It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

That might be a little dramatic, even for me, but we had one visit to the hospital with very contrasting experiences on two different floors...

Madeline has had patchy dry skin on her arms for a few weeks.  We brought her to the doctor and they said it was just dry skin and it would clear up on its own.

Our baby has also always hated peas.  When we tried to feed her them the first time it looked like we were trying to poison her.  She made an awful face and literally shuddered.

So we ditched the green foods and went on to carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and fruit.  Then Madeline got an orange nose, which you'll see if you look back in pictures from a few months ago, so we decided to push the green foods even if she hated them.

When Madeline turned 9 months we started with the finger foods and chunky purees.  At dinner at Nonna and Poppa's one night, Maddie got red and blotchy around her mouth after eating Earth's Best Spring Veggies and Pasta.  Then Ellie shared some of her beloved peas with Madeline the next day for lunch and the spots appeared again but there were more.

After talking things over with the pediatrician, we decided Madeline needed to get tested for food allergies.  Since peas are legumes and Ryan is allergic to peanuts, we needed to get to the bottom of this.

The day of Madeline's blood draw also happened to be the day a friend was getting induced at the very same hospital.  Now while I wasn't up for visitors in the hospital, I know some mamas are so I sent a quick text to see how Meghan was feeling.  She wrote me back saying that they were doing great and we could stop by.  So exciting!

When we arrived at the hospital, I took both girls up with me to the Birthplace on the 7th floor, the same place Madeline was born.  I hadn't been back since last September 7th but it all was so familiar and I was flooded with emotion remembering her birth 10.5 months ago. 

Ellie also remembered being on the floor.  There is a beautiful mosaic with a mother and baby and she went right over to touch it, letting me know she did the same thing on the day she went to meet her baby.  Ellie also remembered where the waiting room was and the magnet table where she and Madeline waited with Meghan's husband so I could take a peek at baby Cooper.

Cooper is so tiny and precious and Meghan looked amazing.  I'll never understand how some women look so great after having a baby that's only four hours old!  After a quick visit, I grabbed the girls and we headed back down stairs.

Waiting in the blood draw area also brought back memories, but not of pleasant ones.  Madeline was jaundiced and had to have her little heels pricked almost everyday for her first week of life.  When she was five days old we were in the children's room for her heel prick and I just came undone.  She was crying and so upset and I just felt awful that she had to be poked so much at such a young age. 

Our pediatrician is very proactive so we ended up with a Bili Blanket at home for the weekend and that knocked the rest out of her system.

Madeline's name was called and I found myself in the same room.  This time with a baby who is aware of everything.  And although seeing her in pain in those newborn days was difficult, this was much worse.  I gave her a 'bear hug' and our noses were only inches apart.  She was looking right into my eyes when the needle went in for her blood draw and her little face turned red and the tears began streaming down her cheeks. 

She was old enough to know pain but not old enough to know why we were putting her through it.  Ellie was so upset by her sister's tears that she ran over and started to sing and dance for her.  Ellie even got Madeline to laugh through the tears. 

After a few minutes - which seemed like forever - it was all done and we were on our way home.  We met tiny Baby Cooper and will get the results of Madeline's allergy test in 1-2 weeks.  There is nothing better than meeting a new baby and nothing worse than seeing your own in pain.  I'm just thankful that Madeline's pain was temporary and we were only at the hospital a short time.  Now we're just hoping that those red spots were a fluke and there really is nothing to worry about.