#2 is only 16 days old, yet she is already showing us a glimpse of who she is going to be.  She sleeps well and has earned the nickname of “The Grumbler”.  She cries occasionally, but more often than not, she simply grumbles and fusses until we meet her needs.  How lucky we are to have a baby that is relatively easy going!

 #1 has fallen in love with her little sister.  She calls her “Sissy” or “Bebe” and loves to come up and give her kisses.  She also loves to tickle her…..saying “ticky ticky” while she laughs hysterically.

With all of the positives and blessings that have come with both of our girls, there is still so much stress right now.  Going from 1 child to 2 is a huge change!  Hubbie and I haven’t figured it all out yet – we figured there are 2 of us – 1 for each kiddo.  However, when they both start crying or needing attention it feels as if there is no way for us to keep up with them. 

Today was the first day that the “Baby Blues” hit me.  Mostly because hubby goes back to work tomorrow.  The idyllic period of downtime for Paternity / Maternity Leave is over.  His cell phone has to be turned back on….he’ll get hit with some late nights, early mornings and a lot less time with the family.  The only way for us to ever get the same quality time together as a family again is to have another baby in the future….

Yeah.  Not so much.

 The due date came and went.  I started walking (waddling) every night as far as I could around the block to get things moving.  I drank special teas that were supposed to bring on labor.  I did squats at night to encourage my body to get the idea.  I tried to seduce (yeah right) my hubbie into sex because I read that could bring on labor.  I even contemplated getting on a trampoline. 

But my little gal was lovin her “Womb without a View” and wanted no part of the outside world.  10 days after my due date they finally induced me.  And induced some more.  Finally, labor started going and my body began to make way.  Until we hit 6 cm.  And stayed there for 12 hours.  17 total hours later, the baby was distressed and at 3:30 am they made the critical decision to deliver via a C Section.

Now I love my doc.  He’s a good guy.  Funny, wise, easy going.  But let me tell you, when they woke him up from a deep sleep in the Maternity Ward, I had less than a warm fuzzy feeling about seeing this bleary eyed man come at me with a scalpel!

In the end, my daughter was born – healthy and happy.

 This time around – they gave me the option of scheduling a C Section or trying to deliver again naturally.  I, being a practical and let’s face it, Type A person, chose to go the scheduled route.

Tomorrow morning, my husband and I arrive at the hospital at 6am.  By 7:30, they’ll be wheeling me into the OR.  By 8:30, the baby will be born and they’ll be stitching me back together.  I’ll be bright eyed, ready to receive visitors and show off my new baby by Noon!  Oh yeah – and she’ll be cute this time – no alien cone head thing going on.  And I won’t need to worry about them cutting “down there” to make room for a head…….or about my Hoo Ha getting so swollen that I have to keep an icepack on it for days. 

Nope – I’m going the medical route for delivery tomorrow.  And today?  Well I’m off now to get a blow out on my hair, a manicure and a pedicure!  Diva Mommy has arrived!

 We made up a short list of every name that we both thought was pretty good and have been trying to weed out the ones that we liked less over the past few weeks.

Last night, we decided!  It wasn’t easy – we had to consider what we would call her as a baby – what derivation of her given name would be used when she was in school?  What cruel playground name could other kids come up with?  Was there any meaning that we were overlooking?  What would her initials spell?

Referring to her by a proper name, rather than “TBD”, means so much.  Starting to give her “pet names” or nicknames makes her into a person……. a little being that we are about to meet and love.

So that got me to thinking – of the hundreds of downright ridiculous names in those baby naming books.  Of people that actually think giving a baby a name that is impossible to spell, or means “Oh Sweaty One” in Greek, or is a silly play on their last name (I did go to school with a girl named Chandra Leer) is a clever thing to do.

It’s funny that we almost always conjure up an image of the person we think we are about to meet based on nothing but a name.  For instance, what if you were a single man and a friend wanted to set you up with her friend “Bertha”?  Not likely.  I know a guy named “Pendleton Wickersham III”.  (The “third” just really makes it fabulous!)  He’s a really cool guy, laid back and friendly - but boy does he sound pretentious from his name!

So in the end, we hope that our little girl’s new name is one that represents her and who she is to become.  It is the first of many major decisions we will make for this little one as she comes into the world and becomes her own person. 

 The item that irritates me the most is Diapers.   Why do we need Blues Clues and Winnie the Pooh all over our kids butts?  I would actually pay more to use a plain old white diaper.  Better yet – how about a cute pink polka dot diaper?  Or blue check?  Yellow argyle?  Pampers / Huggies – listen up!  Better yet – send me a years free diapers for my great idea.