life with two

My my, how time flies!

2010-06-08T08:20:00.008-05:00

So it's been almost a year since I've updated this thing, but it's been a great year!!! Here are some pictures to document the last 10 months!

July

2009-08-04T17:47:00.004-05:00

Some pics from our trip to the British Virgin Islands

The girls having fun in the sun!

June

2009-07-05T17:37:00.002-05:00

6 year anniversary

Gatlinburg

Matt's Birthday

Arrington Vineyard

10 year reunion

Macomb, IL

Swimming with Grandpa

Olivia's 3rd Birthday June 22

2009-06-23T16:06:00.000-05:00

Olivia's 3rd birthday party @ Pump It Up!

Disney & Sea World June 12-19

2009-06-21T15:16:00.000-05:00

Our trip to Disney World & Sea World in June!

May

2009-06-04T17:20:00.000-05:00

April!

2009-05-05T14:19:00.010-05:00

The 4 of us at the Easter Egg Hunt in our neighborhood!

Hard to believe it's been 2 months since I posted last. Things have been a little nutty, but good around here!

Olivia is getting so big! Hard to believe she'll be 3 next month! She has really been learning a lot and has learned how to spell her name! She has been wearing big girl panties for a couple months now and is peeing in the potty all day long! She's still afraid to poo poo in the potty, so we're just trying to stay patient with that one!

Madi started walking at 12 months and is now a little pro at it! I think if givin the option, she would climb stairs all day long, so thank goodness for baby gates! She has had a bit of a personality change too! I definitely have a very strong, stubborn little girl in this one! Found out she got put in time out at Mother's Day Out for taking the other kids' toys and food! haha! I guess she has to put up with it at home so decided to get a little payback at school!

The girls have really been playing well together and are SO EXCITED that the weather is finally nice enough to play outside! Now that Madi's walking she can pretty much hang with the big kids!

Here are some of my favorite pics from the last couple months!

At the beach in Desitin

Sisters hangin out

Olivia bathing herself in the sink @ Mimi & Pappy's

Madi playing with magnets @ Mimi & Pappy's

Olivia took this picture of Matt & me in Gatlinburg

Enjoying the day outside!

Olivia posing for me

Madi doing her yoga!

Olivia playing the piano @ Mother's Day Out

Madi walking in the driveway

The girls got in the drawer together. So cute!

Madi hanging out on our back patio

Olivia painting!

Eating popcicles together on the screened in porch

Huh?

The girls (and Chandler) hangin out!

February Fun!

2009-03-03T10:19:00.007-06:00

What an awesome month we had!!! So many things to talk about!!

We also had some fun visits with Uncle Cory & Aunt Hillary (Titi) here in Nashville and the girls went down to Destin to stay with my parents for a long weekend so Matt and I could take a much needed vacation! We went to a few birthday parties, including my own, and had a lot of fun with friends throughout the month!

Just this past weekend we celebrated Madilyn's 1st birthday! We had some friends over for a little celebration! I can't believe she's already 1. She even took her first step last night! Matt and I were sitting on the floor in the kitchen (this is a nightly occurance) and she just stood up and took 1 little step toward him! It was so neat that we were both there to experience it!

Here are some of her party pics!

On a bittersweet note, my Great-Grandmother, Lola Holstine Kelly, passed away after living an incredible life for 98 years. She would have been 99 in September. We all went back to Macomb, IL for her funeral and it was really wonderful to get to see my family. She was such an inspiration to me, living her life to the fullest. Age was literally just a number to her. She lived on her own, in her own apartment until about a year ago. When she started slipping a little bit, not eating and getting pretty depressed because she was so lonely, my Gram decided it would be best to move her to a nursing home. What a difference it made. She perked right up! She was her old self again, playing piano for the other residents, playing cards with friends and of course talking away to anyone who would listen! That it what I'll remember most about her. Her viberence, her incredible music skills, and her candor. Although she never got sick, Ga Ga's body started shutting down a few months ago and she passed away in her sleep on February 6th.

I will miss her deeply and I love her so much, but I know that she is watching over us from heaven and probably even bossing Jesus around a little bit!

Lola, Bonna, Brenda, Nicki

Great-Gram and Madi

5 Generations!

Gatlinburg!

2009-01-22T16:30:00.004-06:00

We had a free trip to Gatlinburg burning a hole in our pocket, so we decided to use it last weekend! We had a great time and look forward to our next trip!!

The four of us in the Village

Bath time!

Daddy and his girls

Me and Olivia

Madi Cakes

Our Family

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-13T08:22:00.002-06:00

Who can resist getting elfed???

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/ZnH9wL7PcYznzwf9wTko

First snow!

2008-12-13T07:38:00.006-06:00

We had the most beautiful snow Thursday night! Not only was it the first snow of the season, but it was probably the most snow I've witnessed since we moved to Nashville over 5 years ago!

Our house Thursday night!

Our house Friday morning!

The girls all bundled up and ready to go outside!

Olivia loved the snow!

Madi pretty much stayed in this exact position the whole time!

Olivia got to play with her friends!

She's here with her best buddy, Maddie Grace.

Scout, Nati, Grant & Drew were out too!

Even Chandler got to come out and play with DJ and Daisy!

Halloween

2008-11-03T08:22:00.004-06:00

We had a wonderful Halloween! We started the day by going to the pumpkin patch. It was so awesome! We went on a hay rack ride and Olivia loved all the animals!

That evening Olivia and Madi dressed up as Dora the Explorer and Boots! They were so cute! Olivia's "boy friend" Isom, came over and dressed up as Diego and her BFF Maddie Grace dressed up as Tinkerbell! They had a blast going trick or treating together!

Fall update!

2008-10-15T09:52:00.004-05:00

Matching monkey jammies

Just makin eggs :)

Helping daddy work!

Olivia's school picture

My little cowgirl

Watchin Elmo together

Having fun at Dollywood

I love this picture of Olivia

Such a happy girl!

What a fun month!

2008-08-22T14:05:00.002-05:00

Well it's been awhile since my last blog, but things have been going really well! Olivia is in and out of her "terrible 2s" and as of lately she has been such a sweetheart!!! Madi is FINALLY sleeping through the night!! YAY!! I knew this day would eventually come, but I'm so glad it's here. Madi is such a good baby! She is so laid back and giggles all the time. I love this age!

Olivia just started gymnastics last week and already LOVES it! I, however, do not love her teacher but that's probably because I was a gymnastics teacher for years and he just doesn't teach the way I would. So I'm a little overly critical. What else is new! ANYWAYS.... the point is, she loves it and is having a blast! She is also starting to communicate so much better. Some of her favorite phrases are "What are ya doin?" (in her best southern belle accent,) "I do it." "Come here." and "Be right back" (which usually means she'll be going to do something she's not supposed to!) I still have yet to cut her hair. I go back and forth about every other week. Some days I think it would look so cute in a little bob, but then there are days when I love it long and the fact that I'm able to put it up in a ponytail with bows. :) We are dabbling in potty training and we have some good days and some bad days. I am definitely open to advice in this area!!! She is absolutely in love with her sister and I swear would claim her as her own daughter if she could. She is constantly wanting to feed her and play with her and so far hasn't gotten jealous of her. I'm sure that will all change as soon as Madi is big enough to fend for herself! haha

Madi is just wonderful. She went through a really tough stage for about 3 months, but ever since the "colic" went away, things have been so much better. She is such a chunky monkey! She has got those rolly polly thighs that you just can't help but squeeze! She is eating cereal and fruits and vegetables and LOVES it all! haha Oh and she loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She will just sit and watch it and laugh the whole time! I've got video of it I'll try to post! She can almost sit up without support but is taking her time in the rolling and crawling department. She just strikes me as the personality type that is not in any hurry! Wonder where she gets that from!

Well anyways, there's a little update! Hope you're all doing well!!

My New Blog!

2008-07-28T12:51:00.002-05:00

Check out my newest blog here!

I decided to start a new blog all about stuff that I like. As most business owners will tell you, word of mouth is usually the best advertisment! Well I decided to start my own blog with this very theme! wordofmouth blog was already taken :( so I had to go with a different name and decided to give wordpress a try as well. Maybe I'll blog about which one is better! haha

Please check it out and post comments about whether you like it as well or not and feel free to post what you like in that catagory instead!!

Happy shopping!!

They're here!!!

2008-07-22T16:31:00.000-05:00

Mandy finally got the rest of our pictures posted!!

To view them –
www.weddingimagesonline.com
search for robbins family (spelled wrong)
password nicki – all lower case

She prefers to use this site as a viewing site. If you want to order anything call or email her and she will order it for you!! mandysphotos@att.net

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!! She did an amazing job!!!

Mommy survey - it's all about Olivia

2008-07-10T19:03:00.000-05:00

1. Were you married at the time? Yes, 2 1/2 years

2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? We were shocked and so excited!! We had been trying for awhile so when the test was finally positive, we were so happy!

3. How old were you? 24 when I found out, 25 when I delivered.

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? Well I had taken a test and it was negative. Then a week later had a dream I was pregnant so I took another one first thing that morning and it was positive!

5. Who did you tell first? Matt of course. Woke him out of a deep sleep! ha

6. Did you want to find out the sex? I didn't, but Matt convinced me to. Glad I did.

7. Due date? June 29th

8. Did you deliver early or late? 7 days early on June 21st

9. Did you have morning sickness? Not really, more like gag reflex when I would brush my teeth. Only had one legitimate throw up on the way home from FL.

10. What did you crave? Meat, Mexican food, caramel apples, ice cream

11. Who irritated you the most? hmmmm, not sure

12. What was your first child's sex? girl

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 55

14.Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? None.

15.Where did you give birth? Baptist Hospital, Nashville

16. How many hours were you in labor? Water broke at midnight, she was born at 7:39 am

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Matt

18. Who watched? Just Matt

19. Was it natural or c-section? Natural

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Um yes, epidural please

21.How much did your child weigh? 7lb 9 oz

22.Did your child have any complications? Nope!

23. What did you name him/her? Olivia Nicole

24. How old is your first born today? 2!

25. Who does your child look like? It's a toss up. Just as many people say Matt as they do me. She is definitely a good mix now. When she was born though, she was a mini-Matt!

Mommy survey - it's all about Madilyn!

2008-07-10T17:31:00.000-05:00

1. Were you married at the time? Yes, 4 1/2 years

2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? Definite shock! You know the saying, "It only takes one time!"....................

3. How old were you? 26 when I found out, 27 when I delivered.

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? Kinda had a feeling, so took a test. 1st time's a charm!

5. Who did you tell first? Matt again.

6. Did you want to find out the sex? Oh yes

7. Due date? March 3rd

8. Did you deliver early or late? Induced 4 days early, February 28th

9. Did you have morning sickness? Yep. Was much more sick with this one.

10. What did you crave? Crab won tons, lemonade, ice water

11. Who irritated you the most? again, not sure

12. What was your child's sex? girl

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 34

14.Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? None. YAY!

15.Where did you give birth? Baptist Hospital, Nashville

16. How many hours were you in labor? Induced at 7:30 am. Delivered at 1:08 pm.

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Matt

18. Who watched? Just Matt

19. Was it natural or c-section? Natural

20.Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Um yes, epidural please....again

21.How much did your child weigh? 7lb 15 oz

22.Did your child have any complications? Nope!

23. What did you name him/her? Madilyn Claire

24. How old is she today? 4 months

25. Who does your child look like? me :)

5 generations!

2008-07-09T09:28:00.000-05:00

Well after almost 2 years, we finally went back to Macomb, IL, my hometown, last month. We went to visit my family and to go to the annual Heritage Days festivities! My Great-Grandmother will be 98 in September and we went to visit her and get pictures with Madi of the 5 generations of women. Pretty incredible if you ask me!

Our Anniversary!

2008-07-09T08:28:00.000-05:00

Matt and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on June 21st! We had such an amazing time, I thought it was necessary to blog about it! I have the best husband in the world!!!

Well Matt decided months ago that he wanted to plan this anniversary and it was going to be a surprise! So back over Memorial Day weekend, we were down in Destin and I was sick as a dog and he said he needed to run an errand. Well when he got back, he walked in with a White House Black Market bag. He told me he had gotten me a surprise for our anniversary! I opened the bag and it was the most beautiful black cocktail dress IN MY SIZE!!!! I was shocked and SO excited!

So fast forward to Thursday June 19th. My parents came up for the weekend for Olivia's birthday and so that Matt and I could celebrate our anniversary! On Friday afternoon, it was time to go! I had packed a bag for the night, but had no idea what was in store!

We left the house, just the two of us, and headed downtown. He first took me to Adagio Day Spa and said he was dropping me off to get a facial and then he would be back for our couples massage! I may have to blog about how the facial went later (not so great, but kind of humorous), but the massage was AWESOME!!! After we were done, he drove us to the heart of downtown. I had no clue what was next. Well he pulled up to The Hermitage Hotel. OK let me just tell you, this hotel is just exquisite. Yes I said exquisite. The only thing I know to compare it to is the Waldorf Astoria in NYC or maybe a Ritz Carlton. It was so gorgeous, I wish I could've had more time to explore the whole thing!

But instead we went straight up to our room on the top floor! Matt got the romance package with a Jr. Suite! (OK side note: so this is not normal. We are usually very conscious about getting a great deal on pretty much everything. This was a VERY SPECIAL OCCASION!) We had champagne and chocolate covered strawberries waiting, a ginormous bathroom, turn-down service with robes and slippers and chocolates on our pillows. Not just any chocolates, I'm talkin truffles or something really fancy like that! :)

So we had a couple hours before dinner so we relaxed and took our time getting ready. I decided to give Matt his present then because I didn't want to have to wait until dinner. I got him a pen. Yep that's right, a pen. Makes me laugh as I'm writing this. But it was not just any ordinary pen. It is a magical pen that cost more than my first car payment. But in his line of work, it is very special to have a pen like this and it is something he has always wanted, so I decided it was time to get it for him! He was SO excited!!! He loved it to say the least!

So we left for dinner, all dressed up, and pulled up at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. This is probably our favorite place to eat. (Watermark is a very close second if not tied.) We had a great dinner, ate WAY too much, and finished with 3 desserts! I can't help myself. So midway through dinner Matt gave me my anniversary present.....in a turquoise box with a white bow. My first Tiffany!

It wouldn't have mattered what was inside really. I was in shock. But just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I opened the box and there was the most beautiful diamond bracelet I have ever seen in my life. Not only was it absolutely perfect, it was significant. 5 diamonds for 5 years. I wear it everyday! I love it!!

So we were debating on whether or not we were going to try to venture out for a night on the town and decided a good nights sleep was much more enticing! So we went back to the hotel and walked in to a room filled with rose petals! Beautiful! The next morning we got room service and had breakfast in bed and then I took a very long, relaxing bubble bath in the HUGE bathroom! This place is just phenomenal!

So after all that, it was time to go home and see our beautiful daughters! We had the most amazing time and I wouldn't trade it for anything! Thank you so much Matt for planning and creating the most memorable weekend of my life! I love you with all my heart!!

Olivia turns 2!

2008-06-22T21:06:00.000-05:00

I can't hardly believe it!! She had such an amazing birthday!!

Here are some pics from her party!

Family Pics!!

2008-06-18T15:52:00.000-05:00

Well we finally got some pictures taken of the girls and the four of us!!! First we went to Portrait Innovations to get some studio shots and then Mandy Rowland came out to the house and took some candids for us. Let me just tell you, she is AWESOME!!! She posted a few of the pics on her blog......check 'em out!

http://mandymarie.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/06/robinsfamily.html

Here are some of my studio favorites! Olivia wasn't in a photo taking mood, so we didn't get any good ones of just her. :(

Crying it out!

2008-06-07T17:46:00.000-05:00

in every sense of the word!

Well we decided to put Madi up in her crib and let her "cry it out." Talk about torcher! I hate it! I remember when we let Olivia cry it out it took 4 nights and by the 5th night she was sleeping through the night! I just have to keep telling myself that! For some reason though I felt that Olivia could handle it and I am a little more sensitive to Madi. I just don't feel like she's as tough. But I'm sure she's fine. I just have to remember that it's for her and our own good.

But yeah, she's not the only one crying it out!

Something's Got To Change

2008-06-06T12:52:00.000-05:00

This week at church we started a new series called SYNC. After Pastor Pete preached his sermon, a girl named Amanda Stott sang a song called Something's Got To Change by Josh Wilson. It was so good I immediately came home and looked it up on iTunes! My church posted this video of her performance, so I just had to share it!! It actually sounded even better in person, but I think you'll still be blown away!

http://www.vimeo.com/1114096

Happy Girls!

2008-06-03T11:17:00.000-05:00

Madi - 3 months

Olivia - 23 months

Guess who found my mascara......

2008-05-01T16:49:00.000-05:00

At least she knew where to put it!

Swimming survival

2008-05-01T15:26:00.001-05:00

Well a while back I received an email from a friend with a video of this baby falling into a pool of water. Terrifying right?? Well turns out the baby ended up floating to the top and floated on his back for several minutes.

Check out the video here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0mUPr68x2U

Well it turns out that there is a place here in Cool Springs that teaches this technique! I'm definitely going to take Olivia, especially since we now live in a neighborhood with a pool!

Here's more information about it!
http://www.mtss.net/forms/Kennette_flyer.pdf

More pics!

2008-04-30T17:43:00.002-05:00

Things are improving!!

2008-04-30T16:33:00.000-05:00

Olivia loves her so much!

In Clearwater, FL for Susie's wedding

Bath time!

Cheese Nip?

Well, I thought I would update you about my two precious angels! Things are going pretty well! Definitely much better!

Olivia has had her world turned upside down! We started by transitioning her to a toddler bed. This did not go well at first! So after one night of literally not sleeping (Matt was up with her from 11-4am) we decided to go ahead and put her crib back up. Everything was back to normal for two nights, then all of a sudden she figured out she could climb out of her crib. Well after 45 minutes of in and out, we finally decided this was a no-win situation and made a bed on the floor for her and locked her in her room. We woke up the next morning and she was asleep on the floor like we had expected. So needless to say, the toddler bed went back up and we are slowly but surely making progress!! Then we were out of town for 6 days and her schedule was completely off. She stayed with my parents down in Destin while Matt, Madi & I went on down to Clearwater for a wedding. When we got back, Olivia had a fever of 102 but it went away after a few hours. She had been having several different symptoms that I thought were either teething or allergies so we just kept an eye on her. Well yesterday, I finally took her to the doctor and it turns out she had a double ear infection and a sinus infection. Man did I feel like crap!! The good thing is that it's treatable and she is finally on two different medicines so she should be feeling better soon!

Madilyn on the other hand, has been doing great! Around her 6 week birthday, her colic symptoms started to fade. We got a Rx for Zantac to treat her reflux and we use it every now and then! Of course she still cries and all that, but there is definitely a dramatic difference! She is such a good eater and is getting nice and plump!

Audrey Caroline

2008-04-28T21:01:00.000-05:00

My church, Cross Point Community Church is doing a series called Plan B. This series is all about what to do when life gives you lemons. Last Sunday as Pete (our pastor) was closing up his sermon, he mentioned that this past Sunday was one not to be missed. If we had plans, cancel them, because this one was the one to be at. Well we just happened to be going out of town for my friend's wedding and had no intention of canceling our plans, but the anticipation was eating away at me not knowing what was in store.

On Wednesday, as we were on the drive down, I got an email on my Blackberry from Pete's wife Brandi, letting us know that the sermon was going to be about a family we had been praying for in my Moms' group. Now I knew why Pete felt so strongly about this.

Here are the videos about the Smith family and Audrey Caroline.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBQYda-mkTM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYzp2mu2g5c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD_HmwjPm80

If you would like to read Angie's blog, you can visit the link below...
http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/
I recommend reading "A Letter To My Daughter" on April 11th.

All I can say again, is how humbling this story is and how silly I feel when I think about the "problems" that I have. After watching this video the instant we got home, Matt and I, both in tears, scooped up our little Madi and told her how much we love her. I can't even imagine having had to say goodbye to her 8 weeks ago after only 2 1/2 hours. As soon as I know Olivia is deep into sleep, you better believe I'm going upstairs to tell her the same thing!

Thank you, Smith family, for enlightening me with your story and your faith. Thank you for Cross Point for being the most amazing church I've ever been a part of. And finally, thank you God for blessing me with my two amazing girls. I am truly, truly blessed.

Eliot 99 balloons

2008-04-09T17:02:00.000-05:00

Well this truly is an amazing story and definitely made me leave the pity party I was having for myself and realize that life is what you make of it. I like to think that I live by that philosophy already, but whenever I forget, God has a way of making me remember.

Check out this video if you, too, would like to be reminded! :)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

Madi's first trip to the zoo!

2008-04-04T17:03:00.000-05:00

It was a bit chilly and started to rain towards the end of the trip, but our trip to the zoo was SO much fun! Unfortunately Matt was out of town at a business conference, but my mom, dad, me and the girls spent a good 3 hours at the zoo on Tuesday! We had such a wonderful time and every time we go, Olivia enjoys it more and more. Madi slept and besides pooping all over herself, was a perfect angel! :)

Family

2008-04-04T16:51:00.000-05:00

I really just can't describe the feeling of gratitude I have towards our family. Madi is just a month old and she has already been visited by both sets of grandparents, her aunt & uncle and her great-gram, and great-grandma & grandpa! How lucky is she????

Madi 4 weeks -- Olivia 21 months

2008-03-27T14:33:00.000-05:00

What happened to my babies???

2008-03-27T10:51:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official. The sweet, cooperative, quiet baby that I thought I had, is no longer. :( Madi has decided to grace us with some evening tunes! She thinks that crying from about 7-10 every night seems like a good idea, and this week from 7-10 in the morning! What the heck is going on here??? On top of all that, the girl WILL NOT take a pacifier and just gets even more mad if I try to feed her if she's not hungry (i.e. tries to take my nipple off) even though she's constantly got her hands in her mouth. Then when we finally think we've got her calmed down and she's almost asleep, she projectile vomits or poops and we have to get her changed which just gets her going all over again.

Oh and did I mention that now Olivia has started waking up at various times throughout the night in terrifying screams? Poor little girl. Thank God - literally - that I have Matt. I don't know if other husbands/dads are as hands on as he is, but he is pretty much just amazing and has been my rock. I really think he's getting less sleep than I am at this point because at least Madi will fall asleep and put me to sleep when she nurses in the night. Olivia stays up for hours at a time.

Needless to say the tears that have probably been long overdue just flowed out of me this morning. I kind of knew this was coming, but I was really hoping that it wasn't, ya know? So we will just continue to pray and try to do the best we can. In the meantime, I guess we'll just have to take deep breaths until this passes -- it's going to pass, right??

2 1/2 weeks and going strong!

2008-03-16T16:58:00.000-05:00

Life has been better than expected the last 2 weeks! After having Madi, my mom and dad were here and my mom ended up staying the week. She was a God send! She and Olivia had such a wonderful time and allowed me to get the rest I needed and get acquainted with the newest member of our family! My dad, brother and sister (in-law) came back up last weekend and we had a great time! Matt's parents got here last night and will be staying the week, so we look forward to the time we get to spend with them.

Matt has been so amazing and is such a wonderful Dad. Olivia is such a good big sister and has gone into full on mom mode! She walks around with her baby dolls imitating my every move! Madi has been such a good baby and we feel so blessed that life with two is going so well...so far! ;) I feel we have a pretty optimistic attitude about it all and that has helped us tremendously! We just feel that God has blessed us in so many ways and we are just so thankful!

Labor and Delivery

2008-02-29T10:20:00.000-06:00

Well I've had several people ask how my labor and delivery went and so I thought I would type it out! After having Olivia, people would ask how everything went and I couldn't remember anything, so this time I wrote things down as I went so I would always have those memories!

I'll start by saying that for various reasons we decided that I would be induced at 6am on Thurs. Feb. 28th. I wasn't actually due until that Monday, March 3rd. I honestly didn't think I would even make it to that date because Olivia came a week early, so as the day grew closer, I got more and more nervous! I was actually feeling really good though and never really got to that "miserable pregnant" phase like I did with Olivia, so that was definitely a plus! The night before I was scheduled to be induced, my parents got here so that they could take care of Olivia while I was in labor. It could not have worked out better!

Morning came very quickly! I set my alarm for 4:15 and the minute it went off I literally jumped out of bed. No snoozing! Can't remember the last time that happened! Last time I remember being this anxious/excited about something was my wedding day and even before that was when my mom and I would take train trips to Chicago...anyways... :) I probably took a 30 minute shower just kind of standing there, half asleep, realizing that this would be the last day I would be pregnant. A very bittersweet moment for me. I was able to actually get ready, do my hair & make-up, and then we were out the door and in the car by 5:15.

We arrived at the hospital a little early and got checked in. The lady at the front desk was pretty awesome! She was pretty excited that I was in a good mood! (I'm assuming most pregnant women in labor are not!) After we got the paperwork filled out, we had to sit and wait in the waiting room.... maybe my least favorite part. I HATE waiting in anticipation!!! I think that's why I'm always late... anyways... Finally at 6:20 they took us back! My labor nurse, Kim, was awesome and was with me the whole time. No shift changes or anything. The labor and delivery rooms at Baptist are absolutely huge and so nice! It was like my own little hotel suite! They had me put on my beautiful hospital gown and hooked me up to the fetal & contraction monitors and blood pressure machine.

Ok so finally at 7:30 they started my IV and Pitocin. I was already dilated 1 1/2 and 50% effaced. I felt my first contraction at about 7:50 but it was just a small one. After having Braxton Hicks for the past 4 weeks, it was almost refreshing to have a normal contraction. Just knowing that it served a purpose was helpful!! At 8:10 my doctor, Dr. Kyzer, came in and I had already progressed to 3-4 cms. She decided to go ahead and break my water. She used a little "finger condom" (I'm sure that's the technical word) with a little hook at the end of it and basically just performed an exam and broke my water that way. It was the most bizarre feeling! I KNEW that she had just broke my water, yet I literally thought I was peeing the bed! It made me laugh. :)

Alright so I would say this is when Phase 2 of my labor began. I still felt good and was pretty much just laying there watching TV and reading a magazine. My contractions were not painful at this point. I was also on and off the phone with my friend Stacy too!

At about 9 o'clock, my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart. I was still feeling pretty good at this point. I didn't remember them being that close together with Olivia, so it was a little bizarre. After hearing various stories from people that epidurals didn't work with pitocin, I was starting to wonder if I should go ahead and order it since it took about 45 minutes for it to arrive the last time. I still wasn't in that much pain, but I didn't want to wait too long, so at about 9:20 I went ahead and ordered it. Well, at 9:30 the anesthesioligist arrived! How bout that! Must've been a slow day at Baptist! haha I don't think Baptist ever has a slow day in the baby factory! So with Olivia, I had an intern perform my epidural and I was sitting straight up on the side of the bed. This time, there was no intern, and they had me curl up in the fetal position. Ever try to do that when you're 9 months pregnant? Not so easy! haha So that procedure went really well and I was dilated to 5-6 by 10 o'clock!

At this point, I'm pretty much just watching the clock. My friend Leah stopped by which was so sweet, and we were both in tears by the time she left -- we were so excited! Pastor Tom from Cross Point also stopped by with Pastor Chad from the Dickson campus and prayed over us for a healthy delivery. :) The next hour went by pretty fast and I was dilated to 7 by 11 o'clock. By 11:45 I was at 8. I was starting to feel my contractions again at this point, so I got an extra dose of my epidural and they soon disappeared.

Dr. Kyzer came over on her lunch break at 1 o'clock assuming she would just check in on me and leave, but when she checked me, I was complete!!! Oh my gosh! I was SO EXCITED!!! It was time! SO, she and the nurse asked me to do a test push and frantically had me stop because she was coming out so quickly! They got everything ready, QUICKLY, and told me it was time to push! It all happened so fast, I was so caught off guard! So anyways, I pushed once, I pushed again and on the 3rd push, she was out! They warned me that if I ever got pregnant again, to get to the hospital FAST!! She was finally here!!! Born at 1:08pm and weighing in at just shy of 8 lbs. Little Madi had quite a set of lungs on her and was letting the world know she was here!

After they did all the tests and weighed her, I was able to nurse her and it went pretty well. It was a little unfamiliar at first, but it all came back after a few minutes. My mom, dad, & Olivia got there soon after and they went down with Matt to the nursery to watch them give Madi a bath. I remember feeling completely exhausted at this point which was a little surprising to me because I didn't really feel like I had done much! But I had, obviously! My dad stayed with me until they got back and then they all went down and got some lunch while I waited for my epidural to wear off. I was able to get up and walk pretty quickly and then they wheeled me up to the 7th floor to my recovery room.

SO there you have it! Pretty unbelievable if you ask me. It was such an amazing experience and I literally loved every minute of it, even the painful stuff. (BTW- the IV was probably the worst part. I hate them!) Some people are good at managing money, (eh hem) some people are wonderful teachers and some people are good at running (definitely not me). I am just assuming that this is my gift and that God has blessed me with this. I don't know if we will have any more kids or not, but I do know that if we do, my experiences in the past have shown that things will go smoothly and that is very reassuring!

Welcome Madilyn Claire

2008-02-28T17:49:00.000-06:00

She's finally here!

Madilyn Claire Robins was born February 28th at 1:08 pm. She was 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 inches long! She has blue eyes and a full head of dark blonde hair! She is perfectly healthy and incredibly sweet! She is such a good baby!!! We are so blessed! Olivia is such a good big sister and loves her little sister so much already! Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers! :)