1 Month Old!!

First and foremost, today is Big Happy's 7th birthday!!! Our number one dog is still as fabulous as the day he adopted us. We celebrated by going to the dog park on an incredibly yucky day where he decided not to play with the number of dogs who's masters also took them out in the rain. He'll probably get bacon kibbles for dinner and fall asleep on our bed as a special birthday present. We love you Big Happy!! Thank you for being the incredible dog that you are and making us look so good!!

That said, our little Radler has grown so much!!! I know at first glance this outfit is not the typical outfit you'd think we'd dress our child up in, but you can't help but think she looks awfully cute in it!! Since birth, her face has begun to fill out, she's exploring her appendages with what we like to call "baby jazzercise" and her eyes have focused so she doesn't look stoned all the time. Supposedly, she can only see 8 to 14 inches away, but she certainly likes the windows with their natural light and the Christmas lights we have hanging on the wall all of which are more than 14 inches away.

Radler at six days old

Rrraaaarrrr!!

Hello!

We're adapting to the new, sporadic sleeping schedule. Juddy and I take turns as often as possible, however his lack of lactating requires me to do a little more work than he does. He's been fantastic though helping in what ways he can such as meals, getting me things while I'm chained to the recliner (I'll get to that), diaper changes, walking Big Happy and relieving me when I just can't do it any more! After we got home from the hospital initially, I felt remarkably well. And while I was doing "nothing" for Danielle's world, in the world of all other human beings, I was doing way too much. A week after Radler's birth I was experiencing some abnormal pains and ended up in the hospital again for 3 days; somehow I missed that I had had major surgery with complications and that I needed to do NOTHING when I got home. It was less than awesome to be back in the hospital, but at least nothing was seriously wrong. I was forced to do nothing as I sat in my hospital bed and then when I got home Juddy threatened to chain me to the recliner if I didn't stop "helping". So, that's where I've been for the last three weeks...chained to the recliner. Juddy, my mom and some of our awesome friends took care of Radler while I was in the hospital. Luckily, she's a resilient child and while I counted the minutes of being away, I don't think she noticed in the slightest! She drinks from a bottle (formula or breast milk) with no problem, has no problem being passed from person to person and sleeps through loud rock music as though it's a lullaby played on a harp. I think we'll keep her!! Although I'm going stir crazy, I do enjoying the bonding I'm having with Rad and the ability to tend to all her concerns (it's so tough being 4 weeks old!). We did finally make it on our first walk about a week ago. Don't worry. It was Juddy approved, flat and lasted about 10 minutes!! I've been on one walk since then, but completely overdid it and now I'm back on house arrest. Ahhh!! I'm sure all can picture how well I'm doing being stuck in the house, unable to walk or elliptical and having to put all my personal chores on hold for a month. Oh well...it's good for me, I guess.

Christmas was lovely. Due to my state, everyone came to me for Christmas. It's a little weird though, having Christmas and Christmas Eve at your house and being unable to cook, clean or do anything a normal host would do. Oh well, no one seemed to mind except me. It was a laid back holiday filled with love, laughter and an assortment of gifts. Radler scored the most though...she got a new 2010 Suburu Outback!! Juddy and I have promised to keep it safe for her until she turns 16 and can legally drive it. However, I'm sure she'll be on our laps testing out the steering within the decade! Oh, speaking of gifts, my outstanding husband also got Radler and I a gift for her birth. Our friend does these awesome "crystal wraps" (also known as hippy bling) which Juddy and I have been meaning to get for a long time. Upon Radler's birth, and once most of the drugs had worn off Juddy surprised me with my very own wrap. It has small versions of his and my birth stones and then a large blue topaz (Rad's birth stone) at the bottom. He asked that I keep it safe until Radler is old enough and mature enough to have it herself. Sooooo sweet!! I'm such a lucky woman....

I wanted to finish this with a giant THANK YOU to every one of you. Thank you for all the cards, emails, gifts, texts, prayers, dinners and well wishes. We have been inundated with so much kindness and love, it's overwhelming. We feel so lucky to have each and every one of you in our lives and can't wait for Radler to meet and experience the amazing human beings who surround us. I'm a little slow on the phone calls back, but I hope you all know how much we appreciate you and how blessed you all make us feel. Thank you for your love, kindness and just being you!!

Hugs and loves to all of you~

Juddy, Danielle, Radler, Big Happy and Little Buddy

Radler Nikita Rosellison

She's here!! Our beautiful little princess is here or as my brother calls her "The Heiress to Awesomeness" :) We're overjoyed, filled with love, completely smitten and totally in awe.

Radler Nikita was born Tuesday, December 8, 2o09 at 4:37pm. She was 19 inches long and weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces. First, thank you sooo much for all the texts, emails, phone calls and well wishes. As I've said since the beginning, this little girl is so lucky to come into the world with the love and support that you all provide. She's so fortunate to have you all in her life! I haven't been able to get back to you all individually, but we've received all the correspondence and every message makes us smile. Juddy and I read them back and forth to each other, or put them on speaker phone, as to not miss anything. Thank you all! We spent the first few days after the delivery in the hospital and, due to swine flu, we were not allowed to have any visitors. Therefor, the well wishes we received from most of you meant that much more to us as we recovered from the labor.

And that brings me to the labor....as many of you know it didn't go exactly as planned. It turns out my body is amazing for carrying babies, however not so awesome when it comes to delivering them. We had planned on a natural labor (yes that means un-medicated). With all the research that I had done, it seemed the healthiest way to go. Women have been delivering babies for thousands of years without assistance so why couldn't I? Besides, as you labor and the pain increases to unbearable levels, normal bodies release hormones that say "get this baby out of me". You open up more and out pops a baby. Story of my life, though, turns out I'm not "normal". I got to the hospital at about 3 am and was a "stretchy" 3 cm dilated, which I'd been for days, with contractions about 2 to 3 minutes apart. They admitted me and Juddy, my doula Mel and I hunkered down in the delivery room. Mel was absolutely amazing and Juddy was a observant learner; he's even help me breath through contractions (see picture). We breathed and giggled when we weren't breathing through the pain. About 4 hours into it, I hit the depths of despair but found a second wind, composed myself and attacked the contractions again. However, after 9 hours of this hard, un-medicated labor I was only 4 am dilated. FOUR!!??! I was completely distraught. I was sure I could do a few more hours, but at this rate I'd have been in labor until Christmas. After much debate we decided to have an epidural. After 3 more hours I still hadn't progressed at all, so they started other interventions. I'll spare you the gory details but at one point I looked like the Borg; bladder catheter, uterus catheter, heart probe on the babies scalp, internal contraction probe, two IV's, epidural to the spine, heart rate monitor, blood pressure monitor and an oxygen mask to boot.

Finally, at three o'clock I was dilated to 10 cm and they had me start pushing. However, again, my body was not interested in doing what it was suppose to. Mel said she's never seen anyone push so hard in all the labors she'd attended!! Radler would come down a little, and then retract back up. However, after each time her heart rate would dip. After 30 minutes, the OB came in. She looked at me and said, "they call me when things are going wrong so I'm going to lay out your options for you. First, we could try forceps, but here are the risks (blah blah blah) and I can't guarantee I can get the baby out that way or we can try a c section with these risks (blah blah blah) and I know I can get the baby out. Normally, I would opt for the forceps first, but with your circumstances I have no faith that I can get her out that way." Alright, let's do the c-section. It's a good thing too cuz as soon as we got in there, Rad's heart rate tanked. Had we opted to try the forceps we would have most likely run outta time. Turns out Radler was stuck in the birth canal and I mean STUCK! They pulled, pushed, yanked, you name it, they did it. Juddy said I looked like someone in a cheap airline film going through turbulence. They finally managed to get her free (safely), but in the process my uterus tore from bottom to top. What was normally a 30 minute routine surgery turned into more than an hour and a half of intense medical care. However, in the end, all that matters, is that we have a healthy baby and a healthy mama!

Now, what I don't want to sound like is another birth horror story. It used to drive me nuts while I was pregnant of all the negative labor stories mom's offered. Mine was just a new adventure! Juddy asked the nurses on a scale of 1 to 10, ten being abnormal, difficult birth where I rated. They all said I was pretty close to a ten. It's all true what they say though, as soon as you see your baby, you'd do it all again!

We spent 36 hours in the hospital after surgery (I recovered really quickly) and headed home. I'm not allowed to do anything except hydrate, feed and snuggle for 2 weeks which, I'm sure you can imagine, is particularly difficult for me to do. Juddy has threatened to chain me to the recliner at least once a day! We've got both grandma's here helping and they've been fantastic; cleaning, cooking and emoting over their new family addition. I'm not moving real fast, and the first days would have been a real challenge if the GrandMOMsters weren't here.

And then there is Juddy. As predicted, he's been the most loving, helpful partner and father. He's completely enamored with his daughter and has taken to fatherhood like a pro. He and my dad are already arguing over who's going to buy her her first pony! :) Juddy gets up in the middle of the night with me, changes diapers, calms Radler down and when he gets home from work, look out GrandMOMsters it's Papa Bear's turn for Radler time! Not that I'm surprised. It's heartwarming to watch him with her...in a tough, manly way of course! :)

So that's that. Big Happy is less than thrilled at the new addition, but he seems to be coping well and Little Buddy is definitely testing the waters to make sure she's still queen of the castle. Juddy's been working every day and although I stopped by the office to show off our little rockstar, I think my visits there will be on a mandatory basis. We're just loving life. And little Radler can't wait to meet all of you!! Thanks again for your love and support; this is one lucky, little lady!!

Hugs and loves, kisses and snuggles; Danielle, Juddy and Radler

40 weeks and 1 day...

That's a good lookin' family!!

In an effort to keep busy and not think about WHEN Radler will decide to grace us with his/her presence, I thought I'd throw up these pictures our girlfreind took. She did a great job!! There are over 100, but I'm going to try and just put up a few samples....

Cute Couple huh?

I LOVE this one!!

I think I win....barely...

Kisses!

Heart

Sleeping Beauty

What's in my belly Big Happy?

Look! BH is camoflauged!

Everyone looks good in black!

Belly

He makes me laugh...all the time

There's a baby in there...

Radler come out!! Everyone wants to meet you!! Don't worry, everyone. We'll keep you informed and you'll know AS SOON as Radler makes his/her grand appearance.

Hugs and loves, Danielle and Juddy

7 days...

36 weeks....

We're soooooo close!!! Radler is due in 7 days. My how time has flown by!! Although we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Radler, Juddy and I are trying to enjoy our couples time and quiet time. You know, like watching a movie on the couch...all the way through....with no interruptions? It's so easy to spend your time anticipating the new family arrival, that you can forget to live in the moment. I think we're doing an awesome job of living in the moment. Now, that's not to say we're not excited and that labor and Radler hasn't filled my thoughts and dreams.

Radler being serenaded

In the meantime we're staying busy. I'm still working, we attended a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends, I've been working out regularly, we completely decorated our friends apartment while they were out for their birthday dinner and today, with Radler due in a week, we limbed a tree for firewood for our other friends.

7 days until due date....

That's everything. This is probably my last post as a family of 4 (that's me, Juddy, Big Happy and Little Buddy). Next time, they'll be pictures of our new addition. I wonder if Radler is a boy or a girl...I can't WAIT to find out!! I'll make sure to get pictures up asap once Radler is photographable with our camera (i.e. not through an ultrasound). Hugs and loves to everyone. Thank you SO much your support through the pregnancy. I'm sure Radler can't wait to meet you all!!

Love, Danielle, Juddy, Big Happy, Little Buddy and (soon) Radler

Less than 6 weeks left!!

My brother Tony, my dad John, me, Radler and Juddy.

My mom always said that pregnancy should be 6 months instead of 9 1/2. I get it now. While my pregnancy has been absolutely fantastic, this was the month where my comfort level changed from "I love pregnancy" to "Okay, I'm over this". Sleeping pattern changes, heart burn, acid reflux and just overall discomfort has been the name of the game. However, I'm taking it in stride and feel it's just preparing me for labor. The sleep thing is crazy. I'm a nine to ten hour a night kind of girl. Eight hours just doesn't cut it. I can also fall asleep any time any where. So, when thinking about having a child, the lack of sleep has always been one of the scariest parts for me. But this month, my body just started adjusting for me. I sleep until about 2:45am, am up for about 2 hours, fall back asleep for an hour, up for another hour and then back to sleep for an hour. I try to nap for an hour or so twice a day too. It's totally weird, but my body has taken over and that's my new schedule. CRAZY! In the beginning I'd just lay in bed in the middle of the night, but recently I got wiser and now I just get up at 2:45am and start putzing around the house; laundry, dishes, movies, you name it.

My aunt treated me to a beautiful baby shower on the 9th. I took deep breaths, taking it all in. I know I'm a lucky girl, but I was just dumbfounded by the love and support that me and Radler (and Juddy) received. It was just beautiful! I never thought about it before, but now I can't imagine bringing a child into this world and not having everyone so excited and thrilled. What a blessing! I've also discovered a new found love for handmade items. The idea that my friends and family took the time to make something for Radler, something that my child will use and play with...I know, it sounds all sentimental and mushy, but the whole thing brings on all new feelings for me. I guess I'm just maturing. Growing up. Getting wiser. HA!! Who'd a thought!

Then my girlfriends threw me a shower on Sunday, and again, I'm so grateful for everyone in my life. Friends came from all over to support me and Radler (and Juddy). We made a body cast of my torso, which people painted at the shower. Good Lord I'm big. Not as much "big" as I am wide. Oh well, it's normal, healthy and it'll all go away after Radler is born. Right? There were a number of handmade gits (such as the laundry bad I'm holding up in the picture made by Michelle at Friendly Fashions) as well as "experienced mom" gifts, a photo shoot, beautiful blankets and second hand necessities. Thanks girls!!

Now, although I've been substantially uncomfortable and lack the required sleep I'm so used to, I don't want you to think that we've completely stopped seeing live music. Yes, it's been less substantial than before and I left a show early due to how I felt, but we've still managed to see 3 shows this month and hang out with our friends in that all too familiar extra curricular setting. While nesting is my up most priority, hitting these shows adds a feeling of normalcy to my life. And honestly, I think Radler enjoys it. Every show we've seen since I've been preggo, Radler has slept through, not moving in the slightest. All except one, that is, and that would be the show I left early. Rad was NOT down with that show (sorry Lotus).

Less than six weeks to go...holy cow...

Hugs, Loves, Kisses and Snuggles~

Danielle, Juddy and Radler

30 weeks...i.e. 10 weeks left!!!

Radler's vacation continued...


So although Radler is getting bigger, (s)he still likes to go on hikes and be active. And it's a good thing too!!! After our initial stay in Poipu, we headed to Hanalei Bay, where my family lives and owns a vacation rental (http://rentalo.com/64679/hanaleivacationhouse.html). Juddy and I got up early and hiked the Kalalau Trail, also known as the first 2 miles of the Na Pali Coast trail. It's four miles round trip of pretty rocky terrain. Definitely not for the weak at heart, but totally breathtaking! My family had recommended the use of walking sticks which was probably some of the best advice we received on vacation! The biggest thing about this hike is that it's not about the destination; rather it's totally about the journey. We were happy we got going early because by 9am the sun comes over the mountains, starts beating down on you and makes the already intense hike a LOT more intense! We had a blast and I was excited to show Juddy this famous trail. I REALLY wanted to kayak the Na Pali Coast, but alas, it looks like it will have to wait until next time. Kayaking would have been an all day event and completely in the sun the whole time which, I'm pretty sure, Radler wouldn't have enjoyed. Our final day on the east side of Kauai, we spent with my family checking out waterfalls, touring rich guy's properties, hiking Secret Beach, catching up, eating incredible local ice cream and just loving the time together. Radler got lots of belly rubs too.

We woke up super early to catch our flight to Maui. And when we walked outside, the most vibrant double rainbow I've ever seen was stretching the sky. It was so big and so close there was no way to get the whole thing into one single picture frame. It was absolutely unbelievable! And what a way to wake up!!


We got to Maui and headed towards my friend Michelle's house where she graciously hosted us for two nights! It was great to see her (it's been years) and her contagious, optimistic, and endless energy personality hasn't changed a bit! Radler, Juddy and I checked out Big and Little Beach, snorkeled and toured the Lava Fields with Michelle. . You know Juddy and his rocks!! I think we have as many pictures of rocks as we do of us! Michelle's husband's whole family flew in the following day so we headed to our condo. We woke up early the next day and decided to drive the legendary Road to Hana; a 50 mile or so oober curvy road right along the cliffs of Maui. We stopped at Twin Falls, about an hour into the drive and immediately discovered our camera battery was dying. AHHHH! you can't drive the Road to Hana without a camera! And no disposable camera would provide enough pictures as we wanted to take. So we re-evaluated and decided to check out this waterfall adventure I'd found in the tour book. It was off the beaten path, through a bamboo forest where you'd discover the first of four waterfalls. Each waterfall was suppose to be bigger and better than the last and required an adventurous spirit to get there. Juddy and I thought we knew the way good enough to leave the book in the car. Boy, were we wrong! We missed a couple of turns, thought too much and ended up deep in the bamboo forest. We finally came out to a large pond with a herd of cows swimming in it. It was nothing that we were expecting and honestly, quite discouraging. We made it to the road and the adventure that took us an hour to wind our way through the woods and around Cow Shit Creek, took us approximately 3 minutes walk from our car. Rather than give up we decided to put some food in our bellies, re-read the tour book and try again. This time we found the right trail! The first waterfall was easy to get to (if you didn't over think the trail). Oh yeah, I can't remember or find on google the name of the waterfalls, so I'll insert that later. The second waterfall, you had to scale a muddy, slippery rock face to get to, but it was twice the size of the first. There was a rope on the side of the rocks to help your balance and most kids could get up it if they had an adventurous spirit. To get to the third waterfall, we had to climb a sketchy homemade ladder which I have not included pictures due to the fact that I'm sure it would make the Grandmomsters nervous! Also, at that point we hid our things and just brought the waterproof disposable camera. Why you may ask? Well, besides the fact the our digital camera was now almost officially dead, the next part of the hike included bouldering for approximately a mile, a bunch of mini waterfalls and then swimming 100 yards to get to the final destination. We made it the entire way. Unfortunately, it hadn't rained in a while so the waterfall wasn't pounding but it was (again) the journey and not the destination that mattered. We had our adventure, with all it's ups and downs and succeeded. AND we'd managed to rearrange our day with the dying of our camera battery to create unique experience that we'll never forget. And just so you know, Radler's got an adventurer's spirit and loved the exhilaration of our adventure!

We charged the battery that night and tried the Road to Hana again the following day. As we passed Twin Falls, we picked up a hitch hiker who turned out to be on her way to Hana. We were listening to this monotonous CD guiding the way to Hana and offered the hitch hiker the option to A)listen to this CD with us or B)be our guide. Thankfully, she chose B. Like us, she likes the more off-the-main-path scenic views that weren't where every tourist stops. She quickly showed us Heavy Falls, another minor adventure to get to! It continually amazes me that there are all these drop dead beautiful secrets on any little pull off. You'd never know what gems lay 250 feet from the road unless someone takes the time to show you (or you have the most awesome guidebook on the island). Again, I won't go into detail about what we had to do to get there, but I know Radler is soaking up his parents lively spirit...







Opps!!! How did those get in here?!?!

After Heavy Falls, we were shown Stoner's Pool which is definitely private property. But alas due to our guide, we had the "in"! We trekked through the plentiful jungle, through stream and giant crawfish infested pools to come to our lovely destination...a calm waterfall that just had a special feel to the space. Juddy's need to cannonball was undeniable, and we hung by the pool and soaked in the tranquility.

When we finally got to Hana, we dropped off our tour guide and took her recommendation for a good BBQ joint. It wasn't good, it was AWESOME! I bought a case of their home made sauce to bring home with us! It was only 2 ish, so we ate and then headed to Red Sand Beach. Radler was tired, so we napped on the beach for about an hour before heading home. Rather then turning around, we finished off the loop which includes a long stretch of one lane, dirt road and some real stink eye from some old locals. Oh well, we pulled over anytime someone came up on our rears and I think that most of the locals were thankful for our quick reaction time. We only really got one serious stink eye.

Our last full day in Maui, we drove the other side of the island and stopped at the
#1 beach at the #1 destination in the world. All we can say is that we think that all the hotels on the #1 beach are who paid someone to call it the #1 beach. It was definitely NOT our favorite, but we're a little different from the norm.

We checked out of our condo, had lunch with Michelle and found a beach to relax on until our flight back to Kauai. We've seen so much of the two islands, I am very grateful Radler has given me the energy to hike, climb, beach comb, swim and continually be on the go. I'm' also grateful that Rad let's me know when (s)he's tired and it's time for a nap or to just read by the beach. We've had such an unbelievable time here in Hawaii. Finally, I'm so grateful to have been able to spend this time with Juddy before our lives change drastically. We have laughed constantly on this trip! He's been so understanding and helpful; truly just an amazing man. I'm reminded every day why we got married and how awesome a father he's going to be. We're heading home tomorrow, but I can safely say that Babymoon 2009 was a total success!! I recommend one for everyone!!

Much love, Danielle, Juddy and Rad