The little guy had quite the day today.  Lots of visitors in for the Gold Metal Men's hockey game.  He actually spent  most of the day awake so I am hoping for some longer sleep cycles tonight.  He slept for a four hour chunk last night which was great.  Tomorrow is my first early morning attempt with him.  I have to get him and myself out the door by 7:15am.  Wish me luck!

Sorry there was no picture posted yesterday.  The picture above was taken yesterday while the close up of him was taken today. 
We has our first big scare yesterday.  Jude fell out of his car seat yesterday and took it like a trooper.  (He was sleeping in it above his bundle-me.) To tell you the truth I think we were more upset than he was.  We got him all checked out at our first post baby ER visit. He didn't so much as have a scratch on him. 
Today he has been wonderful.  It has been difficult going back to work and not spending my days with him.  Luckily for Nick and myself my mother is in town and is watching him during the day while I am at work for the next few weeks. 
We are getting excited because the Humeni children are all making the trek into town in a few weeks and some of our closest friends are coming next week.

The week is almost over

I have only been to work twice this week and I am exhausted.  Of course not getting sleep last night might be a factor.  I got to bed around 11:40pm, woke up at 3am to pump, and then at 5 when the baby was fussing.  Sadly the little guy decided to stay up for an hour and I had to get ready for work by the time I got him down. 
Good news on the work front-  My boss changed my schedule (Again!) but this time in my favor.  I am now working Mon-Thur 8:30am-5:30pm and Friday 2:00-11pm.  (before I was working 11:30-8pm on Thurs)  She is allowing me to come in 30 minutes earlier so that I can extend my 15 minute breaks into 30 minute breaks giving me more time to pump.  Additional good news in the pumping front.  I am able to use the hospital's breast pump which is much better than any commercial pump you can by.  I will not have to cart my portable to work and I will get a stronger suck making pumping faster.

Side note-  My mother is in from out of town to help watch Jude for the next few weeks.  Unfortunately she arrived today and I had to be at work yesterday.  Luckily for Nick and myself our friend Suzanne stepped in to be our baby sitter.  Yesterday the little guy was an angel but today was another story.  I walked in and she looked defeated.  He evidently had a high tomato meter rating all day long. (Nick and I use this rating system to describe the shade of red that his face turns.) We will have to do something nice for her.

Smiley Baby!

This was my attempt to capture a very smiley baby earlier this morning. Baby Jude was all smiles for the better part of a half hour while he and Daddy were hanging out. I'm pretty sure that wasn't just gas. The last few days he has been quietly looking around, becoming more aware of sights and sounds, and grinning at Mommy and Daddy quite a bit. We are having a great time and looking very forward to him becoming even more aware. Vanessa had to return to work today, which was very sad after 6 weeks of very little separation between Mommy and Son. We look forward to the return of his Grand Parents from all parts of the country over the next two weeks, along with his Uncle Brion and many of our old friends. It's nice timing that he can add that adorable grin to his repertoire of cuteness as he woos everybody with his baby charms.

Last day

Jude was amazing today.  He not only spent time alone keeping himself entertained twice but at one point when he was sitting on my lap he held  his full weight on his legs.  The boy is terribly strong. 

I am going to miss being at home with him.  Tomorrow is going to suck. 

Side note-  I have attempted to give up dairy and have discovered that it is not going to happen.  My milk supply dropped dramatically.  Once I had  my milk it shot right back up again.  So, it may make  him gassy but at least he will be getting my milk.

Just a little bit cuter every day...

Today I had my 6 week check up with the midwife.  Everything seems to be going well. (I got my first and probably last IUD.  After the next kid Nick is going to get snipped)  Jude is due at the doc in two weeks and I am excited to see how he is progressing.
Today for a limited time Jude found his pinky finger.  It was cute watching him suck on it.  In general when he is upset he will suck on his entire fist. He has yet to find  his thumb. 
Jude loves sleeping in his car seat.  In fact this is how he sleeps at night.  The cradling of the body is very soothing for him.  What I can't understand is why he hates the actual car.  The last several car rides he has taken he has ended up in tears.  Two days ago I was in the car on the freeway when he completely lost it.  I felt terrible because there was no way for me to pull over.  He cried/screamed until he cried himself out.  My heart was breaking the whole time.

what a difference 1.5 months make

It is hard to believe that Jude used to look like the first photo. Here are also pictures that we took of him today. He is getting more and more adorable. Today he meets Aunt Ann and Uncle Jeff for the first time.

He is smiling a lot more and my sister Yvonne would be happy to know he does in fact have a dipple.

Mom hair cut

Well... I did it. I wanted a short haircut and I got one. I just got it today and I am not sure if I like it just yet. I have not been able to play with it. This is pretty much what it looks like when you wash and go, not even blow drying.
Jude has been much better today but it was also somewhat taxing for him. We went into Plymouth today for my haircut and he ended up spending an hour at Nick's work while I was busy. Evidently he had a melt down in the music store.
We then went home were he fell asleep fairly quickly. I unfortunately had to get him up 1.5 hours later because I was having dinner with friends and Nick is at a gig tonight. He was wonderful at the restaurant and was smiles pretty much for everyone that was holding him. (I had everyone use hand sanitizer before holding him.) He had a melt down again on the ride home and I felt awful. We were on the freeway and there was no way I could pull over. The little guy was screaming his lungs out and by the time I got to him he had cried himself out.
He helped me free Papa Klaver's fish and then passed out with in 5 minutes of arriving home. Hopefully he is out for awhile..
Off to pump the boobies!

What to eat and what not to eat.

I have been dealing with a very fussy and gassy baby these last two days. It has been incredibly tough. He does not want to sleep or be put down. I started reading (and am mostly through) a book called 'The baby whisperer' which helps you see the differences in what you baby wants giving common body language cues and sounds. (i.e. the difference between the "I'm overstimulated" cry and the "I need food" cry) It has been very helpful and also has given me the insight that Jude is very gassy (We knew this before but we were making the mistake of thinking he was hungry all the time instead of gassy.)
Since the debacle that was the spicy food of Super Bowl Weekend I have come to think that food affects baby's body. According to several web sights and my baby books this is a myth with the exception of cows milk. So I am cutting out all things dairy for the next few days to see if that helps with Jude's gas issue. Also, I am avoiding foods that makes me gassy. (Goodbye wonderful 15 bean soup that I made this weekend.) Hopefully we can find a happy medium somewhere.

Geyser

Today has been a difficult day. Jude woke up this morning and threw up all over Nick, the couch and the floor. He proceeded to have a fairly finicky day. He did not want to sleep today and only napped for maybe 2 hours. He pretty much ate all day long but was acting like he was full of gas. The good news is that he has decided he does know how to nurse after all and has been doing it through out the day.

This picture (No Nick is not naked) was taken this evening after Jude had another geyserish attack and got Nick and the futon soaked.

Second letter from Papa Craig

Your Uncle Mark, you haven't meet him yet, came to Florida a couple of years ago. He claimed there were no fish near Hutchinson Island. Don't listen to him, a caution you will hear many times in your lifetime.

I went surf fishing this morning, and caught over 25 bluefish. They are from a 1-1/2 to 2 feet long, and weigh 3-4 pounds. Richard, Uncles Dave's cousin, caught another 20 or so. I already cleaned and froze 10 from yesterday so we just released them, not counting a couple small ones we fed to the pelicans.

I feel like I have rowed a boat for many hours, so we are taking a break from fishing, and will just watch olympic hockey instead.

By the way, pelicans are very odd looking, but smart. When they eat a big fish they throw it up in the air, and it comes down head first. That way all the fins fold up against the fishes body, instead of poking the birds throat.

I had to buy a new fishing pole, 10 feet long, because you have to cast it 70 yards or more, over the surf. That might also explain my aching shoulders. Grandma Pam is now sick with a bad cold, which I gave her, so she is staying in the condo. Hopefully, she will feel better next week when it is going to be 75-80 degrees.

Hopefully you can come down here when you get a little older, and see all this for yourself.

Give your Mom and Dad a hug for Grandma and me,

Love Papa Craig

Meeting new people

Meeting new people is always great. Today Jude meet his cousins Zoe and Quinn and his Aunt Marcy and Uncle Bear. We had hoped to meet his Aunt Tracy as well but sadly she is ill with the crazy cold/flu that is going around.

Starwars

Very sad that we just got this onesie. It is adorable but it is sized for a newborn which means he will be out of it quickly.

Valentine's Day

Quick shot of the little guy before we all go to bed.

Hockey Nite in Canada

It has been so wonderful staying home with the little guy these last few weeks. It is funny that everything he does is incredibly cute and endearing. For example I do not normally find people that urinate on my walls and floors to be adorable but he some how pulls it off.
Good news- His diaper rash has cleared up and so he is no longer in pain. Also, the day before yesterday while doing tummy time he lifted himself up on his elbows. Sometime in the next few weeks according to the various books that inform you what you may be able to expect, he will start using smiles of recognition. He is already smiling but it look forward to when a smile is specifically for me.

Date night

Last night was Nick and my first night out since the little guy came. It was also our test run for our new nanny. Everything seems to have worked out rather well. Nick and I had some great Chinese food followed by a good time with friends at the brewery and Jude seems to have made it through the night unscathed. Here are some photos I took yesterday:

My little mafia member

Nick calls this Jude's Soprano look:

New visitors for Baby Jude!

This is Daddy again! I also wanted to note that we have many loved ones coming to see Jude over the next few weeks. Tonight we get Mark & Reggie for the first time to meet Jude and watch Red Wings vs. Sharks. Tomorrow night, we venture out for our first date night since Jude, and he gets to meet his new sitter. Next week he meets his cousins Sophie, Quinn, and Zoe, Aunt Marcy & Tracy. In a few weeks Grandma Deerstar will be back in town, Aunt Genevieve, Skye and Aaron, and then Uncle Brion comes in for a week. By March his Grand Parents Craig & Pam return from Florida, and they miss him sooooooooooo much!

still learning

Over the weekend I did something silly. I ate spicy chicken wings that Nick made for the superbowl. Sadly they have not been treating Jude well. He got diaper rash pretty bad and I feel awful. I threw out all the milk I had stored in our fridge because I was not sure what I pumped post wings and I didn't want to take any chances. Today I gave him a bath to soak his poor little bum and exposed it to the air. We have used corn starch and not Butt Paste to help him get better. So... no more spicy food.
He has been extra adorable today. He has just started the last couple of days to hold onto your finger or shirt with his little hand while he is nursing. He has also started to use his legs more. If you have him laying on your chest while in the nursing chair he will actually try to use his legs to stand.
In other news- I borrowed pictures from my Aunt Claire and scanned them into our computer and saved them to our shutterfly account. Here are some pics I now have of me as a baby. I know Jude looks like Nick especially around the eyes but I think he also looks like me.

One of my good friends is suffering a loss in her family. Her sister just gave birth to a still born baby boy who was 39 weeks old. My heart is breaking for them. I feel incredibly lucky to be blessed with my baby boy and can not imagine the devastation they must be going through.

Letter from Papa Craig

We have been trying to come up with nicknames for Jude. I came up first with 'Squeaker' because he squeaked while in the hospital. Nick found this to not be manly enough so he vetoed it. I than came up with 'Scuttle' or 'Scuttle bug' because he makes a scuttle sound... often. My sister Yvonne calls him 'Little Man' because he looks like a little old man. My brother-in-law came up with 'Judo-chop' which may be a winner.

My in-laws are in Florida and already Jude is starting to get emails. Here is what he sent which I think is super cute:


Dear Jude, I found the internet after all, so tell your Daddy I got my hockey team covered.

I spend a lot of time on our balcony, watching the ocean, and many different kind of birds. I have caught a few fish, called Whitings, surf fishing right in front of our condo. We have a "sand spike", which is a 4 foot piece of PC pipe, that you push into the sand to hold your fishing pole. I used it to tie my stringer so the fish I caught would stay alive in the waves, but I had to chase away the pelicans, who kept trying to steal it for breakfast.

There are a lot of Terns down here. They look like a small sea gull, and fly very high over the water. When they see a fish, they fold their wings, drop straight down like a bullet, and plunge into the ocean 5- 6 feet under water. After 20-30 seconds, they pop right up into the air, and fly away with their fish. Very cool!!!!!!!

In the early morning jellyfish wash up in the tide, so you have to be very careful where you walk, as they will sting you even when they are dead. They are bright blue, and purple, and look a little like the alien in Independence Day, which you probably haven't seen yet.

When you go down to our house, can you look by the front door, as Grandma Pam is expecting a couple of deliveries.

Love Papa Craig

Jude starting week 4

It has been a great weekend of visiting. My sister Yvonne came into town and meet Mr. Jude. More of an update later when I am not tired. Here is a picture taken Super Bowl Sunday. I lost my camera for most of the day (It was in one of the random pockets in the diaper bag and I didn't find it until 10pm) so I only took one picture.

Professional photos

Today Jude and Olivia got their photos taken. They are Olivia's 9 month and Jude'1 1 month photos. Here are some of the results:

The cousins meet!!!!