Where Are You???

Dear Squirt,
It's February 20.

You were due... yesterday.

And..... yep... you're still not here yet.  Despite my best efforts to get you to come into this world sooner rather than later.  Yep. Let's recap the last couple of weeks for you so you can see that yes... Mommy is trying to squeeze as much living into her last days of freedom for a while... while also hoping that all the activity will encourage your arrival.

Last Wednesday, I went with my girlfriend Kaylene to the musical Hairspray.  I figured that with my luck, I would go into labor in the middle of it and be THAT chick.  But, no... no baby.  But, a really fun play where we got to see some of our friends perform.  I got home that night at about 11 p.m. and was still so exhausted by the next morning, that your Daddy had to get Hazel ready and drop her off at day care, while I slept in.  When I woke up, I seriously debated sitting around the house for the rest of the day (sans pants) simply because I didn't feel like getting ready for work.  But, I went in anyway... something that makes my immediate supervisor happy.  Just because he likes seeing me uncomfortable.  And has made that clear to me.  Often.

That Friday, your Daddy and I headed downtown to a free Ice Cube concert on 25th street.  Yea.  That may not have been our brightest move given the fact that there were close to 10,000 people there.  And an untold amount of weed.  And a 9 month pregnant belly?  Didn't really fit in well with the crowd.  After an hour of standing in the street, squished like sardines... we had to make a break for it right before Ice Cube took the stage... by scrambling under a table and pushing our way through a mass of high concert goers.  We HAD had a really good view of the stage prior to bailing and had we stayed and risked our lives, we would have actually gotten to see the man... but as much as we wanted to be able to tell you that the night you were born we had been at an Ice Cube concert... we thought that risking our safety and your safety was going a bit overboard.

We ended up going to the back of the crowd where there was a little more room to breathe... but then it wasn't like the air we were breathing was good for you or me, so after about three songs (in which I enjoyed several flashbacks to college) we left and headed home.  By 10 p.m., we were showered and in bed.  Because that's how we roll these days.

But, you KNOW we had to do a bump pic at the concert...

Week 39!

That Sunday, we headed up to Snowbasin to watch the Super Pipe of the Dew Tour.  Which meant some "hiking" for me.  We hoped that the change in elevation and the physical exertion would do the trick.  It. Did. Not.

But, we still had a good time and your big sister got to enjoy one last weekend being the center of our world.

We went to the doctor for our finally appointment last week and it turns out that while you're ready to make an appearance (and we know this because your cute little head is nestled securely on a nerve that makes my special place cry out in pain all day long) Mother Nature isn't really moving things along the way we would hope she would.  So, all of that planning to just wait until you're ready to make your big entrance into this world?  Well, those plans got tossed out the window because, quite frankly, I'm kinda over the pregnancy.  I want to get on with things, you know?  I want to be mobile again.  Your Daddy REALLY wants me to be mobile again.  I want to be able to lift up Hazel without pain and I really, really, REALLY want to get out of my maternity clothes.

But most of all, I want to meet you.  I want to meet the little girl who causes me to pee five times a night and who gets the hiccups multiple times a day.  I can't wait to see what you look like and discover your personality.  I can't wait for Hazel to meet you and I look forward to the two of you being best friends.  I can't wait for the Nadolski's to be a family of four.  I can't wait to see if I have learned anything from all of the mistakes I made with your sister... or if it's true, that I can't be taught.

So, we're inducing tomorrow morning.  We were a bit surprised that the doctor suggested it... normally, she likes to wait five days after your due date to start an induction, but decided that the pain was enough to warrant only waiting two days.  

We are so looking forward to you making our family complete, baby girl.  We knew when we had your sister that we were OF COURSE going to have you.  It was a given.  We decided that the very best gift we could give Hazel is a little sister.  And the very best gift we could give you, is an older sister.  The very best gift we could give ourselves?  The two of you.  It may have happened sooner than we expected, but oh my... we wouldn't have it any other way.

See you soon, baby girl! Our family is waiting to meet you!

Love,
Mama

Let's Talk About It

Dear Hazel,
Just a quick note to update you on a couple of developments. 

You had your 15-month checkup last week... which means that Mommy subjected you to the terror and torture of a visit to the doctors office... which included the last of your boosters for at least 10 months.  Woo-hoo!  But that means that Mommy wasn't your favorite person right about then.  In fact, you let me know of your displeasure even before the piercing screams during the shots by REFUSING to share your grapes with me.  That's right, you sat on my lap with the bowl in your hands and popped each grape... ever. so. slowly.... into your mouth while maintaining eye contact.  And that eye contact said:  Suck it, Mommy.

But, other than the shots, it was a good visit.  Although the doctor mentioned that at your age, you should have at least a three-word vocabulary. 

See... this was news to me.  Right now, you've pretty much got two words:

- Mo?  Which means more of whatever we've been doing or feeding you.  And we hear mo? mo? mo? approximately 153 times a day. 

and

- Mamamamamama.  But I don't really think this counts as Mama because you say it whenever you want something in particular.  I'm not sure you even car if Mama is the one who gets it for you.  You just seem to know that if you say that particular word, it gets results. 

So, for the next three months, we're really going to focus on getting you to say more words.  Otherwise, we may have to consider speech therapy.  Blah.

Don't get me wrong, you've said other words here and there.  Berry, moo, milk, hello, me and doggy... among others.  But you don't really ever repeat them.  You obviously understand words.  I can tell you go to get your baby or the ball, and you go right over to it and bring it to me.  We can ask you to go kiss Daddy or go kiss Mommy and you do it.  You also can point to your nose, ear, eye, mouth and feet on command.  But talking?  Not really your thing.  You pretty much prefer to babble.  And while it's a joyous sound to our ears, we're not concerned that you speech is for some reason delayed.  I don't know... I'm probably just worrying unnecessarily... but that's what Mommy's do best.

You still love day care.  A bit too much, I sometimes think.  Lately when I come to pick you up at the end of the day... well, you could really care less.  In fact, you have taken to running away from me.  And when I try to put on your coat or jacket, after having wrangled you into my arms... well, that meltdown is something to behold.  I'm starting to get worried that the staff at day care might think that we beat you at home or something.  In a word?  It's pretty disheartening.  There is nothing in this world that sucks more than knowing that your child doesn't want to come home with you.  I won't lie... Daddy had to let me cry on his shoulder last night because of it. 

But, in your defense... I cry at the drop of a hat these days.  We've got just three weeks until your little sister joins us.  So, I'm pretty much on the edge emotionally 24/7.

We've also started to transition some of your toys into your bedroom and are hoping that teaches you that your bedroom is where you play.  We are still looking for a dresser for you.  Without a lot of luck .  So, we've still got a lot to do in the next few weeks... you know, before the Squirt Bomb of 2011 hits us. 

Love,
Mama

Bump Watch - Weeks 34-36

Dear Squirt,
Well... we're officially on the countdown.  Only 25 more days until your arrival!  I can't tell you how much we are looking forward to it.  Or how much we've discussed what to name you.  We've had several "helpful" suggestions from friends and family, and I think now is a perfectly good time to document some of the names that have been ruled out... or vetoed immediately.

- Pearl
- Juanita
- Agnes
- Millicent (your Daddy had a spit-take when I pulled that one out.)
- Zoey (we both love the name, but you have a second-cousin by that name)
- Lila (again... love the name, but cousins already beat us to it!)

Those are just a few of the many, MANY names that have been thrown at us (or by us) in the last couple of months.  I think that the name we're most comfortable with is going to be perfect and I've already been calling you by it just to test it out.  It seems to work!

We went to our doctor's appointment yesterday and got to see that you are head down (right on my bladder) with your bummy shoved up into my ribs and your feet kicking whatever organs are left on the right side of my body.  This has led to the reemergence of waddling.  Which is never a good sign.  And the bummy in the ribs  is constantly leaving me out of breath.  But right now, it's the head on the bladder that's driving me batty.  I don't remember having to pee this much with your sister.  And sometimes it's a total false alarm.  I don't like those at 3 a.m., sweetie.

My friend Sarah came to visit last weekend.  She's pregnant, too.  About 29 weeks in this pic, I believe.

 35 Weeks!

But, as you can see... I win.  In the belly AND the hair department.  Good grief!  Who lets their wife go out like that?

Your nursery is about 90% complete. I finally ordered the wall decals and Daddy and I put them up tonight.  It's super cute and when the room is finally finished, we'll post pics. Just a quick FYI... we took so much care with Hazel's nursery when she was still in utero... everything had to match.  With you?  Well, we got real.  And we scored a free crib.  So you're getting Hazel's old changing table and dresser... still the nicest piece of furniture in the house... and she's going to have to settle for a new dresser that may or may not match the rest of her room.  But honestly?  Who cares?  Do I really think that it's going to upset her if her dresser is white and her crib is dark?  I will not raise a diva.  I. Will. Not.  And you won't care, either, that your dresser is dark and your crib is light.  You wanna know why?  Because there are bigger issues in the world.

Issues like the fact that Mommy needs to use the bathroom right now because you keep head-butting my bladder. 

You've gotten the hiccups quite regularly and it's one of those things that I get to share with you... and no one else knows.  It's kind of fun.  And Daddy finally got to feel you move the other night.  The first time he's gotten that opportunity. You've been moving around a lot more at night, so I guess I can kiss my dream of having a baby that automatically sleeps at night GOOD-BYE.

We are so excited for you to join our little family.  We're even more excited to see if we can actually do it better this time.  Because if you don't know by now, we were pretty much ginormous screw ups when we brought your older sister home.  I truly don't know how she survived those first few weeks with us.  But, she taught us a ton... which we hope we can put to good use on you!

I remember the night Hazel was born... right after delivery when your Daddy was giving her her first "bath".  I remember sitting there... coming down off of all the drugs... and being completely stunned. 

Stunned that we'd finally done it.  Stunned that there was actually this little person that had come out of me and that I was somehow supposed to take care of for the rest of her life.  Stunned at all of the emotions swirling around me.  And stunned that our coupledome was officially over.  Our life... as we knew it... would never be the same.  Of course I thought about that pre-delivery.  Even thought about it pre-pregnancy.  But it doesn't sink in until you're sitting there in a hospital bed, on top of an ice pack with two Tucks pads in your undies and after having a nurse help you to the bathroom so that you can lose whatever is left of your dignity... all while watching the man you love tenderly wash the sore head of your baby for the first time. 

You always think you're ready.  You're not.  And I'm sure that we won't be completely ready for you to make our threesome a foursome.  But we're way more prepared mentally for whatever changes you bring into our lives.  And are so looking forward to it. 

Goodnight, Squirt.  Sleep safe and tight in there for a few more weeks.  We already love you.  And will forever. 

Love,
Mama