom and dad.

She's become quite the baby around town. We've gone for a nice long walk to downtown Decatur where she and I had a mini shopping spree. All for her - of course (is there anyone else to buy for anymore?). She picked up a "Decatur Baby" onesie that she'll be able to wear in the spring. Gotta give props to the Dec.


This weekend we met our friends Katie and David for the Grant Park Tour of Homes where she toured some of the oldest (and coolest) homes in Atlanta from the comfort of her Baby Bjorn. The coolest home by far was a restored mansion once owned by a union general. I don't remember the guys name... Jim probably does. It had 33 rooms and a real well in the kitchen. The well was cool - but creepy. I kept waiting for that girl from the Ring to start crawling up it. Yikes. Maddie did great even though it was just too hot and humid to be outside. I guess she's getting used to life in the south at an early age. Sorry I dont have many pictures- I just took this one of us having a picnic in Grant Park. I meant to take more!



This week we met Carrie and her baby Jonah (who was born just five minutes after Maddie right down the hall) at Piedmont Park for a walk. Maddie was wide awake the entire time and actually cried the last 30 minutes of the walk. Aren't babies supposed to love getting walked in their strollers and sleep most of the time?



As for the rest of this week and weekend.... we've got a visit from Aunt Laura coming up! Woo hoo!!! Madelyn is very excited to meet one of her aunts (she's got four... what a lucky girl) who I know is going to spoil her rotten her entire life (if history serves).

My little sweetpea

The bouncy seat... not so bad

Maddie decided the bouncy seat was not so bad today... as long as it wasn't bouncing or vibrating. We're not sure why she likes the car and the stroller - but not the bouncy/vibrating seat... but we're just happy that we were able to put her down in it and she was okay to just look around. Little milestones!

On the other hand - she LOVES sitting and sleeping in her boppy pillow. Thanks Cathy for that gift. Its one of our favorites and we definitely couldn't live without it!

Maddie's First Trip to Stone Mountain

The Herndon Family took a trip to Stone Mountain on Saturday. We're regulars there and were looking forward to taking Madelyn there for the first time. It was a perfect day and I finally felt like the temperatures were cool enough to take her out for a nice long walk. Its been WAY too hot in Atlanta lately.

Mom, Madelyn and Tucker met our friend Stef to walk around the base of the mountain while Daddy ran 9 miles (yikes!). Daddy is training for a marathon so he's all business.

Tucker wasn't sure why he got to ride in the front seat while Maddie and I rode in the back... but he'll take it.

Maddie decided to snooze on the ride there. Who are we kidding - she snoozed from the time we left the house til we were getting in the car to come home.

Here is Jim in his running gear with Stef. Maddie is ready in her "travel system"

All in all it went well. I had brought a bottle of milk for her to drink when she got hungry but realized after we left the house that I forgot a nipple to the bottle. We were okay though- she held out til we were done with our walk and I fed her in the back seat of the car while Jim was taking Tuck for a swim. First time mom... figures Id forget something essential.

Gotta run... she's up from her nap!

A visit from our friends Andria and Diego

On Friday afternoon we had a wonderful visit from our friends Andria and Diego (of the famous Diego's Blog). I think Diego really liked Baby Madelyn (which is good because he's going to have a little baby sister soon!) and I can't wait til we can have playdates.

Diego had some fun with his water bottle

I think he'll do just fine with his new baby sis!

Its Official!

A Sad Good-Bye to Nana and Pop-Pops (and Crosby)

We had to say a very, very sad good-bye to Nana and Pop-Pops yesterday. It was so nice to have them here and Nana taught us so much about how to take care of a newborn! We were nervous to spend our first night without her... but we made it.

So thanks for coming guys and I hope you'll be back here soon! Maddie already misses you!

Crosby is ready to go.

My favorite things about Maddie... Week 2

At two weeks she has already melted my heart. Here are my top 5 favorite things about her so far:

1. The little noises and grunting sounds she makes when she eats.

2. When she wakes up, she stretches her little arms and little legs straight out like an X in a very distinct motion.

3. Her froggy legs. She holds her legs up like a little frog and has done so since birth. The technician even wrote it on her apgar score! I think we might start calling her "froggy."

4. Her blue eyes (so far at least)

5. Her beautiful dimples she got from her daddy!

Happy Birthday Aunt Laura!!!

Happy Birthday to Aunt Laura (aka Lorla for those "in the know")!!! I wish I could post a pic of you and Maddie but this is the closest I could get! At least she's sort of in the picture.

Hope you have a great day!

Love - the Herndons

Happy Two Week Birthday Madelyn!

I can't believe she's already two weeks old! Its been such a wonderful two weeks and we are getting used to having this little blessing in our lives.

So far things have been going really well. We're getting used to her sleep (or should I say non-sleep) patterns and are using all of the techniques we can find to calm her when she's cranky (right now we're on the 5 S's... Swaddle, Swing, Shhh, Side/Stomach, and Sucking. It seems to work ok). Jim has been getting a LOT more sleep than I have but he is actually back to work now so I know he can't be up all night with the baby. She sleeps for 4-5 hours in a row at night. Ive been told that you shouldn't let a newborn baby sleep for more than 4 hours at night without feeding them and that it effects their metabolism or something - but my pediatrician said it was ok and Im going with it. I really like that block of sleep I get.

She eats like a champ! I wasn't sure how I would like breastfeeding and was a little intimidated by it - but I am so glad that I made the decision to do it. Its the absolute best thing you can do for a baby and my decision was even more validated when I saw that a can of Similac costs $25.00!! There is a really great article on breastfeeding here if you have a minute. Its a long read but its worth it.

Having my parents here has been really wonderful. Nana seems to actually enjoy trying to soothe her when she's crying (its definitely a grandma thing I think) and is always ready and willing to hold her and cuddle with her any time I need so Ive been able to take a shower and make the bed and clean the kitchen and do all the stuff that I need to do. We'll see how it goes when they leave! Im sure things will be a lot more chaotic. Having my parents here also allowed Jim and I to go out to dinner for our anniversary last night. The picture above is as we were headed out the door. Of course - there is no way we would be able to leave her with anyone else except for my parents so we figured we should take advantage of that while they're still here! It all went really well! Of course - Maddie was pretty cranky for my mom but she handled it like a pro. When we got home we took the second shift and were able to calm her down by about 1am. :)

More to come!

Bathtime Bunny

We thought Katie and Sahil would like this pic. Its a little big for her... but it still gets her dry after a bath! Thanks again for the gift guys!

She's already got him wrapped around her little finger...

Madelyn's First Outing

Mommy had to get out of the house - so we all took a drive to Athens, GA... home of the Georgia Bulldawgs! Jim and I had actually never been and its only about an hour from the house. Its a really cute college town with lots of shops, bars and places to eat. It was pretty hot so we didnt walk around much- but we did eat at the Taco Stand and Maddie got her first taste of the outside world (beyond the pediatricians office).

With Nana waiting for our Mexican food

We thought the trip was pretty successful. We're getting the hang of timing feedings and she basically slept the entire time. What a girl!

Maddie and Tucker

We weren't sure how Tucker would take to Baby Madelyn. We knew we wouldn't have any real problems with him because he's great with children and has never shown any aggression toward anyone - child or adult - but we weren't sure how he would react to the lack of attention. When we brought Madelyn home from the hospital he took a quick sniff of the carseat when we walked in the door and went on his way. Since she's been home - he seems scared of her when she cries but otherwise doesn't really seem too interested in her.

Today we took out one of Madelyns playmats to see how she liked it and when we put her in it - he quickly laid down on the edge of the mat and seemed like he was watching over her. It was so cute. I dont know if he just wanted to play in the playmat too or if he is taking a little more interest in Madelyn. Either way it was really cute.

More to come on the blossoming Maddie/Tucker friendship.

Happy One Week Birthday Madelyn!

We can't believe its already been a week since you've come into this world and into our lives! This last week has been so amazing and we can't imagine out lives without you.

Fun with Nana and Pop-Pops

First Trip to the Pediatrician

Madelyn had her first trip to the pediatrician bright and early Saturday morning. This was the only way they would release us from the hospital. We met Dr. Kincaid who we absolutely love. She is so sweet and personable and has two babies of her own.

Madelyn was weighed and was still 7lbs 4 oz. She hadnt gained any weight from the day before but also hadnt lost any either. Everyone there commented on how pretty she was. Im sure they say that to everyone with a newborn- but we'll pretend they don't. :) Her bilirubin level came back elevated from the day before. That wasnt good - but it also wasn't horrible. A baby's bilirubin level always goes up and then levels off and she was still within the low risk range for 4 days of age. But, since it didnt go down the Dr. wanted us to get her levels tested on Sunday as well. We'll have to take a trip to Eggleston because our doctors lab isnt open on Sundays.

Although we're still running around meeting with doctors and getting lab work done - we are just happy to have her home. We don't mind.

Going Home!

After spending a night by herself in the nursery on a bilibed, Madelyns bilirubin numbers went down a bit and she was able to come home on Thursday. Jim and I spent most of the day Thursday with her waiting for the test results and were so happy when we were given the official discharge news.

Waiting all day in the parents waiting room

We got the ok and Im ready to go!

Daddy loaded mommy and me in the backseat and we're ready to hit the road

Baby Tanning Bed

Madelyn had her first tanning bed experience while at the hospital. Ok- its not really a tanning bed... its a "bilibed" that shines blue light on the baby to help get rid of bilirubins that I guess are what causes jaundice?? Im not sure. They explained it to us - but considering I've had about 10 hours of sleep total since Monday... I'm having a hard time remembering the details.

Regardless - the bed looked pretty cool. We had our own real life glow worm for a few hours.