Silas is baptized!

Everyday I can tell that we have more and more energy! Silas is continuing to sleep well at night and sometimes well in his baby carriage.  He definitely likes to take walks in his baby carriage, that's when he sleeps his best. My Mom and I ventured into town on Monday and he slept the whole time. Then yesterday we all took a trip to Søndervig where they have a sand sculpture festival, and again he slept the whole time! It's pretty easy and a joy to have him along anywhere when he sleeps so well!

Last Sunday, June 26th was a big day for Silas.  He was baptised at our church here in Skjern.  Since the services at our church are at 3:30pm we decided to have the family over before and after church.  The guests arrived at 11:30am and the grill was ready to go. We had a nice lunch sitting outside on our new patio furniture enjoying the lovely weather God had been so generous to give us. We were all having a great and relaxing time and just an hour before we were going to head to church it was time for some ice cream cake. Just as I was trying to arrange part of the cake on a nicer platter, the whole plate slipped causing 1/4th of the remaining ice cream cake to fall directly on my lap smearing all over my new dress that I bought for the special occasion. At first I just laughed and Søren ate the fallen piece, so no harm there, but as I tried to wash out my dress I realized that it probably wasn't going to dry in time for church.  Luckily Søren's sister, Ulla, and his Mom came to the rescue and spent over 20 minutes blow drying it so that it was wearable again! I was a little stressed just before leaving church due to a sleeping baby who would wake up hungry during the baptism if he didn't eat NOW, and a sopping wet dress! But it all went well and we made it just in time to church.
The service was beautiful.  Just a simple music set up with a guitar and piano, and as we walked in down the aisle with Silas we both got a bit teary eyed. We sat up at the front of the church before the actual baptisim part and we just couldn't help looking down at our sleeping angel knowing that this special occasion was so huge. Silas was going to be baptised and become a part of God's family.  We were so happy and again a bit teary eyed.  Søren and I both agreed afterwards that at times it reminded us a little bit of our wedding day, we were just so happy! Silas slept the whole time during the service and didn't wake up until right when we were about to leave.
Afterwards we came home and took some pictures. We realized that Silas had pooped quite a bit on his dress, but we were able to hide it for the pictures, which didn't last long because Silas was quite upset and hungry. Then we opened presents and had a nice and easy sandwich dinner before our guests left.
All in all it was a spectacular day and we were all tired afterwards.

Grilling before church

Presenting Silas Adrian Madsen

Godparents

Just a funny story to cap it all off.  We were having a hard time deciding which baptism gown to use because we had 2 options.  One was my mother's and the other one was Søren's.  They were both quite beautiful but needed some cleaning. My mom went to have hers dry cleaned and they refused because it would possibly ruin it, they said.  Then Søren's mom tried to get the spots of of his by boiling it, but all the brown flowers in the fabric bled into the white turning the entire gown a light pink color.  So after having too many options we were left with NONE.  At the last minute we ordered one online and luckily it came a few days before.  I guess we are starting our own tradition!

Mr. Madsen

It is official, Søren is official finished with school and thereby officially a licensed teacher! 

He ended the year very well receiving the best possible grade for his final “exam” ,which was to present his bachelor project. I am so proud of him for his hard work these past four years. I am also happy that he is finished studying, but not as happy as he is. Silas, Søren and I took the trip to his school and got to see him get his diploma.  We celebrated when we got back home with our first date since Silas was born.  My mom was able to watch him a few hours and Søren and I went out to dinner. We thought it was crazy that we could have our first date after just a few weeks, but we enjoyed it very much!

So yeah, now he will be on the other side of the desk and I can tell he is really looking forward to teaching full time at Frøstruphave starting in August. But first it is time to enjoy a nice summer vacation!!

Congratulations to Mr. Madsen.

Getting his diploma!

A good group of new Danish teachers!

Getting to know you..

Silas is now three weeks old and wow how much more we know about him!

For example he loves to sleep on his side. Well actually more accurately he loves to sleep everywhere but in his little basket. Anybody’s arms are a hit, or in our bed, but not alone!! It’s like he has a 6th sense that tells him that we are about to set him in his basket and he wakes up…if we do actually get him in there, then he notices, while sleeping, that “oh no, I am in my basket.!!!” and then wakes up screaming…So yeah, we spend a lot of time with him in our arms, but it is so cozy so we don't mind!

We also know that he hates getting his diaper changed, but if you blow dry him a bit while he is on the changing table he gets relaxed enough to get his diaper on. He does however like to lay on his stomach while on the changing table, no blow dryer required.

Silas is in general a very content baby who likes attention and is becoming more attentive every day.  His eyes have really opened up over the last week and although he can’t focus yet it is wonderful to look into his big blue eyes. He has been sleeping quite well at night, 3-4 hour stretches, and likes to sleep late so we are getting an okay amount of sleep. 

Big eyes!

His eating habits are not quite habitual yet, but one thing is for sure, he has his Daddy’s appetite! He could eat all the time and he is definitely a “sucker."  Maybe this is why he is also a very gassy baby. He makes these cramping faces and then you can hear his gas from across the room.  Both Søren and I are proud of this ability, but we feel bad for him as we see him groan and twist with airy pain. We hope his stomach learns how to digest better soon!

So that is what we have been up to lately, getting to know our son.  He is so wonderful and although it is a bit tough at times, we wouldn’t trade it for anything.  Søren has a few days at work and his final exam before officially becoming a teacher this week!! So that is super exciting for him.  My mom is visiting and has been here for over a week already, and we have been so grateful for all her help, especially now that Søren has other obligations then just Silas and I!

Otherwise we are looking forward to Silas’ baptism on Sunday.  We were working in the yard today to get ready for our grill party for his baptism. The yard has been quite neglected since we moved in, due to the largeness of my stomach and now the arrival of Silas, so it was definitely needed!! OH, and we had our first day trip with a baby.  We had a 2 hour drive to a family reunion with the Madsen side of the family.  It was fun to show him off and see the Madsens again, and to be out of the house.  We were proud that we got through the day, but were definitely tired when we arrived home 12 hours later.  Silas was great the whole time, except for the last 45 minutes in the car he had moments of sheer screaming but finally calmed down so we could make it home!  

Sound asleep in a big bed



Fitting perfectly on Daddy's arm



Silas is here!

This past week has been one of the most amazing weeks one can experience.  There have been some ups and downs but all in all we are so happy to announce that we are now parents of a beautiful baby boy!

The Madsens

He was born on May 30th at 8:18pm, weighed 3880g (8.5lbs) and was 54cm long.  We named him Silas Adrian Madsen. (pronounced See-les) We gave him the middle name of Adrian after my middle name Adrienne, that way he has a part of my name in his name, and the less feminine version.

I will save you a lot of the details about the birth but here are some of the key parts.  We had an appointment Monday morning to begin the inducement process, as I was officially 10 days overdue and that is the new procedure in Denmark. When we arrived at the hospital at 8am I was put on a monitor to check the baby’s heart rate and any possible contractions.  After that they checked to see if my body was ready to break the water, but not quite, so I was given a pill to help with that and we were told to come back 6 hours later. In those 6 hours I thought I could tell that something was a bit different, but nothing really regular.  However, by the time we went back to the hospital I was having quite a bit of pain, so I was hopeful something was going to happen! After another 30 minutes of monitoring they checked again, and this time I was almost ready for breaking my water. The midwife told us to come back in 1 hour.  During that hour I could definitely tell that something was happening. We went for a walk and I had to stop pretty regularly to let a contraction go by. Then again back to the hospital, and this time the midwife said I was ready! They broke the water at around 6pm and from there it all went incredibly fast! We were told to get something to eat at 6:30, but by that point I was having very close contractions and barely remember walking down to the cafeteria.  The midwife acted like she thought I was over exaggerating, since it had only been ½ hour since my water broke, but we were told that we would be going to the birthing room now so that  I could take a shower and a bath to help with the pain.  At this point, I really didn’t think that I would make it 7 more hours with this pain. (As we were told that labor would take about 1 hour per cm and I was only 3cm at 6pm) By 7 I was in the shower, and trying to stay calm and breath. By 7:30 I was in so much pain and the contractions seemed endless, no break in between, so the midwife checked me out, and WOW, 8cm!!! She looked completely surprised, and I was quite relieved.  She said the baby would be here soon.  And she was right at 8:18 our baby was born and he was so perfect.  They laid him up on my chest, Søren cut the umbilical cord and we were now officially parents.

Those first few hours were so magical, as if nothing else in the world ever mattered.  We just couldn’t stop staring at him.  We celebrated his birthday with a Danish flag and toast and a few hours later we were shown to our “hotel” room, where both of us would be staying for the next 4 days.

Happy Birthday Silas!

During these 4 days, we learned a lot about Silas.  He had fits of gas/pressure in the middle of the night, slept well during the day, wanted to eat a lot,seemed generally happy, and was always well behaved for visitors. We got lots of practice changing his diaper and clothes and began to get the hang of nursing.  We were able to call a nurse at anytime of the day, and we used this option to gain some experience and some good tips for how to keep Silas happy!

Hospital visitors - Meeting Farmor

Faster and Fætter (Aunt and Cousin)

Thursday night Silas had his first bath and by Friday morning the three of us were ready to  go home! The first car ride was quite strange.  I could tell Søren was driving very cautiously (like you do if you are driving a big trailer filled with glass ornaments or something) Silas was well behaved in the car and slept most of the time, as long as I was singing the A-Your Adorable Alphabet song to him! Finally we were home and it felt strange and wonderful at the same time.  He was OURS, really OURS to keep!

First bath

Daddy gave him his first real clothes

Time to go home!

Since coming home we have had some visitors, and otherwise have just been taking it easy trying to get used to the new rhythm. Silas has been in general sleeping well during the day, but I think he is in the American timezone, as he is up “partying” during the night.  We have been trying to get naps in when we can during the day to make up for it, but we are quite tired. But then it is just one look into his beautiful face and it’s hard to feel anything but joy. He is a bit of a trouble maker already though, as he has peed on us a few times and on Søren’s Dad and another friend Kis as well! “Oh, Silas,” we say, knowing it’s not really his fault, but probably ours for not making sure everything pointing the right direction.

As for the two of us, we have been enjoying sharing the responsibility of having a child and I must say Søren has been so supportive and helpful, especially when I have to nurse Silas for multiple hours a day. He brings me water, the heating pad, books, whatever I need. It is a big help, as I think it is quite challenging and painful to nurse. The nurses at the hospital think that his tongue might be too tight and therefore making it hard to feed correctly, so we are going back to the hospital tomorrow to get it checked out…(Oh, I hope it works!!!)

Below are a bunch of pictures from our first adventurous week with Silas.  Enjoy!!

Finally meeting Grandma!

Bundled up for his first carriage ride

Proud Mom
(I couldn't stop smiling!)

Resting with Daddy

Neck exercise

Søren getting a chance to feed him (as Doctor reccomended to help me heal)

Sleeping outside for the first time!
Yay Denmark!  (PS: He has taken his longest nap ever out there right now, that's why I had so much time to write this!!)

Keeping busy

This past week has at times been a bit trying.  Mostly trying on my patience.  I’ve been trying to keep busy, but not too busy so that  I can be rested and “ready” when the big day does arrive. 
I am now officially 1 week overdue, but I visited the midwife yesterday and everything looks good, so that is a relief. She says “Any day now!” But I guess I already knew that.  We are so excited!!
Søren had a big exam yesterday so it was nice that he was able to go to finish it before the baby came.  We were very curious if the baby would come right on that day since we first found out his exam was that day, so now we can just be excited for our baby’s arrival. He did very very well on the exam and we went out for dinner to celebrate yesterday!!  
Thanks for all the emails and facebook messages asking how I’m doing!

Baking goodies for the freezer in comfort

Due date–come and gone

Well my due date has come and gone, and well, I am still huge! We didn’t actually expect our baby to arrive on time or on that day, but still it could have been nice.  So yeah, even though it could have been any day before, it is definitely true to say “any day now”!!!

Søren and I have really been enjoying ourselves though.  Since we didn’t know what could happen, he worked very hard and quite quickly on his last paper that has to be handed in on Monday.  That meant that he had a lot of time to be with me and we have had a blast hanging out the past few days.  We’ve played in church together, gone for walks, visited friends and today we took a drive to the ocean/fjord and walked by the water!

Thursday we went looking for cars, yes we wanted to be in the station wagon clan.  We had looked at many online and decided to see a few of them in person. We really liked the car at the first stop but decided to look at the others just in case.  In between car dealerships we stopped for lunch.  During lunch we began talking about how it kinda stunk that we wouldn’t get as much for our current car if we did a trade in, and well maybe we should just try to sell it ourselves or keep it.  We were thinking we would need to buy another car when I began working again in February anyway. So after a little bit of reflection we were quite sure that we were just going to keep our beloved Yaris until I started work again and then buy a cheaper station wagon at that time.  However, we did have one more car to look at so we decided just to check it out.  We really liked this car as well and just wanted to hear how much they would give us for our Yaris before we officially decided on keeping it. This is where the story gets funny! (Well to us at least) The other car dealership had offered us 65,000 kroner ($12,500). It was a reasonable trade in price but if we could do better here, then maybe we would buy a car now.  The man did some research on our car, and a little later he told us……”Yeah, we will give you 35.000kroner ($6,750).”  Søren and I looked at each other trying not to laugh, then Søren said, “And that is for a 2005 diesel Yaris?”….”Yes,” said the man.  And well needless to say we got out of there quite quickly after that.  We knew that if sold privately our car was worth at least 80.000 ($15,500)!!! The whole way home we made jokes back and forth about 35.000, and just laughed.  It was so ridiculous!!  So yes, the end of the story is that we are keeping our Yaris.  We tried out the baby carriage and car seat and it does fit.  We will be a little scrunched but we just want to prioritize other things, so we will just have to deal with it.  We are happy with our decision…so far!

Otherwise, we have just been hanging out enjoying our new home and time with each other and friends.  We had quite a few things planned up to my due date but then nothing after that, so we will have to be spontaneous this week if our little boy doesn’t arrive!

39 weeks

Here I am on my due date!
40 weeks

No news

Yeah, it is time for an update, but there isn't much new to report here.  I have now officially been on leave from work for 5 weeks already and each week I get better and better at taking it easy.  According to my countdown there are only 4 days left until my due date.  That is crazy, but I am definitely feeling ready most of the time.  I feel so huge and there are no comfortable positions anymore. I have been trying to keep busy to not just feel like I am waiting.  I have been to the ocean with a girlfriend and sang in church for 3 different events in the past week.  Also my friend Jette and I finished the baby room by painting some Mini Cooper (Mascots) on the walls around the green edge.  It turned out really well and we had a lot of fun.

Jette putting on the stencil

Adding the color

Otherwise Søren and I have gone to the movies and had friends over to pass the time.  He has been kept busy working on some exams, but has been very productive so now it won't be that difficult to accomplish the final projects before he graduates if I do happen to give birth soon!

So yeah, not much is really new. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we try to relax and enjoy these last few days before we get to meet our son. We are so excited!