Mads' Third Day: First Walks, Family Visits, and New Parenthood Milestones

Mads actually slept pretty well last night, which was a relief. She was awake from about 2:30 to 5 AM with some gas, which was a new experience for us as we helped her through it. As expected, she also woke up for feedings throughout the night. Despite the interruptions, Alison and I managed to piece together about 7 hours of sleep, which felt like a win. The Snoo has already been a lifesaver. Around 7 AM, she started to stir a little, and I was ready to get up and tend to her, but the Snoo kicked in and calmed her right back to sleep until 9 AM. We got to sleep in until 9 too, which made the Snoo feel worth every penny.

At 9, we got her up, and Alison fed her while Tex was full of energy. He couldn’t figure out why we were all still in bed—he seemed to think it was a fun game that we woke up and hung out multiple times during the night. So far, he seems to like baby Mads. We were a bit worried he might be bothered by her crying, but he’s handling it well. He does get a little needy since she’s getting so much attention, but that’s to be expected. Anyway, he was ready to go, and so was I. I let Alison have some alone time to get ready for the day while I took Mads and Tex on a walk.

Tex waiting patiently for us to go

I grabbed the stroller from the basement, and we headed out through the garage because it was just easier. Tex isn’t a huge fan of the stroller yet—sometimes he stops right in front of it, and I almost run him over. It’ll take him some time to get used to it. Mads and I, on the other hand, thought the stroller was fantastic. I used the bassinet so she could lie flat, and she did pretty well. She was a bit fussy for the first 15 minutes or so, probably because it was sunny and warm. Even though I kept her covered and in the shade, I think she was still a little warm. But once we turned onto the other side of the island, I was able to open up the bassinet more, and she loved that. There was a nice breeze to keep us cool too.

I loved taking my little girl and Tex on a walk around Daybreak Lake. As we walked, I told her all about the lake, how this is her home, and how she’s going to love it here.

When we got back home, we ran into our neighbor Bethany and her son, Jones. They got to meet their newest little neighbor, which was sweet. Afterward, I brought Mads inside and made breakfast for Alison while she fed our girl.

The afternoon was a bit of a blur. We took turns holding and caring for Mads. These first days of parenthood feel like being in a bit of a haze. You really notice it when you’re doing things you used to do before, like making breakfast today—it was just a little bit harder than last week.

Right now, we’re setting a goal each day—something meaningful, measurable, and achievable. Today, Alison’s goal was to feed Mads, and mine was to figure out how to properly fit the Owlet monitoring sock on her foot. Alison reached her goal, but I didn’t quite get mine, which is okay. I’ll probably push it to tomorrow. The most important thing is that I took good care of Alison and Mads today.

We also had a few other firsts/exciting things today:

• First nail trim
• Lots of time with her eyes open
• Hang out at home with cousins
• Meeting two of our neighbors

Breastfeeding has been tricky. Sometimes it goes smoothly, and Mads eats like a champ. Other times, there are lots of tears and frustration, and Mads gets big mad. We’ve had a lot of learning these past few days, but we’re keeping in mind what our breastfeeding instructor said—if Alison and Mads stick with it for three weeks, it’ll get easier and become a good experience.

Tonight, Kristin and her girls came over. The girls were so excited to hold their baby cousin. Skylee told us she could hold Mads all night, while Anna enjoyed her turn but was ready to be done after a couple of minutes. Instead, the girls found other ways to entertain themselves, like when Anna did a science experiment by helping me feed the sourdough start. While they were here, one of our neighbors brought us dinner, which was so kind. She stayed to meet little Miss Madeline as well. Our baby girl is already so loved.