Oh, the Sleepless Nights

No, the sleepless nights are not a result of the excitement and anxiety of raising our first child.
Joe's basically got that under control.

They are not from fear of not having the nursery ready in time.
Again, Joe is knocking that out like a champion.

And they are not from my concerns of losing that baby weight come early 2012.
For I'm sure Joe will have me signed up for a triathlon in early Spring.

I get up several times in the night because:
-I am way too hot.  Those hormones really do a number on your body temperature.
-I am dying of thirst.  I have never drank so much water in all my life.
-I have to use the restroom.  Please see reason above and my new camel-like behavior.

Now I do believe in the biological reasoning behind many things.
Think about young children who put everything in their mouths when they are young.
It is not just to see their parents make that funny stick-out-your-tongue look while saying, 'Yuck-y.'
It is a sort of biological 'training' to build their immune system.

In the same way, my restless nights are biological training too.
They are to help me get used to being up several times a night with a newborn.
It's my body preparing itself to wake up on command every few hours.
And I accept this.  I really do.
It still doesn't help me stay awake at work though.
I don't think 40-hour work weeks were considered when this biological schedule was set up.

But why just me, I ask you?
Shouldn't Joe get some sort of training too?
To this, I answer yes.  After all, he'll be waking up sometimes as well, right?

Which is why I turn the hall light on, which shines perfectly on Joe's side of the bed, every time I wake up in the middle of the night for those pesky callings.
For biological reasons, of course.

Skinny jeans. Popped collar. Hand on hip.  Hopefully Babe will be as fashion-forward as Mama Mel.

Father Knows Best

Joe's paternal instinct has flourished at our house.
It's quite amazing and thrilling.
For the past three months he has become the sole housekeeper, chef, and support in our home.

I've always known he was a natural nurturer.
Always the voice of reason.
Ready to listen.
Ready to help out in any way.

With this new role as Papa Joe; however, his nesting mode has just exploded.
Food at my disposal.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Freshly laundered clothes.
Clean dishes.  Clean floor.  Clean car.
Plants watered.  Inside and Outside.
Movie of my choice playing.

Beyond taking care of his ill-feeling wife, he has embraced Baby Madzar with open arms.
The nursery (second bedroom/Joe's sports room) has already nearly been emptied.
Joe has reorganized the rest of the house to take on our upcoming bundle of joy's arrival.
There are woodworking books laid out and sketches of what he plans to do in the baby's room.
He already has Babe's first bike picked out.
And is inquiring about attendance at St. Mary's Pre-K program.

Taking this in stride is Joe's way.
No Fear.  Just Do It.  Insert any brand's headstrong logo here.
Joe is Gettin' It Done.
He's full of pride but humble and content in the same breath.

I'm hoping Baby Madzar inherits some of these fine traits from their dad.

Here's hoping Baby Madzar also gets Joe's incredible fashion sense ... of humor.

Yin & Yang

The timeless saying of Opposites Attract holds true for Joe & I.
I am Yin.  And he is definitely Yang.
I like chocolate; he likes vanilla.
I'm an early bird; he's a night owl.
I can be too uptight; he can be too laid-back.
It works out well though.
As polar opposites we're still very interconnected.
We give rise to one another in turn.
Without one, there would not be the other.
Opposites only exist in relation to each other.

As Yin I make sure all bills are paid, schedules are kept, and house is cleaned.
As Yang Joe makes sure all surfboards are waxed, fun is had, and nothing is taken too seriously.

After reading my introduction post of Baby Madzar on this blog, I asked Joe what he thought.
His reply, 'I liked it.  It surprised me.  It was pretty artsy.'
Hmmm, well.  I suppose it was a little unlike me.  Maybe the whole lioness portrayal was a little out there.  But if anyone can appreciate that, it's Joe.

A few minutes pass and I suddenly remember hearing Joe get up very early that morning.
So I say to him, 'What time did you get up this morning?'

'Around 5am.  I cleaned up a bit.'

Looking around the house I finally pick up on the freshly cleaned rugs, wiped-down counter tops, and sparkling dishware neatly stacked in the cupboards.  As my head is spinning around taking in the house in all its cleanliness glory I come full circle around and am staring Joe dead in the eyes.

Suddenly it hits us both and in unison we loudly declare,
'WE'RE TURNING INTO EACH OTHER!'

Will Babe be bald till they're 2 like Yin?

An Extension of the Spine?

 'Is that a penis?!'

I exclaimed after seeing this ultrasound view.

 

Baby Madzar's little bum is to the right.

Then Babe's cute frog legs are stretching out to the left.

With the top leg just slightly bent upward.

Little feet are the whole way to the left.

Now notice the white marking coming out from the bum in between the legs.

This is what caused me to scream such obscenities in the doctor's office.

Dr. Robison started to laugh.

'You never know.  Could just be an extension of the spine.'

Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge.

'Looks like you'll have to wait till August to find out for sure.'

I Knew

Not to brag, but I knew.

Remember this post from Palm Sunday.

Although I didn't mention it at the time, I had been feeling very different since the day before.

I kept replaying in my head the opening credits of the movie, Look Who's Talking.

You know ... 

Where the little tadpoles are swimming frantically through cloud tunnels in search of the big, red floating ball.

(Very technical description, I know.)

But I felt pregnant.

I just knew.

Leaving the church I say to Joe, 'I'm pregnant.'

Joe,'Since when?'

'Yesterday.'

Joe skeptically, 'Gotcha.'  

Then here was the next week.  

I confided in Robin what I was feeling.

Trying not to sound like a complete lunatic, I made my usual jokes to make light of it.

We laughed.  But I knew that we both knew.

Robin was 7 months pregnant at the time and her pregnancy radar was on point. 

I felt pregnant.

I felt like a mom.

I felt ... happier.

I just knew.

Exactly two weeks from Baby Madzar's introduction into this world was our anniversary.

Coincidentally it was Baby's first theatrical production as well.

After a dinner celebration we were off to Thalian Hall to see Amadeus on stage.

I could barely focus on the play though. 

I couldn't stop thinking about the possibilities of a baby.

In fact, thinking back ...

There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think of a baby.

I just knew.

I took THE TEST on Monday evening after work.

With tears in my eyes, I showed it to Joe.

We're having a baby.  

Have sweeter words ever been spoken?

Now ... we knew.

Cindo de Mayo was the confirmation at the doctor's office that my maternal instincts had been right.

Baby conceived Palm Sunday Weekend.

Going to be a good Catholic, right?  

Baby Madzar had spent our first wedding anniversary with us.

How perfect.

Baby's first stage production, Amadeus.

Not so perfect.  Very boring play actually. 
But maybe Babe will be a great musician like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 

Bicycle built for three.

I graciously accept.

Will Baby have fair skin and baby blues like Mama or an olive complexion and green eyes like Papa?

Stretch, Yawn

I feel like a big cat.
A lioness, if you will.
And I'm in this dark room.
All curled up in a ball.  Sleeping.  Preserving my energy.
A sort of survival mode.
All of a sudden, I feel a presence in the room.
I'm too tired to fully open my eyes but I can make out a figure walking by me in the darkness.
Suddenly, a light is FLIPPED on.
My eyelids slowly start to flutter, gradually letting the light stream in.
I stretch out my front legs.  Nice long stretch.
My front paws spread apart as I reach, Reach, REACH as far as I can.
Then comes a long yawn.  A big gasp of air is exactly what I need to wake up.

Turns out that bright light is connected to a long, flexible bend-y thing.
Think a very, expensive reading light.
It's attached to a doctor's bed. I am there on the bed.  Human this time, not cat.
The light is shining down on me and is waking me up from my 10 week, 2 day slumber.
Then I notice Joe to my left leaning over me, totally crowding me.
I swear he doesn't realize that I'm there.
He's looking past me.  At a monitor.
It's almost like he's cheering the screen on.
Big eyes. Mouth agape.
It looks like he's watching Croatia.  Up for a penalty kick in the World Cup finals with a 1-1 tied score.
Then I look to my right and see the screen for myself.
This is way better than soccer.

A little flutter on the screen.
Ba-DOP. Ba-DOP. Ba-DOP.
And this teddy bear-like image going crazy.
Arms waving.
Legs flailing.
Turning this way. Turning that way. Somersault. Flip.
I'm thinking, 'This is why I've been so nauseous.  This little bundle of energy has been spinning donuts inside of me.  Kicking up dust.  Partying like a rock star.'
I hear Joe make a comment about being a great triathlete.
Then I look at him and see him for the first time as a proud father.
We're watching his/my/our little lion cub for the first time.

Presenting Baby Madzar!