The World As It Was When You Were Born

Hey Madison,

I've always thought it was pretty interesting to know how the world was back when you were born.  For example when I was born in 1979 there was no internet, gas was less than a $1, and you were pretty much stuck watching the big networks (ABC/CBS/NBC, FOX wouldn't be born until the late 80s) on TV.  So what was the world like in 2012 when you were born?

- Broadband internet was becoming more prevalent and dial up was becoming a thing of the past.  At our house, when it was working correctly, our internet download speeds were around 15MB/sec.  A far cry from back when I was in high school and I though our 14.4kb/sec modem was the business.

- The internet has become accessible pretty much anywhere via laptops, tablets, and smartphones through either WIFI or 3G/4G LTE connections.  The mobile connections aren't as fast but again still much faster than my "awesome" 14.4 baud modem from the late 90s.

- I can't imagine a world without the internet now.  Any question you have you can get immediately answered on Google.  Whether it be what time the movie is playing, where is the closest Chinese place, how to get to Wisconsin, or what was that movie with that guy who had a beard.  All of these things weren't possible in the world I was born in.  We had to use Yellow Pages, maps, TV Guides, and encyclopedias to answer our questions.

- Music is available on the Cloud now.  You just buy something in iTunes and it magically downloads to all your connected devices.  Tapes are non-existant and CDs are on their way out.  Pretty much everything is digital download.  Even DVDs and Blu Rays are most likely going away.  We can find almost anything we want to watch online through Netflix or Hulu or...illegal downloading (I would never do such a thing though...).

- 2012 is an election year which means that all year democrats and republicans have been slinging insults at each other trying to convince us, the public, to elect them.  The economy is a mess and unemployment is higher than its been since the depression.  President Obama has had 4 years to get us right but I haven't seen any progress.  Rep nominee Mitt Romney seems to have a business background which I would think would help him with our economic woes but he's not as relatable to the American public and is painted as a "rich white guy".  Nobody likes rich white guys.  Unfortunately politics has gotten very bipartisan and really nobody seems to be interested in actually fixing our problems they just want to make sure we know the other guy definitely can't fix it so you might as well give us a chance.  I hate politics :(

- The top song on Billboard's top 100 for the week you were born was Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together".  I don't know if Taylor Swift is still around when you're reading this but back in 2012 she would date famous guys, breakup with them, and then write a scathing song about how terrible they are.  I believe this one was written about Jake Gylanhall.  Your aunt Kim loves Taylor Swift.  I hate her.  She has such squinty eyes!

- We have a crazy number of TV channels.  Probably like 500.  Way more than the 20 or so I grew up on.  Thanks to cable there are channels for pretty much every interest.  My favorites are Discovery and the Learning Channel.  Your mom's seem to be Lifetime (television for women) and E!.  I can't stand E! and their Keeping up with the Kardashians.  A family only famous cause Kim Kardsashian was in a sex tape that got "leaked".  I don't know how old you are when you're reading this but if you don't know what a sex tape is ask your mother...

- Cars are pretty stylish these days.  Very aerodynamic unlike the boxy things we had when I was growing up.  Due to rising gas prices ($4+!) hybrid cars are getting popular.  These are cars that run on gas some times and electricity other times.  I might get a hybrid once the Nissian gives out.  I would really like them to master hydrogen fuel cells for cars.  I think that'd be even less gas reliant than electric cars and oh so futuristic!  No flying cars in 2012.  Maybe in your time? Please!

- Speaking of flying - airports security has gotten crazy since 9/11.  Before 9/11 anyone could walk into an airport, go through a metal detector, and sit around in the gate areas whether you had a flight or not.  Now only people with tickets can go through security and in security you have to go through a metal detector, take off your shoes, possibly get a full body scan, and get swabbed for gunpower residue.  Once you get on the plane you have to pay for any food you want, only the drinks (non-alcoholic) and lame snack (peanuts/cookie) are free.  Back in my day you got a full meal on the plan for free!  Sure they tasted terrible but they were free!!!  Also you have to pay to bring your luggage.  Lame.

- People say global warming is causing some havok with our planet these days.  Given the very weak winter we had and the drought this summer maybe those folks are onto something.  Hopefully there is still weather when you read this.  Even more hopefully we control the weather by then!

- Probably the biggest group of idiots in our country this year were the Occupy people.  These are people without jobs who would go to popular places in big cities and protest the fact that they couldn't get a job.  Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Atlanta, Occupy Chicago, ect.  If they dedicated even a fraction of the effort they dedicated to occupying a park to finding a job they wouldn't be unemployed anymore.  Just an example of the sense of entitlement  a lot of people have these days.  They think they should have everything provided to them for little or no work.  Both your mother and I worked very hard to get ourselves to the position we were in when you were born and don't expect anything to be given to us by the government.  I'm going to sound like my dad here but hard work is what this country was built on not handouts.  I hope we don't raise you to be an entitled little brat!

- You can get a fast food meal for around $7 these days.  That'll get you a burger, fries, and a drink.  You can watch a movie for around $8 ($15 if you want one of those fancy 3D movies, forget them I say!).  You can rent a movie for around $5.  Gas, as I mentioned above, is over $4 a gallon.  Flying from Chicago to Atlanta to see my family costs about $300 a ticket.  And a new 60" LED TV probably would set us back $1,500 if your mom ever let me buy one....

Well thats about all I can think of to talk about right now.  Hopefully the world you're reading this in is full of crazy things I never thought were possible when I wrote this in 2012.  I'm looking at you flying cars!

Love,
Dad

A Long Hospital Stay

Hello Madison,

When we last talked I had just finished telling the tale of your birth.  Having already been in the hospital since Wednesday we were ready to go back home but since you were delivered by c section that meant we had to stay THREE nights afterwards to make sure you and your mom were healthy and ok.  We moved to the postpartum wing though which meant I got a hospital bed like your mom rather than that terrible fold out chair bed thing.

The day after you were born, Saturday, my parents and my sister Erin arrived in the suburbs from the city to meet you for the first time.  My mom just couldn't stop taking pictures of you.  Unfortunately for her she's not very good with digital cameras and I had to spend a little time instructing her how to use them.  She had just gotten an new smartphone so she was trying to figure out how to take pictures with that as well.  She took so many pictures that she stopped taking pictures of you as a whole and started taking pictures of individual body parts - feet, hands, ect.

That Saturday also happened to be the season opener for my Georgia Bulldogs.  We played a cream puff team, Buffalo, which made it ok that I had to watch the game intermittently on my phone rather than on the big screen at home like I had originally planned (since you were supposed to have been born 6 days ago...).  It gave me an excuse to put on your Georgia baby hat.  We had plenty of other Georgia clothes for you but unfortunately they didn't fit a newborn so all you had was the hat. It wasn't a pretty game but Georgia won.

Midday Saturday I was able to head home with my parents to get them set up in the guest bedroom and also to steal a nap.  While I was at home your Grandparents Reining and Uncle Chris and Kathleen came to meet you.  They left before I got back though.  Really I don't remember much about that day outside of the family visiting.  When nobody was visiting us your mother and I tried our best to sleep.  Between you and the hospital staff waking us up every hour it was pretty difficult to get rested.  That night was probably the toughest your mother and I have had with you thus far.  You just would not stop crying.  We were both tired and frustrated and once your mom started crying I started crying.  Thankfully we got a nurse to swaddle you up and you seemed to calm down.

Sunday my parents and Aunt Erin (Aunt E as I called her.  Hopefully that name stuck and you call her that to this day...) came back over for more holding of the baby and picture taking.  I had to take Erin back to the METRA station around 430 and my parents went back to the house.  After that I remember going down to the hospital cafeteria and getting a fairly good sloppy joe, like a pound of green beans, and a free chocolate milk the cashier forgot to ring up.  That night we sent you to the nursery for a couple hours so we could get some precious sleep.  It wasn't alot but it was better than what we had gotten the past two nights.

Monday morning we were cleared to take you home!  After spending five nights in that darn hospital we finally got to take you to your real home.  I loaded up all our stuff (of which there was a ton) into the Honda Pilot (I wonder if we still have that car in the time you are reading this...) and made sure the baby car seat base was securely fastened to the seat while they wheeled your mom and you down in a wheelchair.  That drive home I must have driven like an old man - 10 miles below the speed limit.  I was nervous with such a precious cargo in the car!  Its not like it was a dangerous drive though - probably saw like 2 other cars the entire ride.

Finally after so long we were home!  With our beloved Madison.

The Birth!

Hello Madison!

Man a lot has happened since I updated this blog.

When we last talked your mother and I were patiently waiting in the hospital for her induction to work and for her to dilate enough to deliver you.  After spending Wednesday night in the hospital while they gave Meghan Cervadil we then spent all of Thursday there while we waiting for the pitocin to start contracting the cervix and get her into labor.  After doing that most of the day the doctor decided to give your mom a break and start the pitocin again Friday morning at 3am.  So we had dinner from the hospital cafeteria (yuck) and went to sleep.

The next morning I awoke and your mom was already on her second round of pitocin.  The doctor came to check up on her and decided to speed labor along by breaking your mom's water.  After that happened her contractions definitely started getting stronger.  So strong that I started feeling just awful watching her writhe around on the bed in pain.  Thankfully they gave her an epidural and all the pain vanished.  At least until early evening when it started wearing off.  Around 8ish the doctor (Dr. Zieno this time rather than Karney, who had left to attend a wedding) came to check on your mom and she still hadn't dilated any more than 5cm.  We were going to have to do a Cesarian section :(  It was the one thing your mom said at the very beginning of this pregnancy that she didn't want to do and again I felt terrible for her but she was willing to do whatever she had to do to get you into this world. So a c section was what we did.

After spending the past 49 hours in the hospital waiting around for something to happen I figured it'd probably take them a couple hours to get ready for the surgery but they almost immediately handed me some sterile scrubs, a face mask, and a hair guard and told me to get ready.  They took your mom into the operating room within the half hour and after she was prepped they called me in to sit by her side while the operation went on.  There was a big curtain all around her body so I couldn't see anything.  Surprisingly they had you out of there within 2 minutes of starting the procedure.  Since your mom was laying down and behind the curtain she couldn't see you but I could.  You were beautiful.  I immediately was over come with emotion.  Words failed me.  I couldn't say anything without crying.  Of course your mom is laying down there waiting for me to report back to her and all I could get out was "She's beautiful".

They rushed me out with you to the nursery for tests while they sewed back up your mom.  I felt terrible leaving her but she wanted me to be with you.  She kept asking me if she was alright cause she could her the doctors "whispering" and figured something had gone wrong.  "You're doing great honey", was all I could say before heading out the door with you.

At the nursery they did the Agpar test which measures how healthy a baby is out of the womb. In our baby class they told us rarely do babies get 9-10s on the Agpar right out of the womb so not to be disappointed if your baby gets a 4 or a 5.  I'm proud to say you scored a 9.  I felt so much relief knowing you were so healthy given that when I was born I was all sorts of sickly.

After the Agpar they weighed you, a whopping 9lbs 8.87 ounces rounded up to 9lbs 9oz.  Then you got all your blood tests.  You did not like those at all.  All the time I'm still weeping at the wonder that is you.  The nursery nurses had to give me a box of tissues.

While all of this was going on they were finishing up with your mom and moving her to recovery.  I headed back over there to see her and let the nurses get you nice and bundled up.  Of course I still can vocalize much about you at this point.  Any time I think of you I get all teary eyed.  I knew I was going to cry when you were born but I didn't realize how powerfully emotional the whole process was.  I don't think I've ever cried that much out of happiness in my entire life.  I got a little misty when I proposed to your mom and when we got married but never like this.  Gosh I'm getting teary eyed just reliving the moment.  God help me when you get married and I have to deliver a speech!

After you were done with all the tests the nurses let me cart you over to your mom and meet her for the first time.  Of course she though you were so so beautiful.  And she said she had never seen me cry before.  Eventually I got clearance to bring your grandparents Reining back to the recovery room so they could meet you as well.  Everyone just thought you were the most amazing thing in the world.  Eventually we were moved to our new postpartum room and your grandparents left for the night.  We had to wait until around 1am for the nurses to finally bring you back after another round of tests.  I honestly am not sure what time we went to sleep that night.  Maybe around 4am?  We just sat there holding you and looking at you.  That was to be the first of many many sleepless nights...

We still had 3 more days left in the hospital; what would happen next?  How would having a newborn affect our lives?  I'll detail that out in additional posts cause I'm tired.  Mainly because of you :)

Madison Watch - Day 2

Well Madison we're still at the hospital.  It is now 12:40p on Friday August 31st.  We have been here since 8p August 29th.  I haven't spent this much time in a hospital since I was a sickly little kid.

So the cervadil didn't work and the pitocin drip yesterday didn't do much so the doctor decided to give your mom a break and take her off the pitocin for the evening and start things back at 3am.  We ordered dinner and watched a little TV before turning in to bed.  Another night on this horrible hospital chair bed thing.

This morning I woke up to see that your mom had been on pitocin for about 4 hours.  Mild contractions but still nothing to heavy.  Around 9ish the doctor showed up and decided to rupture the amniotic sac to speed things along.  Once that was done your mom's contractions definitely started increasing in strength!  Finally some progress!

Around noon she had finally dilated enough that they were comfortable with giving her the epidural.  Not a moment too soon might I add cause those contractions were really starting to hurt her.  I didn't like seeing her in that much pain and not being able to do anything about it.

So now here I sit while your mom naps updating you on the whole process.  My dad pointed out the irony that this weekend is LABOR Day weekend.  You are certainly putting the Labor into it.  Things are looking good though and after a day we are seeing progress so the hopes are that you'll be born tonight. 

Just in time too.  If you are born tomorrow then you have to wait an additional year to start school.  Bummer, right?

Love,
Dad

Greetings from the Hospital

Well Madison, here we are in the hospital waiting for you to be delivered.  We got to the hospital at around 8p last night.

After a bunch of paperwork and labwork we finally got down to business and your mom got the dose of cervadil to thin her cervix.

Here she is sporting the lovely birthing gown.

We spent the night letting the cervadil do its thing and woke up the next morning around 730a.  Dr. Karney showed up and did her initial check up and much to our surprise the cervadil had done nothing to start thinning the cervix.  Apparently you are quite the large baby.  You could be pushing the scales at 9-10 lbs.  Yowza!  Unfortunately this means there is a chance that your Mom will have to deliver by c section, which is something she didn't want to do.

After the check up the nurses started administering pitocin which should jump start contractions.  Your grandma Penny also showed up to hang out.  Now that the pitocin is going Meghan seems to be having contractions on a regular basis so hopefully we're that much closer to seeing you for the first time.

I'll update this blog when I have a chance but I'm pretty sure your Mom doesn't want me live blogging her labor...

Love,
Dad

Just Hanging Out At The Hospital

Here's your mom getting a fetal stress test on the Monday before you were to be born.  They monitored your heart rate and your mom for contractions.  We sat there for about a half hour before they got enough data to say that you were totally unstressed.

After that we went in for an ultrasound where they confirmed that you still had enough amniotic fluid around you and that you were still a girl (whew!).

With both those tests passed the greenlit us for an induction on Wednesday night (TONIGHT!).  Ready or not Madison you're coming out :)

Overdue

Well Madison it seems like you really like that womb your mother has made for you.  So much that you're now 3 days over due and showing no signs of wanting to come out.  Luckily modern medicine has the cure for that stubbornness - drug induced labor!

So the plan is for us to go to the hospital Wednesday night where they will give your mom a cervix thinner and a sedative.  She'll sleep the night away while I attempt to sleep the night away on the god awful chair/pullout bed thing they have in the rooms for dads.  In the morning they'll give Meghan some sort of suppository that'll get the whole show on the road.  If everything goes well you'll be born Thursday morning/afternoon.  Hopefully you have a nice short birth like all the kids on my side of the family.  We'll be in the hospital for another 2 nights and get home just in time for the Georgia season opener.

Don't worry, I have your pink Georgia baby hat ready for when you leave the hospital!

Text From Your Mother...

One More Day...in Theory

Alright Madison it's the day before your due date.

Every one - parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends - are all on the edge of their seat waiting for me to send word that Meghan has gone into labor.  I've gotten several texts already wondering if you've started your journey to the outside word.  Unfortunately I have to tell everyone that so far there's been no sign that you're ready to come out.  No real contractions, no Braxton Hicks contractions, nothing.  The closest we get are some cramps that your mom has.

We're in this strange holding pattern.  We can't really go anywhere or do anything too time consuming cause your mom could start getting contractions at any time.  I really hope you come tonight or tomorrow cause other wise this is going to be a long boring weekend!  Plus we're both kinda looking forward to a little time off work and if you came this weekend I'd get a nice little extra long vacation cause I'd take next week off and get Labor Day off as well.

So come on! Get to it!  We can't wait to see your little baby face for the first time!

Come Out Already!

Ok Madison - we're down to the final week here and everyone is on the edge of their seat waiting for your mother to go into labor.  Every day I get texts from my friends in Atlanta, "Is she in labor yet?".  Every morning I ask Meghan if she's had any contractions.  So far nothing!  Your mom went to her weekly checkup on Monday and you hadn't progressed at all.  AND you had turned so that your head was up on top again, facing the wrong way.

Meghan is very big now and uncomfortable all the time.  At the very least you could vacate the womb for her?

My parents come up to meet you for the first time a week from today.  I hope that we have a baby to show them!  The plan is that if you haven't be delivered naturally by Monday than we'll get a sonogram and if everything looks good Meghan will get induced by the end of the week.  In that scenario things get a little dicey for the visiting Georgia grandparents.

I know your technical due date is this Saturday but I just can't wait to meet you so why don't you come on out early?  Do it for dad?

Love
Dad

10 Days

Hello Madison,

We're only 10 days away from meeting you for the first time!  At least that's the plan.  After 2 weeks of progress towards delivery this week's visit to the doctor revealed no change :(  You're pointed the right way but you've got a ways to go in the downward direction before you're ready to come out.  People were hoping you'd come early, perhaps on your Mom's birthday on the 16th, but it looks like the best we can hope for is that you're on time.  Don't be late!  My parents are flying up here for Labor Day weekend and you need to be born by then!

Over the weekend your Mom had me put together a shelving unit for all your toys.  You're not even born yet and you already have enough toys for a whole storage unit! I thought that it should be put in the basement because that's where you'd spend most of your time playing but she wanted it near your room.  Since you're reading this in the future you'll know who turned out to be right.  I'm guessing your father had to eventually move that stupid shelf down two flights of stairs...

That's about it for now.  Remember - be on time!

Love,
Dad

Two Weeks...

Hello Madison!

We are getting into the red zone now with your delivery.  Only 2 weeks (and a day) until your due date.  You Mom is now going to the doctor every week to make sure things are going well and thankfully everything is.  The doctor says Meghan is almost 2cm dilated up from 1cm last week which means that you're getting ready to come out.  She couldn't tell us if that meant you'd be coming early though.

By this point I'm sure your Mom would appreciate you coming a little early - she's very uncomfortable these days and is waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall asleep.  And she's hot all the time.  Ask her how much I loved her little fan every night during that last trimester :)

Your Grandparents Reining were in Europe for the past week for a wedding.  They were seriously worried about you arriving while they were over there.  I kept telling Meghan to text them that we were in the hospital but she wouldn't go with the joke.  Boo!

I'll leave you with this picture I saw on Twitter today that I found very amusing.  Hopefully you've got a good sense of humor like your Dad...

Holy Crap Only A Month To Go!?

Hey Madison,

Here's your mom at 36 weeks.  At this point you're so big that any movement you make can be seen on her belly.  And you're moving around a lot.  I've felt you go from one side of her belly to the other.  Also you hiccup a lot in there.

Meghan is really starting to get tired of being pregnant at this point.  She doesn't sleep that well cause you're kicking her all night and its hard for her to get in a comfortable position laying on the bed.  Of course we don't want you to be born early but please try to be on time and not hold up in there for a couple extra days!

Love,
Dad

Less Than 5 Weeks To Go!

Hello Madison,

We are rapidly approaching D-day (delivery day).  In less than five weeks we'll meet you for the first time.  We can't wait!  I was telling your mother that I've stopped keeping track of the passage of time by what day of the week or month it is - instead everything is based on the distance from the day when you'll be born.

This weekend was a "barn burner".  I weeded all morning and then in the afternoon your mom and I went to the dentist for our 6 month cleanings.  Romantically we sat next to each other as dental technicians scraped plaque off our teeth and told us to floss more.  After that craziness we went to Wal-Mart to buy snacks for your mom's office.  Sunday we met your grandparents Reining for breakfast at Burnt Toast and then hit up the grocery store and Costco.  After all that excitement I had to relax by putting together your baby swing and bassinet.  Yes we'll miss mad capped weekends like this after you're born...

I think pretty much everything you need once you've left the womb is ready at the house.  Your mom is now on the second "Bringing home from the hospital outfit" for you.  Apparently the 1st one, which was SOOOO CUTE a week ago, is no longer cute so she had to get you a new one.  I don't know why she bothered - I bought you a perfectly good Batman onesie for the ride home.  What more could you want than the honored symbol of The Bat on your chest?

Love,
Dad

Month & A Half To Go!

Well Madison it seems like just yesterday I was frantically running out to CVS at 10 at night to grab more pregnancy tests to confirm what the 3 previous tests had told us.  These past 7.5 months have gone by quick.  Maybe more so for me than your mother.  I haven't been saddled with the whole task of growing a new human being inside me like she has.

As you get bigger and bigger (this size of a LARGE cantaloupe now 21 inches long and 5.5 lbs - I don't know where this app finds its cantaloupes but I've never seen one that big) your movements and kicks inside the womb are more and more intense to Meghan.  You're running out of room quick in there!  I can see her belly moving around when you decide to switch positions.

Your room is all ready for your arrival.  Mom took a week off to get everything organized and wash all your little clothing.  A ton of clothing which people tell me we'll use all of because you're going to be pooping all over everything at an alarming rate.

This past weekend was your Uncle Chris (Reining)'s wedding.  Not to be confused with your Uncle Chris (Peters) whose wedding is a month after you're born which you may or may not attend depending on what the doctor tells us.  It was your mom's 3rd wedding being pregnant and thus not enjoying all the thrills an open bar can bring.  Unfortunately for me I enjoyed it all too much and was quite hung over the next day.  I blame your Grandma Penny and the bottle of tequila she smuggled in to the event.

Here's your Mom in her bridesmaid dress.  This was quite a problem as you got bigger and bigger.  She was worried she was going to be too big to get into it.  Thankfully she was able! Sorry for the blurs. iPhones aren't great at pictures in motion.  Maybe since you're reading this in THE FUTURE they have improved their camera?

Here's your Uncle and his groomsmen before the wedding.  The horse masks were Chris's idea.  I think they looked hilarious.  Later in the evening, after several drinks, your father could be seen on the dance floor in one of those horse masks doing the robot.  Thankfully I don't think any pictures were taken of that...

...but I certainly got a picture of your Uncle Chris as he rampaged around the dance floor in one!  At this point in the night he had stripped down from his wedding suit to just a tshirt and slacks.  He was totally the life of the party.

Baby Classes

Hello Madison,

Now that we've got the baby shower behind us we're on to the childbirthing classes our hospital recommended we take.  These are a series of 4 classes every Thursday from 7-9p.  So far we've been to 3 and I've really learned a lot.  Apparently there is a special way to bathe a baby.  And man are there rules for when you sleep.  Nothing in the crib!  No blankets!  No bumpers.  I swear you have more rules than a mogwai (go watch the movie Gremlins if that reference goes over your head.  I'm sure by the time you're reading this it is probably an old timey classic).  Ask you mom about how much she "loved" the relaxation techniques we went over at the end of every class.

Also since we're post-baby shower we had to go out and buy all the stuff left on our registry.  3 carts loads!  People at Buy Buy Baby kept coming up to us to take our filled carts.  We dropped quite a bit of change there.  Hope you like all the stuff we got.

About 2 months to go now at this point.  Both your mother and I (and probably all our family) are eager to meet you!

Love,
Dad

Baby Shower Slam!

Hey Madison,

Your wardrobe is much larger than last time we spoke.  The Baby Shower happened and you cleaned up!

My parents came into town for the first time since we moved up here for the event (they'll come up for the 2nd time since we moved up here when you're born I'm sure).  I picked them up from the airport and proceeded to drive the 40 minutes back to Lake in the Hills.  Everytime the GPS said "20 miles until" my Dad was like "What!? Where do you live!?".  I had the same reaction the first time your mother brought me up here.  We got picked up by her parents and proceeded to ride for an hour through a bunch of corn fields.  "You are NOT from Chicago" I told your Mom.

So on Saturday was the Baby Shower.  It was held at the Village Squire in Elgin.  Your mom, my mom, and my sister all went while my dad and I went to beautiful (sarcasm) Spring Hill Mall to wait it out until gift opening time at the Barnes and Noble.   When I got the call we drove over and we opened all sorts of things for you.  We left the join with onsies, dresses, headbands (OH THE HEADBANDS!!!!), toys, bottles, pacifiers, AWESOME UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA APPAREL, and a couple strollers.  Still a couple more must buy things on the registry but we definitely made some good head way thanks to the generosity of our friends.

After the shower we had to rush back home cause all your furniture was being delivered.  The bed you're still in now (hopefully) was delivered on that very day.  With all that set up of course your mom had to unload all the gifts and start nesting.  Things are really starting to come together and it is very clear that we're going to be having a child in the near future.  We can't wait until you're in that room!

In non-baby shower news I was able to find a job after about a month of unemployment.  It is actually a dream job - super close to the house and dealing with computers.  Apples to be exact.  By the time you read this Apple or Google will have taken over the world.  I leave work every day at 5 and am home by 5:15.  Compare that to getting home at 730!  I'm living the dream.

We also started taking our Childbirth classes.  Basically those are held by the hospital and they tell us what to expect during the whole labor process.  I'm learning a lot but your mother is totally against the relaxation techniques they're teaching us.  Hopefully you get my more laid back personality...

Less than 3 months away from meeting you!  Hurry up already!

Love,
Dad

Last Trimester!

We're in the home stretch now Madison!  You're getting bigger every day and pretty much a fully formed human in there now.  Over 2 lbs and over a foot long.  It's crazy to think that in just 3 months we're going to have you in our lives.  This pregnancy has just flown by.  At least for me.  I can't say the same for your mother since you've made her sick, tired, kept her up at night with your kicking, and now you're making it difficult for her to pick things up.

This picture is of the glider I picked up yesterday for your nursery.  It is ultra comfortable and I've contemplated taking a nap in it already.  Occupying the glider is your bestest bear friend.  He doesn't have a name yet but right now I'm thinking Kevin in honor of the peacock that used to live outside my apartment in Atlanta.  The plan with this bear is to take pictures of you as you grow up with him so we can see how big you get.  Our friends Adam & Jenni did this with their son Parker and a stuffed monkey.  Kevin is WAY bigger than their stuffed monkey.  Proof that we love you much more than they love their son.

The rest of your nursery furniture should arrive this weekend.  Once that's in then all this will be real.  You'll have an official room in our home.  Who knows how old you'll grow to in that room.  Or what weird colors you might paint the walls in acts of teenage rebellion.  Just remember it's already been pink before so try to avoid that one.  The crib we bought is one of those lifetime cribs so as you grow it will drop down to a toddler bed and then a full sized bed.  Fancy, right?  I think my parents just stuck me in a makeshift hammock they made in their closet.  Actually they might have had a drop side crib which we know these days (2012) are vicious infant murderers.  Apparently it is very easy for an infant to get their head stuck in the drop side crib and get strangled.  Forget that!  Only the best for you daughter.

Meghan has her baby shower for you next Saturday.  My parents are flying up from Augusta to attend.  It'll be the first time anyone from the south has come to visit our Illinois house.  They should be quite impressed.  I've come along way from living in the ghettos of Atlanta in a shack.  Hopefully we pull in a whole bunch of cool loot for you.

In less cheery news I was laid off from my job in the city.  In the end I think it was for the better because that 4 hours a day commute would have made it so I never got to see you.  Now I'm looking for a job closer to home.  It is a little difficult because there aren't alot of agencies outside of the city so I'm primarily looking at client side marketing jobs.  Been looking for almost a month now.  In my downtime I've been super productive around the house and I've got dinner ready for your mother when she gets home every night.  She might not want me to go back to work if I continue to spoil her like this.

Well that's about it for now Madison.  I think I might go upstairs and do some reading in that glider (napping).

Love you,

Dad

Kicking Away

Your Mom and I were watching American Idol last night (as we always do Wednesday nights) and my favorite contestant, Philip Philips (yes that was his real name!) played a Dave Matthews song.  Dave Matthews, as you may or may not be aware of at this point in your life, is my favorite musician ever.  You started kicking up a storm so I'm going to assume that like your Dad you're a Dave fan as well.

The app says you're the length of a papaya at this stage.  Animal wise I'd say that's the size of a duck. Maybe? You are definitely making your presence seen on Meghan.  She is to the point where it is pretty obvious she's pregnant.  Getting larger every day she claims.  All I know is that my real estate on our bed is rapidly getting taken up by her, you, and her new pregnancy body pillow!

Baby Shoppin'

Hey Madison,

This weekend was packed full of stuff all for you! On Saturday we went to Buy Buy Baby, Baby's R Us, and Target to register for our baby shower in June. Let me tell you that was a very intimidating affair. I realized I have no idea what one actually needs to get before having a baby. Blankets, sleep sacks, burp cloths, changing pads, diaper genies, the list goes on and on. I don't know what the "correct" number of sleep sacks is but I'm pretty sure it isn't as many as we registered for (8).

After like four hours of all that registering your Mom was pretty tired so we headed home for a brief nap before heading out to Geneva to meet with Mom's friend Dani and her husband Jeremy. Geneva is a nice 40 minute drive south east of us. That is definitely one thing I miss about living in Atlanta - all our friends were no more than 10 minutes away. Everyone is so spread out here!

Sunday we headed back to Geneva (poorly planned, I know) to look at some baby furniture. We had found some stuff on Saturday but Meghan wanted to look at this little boutique shop cause her friends had gone there for their kids. We ended up leaving that place $2,500 lighter but you had a crib-to-full bed, a 6 drawer dresser, and an end table. See how much we love you already? Usually I would have analyzed a big ticket purchase like that for a couple weeks but instead pulled the trigger in 15 minutes.

All weekend long you were kicking up a storm in the womb so I guess you were excited about the though of all this stuff you'll be getting. A natural born shopper...I wonder where you get that from.

Love,
Dad