Welcome to the World Madelyn Joy!

Madelyn Joy Megel entered the world on August 23rd at 10:40am weighing 9lbs 4oz and 21.5in long. She is healthy, beautiful and totally precious. The entire labor and delivery process was a lot easier overall compared to her sister. We got to the hospital at 8am and less than three hours later Adam was holding her! She must have enjoyed the home I had made for her though because she didn't enter the world easily. Dr. Reed and the nurses were literally sweating and out of breath trying to get her out! I believe Dr. Reed's exact words were, "This kid is a monster!" She was way up in my ribs and not even close to dropping. Dr. Reed said she didn't think she had ever worked so hard to get a baby out. And I have to say, that makes me a little nervous about the next one! Madelyn was 4 oz heavier and an inch longer than her sister. And Abi was a week late! When I was holding her afterwards all I could think was, 'I can't believe this huge baby was inside me!" No wonder I felt so bad...sheesh! The doctors and nurses couldn't stop talking about her size our entire time at the hospital. She skipped newborn diapers and went straight to size ones.

We stayed in the hospital just over 48 hours and were blessed with wonderful nurses and lots of visitors. I really enjoyed our stay in the hospital. I got to eat sooner, move around sooner and felt better in general. We were anxious to go home of course, but I always dread leaving the cacoon of that little hospital room. It's quiet, relaxing, the nurses bring you whatever you want at the touch of a button and are there in 5 seconds if you have any questions. Not to mention there's no dishes, laundry or toys to pick up.



Loretta brought Abi up to meet her new sister a couple hours after she was born. She hadn't had her nap yet so she wasn't quite herself when she got there. At first she was pretty freaked out by mommy being in that weird bed with all those cords hooked up everywhere. And she didn't want to sit next to me at first. But she warmed up after awhile. She loved Madelyn right away and wanted to hold her and kiss her and inspect her. "Where is Baby Sister's paci? Where are Baby Sister's ears? Where is Baby Sister's hat?" and on and on.



first family photo



While Abi was at the hospital Adam walked her down to the gift shop and bought her a balloon. I'm pretty sure she was more excited about the balloon than she was her new sister! She spent the rest of her visit bouncing around the room with her balloon...hence the blurry pictures.

Here are some of Madelyn's visitors:

Aunt Kristen and Mamaw



Papaw Megel



Uncle David, and Madelyn's Godfather



Great-Grandma Nelson and Grandma Loretta





Great-Grandma and Grandpa Smith



So far Madelyn is super chill and really easy. She sleeps all the time! The only two things that make her cry are if she's hungry or cold. And then she goes right back to sleep. We've only seen her with her eyes open a few times. I feel like I'm nervously watching a Jack-in-the-Box. I'm just waiting for it to pop open and scare me. We can't be so lucky as to have a kid this easy and laid back can we!? We haven't even attempted a paci yet because she's never cried longer than 15 seconds!

Since we came home on Saturday afternoon we've had some more visitors. But other than that we've just been taking it easy and enjoying our time as a family.

"Madelyn" got Abi this new kitchen as a Big Sister present and it was waiting for her when she got home.
It has served as a wonderful distraction and is something for her to show off to our visitors.



sisters



Marci and Boogie



Kristi and Dan



Ella



Ava



Uncle Aaron (and naked Eli in the background)



water soccer?



Abi playing kitchen with Madelyn

  

Home Sweet Home

Adam goes back to work Thursday and I love having him home. I hate to jinx ourselves, but things are going really great so far. Our neighbors, family and friends have blessed us with delicious food and it has been a huge help. I thought it would seem strange having two kids, but it feels totally normal. Like she's been here forever. For the next month we will have two kids under two years old, which is kind of crazy. I heard a quote a few weeks ago that describes exactly how I feel: 'If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart!' My heart is just bursting with appreciation for all our sweet family and friends that love us so much. And I could not have imagined a more perfect addition to our family than Madelyn. God is so good and I feel so undeserving for all the blessings he has given us!