Sweet Maddy

Our darling baby is thriving, and keeping Mommy and Daddy very busy. She wakes up every morning at about six a.m., a half an hour before my alarm is set, and starts making her sweet baby sounds. Not crying, just talking and singing to herself. So each day begins with Madelyn's little voice in my ear, and I have never been so eager to get out of bed and catch the first smile of the day. Maddy learned to smile about a month ago, and like all babies she smiles with her whole body. Her little arms wave and her eyes light up, and of course there's that gummy grin.

Medically we are just dealing with the everyday challenges. Like all spina bifida kids she has bowel and bladder issues that we're trying to figure out, and she has started physical therapy. Today she rolled over all by herself! Maddy hates "tummy time" so I wasn't surprised to see her finally roll over, just to get off her stomach. Right now we're working on building flexibility and strength in her neck; she's not as strong on the left as the right, and it's throwing her balance off as she tries to learn to sit up. It won't be long -- she does "baby crunches" all the time, she's so eager to be sitting up.

I asked about her legs and the therapist says she'll never been in a wheelchair! She might need some bracing for her ankles, but her legs are very strong and she can flex her feet and wiggle her toes. The therapist says we'll have to wait for more milestones before we see what her mobility problems might be.

In a couple of weeks we start solid food...and I cry every time I buy a new size of Huggies. It all goes so fast. And every day I love her more...it's laughable, that I ever worried I wouldn't love her because she came from a donor egg. She's my own sweet dear, and I can't imagine life without her. So many people have told me that she looks just like her Mommy, and I just give them a satisfied smile and say, "Thank you."

As for me, I'm getting back into the swing of things at work. I found a babysitter to come to our house every day and I work from here, so my commute is 20 seconds up the stairs, and I can go down and visit Maddy whenever I want. It works well because the family needs my salary, especially with Maddy's medical bills in the mix, yet I don't miss anything with her and I can supervise her catheterizations. I am incredibly lucky to have this arrangement. Someday I might want to go part-time because Maddy does have a lot of doctor appointments and I end up working nights to make up the time, but what we're doing is working for now.

My big goal now that I've got the Mommy routine more or less under control, is to lose some weight. But I am lazy and sedentary by nature, and I've got a husband who thinks I'm gorgeous at any weight -- yes, I do know how lucky I am! -- so it's hard to stay out of the Oreo package. Well, it's summer and we'll get out for walks. I'd like to be twenty pounds thinner by the end of August. (There, I have made a public commitment...we'll see how it goes!)