6 months. Half a year. Soon he will be driving a car.

My baby boy is 6 months old.

As in I have been a mother for 6 months.

Wait, what?! That just happened.

At 6 months, Jack is:

up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth (he will crawl in about 2 seconds I am sure)
teething.
      *his front two bottom teeth at the same time. it is so sad. on the other hand, he is more cuddly, so that's kind of my favorite
can sit up on his own for a little bit before he topples over. it's cute.
screams. not because he's sad, just because he has something to say
he will stop screaming at any form of music. especially singing
talks and talks to us
smiles and smiles at us
takes 3 naps a day (morning and afternoon are long, then a quick power nap around dinner time)
is starting to go to the daycare at Mama's gym! Mama is happy!
loves his exersaucer
started rice cereal. LOVES it.
loves being tossed around by Daddy
jumps and jumps and jumps and jumps on your lap
has adorable winter clothes
is the cutest thing in the world!

 

love him.

Jack Preston is 5 months!

My jack boy is 5 months old!

At 5 months Jack is:
rolling everywhere
starting to scoot around (yikes)
showing different smiles and faces for different people
giggles at anything his Daddy does
and 50% of his Mama's crazy faces
holds out his hand like he's waiting to get paid
loves his blue and green soft blanket
prefers his fingers over a pacifier
hates his jumper
loves his swing
hates driving in the car
is almost big enough for size 3 diapers
talks and talks all day long
is still the cutest guy around

 

Holy cow, he looks like he's 15 in this picture. Woof.

4 months!

I will continue to play catch up, but I thought I would do a quick post today about how Jack is doing right now.

Jack had his 4 month shots today, even though he is really 4.5 months. He cries so hard and then smiles at his daddy and all is right with the world. And now, I will be one of those moms who post stats of their baby pretending that people want to know. Or know what the heck it means. Here they are:

Height: 26"                75%
Weight: 15 lbs 4 oz   50%
Head 16.5 "                50%

He is growing like a weed!

He loves

*His ring toys
*grabbing things
*grabbing mommy's hair
*putting things into his mouth
*playing on his tummy
*rolling from back to tummy
*talking to us
*being tickled on his neck and back (cutest giggle ever)


He has recently discovered his feet. He is almost constantly in the "happy baby" yoga pose. Good sign.

We took him to his first BYU football game in the stadium. Hated the screaming, but liked being outside! :)

He eats 4 or 5 times a day, with 3 or 4 short naps during the day. He sleeps 9:30 pm - 8 am (cue the heavenly chorus) and is perfect in every way.

Jack boy - 2 weeks ago!

 

You can follow Alex and I on Instagram for almost daily pictures of Jack Jack. We are @nataliealexmadsen on Instagram!

Jack Jack - the first few weeks

Hello all 3 of you!

I really want to try to be better at blogging. I have a new goal of once a week - mainly because I am horrible at writing in a journal, and my little Jack is growing way too fast.

And by blogging I mean posting pictures of Jack.

The hospital stay right after Jack was born was the most magical, sleep deprived time of my life. Everyone tells you how you loose sleep when you have a baby, but it doesn't really sink in until you don't get more than 2 hours of sleep at a time for a month of two. But look at those eyes! Worth it.

We spent 3 magical days in the hospital, while I recovered. It was kind of rainy outside, with family and a few friends coming to visit. Mainly, the world revolved around our tiny Jack, and truthfully it still does. I love that cozy, quiet hospital room, and think of it as a very sacred place. As you can see, Jack was so quiet and attentive his first few weeks. He would look around wiht a furrowed little brow, just taking in the world. Those first few days were so amazing - filled with instant love for this little one. The veil between earth and heaven was so thin, and we all could feel it.

Then we took our little bundle home. Alex, Jack and I drove in our car. It was so strange to me that the world had kept going on. I wanted to yell at everyone "Don't you realize the world's most perfect baby is here?! Show some respect!" but I think my stitched would have torn. Alex drove so slowly, with my mom driving behind us. The world seemed so loud, and I sat by Jack and he slept peacefully in the car.

So. Cute. Jack was a little bit jaundice, so we went back to the hospital three days after we got home. I remember I thought it was so much work to get there, I knew I would never be able to run errands again. But, alas, you learn as you go and things get easier. :)

My mom was with us for the next week. My mother is an angel. She cooked, cleaned, filled our kitchen,  helped me with middle of the night feedings, and filled my freezer with meals for later. I could not have done that first week without her. She was a huge help with nursing, too. It is a learned art form, one that took Jack and I a good month to figure out. I am so grateful I stuck with it - it was so hard for the first few weeks. When you need to feed a baby every 2 hours and he takes a half hour to eat...well, you can do the math. You don't get much time in between, and most of the time you just want to cuddle with your litle one and sleep. And that's just what we did.

Jack's typical furrowed brow. :)

I was so tired those first few weeks, but looking back, I know it was such a special time. I was home and shut the world off for a few weeks and just loved my baby. I am grateful for that time.

Jack's Birth Story - Part 2

Okay. Sorry it takes me so long. Jack is just starting to nap in his crib, so I am starting to get twenty minutes of free time here and there. So today it was either shower or blog. Guess which one I chose? Showering is overrated anyways.

Thursday night we actually went into the hospital - I was having contractions 4 minutes apart for 2 hours so we thought we would go and get checked out, expecting to be sent home. After a few hours there, we were told that I was in the early stages of labor, and that I should go home and try to rest up before active labor officially started. I was dilated to a 2. The next morning, Friday, we had a doctors appointment. I had progressed to 3 cm dilated through the night, and Dr. Savage stripped my membranes in hopes of enducing labor that day or the next. After the appointment, we went to Denny's for a big breakfast, thinking labor would start really soon. We were disappointed as Friday rolled around and the contractions didn't really change. Saturday, April 28th started out like the rest of the week before - random contractions every so often, feeling uncomfortable, not being able to sleep. We went on lots of walks that week and Saturday was no different. We walked around the mall, I jumped up and down, willing something to happen.

Grandma Thomas flew in Saturday afternoon, and got to our house around dinner time She took us to Zupas for dinner, we caught up and predicted when little Jack would come. I love my Mom so much. She was a LIFESAVER after Jack was here, and I know I couldn't have done labor without her.

After dinner we came home, unwound a little bit, and got ready for bed. We thought that maybe sometime the next day (Sunday) he would come, and we wanted to get a good night's sleep. Ha. As we layed down in bed, Alex read us a general conference talk "Teaching our Children to Understand" by Cheryl A. Esplin, which talked about children and the responsibility and gift that children are. Then I felt a strong kick from Jack and the first REAL contraction. Wowzers, that hurt. We watched them for an hour, they were coming closer and closer - first 4 minutes, then about 20 minutes later they were at 3 minutes. I could feel my sweet baby being pushed down. It was so, so painful. After an hour, Alex really wanted to go to the hospital, but I was nervous we would be sent home again. I got in the tub for about 20 minutes, which helped but didn't stop the contractions. This convinced me that I really was in labor. That and the searing pain every few minutes. We knocked on my mom's door, told her we were going to the hopsital and that we would let her know if they were going to keep me or not.

The Thursday before when we first went in, we had an awesome nurse. She gave us the advice to come to the hospital on a full stomach. You aren't supposed to eat while in labor at my hospital, in case an emergency surgery is necessary. I was hungry (remember we were going to bed when this whole thing started), so I asked Alex to stop at Wendy's and get me a dollar burger (not the best choice I know, but it was midnight and we needed something fast). The guy working at the window was clearly new, and took FOREVER. Alex asked for one without lettuce, and he asked "Wait, you want a cup of lettuce?" I laughed, but Alex was freaking out a little. He was about to yell "Look buddy, my wife is in labor" but kept his cool. I ate bites in between contractions on the ten minute drive to the hospital. It was late at night, so luckily there was no traffic. We got to the hospital around 11:30 or so, ready to be checked and hoping we could stay.

After changing and checking me, they saw that I was 4 cm dilated and 90% effaced (which is code for in active labor). They wanted to monitor me for an hour to make sure I was progressing quickly enough to stay at the hospital. That was a long hour - every 2 or 3 minutes a very painful contraction. I tried to breathe and stay calm, but by the end I was yelling all sorts of weird sounds. After an hour, they check me and I had moved to a 5. They called my doctor to see if they should keep me, and thank heavens they admitted me. After a week of contractions, and two hours of REALLY hard contractions, I was grateful that it was finally show time,

We texted everyone to let them know we were in the hospital. It was around 1 am. We knew we still had some laboring to do, so we told the Grandmas to sleep for a while and we would let them know when pushing was closer. After another half hour the anestheologist came in to give me an epidural. I had had a spinal tab before, which was very painful, so I was nervous about the epidural. Our anestheologist was great, got the needle in with one sharp 5 second poke. What a strange feeling that was. I didn't get a huge dose, but for some reason during the whole labor the epi took better to my left side than my right. But, for the first few hours, I didn't feel the pain of contractions, just the pressure. Bless that epi.

The next few hours went by slowly. Alex and I tried to sleep, but were too excited. We laid down and tried to rest up, but mainly just talked about how excited we were to finally meet this little miracle. I felt each contraction with a little twing of pain, but I could handle it and still focus on labor. It was wonderful.

After an hour, I was checked and I had dilated to a 7, When I got the epidural, the nurses were nervous I would slow down in labor, but I sped up. After another hour I was at a 8. We decided to let my mom know that we were approaching 10 cm quickly, and she should come in an hour.

My mom got to the hospital around 4. She was so excited that it was nice to get a burst of energy after a long night of pressure and pain. I was dilated to an 8, with pushing on the horizon. An hour later, I was at a 9 and Dr. Savage finally came to check me out. After another hour at a 9, my water still hadn't broken and I seemed to be stuck. On top of that, my epidural was starting to fade. So, during transition time between 9 and 10, I could feel half of it. Holy mama, that hurt. The doctor left after breaking my water to give me an hour or two to complete and to let Jack descend a little bit in the birth canal so pushing would be easier.

I got another little dose in my epidural and I took a 20 minute nap while the two Grandmas and Alex chatted. That was a rejuvenating 20 minutes!. After an hour they checked me and I was complete and Jack was starting his way down. They called the doctor and she wanted to wait another 45 minutes to let him get lower in the birth canal. It seemed so long! I was very nervous about the pushing part- I was worried I wouldn't know how to push!

The nurse came in at about 8:45 am and said she wanted me to start pushing. Jack was turned and facing my hip,but she thought with pushing he would work his way to facing up. She was wrong. After an hour of pushing on both of my sides and my back, Jack wasn't budging, and I was getting really tired. Pushing felt like running into fire after already being burned every 30-45 seconds. It hurt, and I was even partially medicated.

At 9:50 am, Dr. Savage came in. She was an amazing pushing couch, she told me to push harder and harder, keep going, Jack was almost here. Dr. Savage twisted little Jack so that he was facing the right way. Earlier in the night, Alex gave me a blessing and in it he said that I would be able to use the power of the atonement. During those last few pushes I tried really focusing on Christ and the pain He went through for all ofus. I pushed as hard as I could, and with a big rush, his head was out, and once more push he was totally out.

There was a respitory team waiting for him because there was mecconium (he had a bowel movement before he was out of the  birth canal). When he first came out, he was green and purple and not breathing. But, I saw his little face and just cried and cried. He was perfect. They set him on me for maybe ten seconds and then as they were carrying him away I heard him cry. It was the cutest, most perfect cry, and such a relief. Alex and I just looked at each other and cried. I kept on saying "I can't believe it". Everyone said right away that he looked just like Alex, and he does! :) I love it. After running all the tests on him, his coloring was a little off and they let me do "skin to skin", which basically means I got to cuddle with him in just a diaper to try and get his temperature up. I got to do that for an hour, while Grandmas and Alex took pictures. Honestly, it felt like it was just me, Jack, and Alex in the room, just touching and crying and looking at this perfect person. He was so alert, his little eyes were looking around. He would hear my voice and turn towards it. He knew me and I knew him. It was the most painful, worthwhile, and magical night of my life, and I will never forget it. I am so grateful for this little angel boy.

Jack's Birth Story - Part 1

So, I've been contemplating posting Jack's birth story. I have already written down a really detailed version, but it's mainly about the mechanics of how it all happened - the timing and progression and little facts here and there. I wanted to make sure I remembered the emotion of it all -- although I can't imagine every forgetting it. I want to remember how it made me feel, so I thought I would blog about it - a version I am comfortable with Jack reading later on. Hopefully that's alright with you. :)

Jack at 2.5 weeks staring at Dad



Jack Preston Madsen is here and adorable and perfect. He is 1 month old already and is starting to smile at his Mommy and Daddy. It's my favorite thing in the entire world. I am already starting to forget what it was like to be pregnant -- which I never thought was possible. :)

Maybe I should start at the beginning. After being married for a little bit, we were both chomping at the bit to have a baby. Most people who know us know that we love kids. We would babysit for our dates all the time, and we genuinely loved it. Any aged child between 0 and 8, we automatically loved. It was very naturally for us to try to start a family.

Some people talk about miscarriages, and some people don't. I can understand and relate to both camps - it helps to not be silent, get support and help from others, but at the same time it is quite possibly the most painful thing I have ever gone through. (And, ahem, I just went through child birth). I have always been a social person, so I found comfort in talking to family about it. But I only talked about it a little. I hardly even talked to Alex about it. It was an internal thing I had to deal with. The excitement that comes with that first positive pregnancy test is quickly taken away when you feel cramps, you're bleeding a lot, you just don't feel right. And if you don't have any kids you wonder if you're broken. You can't fulfill your role as a mother. You begin to resent your body, and others who have kids. What if you never could? Needless to say, it was a dark time for me.

Just one month later, I had another positive pregnancy test. But I was callased to it. Instead of excitement I felt a panic. I didn't want to go through this again. I didn't want the physical and mental toll I was about to go through again. I told Alex about it, and we prayed as hard as we could for this little body to make it. Because it was just a month after, I was positive I would miscarry again. You are supposed to wait a few months inbetween, and I knew it wouldn't work out.

We had our first doctor's appointment very soon after the positive test. We met our doctor for that first exam, did all the necessary tests, . And then came the heartbeat. My stomach danced in anticipation to see if there even was one. The doctor felt around with the sonar. Nothing. She couldn't find the heartbeat. She scheduled us for an ultrasound to make sure everything was alright, but she was optimistic. So was Alex. I couldn't bring myself to be.

We went into the ultrasound, and I was just excited to finally know either way -- this baby was either healthy or not. I will never forget that ultrasound as long as I live. Right away, we heard the sweetest sound in the world - Jack's heartbeat. It was tiny and a little faint, but it was definitely there. I cried, mainly out of relief. We saw this tiny little gummybear wiggling it's arms and legs, as if to say "Hi Mom! I'm here and full of life, and I am coming to you soon."

It was such a blessing, and absolute miracle. I knew a little one was finally coming to ME. to US.

The rest of the pregnancy was filled with morning sickness, emotional rollercoasters, and changes. I thanked Heavenly Father every morning I threw up (which was almost every morning) because that meant that the little body was still in there, and was making room. The pregnancy was prettty hard, but I knew it was a blessing I got to experience it at all. I am so grateful that I had that perspective. I am so grateful that my body was able to carry the pregnancy all the way. There was a time I thought I would never be able to do that.

And now on to the actual birth. I was having contrations off and on for a week, and my Mom came intot own on Saturday April 28 around dinner time. The day before the doctor had stripped my membranes, but still nothing changed. The docto assured me that I could be induced on Monday if the baby didn't come over the weekend. It would be just a few more days of waiting. I could handle that.
My Mom was going to be here for 10 days, and I wanted to here for as much baby helping as possibly. Like the angle he is, Jack granted my wish. We went to dinner at Zupas, I got the spicy Chipotle salad, and a few hours later after a walk around the mall we were all home getting ready for bed when it happened. I layed down in bed, and a hard contraction hit me like a ton of bricks, taking my breath away. He was coming.

to be continued....

Patiently waiting

Hello all!

I forgot we had a blog. Sorry. :) We have had a crazy four months, but also an exciting four months. Alex got a new job a couple of weeks ago, which has been a HUGE blessing and a very direct answer to prayer and fasting. He just took his finals today, so it is officially summer vacation! (From school, anyways).

 Seeing as I am going to be a Mommy any day now, I thought I would jot down some thoughts while I am not sleep deprived. Well, while I am sort-of-not sleep deprived. :)

I am officially ready for the baby to be outta me. We were given 3 different due dates - April 21, April 24 and May 2. I always suspected he would come in between the last two. Now that we are actually in between the last two, I am going a little crazy. As of a week ago, I am 85% effaced and 2 cm dialated. But oh boy, this week I have been getting contractions on and off. All week. Nothing consistant enough to go in to the hospital, but enough to know that something is going on in there.

It is a very surreal feeling preparing to bring life into the world. I feel like I am nowhere near qualified to do so. I remember women telling me that by the end of their pregnancy, they thought they would be pregnant forever. I remember thinking "Well, that's weird. You were almost done". But guess what? It's true. When every hour could be THE hour that labor starts, it sure feels like pregnancy will never end. And at the same time, it's terrifying to thinknabout pregnancy ending, and the rest of your life beginning.

We are so excited. Thank you to all who have supported us, showered us, and loved us. We sure are spoiled. We get to have a baby of our very own -- something that is nothing less than a miracle. We are grateful, nervous, tired, uncomfortable, excited, scared, and so humbled. We can't believe that a baby will be a part of our lives any day now. I can't wait to hold him and cuddle him. And I can't wait to do it all with Alex.

I am sure I will turn into a Mommy blogger who posts a million pictures of my cute child. Because, let's face it, those are my favorite blogs to read. Always have been. So, hopefully the next time you hear from me, I will be typing one-handed with a baby in the other arm.

Hope you are all well!
xoxo

Natalie