We are Home!

Hey everyone!! Sorry I never got a chance to update or get anyone to update the blog the day Madi was born. We are very blessed to have Madilyn in our lives now! We couldn't be happier!!

I just wanted to write a quick post and let everyone know that we are now home from the hospital. They let us go this afternoon about 2ish after the doctor came and saw Madilyn. She is beautiful and we are sooooooo in love!! :) Madilyn is a happy, healthy, baby girl.

Quick stats for Madilyn: She was born July 24, 2008 @ 12:41 p.m.
She weighed 6lb 7oz and was 19inches long.

I will give more of an update and post some pictures of our baby girl tomorrow. I just wanted to let everyone know that we are home...happy, healthy, and safe. Thank you for all your calls, prayers, and thoughts of us during this special time!!! We appreciate them all!

Love,
Scott, Melanie, and Madi :)

Today is Madi's day!!!

The day has finally arrived!! We get to meet Madilyn!! We are SUPER excited. We are getting ready to leave the house now and head to the hospital to get it all started.

We will keep everybody updated as much as we can!

We love all of you very much!!!!

Set for Tomorrow!!

Ok, so I went to the doctor this morning and we are set for Madilyn to arrive tomorrow! WOW! I am 3 centimeters dilated and 70%, so the plan is for us to get to the hospital first thing in the morning....That is unless she decides to come on her own :)

We will arrive at the hospital between 6-6:30 a.m., get signed in and registered. They will start an IV on me and start my medicines, then Dr. Alten said she would be around 'bout 7:30-8 to break my water, and then it's a go from there!! So, sometime tomorrow Madi will make her entrance! It's sooo exciting, but at the same time I'm soooo nervous too! I can't believe the day is finally here. Our world will never be the same, but we couldn't be happier to have it changed for her!

I will definitely try to find someone to update the blog if possible. I have many phone numbers, so hopefully some of you will be called by me or someone with my phone to let you know that she has arrived :)

There will be plenty of pics to post when we get home from the hospital! :) I hope to keep ya'll informed, but know that we are soooo thankful for the support you are given us from far away if we are unable to post anything until we get home from the hospital.

Please keep us in your prayers as you are starting your day tomorrow! We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our daughter :) Scott and I appreciate all the love and support we have gotten from friends and family during this exciting time in our lives.

Talk to you very soon with a new addition to the family!!!! :) :) :)

Quick update...

Hey everyone!! I just wanted to update all of you real quick. No, Madi has not made it here yet! :) We are hoping that she holds out one more day so that her dad can get home.

Wednesday when I went to the doctor I was 2 centimeters dilated. So, I've been trying to take it as easy as I can. I can definitely tell that she's moved down. Oh the pressure in the pelvic/hip area!! :) Moms, I know you know what I'm talking about :) It's quite painful and makes it a little difficult to get around. There is more pressure in my right hip and my doctor said that she is definitely pressing more on that side. I have had some cramping/contractions this week, but nothing big or regular. More like Braxton Hicks. I know that's only a sign that things are moving along, but I'm praying they hold off for at least another 24hrs!! :)

So, Scott is finishing up his final day at work before he flies home tomorrow morning!!! YAY! I am soooooo excited. I have missed him sooooo much!! This time away from him has definitely taught me to appreciate having him around even more than I already did!!!

Lastly....our houses.....We got positive news on our house in B'ham today, so that's a blessing. Continue to pray for the sell of our house here in B'ham and as soon as I can, Iwill fill all the details in for you! As for our house in Charleston....things are starting to move along a little faster. Scott has been able to go out there and see some of the progression. They have gotten all the insulation and dry wall in and apparently should start putting cabinets in next week which then leads to painting, floors, etc. We shall see what happen cuz we will not be able to be around to see if it continues to progress! Scott has peeked in on the neighbors house, and theirs has moved along quickly as soon as they started interior work.

Ok, I think that's all. We will update you all when Madi arrives :) Hope you all have a good weekend!!!

First Three Nights...

Hey all!! Well, I just wanted to let all of you know that Scott finished his first 3 nights at MUSC this morning! His first shifts were overnights, so it was a bit of a challenge doing that in a new place, but he did great!! He's really tired now, but he seemed to like them ok. It was very different for him, but I think he will adjust just fine. I got to talk to him each morning after he got off when he was on his way home, and he seemed to be doing well, and adjusting to all the new ways there. He does miss all of you in the ED at Children's!!

Chris Jolieffe....Yes, Scott said he does still want to do the yard sale, as do I, and I think he's gonna try and get in touch with about that this week. We talked about it the other day.

He only has at the most 5 days before he comes back to B'ham now!! I've been counting down the days!! :) We have to see how my doctor's appointment goes on Wednesday to see if if might be best if he get someone to cover for him for a couple of days and him come home early.

I was one centimeter dilated last Wednesday when I had by doc visit. I was told many women can stay dilated a centimeter for a long time, but it's been a little more worrisome for me just cuz he's so far away right now. Madi and I are doing just fine though. I can't believe that by the 24th of this month she will be here!! (Just a reminder...we are planning on me being induced on the 24th if she doesn't decide to make an earlier appearance!) That's only a week and half away!!!

Well, I gots to go spend some time with the pups before I head to work. I/We will keep you posted on the goings on around here and let you all know when Madilyn makes her arrival!!

Have a good afternoon and a great week!!!

Finally an Update! :)

Hey everyone!! Wow!! I didn't realize it has been over a month since I last updated!! Sorry for the lack of updates! We have been doing a lot since I last updated. Lets see if I can fill you in quickly and briefly...

Well, for starters, keep praying for the sell of our house in B'ham! The inspection was done and negotiations made, but now we are in limbo waiting for this guy to get financial loan approval!! We seem to be in the same predicament we were in with my townhouse!! So, we are patiently waiting and seeing how things will turn out. I can't go into much more detail, but please keep us in your prayers as far as this sale goes. We don't want it to fall through and be back at square one!

I am now 37 weeks...well, I will be Thursday. I can't believe our little girl will be here in a matter of weeks!!! It definitely has flown by especially with how busy we've been with house stuff and packing. I go to the doctor every week now! Crazy! Madilyn is still doing good. I still measure "small", so we did another ultrasound last Monday at my doc visit. She's growing fine. She actually measured at 34 weeks 6 days, but she is doing good. She weighed 5lb 15oz :) She's a growing!! :) She moves around in me ALL the time. hee hee. It's such a neat feeling. This whole experience has been wonderful! Praise God for that!!

Scott is now in Charleston! It's very lonely here without him and I miss him BUNCHES!!! He's enjoying it there and has been out finding his way around and enjoying the city. He has been there a week now. He is staying with Kimberly and Mike. We are so thankful that they opened their house up to him and are allowing him to stay there for a few weeks! He misses all his friends here in B'ham and says "HELLO" to you all!! He will be back in town on the 20th of July, so he will be able to visit around some before we leave for good. We are hoping and praying that Madi doesn't decide to come before then! :) We plan on inducing by the 24th of July cuz of all the craziness that we have with moving and Scott's job. He has his first shifts at MUSC on the 11th, 12th, and 13th. Keep him in your thoughts!!

Lastly, I had a beautiful baby shower June 29th hosted by my Jessica (I consider her my "little sister"). She is so dear to me and the effort she put into this shower for me and Madilyn was amazing!!! She is so thoughtful, considerate, and just the best friend anyone could ask for!! I have watched her grow up to be an amazing woman!! I had many wonderful friends and family there to visit with and I'm so thankful they took time out of their day to come. There are pics below from the shower. Thanks to all of you for the wonderful gifts for Madilyn!!

Me and my Jessica!

This quilt my Nana made for me and my unborn child before she passed away which was when I was still in college!! My family tells me she just must have known that I was to have a girl cuz she was set on making me a strawberry shortcake quilt and nothing neutral :) This is MOST precious to me!!!!!!

The portable Pack-n-Play will be Madilyn's "crib" for a month or so until we get moved into the house :) THANK YOU Aunt Bea, Uncle Bobby, Bethany, David, and Davis for this WONDERFUL gift!!!!

My dear friends Amity and Sarah!!!!

Some Good News to Tell!

Hey everyone!! Well, we have some exciting news to give! We got a contract on our house in B'ham on Sunday!! YAY! All praise be to God! It was a crazy exciting weekend for us. The guy who put in the offer just graduated from Auburn with his masters in business, and came to look at the house with his parents on Friday. It was funny cuz they scheduled the showing for 1100 on Friday and showed up at 1015 that morning! Eeks :) I had to grab the dogs, flip on the lights throughout the house, and get out of there quick :) The real estate agent was really nice and apologized for being early. Maybe it payed off that they say our cute little dogs and the Auburn collar on Bolus :) haha. Scott and I think it will be a perfect "bachelor pad" for him. They ended up staying at the house for an hour!! WOW! The guy put in his initial offer that evening and then the countering between everyone began :) What's even crazier is that the next day we ended up with 2 more showings on the house and both couples really liked the house also!! They would have put in offers, but one couple didn't want to make a "rash" decison and the other hadn't been preapproved, so neither wanted to put in an offer till later in the week. So, we ended up negotiating with this guy, and got everything settled pretty quickly after he found out there were other interested parties. We are way excited!

It's so neat to see how God worked in all this! We still have to go through inspection and more negotiations after that, so keep the prayers coming, but to see God work in this is amazing. Scott was starting to get real worried and the positivity he was trying to keep was getting harder for him. I just kept praying for positivity and strengh for us and God knew exactly when to put the right person in front of us! Even better is that we asked if we could hold closing till the beginning of August, and he agreed!!!! That means that we won't have to find a place to live here in B'ham for a month and no moving our things twice here in B'ham. I can stay in the house until and after Madilyn is born! WHAT A TRUE BLESSING!!!!! Madilyn will be able to have her 2 week check-up and then we will move to Charleston at the beginning of August. We are so blessed that this has worked this way and that we will not have to worry about where I will be living in July while I'm still here alone.

For those who may not know, Scott is having to go start work in Charleston at the beginning of July for a couple of weeks and then come back here for the baby to be born. I wanted to be here in B'ham to have Madilyn, so things are a bit back and forth. Scott has been very supportive of me staying here where I am comfortable, and for that I am truly lucky! He is wonderful! I just didn't want to be in a new place 9 months pregnant for someone I just met to deliver my first baby! :) We were concerned about where we/I would live depending on the sell of the house, and now that worry is gone! Thank you my Lord! It's so amazing to see how God is working this out each step of the way. I just smile each time I tell someone this story and I am smiling as I sit here and type this out to ya'll. PLEASE, keep the prayers coming in the weeks ahead as we go through inspection and more deals after that is done. We appreciate the many prayers that have been said already!! They are definitely working! :)

Oh, also, I had a check-up last Thursday. Madilyn is doing just fine!! Two weeks prior to that I had measured small, so Dr. Alten wanted to do an ultrasound this go round to make sure she was growing ok. Well, she definitely is!! :) According to the measurements of the ultrasound, she weighs 3 pounds 15 ounces right now. hee hee. How amazing this little life is! :) The first thing she said when she entered the room was, "So much for a small baby!" :) She expects her to be about 7 1/2 pounds when she is born. Dr. Alten says she "hides" in me very well cuz my stomach still measured small. I can tell you one thing though......I sure don't feel small by any means!!!!! haha. We are so thankful that she is growing just fine.

Well, I think that is all for now. I will keep you posted on updates of the sell of our house. Hope everyone has a good week!!

We love you!!