Congrats to the Navy's newest Lieutenant!

After an administrative snafu which resulted in a one month delay, Tim is finally being promoted today!!! 

Congratulations Lt. Nelis!!  We love you!!

Things we found IN our couch...

2 television remotes

The letters F, Y, and O

A cordless phone

A dinosaur - unspecified species

1 sock

2 pretend coins belonging to the Fisher-Price cash register

A magnadoodle

And, interestingly enough, $0.00!!

One Month Old!

Has it really been one month already?  Jude is growing so fast before our eyes!  I wish there was some way to slow him down.  He's much more alert now and he's got quite an appetite!  He's also falling into a nice little sleep routine at night.  He eats around 10 before I go to sleep.  Then he wakes to eat and get a new diaper at 1 am and again at 4:30/5:00.  Then we get a little more rest until Bennet gets up.

Jude's diaper rash is clearing up, but it took a lot of experimentation to find a solution for his sensitive tushy!!  The regular diaper cream only made his bum worse and the prescription did nothing!  So now, every diaper change includes spraying his bum with water and wiping with a clean cloth, then he gets his bum washed off in baking soda and warm water.  He then lays butt up for 5-10 minutes to dry off and air out.  After that, I slather on  extra-virgin raw coconut oil and pure lanolin.  A cloth diaper (unbleached cotton only) rounds out our routine!  A bit high maintenance, I'll admit, but it works!!

Since I'm nursing at the keyboard (again), I'll leave you all here with just a little sample of the cuteness we've been seeing around the house lately!

Home Alone

Well, Tim's paternity leave is over!  We were so very lucky to have him home with for so long, but we may have been a bit spoiled!  I mean, how many Dads get to stay home until their little one is 3 weeks old?  Anyways, Tim went back to work yesterday, leaving a VERY scared new Mom-of-two at home.  Luckily, I found out about a class on Monday mornings for Bennet so we went there yesterday and signed him up.  He's the only boy in class but that doesn't seem to bother Bennet at all!!  I should tell you, it's a ballet class, but Tim prefers to refer to it as "rhythm and movement" class.  Either way, Bennet LOVES to dance and is absolutely thrilled with his new class.  I forgot to take the camera with me, but I certainly will next monday and will have to post some pictures.  He particularly loves sautees (jumping)!  

Poor baby Jude has an awful diaper rash (I suspect a yeast infection) and a terrible case of gas!  I'm taking him to the doctor tomorrow to check out his rash and I ordered an extra-strong diaper rash cream and mylicon drops.  Unfortunately, one of the cons to living here is that you can't always just run to the store and find what you need.  It's not too hard to find things online, and I've not come across too many things that I can't order.  But waiting for things to get here is a pain, especially when I know my baby is suffering!!  Hopefully the doctor can prescribe something for his tushy tomorrow and the gas relief drops should be here any day now!

Tomorrow is Bennet's last day of school before summer vacation starts!  We're planning to celebrate the beginning of summer with a whole weekend of events!  Saturday morning, we have Bennet's closing ceremonies for tee-ball.  I've heard that all the kids get trophies!  How stinking cute is that?  Later that night, we're going to a friend's house for dinner.  Their daughter, Chloe, is Bennet's age and he absolutely adores her!!  Then on Sunday, we're going to Safari Land.  It's a local zoo here where you get on a bus to go through and you can even feed lions and tigers from the bus!  (With tongs of course!)  

And so the chaos begins

11 days. That's how long it took for us to get the "everyone in the house is sick" experience. After a quick (2 1/2 hour) trip to the doctor's office, we went to the pharmacy to pick up meds for everyone. Tim, Bennet, and even baby Jude all have pink eye! AND, all four of us have a nasty virus!! Ah the fun of it all!

On a good note, Jude has not only regained the weight he lost in the hospital, but he's surpassed his birth weight by a 1/2 pound!! The doctor said they like to see a baby back at their birth weight by two weeks old. He's now a whopping 6 lbs 12 ounces!! He also now has an adorable belly button instead of a creepy umbilical stump!

That's all for now. We're all going to get back on the couch to watch movies together. Misery does love company!

1 week old today!

Time is surely flying!! I can't believe just a week ago, I was meeting Jude for the first time! The whole family agrees that we can't remember what it was like around here pre-Jude. Bennet is enjoying being home again. Shortly before we left, Tim and I set up a whole new playroom for him and he's LOVING having his own place to climb, jump, and be wild! Unfortunately, B is feeling under the weather, so we don't have as many brother pictures as I'd like. But he'll be better soon hopefully and then we'll have plenty I'm sure!!

Otherwise we've been relaxing and enjoying life as a family of four. We all went for a walk last night and got some ice cream. (One of Bennet's favorite family outtings!) Jude and I have been working hard at nursing. Which is going really well. I love knowing that I am providing him with all his nourishment. And nothing beats the snuggling and staring into his eyes while he enjoys a tasty snack!

Jude had his first spongebath at home this week too. He's not a huge fan of being cold so I'll admit, there were a few tears at times. But it went well, until he got us back for having the audacity to want a clean child!! Only mere moments after being wrapped up in a snug, clean, dry towel, he let loose a huge, messy poo! So he also had his SECOND sponge bath that night!

Since I'm typing one-handed, I'll just leave you all with a few new pictures from the last week!

Meeting Jude for the first time in the delivery room!

His first outfit. In the hospital, he went au naturel with only a dipe and blanket. I embroidered his tiny little shirt for him in the last few weeks of my pregnancy. *notice the big brother in the background*

Hanging out with the boys. This was the day we were discharged from the hospital.

Jude's coming home outfit. One of the few outfits that actually fits him! He's SUCH a peanut!

First bath!

Just moments before the great poo disaster!

He make look just like Tim, but he seems to have inherited my tendency towards making wierd faces! I'm so proud!!

Big Brother Bennet in his big kid playroom!!

Look Ma, no hands!! That's right! I'm such a pro, I'm nursing hands-free...DISCREETLY! Who knew I could be discreet?

And just because he's so cute it's sickening:

The Kid Formerly Known as Squid

Jude Allen Nelis is finally here! After 43 hours of labor, he made his grand entrance May 17th at 1:31 pm. He weighed in at 6 lbs 4 oz and measured 19 1/2 inches long. He's a carbon copy of his Daddy and is an absolute doll!

I'm a bit tired now from the trip, so I'll keep it short and just post a couple of pictures. I'll have plenty more up in the next few days and a birth story as well. For now, enjoy oogling our sweet baby Jude!

Shortly after birth

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Meeting my big brother for the first time!

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Daddy is so in love with me...and it's no wonder why...I'm cute as can be!

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Kisses from Bennet

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Mommy couldn't be any happier or more in love!

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My first time all wrapped up and ready to go! I was asleep before Mommy even finished tying it!

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Home at last! Cranky after the long trip, but who can blame me?

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Preggo Recap

Well, our bags are packed and we leave in the morning. On Mother's Day no less, how appropriate! And the very next day I'll be 37 weeks and considered full-term! Back in september when I found out I was pregnant, this point seemed so far away and unattainable. And yet, here we are, literally days away from meeting our son! In celebration of that, let's revisit some photos from the last 9 months!

I passed the test!

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1 month

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2 months

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3 months

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4 months

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5 months

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6 months

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7 months

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8 months

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9 months

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1st ultrasound - 8 weeks

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2nd ultrasound - 10 weeks

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3rd ultrasound - 15 weeks

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4th ultrasound - 20 weeks

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I can't wait to post pictures of the end result!!!

One last thing -- To all the mothers and women in our lives -- HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! We love you all!

Maternity Photos

Also, we just got word that a room opened up at the Stork's Nest (room near the hospital for pregnant women from out of town) so we WILL have internet and will continue to update you all as our due date approaches!

Enough of that though...enjoy a sample of the pics! For more, see our family photo website (link in the left sidebar).

Getting Close!

Well, I'm 36 weeks today. Only one week until I'm officially full term! I had an appointment today which went just ok. For the second week in a row, my blood pressure is high. I normally have low blood pressure so I'm kind of surprised. Last week it was hovering around 142/90, but today it 148/102. Not so good. I swam a lot last week, did some yoga and meditation, napped a fair bit, and just generally relaxed. But none of it helped my bp obviously. Both appointments I had blood and urine tests to check for protein in my urine and liver function. Both times they came back normal. Basically, that means that I don't have pre-eclampsia, but that I do have pregnancy induced hypertension, which can lead to pre-e. I've had quite a bit of swelling as well. Tim says my feet look like the people on Wall-E. You know, the ones who live in the chairs and never walk! I would be offended, but it's true! I'll go back to the doctor this week before we leave to have my bp checked again. If it remains high, I may be induced once I'm full term. I REALLY don't want an induction, so I'm hoping this little boy will decide to come on his own before the doctors decide to evict him!

Just to give a head's up, we won't have a lot of internet availability in Yokosuka. We'll try to update from the library on base as best we can, but no promises! And we definitely won't be able to upload pictures. So you'll all have to be patient and wait for birth stats and photos until we get back home at about 3 days postpartum. So, just be patient and know that not hearing from us isn't cause for alarm!!