Baby Buddha Belly

This is one of my favorite pictures of Maddie.

Fun Facts about Maddie

1. She laughs and smiles in her sleep.


2. When she's waking up, she makes a duck quacking sound.


3. She does a fake cough-cry when she's frustrated.


4. She's got big hands.


5. She's had amazing neck control since birth.


6. To date, all her poops are audible

First Walk

Today, Eric and I took Maddie on her very first walk through the neighborhood. I'd like to walk/run a 5k with her some day.

Maddie's Birth

On Saturday, January 3rd, I went for a walk with my sister Dee and Eric. I hadn't walked in almost a month because I was too big and uncomfortable. But, I felt like walking on this day because I wanted to go into labor as close to my due date (January 6th) as possible. I'm a scheduler after all.

Little did I know that this walk would initiate labor just a few hrs later.

At 4am on Sunday, January 4th, I started having contractions. Eric and I wanted to stay at home as long as possible before going to the hospital, so we finally left the house at 4pm on Sunday when my contractions were about 5 mins apart and pretty darn strong.

I was dilated to 5 cm when we arrived at the hospital and was told that our little girl would probably arrive before midnight.

By the time I finally got an epidural a few hrs later, I was already dilated to 8 cm. Within 30 minutes, I was 10 cm dilated and Maddie was ready to make her debut. Unfortunately, I could not feel anything at all so I had a hard time working with the contractions.

After 2 hrs of hard work, some barfing, minor asthma attacks and a lot anxiety, Madelyn arrived. According to the doctor and nurses, she handled my pushing like a rock star and looked like a movie star minutes after birth.

Our lives haven't been the same since. In spite of sleepless nights, Maddie is the best gift we've ever received.