Maddie's Friend

When I was pregnant, I met a woman named Claire in a childbirth class. Her daughter, Ramona, was born exactly two weeks after Maddie. Ramona and Maddie are very different and have only recently become interested in one another. This picture is just too cute for words!

I can't believe it!

Yesterday, for the first time, I looked at Maddie and thought she was big. It was, and still is, amazing. Maddie was such a small baby and now she seems giant. I know she's still on the small side (she's only in the 10th percentile for weight, but the 50th percentile for length), but she's up to about 13 pounds now and finally has fat rolls. Her 6 month clothes fit her and she's so cute and rosy. Also, she acting like a much older baby. When she was first born, she cried all the time and seemed totally freaked out to be alive. Now, she's so happy, she smiles all the time, and she loves to play. She can roll over both ways, though she doesn't do it a lot, she can sit up, and she's really, really good with her hands - she even holds her own bottle. Oh, and when she's laying down, she tries to do sit-ups. It's very cute - she looks like she's trying to do pilates. Within the next few weeks, we'll start her on rice cereal. It's just amazing how quickly things change.

Starting back up again

OK, the extreme kids blog has been out of commission for some time, but now we're back! We've changed our format, so now we'll pretty much post exclusively about Maddie. I know, I know, it's been about 4 months or so, but having a baby takes a lot of work! But, we feel like we're starting to get the hang of it, so we can get back into blogging.

So, for our first post, here are some very recent pictures of Maddie. She's cute, full of energy, and lots of fun! We love her tons (obviously) and feel so lucky to have such an amazing baby!

Madeline is here!

Madeline Mariner Howell
Born 2:21 pm 8/10/07
5lbs 7oz
18 1/4"






Madeline and Sabrina are healthy and home now. It all happened a bit sooner than expected. Sabrina saw the midwife on Tuesday who was concerned about the high blood pressure she had developed and that the baby seemed to be small. As a result of this she had an ultrasound on Wednesday. The ultrasound confirmed that the baby was small and the midwives decided that it was best to induce. We went to the hospital Thursday morning to begin inducing. After a couple doses of that medication, contractions started. They were not very strong, but were coming far to frequently to bring on "real" labor, so our midwife medically slowed the contractions and kept us in the hospital overnight. Early Friday morning she started Pitocin. While this did bring on regular contractions, our baby was not tolerating the contractions very well; after a contraction, her heart rate would drop a little. It always came back up right away, but it was a sign that she would not be able to tolerate labor.

At this point, we decided do a C-section. We were a bit scared, but felt that it was best for the baby. The C-section was surprisingly painless and only took about 40 minutes. About 20 minutes in at 2:21 pm our little girl Madeline was born. She cried a little bit right after she came out, but was otherwise quite calm. Luckily, she's continued to be very good and eats well. We love her so much and are very excited.

Sydney

In our final hurrah before coming home, Eric and I spent some time in Sydney. Well, Eric had to come do some work up here and I came along. What else was I going to do?! Even though Eric worked, we were able to get out and see some of the sights. While Sydney is great and is definitely tourist friendly, I prefer Melbourne. It's just cooler.

Anyway, this will probably be our last post from abroad - our flight home is April 28 (only 11 days from now)! As much as we've enjoyed our time here, we're both ready to get back to Seattle and set up our home for Wiggles! I'm sure we'll be in touch with all of you not too long after we get back to the States. We're very excited!!!

Fiji Trip

Here are pictures from our trip to Fiji. We called it our babymoon (last vacation for a while). We only really had two full days there, but managed to get in some snorkeling, kayaking, swimming and relaxing.

UV

In my most sincere New Year's resolution ever, I decided to make a concerted effort to keep in better touch with friends and family. I've taken up the challenge posed to myself with a flurry of emails and sometimes even phone calls to loved ones. In that same vein, however, I figure I should begin to blog more regularly as well (because we all know that Eric sure isn't going to do it!). So, we'll see how long this lasts...

As we reach the height of summer here in Melbourne, saying it gets wicked hot is an understatement. Not only is the temperature going to reach about 100 degrees tomorrow, the 10 year drought that Victoria is in the midst of makes going outside quite unpleasant. I mean, there's a reason I chose not to live in Arizona with the majority of my family! This weather is definitely reaffirming that choice for me. But, in addition to the high temperatures and extreme dryness, the UV index is at at least 10 every day, sometimes reaching as high as 12. In case you don't know, a UV indication of 10 means that you really shouldn't stay outside for more than about 20 minutes before you will begin to experience sun damage. Even on cool and/or cloudy days, the UV index is at least 10, if not higher. That's right, Eric and I can't even do the 25-30 minute bike ride to work from our apartment without worrying about extreme sun exposure. Eric refuses to put on sunscreen, claiming he'd just sweat it all off anyway, but I still think it would do some good. Yesterday, for example, I went for a walk around a nearby lake. The entire walk took me about two hours. I put on sunscreen before I left yet still managed to get sunburned in those small slivers of skin showing where my shirt had shifted!

It's amazing how much the ozone actually protects you from the sun. I know that I've always taken it for granted. But, being a pasty white person down here gives me a whole new appreciation for the ozone and how much it protects me.