Obviously I don't blog anymore!

It's safe to say that life has been CRAZY since about a week before Johnie was born. Due to some complications I had with preeclampsia, we spent a lot of time in the hospital and Johnie was born three weeks early. Due to some complications he had with jaundice and low birth weight, we also spent a lot of time in the hospital after his birth.

11 days old

Two weeks after Johnie was born, John graduated with his master's degree in healthcare administration. One week later, John flew to Texas for a job interview and was offered the job immediately, which meant my maternity leave was officially over and we were packing up to move. We put our house on the market, sold it in less than 24 hours, and lived with my grandparents while we packed up and moved out.

Graduation day!

Six weeks after Johnie was born, I went back to work to finish out my final two weeks there before quitting. John also quit his job during that time and began prepping for his new healthcare career as a vice president of revenue cycle.

Eight weeks after Johnie was born, we left Utah and drove to Texas so that John could start his new job. We lived in a tiny, one bedroom apartment for a few months while we house hunted. We finally found a great house for us with room to grow into and moved in in mid-September.

Standing on our new front porch

In October, I started a part-time job in marketing at the same company John works for. It's all from home, which allows me to be a full-time stay-at-home mom. I've also been doing some freelance writing, which has been a great way to earn a little extra furniture money (we still have some empty rooms in our house).

Johnie is now six months old and I think life is finally starting to settle down a bit. We still have a lot of work to do on our new house, and we're still getting settled into our new roles, but I think eventually we'll get into the groove of things. Texas is very different from Utah, and John is really happy to be "home" (he has always considered Texas his home), but I think it'll take me a bit longer to feel at home. Utah will always be home to me, but I know in time I will learn to love Texas.

Because life has been so crazy, blogging has obviously been on the back burner. I will do my best to update this when I can, but my role as a new mom keeps me very busy! Hopefully I will update again soon...next time with more pics and more details!

One Month

 

 

• Learned to scream/squeal
• Focuses on people's faces, although sometimes goes cross-eyed
• Has chubby cheeks and a double chin (his pediatrician says he's a big eater)
• Watches TV now and then
• Loves bath time more than anything
• Has a late night party most nights from 2 to 5 a.m.
• Loves looking around at his surroundings and listening to people talk
• Wrinkles his forehead when trying to wake up from a nap
• Loves riding in his car seat
• Smiles and frowns a lot in his sleep (probably depending on what he's dreaming about, haha)
• Doesn't care for tummy time, but mom makes him do it anyway
• Officially has a guard cat named Fate
• Loves to lounge in his Boppy pillow
• Likes to be patted, rocked and held
• Loves to sleep on mom or dad's chest

John's Graduation + Big News

Earlier this month, John graduated with his master's degree in healthcare administration! I'm so proud of him! He has worked hard the last few years to earn his associate's, bachelor's and now master's degree and is FINALLY done going to school (that is unless he decides to pursue a doctorate, haha). We had a great celebration with friends and family, and since our little guy decided to join us three weeks early, he got to celebrate with his daddy too!

The handsome graduate!

Love this guy!

John and I with his parents

John and I with some of our best friends, Becky and Charlie

Our first family photo!

John Sr. and John Jr.

Now that John has his master's degree, he has been given an amazing job opportunity in Texas to work for his brother's hospital group. We are so excited to move to Texas and for John to have such a great job opportunity, but at the same time it is going to be really hard. We're going to miss our family, friends, jobs and Utah as a whole (what am I going to do without the mountains?!). We'll be back to visit frequently, but Texas is going to be our new home. The good news is, our son will have a Texas accent, which is just going to be cute! And I guess I better get myself some cowgirl boots too. Anyway, we're moving at the end of June. John will start his job right away and I'm going to be a stay at home mom, at least for a few months, before I start looking into new writing opportunities. Wish us luck!

Brand New (4 days old)

• Loves to cross his legs at the ankles
• Makes goat noises, which has earned him the nickname "baby goat"
• Grunts/groans more than he cries
• Purses his lips into a "kissy face" often
• Loves to lay on his side, even though we try to keep him on his back
• Started to get a red tint to his sandy brown hair
• Doesn't like his arms to be swaddled
• Loves to be held
• Already found his thumb to suck on
• Loves to look at lights and out windows

Introducing Johnie

John Edward Madison, Jr.

4/19/2015, 5:58 a.m.

5 lbs, 4.5 oz and 18 inches

Just an hour or two old

 

11 days old



 

Birth story to come...

36 Weeks + My Birthday!

How far along: 36 Weeks!
Total weight gain: 25 pounds. Johnie weighs around 6 pounds!
Maternity clothes: Still nothing new! John did get me a couple of shirts that will be great for nursing for my birthday though. :)
Stretch marks: Yep, all over my belly. I am not one of the lucky women that doesn't get any.
Sleep: I do OK most nights, besides having to get up and pee. I am so tired all the time that it doesn't take me long to fall asleep!
Best moment of this week: Celebrating my birthday with John and family. We had a great weekend! John spoiled me with a new watch and took me shopping.
Miss anything: Not having swollen feet. They get HUGE every day....they look like hobbit feet without the hair.
Movement: Johnie moves around a lot! I feel him constantly it seems like.
Food cravings: Nothing new. Chocolate cake has been really appealing to me lately, but then when isn't chocolate cake appealing?!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Have you started to show yet: I'm still huge, and getting bigger by the minute!
Gender: BOY!!!
Labor signs: Nothing yet. I'm not even sure if I've had any of those Braxton Hicks contractions. At least I haven't felt anything.
Belly button in or out: In, but it's really shallow!
Wedding rings on or off: Still off. I'm just too swollen!
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy and stressed. I still have lots I need to get done before Johnie gets here.
Looking forward to: Finishing the nursery and meeting our little guy! It really could be any day now...though hopefully he waits a little longer!

Here's a few pics from my birthday, just for fun:

Me and my BEARDLESS husband at Station Park.
I still can't believe he shaved it off!

Yum...chocolate strawberry cobbler! And if you look close, you can
spot the beautiful watch John got me for my birthday!

John with his peach cobbler!

And of course, I can't leave Fate out. We found her a bed and she loves it!
We wanted her to have her own place for when the baby gets here.

34 Weeks

How far along: 34 Weeks!
Total weight gain: 22 Pounds....Whew! Baby Johnie weighs over 5 pounds by now.
Maternity clothes: Nothing new. Most of my maternity clothes are winter items, but I'm in the final few weeks and don't want to buy anything else. Now I'm on the hunt for good nursing tops.
Stretch marks: I have a lot on my belly. Lotions, cocoa butter, coconut oil and all the other remedies I tried didn't work for me.
Sleep: I've been doing OK. I usually have to get up once a night, but if I can get comfortable, then I sleep pretty good.
Best moment of this week: Getting our maternity pictures taken! It was the first time we've had photos done since our wedding, so it was fun to have some updated ones, even if I feel like I look like a whale in them. I'm working on embracing it! I mean, I am growing a baby after all!
Miss anything: My waistline.

Movement: All the time! He's one active little guy.

Food cravings: Nothing new and nothing that's been really odd. Though I did have a weird hankering for McDonald's the other day.
Anything making you queasy or sick: No, thank goodness!
Have you started to show yet: I'm huge!
Gender: BOY!!!
Labor signs: Nothing yet. Six weeks to go, give or take a couple of weeks.
Belly button in or out: In, but it's really shallow!
Wedding rings on or off: I've officially quit wearing my wedding ring. :( My hands and feet swell up almost every day now. It's no fun.
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy with a bit of stress mixed in. I still have a list of things I want to do before the baby gets here, and I'm determined to make it happen!
Looking forward to: The next couple of weekends. We get to celebrate Easter this weekend and the next weekend is my birthday. It should be fun! Plus, we're almost done with the nursery. That has been a lot of fun to put together.

Just for fun, here's a few shots from our maternity photo session: