Checking Out the New Kid

...Jude coming home from the hospital. We have been home a week now and it has flown by, and sadly, all of our loving help left Lubbock today. It was so great having Amanda's mom here all week with us, and Jude's godmother Stephanie for the weekend (pictures of Stephanie and Jude to come in a future post). The first week was wonderful thanks to their love and support (and dishwashing!). I know going back to work (Michael & Amanda) and school (Kate) will help us to settle into a routine and help everyone adjust to life as a family of four, but I am sad to see that first 10 days end already. The pictures we are posting tonight are of the family checking out the new kid during our first couple of days home with Jude.

Here is a picture of the first moments after walking in with Jude from the hospital. Kate was so sweet just looking at and talking to him. I know she was/is overwhelmed right now, but she really does love Jude.



Mommy and Kate changing Jude's diaper. Amanda thought it would be nice to change him on the couch for the first time, instead of the changing table, so Kate could watch. As for that decision, all I can say is I am thankful our couch is leather!



The newbie



Kate helping me feed Jude.



We can't forget to include the dogs in this post. Here is Sophie coming to say hi to Jude, followed in the next picture by Stanley laying down with him.




Kate's favorite thing to do with Jude at the moment is to help give him his nightly bath. She wants to put her step ladder next to the tub and she pours water over his stomach. It is so cute. Even when he managed to pee on her during the bath on the first night, she still wants to help!



My favorite part of bath time...the towel at the end.



Granny with her newest grandkid.



Awww, such a great moment between big sister and little brother!

Last of the hospital pics!

...needing to post a few more pictures of our time in the hospital. We love the picture above--Kate seems like such a big girl and she is so happy sitting next to Jude. The next several pictures we took below we were just having a quiet morning, so decided to take advantage of the natural light and use our good camera. The quilt that Jude is laying on is his current favorite blanket; he gets cozy and falls asleep anytime he's on it. This was the quilt Amanda's granny made for Amanda's someday children when Amanda was born. Crazy that this was his blanket that just so happens was made 30 years ago, and that it wasn't used by anyone else.





This brand of muslin blankets are our favorites--Kate loved them too as a baby. She still uses one to sleep with every night.


Amanda is addicted to holding Jude like this; I think both of them are.


On our last night in the hospital Jude brought Kate a present, an American Girl baby.



Kate was very excited about her new doll, and has since named her Cindy. No idea where the name Cindy came from. She has been taking great care of Cindy since bringing her home.

Jude's Second Day

...Jude's second day with us! We were all feeling great, so it was a perfect day to get some initial bonding with the little guy. We started to learn some things about him and his preferences. Like for example, there will likely be a lot of pictures of him cuddled up on Amanda's chest with his head up and legs straight down. This is his favorite way to be held at the moment, and loves to cuddle. Kate has never been much of a cuddler from the time she was born on; Jude on the other hand wants to be held and likes to be snuggled into a blanket on a chest or neck.





He seems to be doing great and the doctors and nurses say everything looks good and he is a healthy little boy. We are so thankful for that good news!

The only down side to all of this is how much we miss Kate while at the hospital. She is coming up twice a day, but what 2 (almost 3!) year old wants to be quiet and confined to a small room with her favorite people that she likes to show off for? She seems to be handling everything well and has not been jealous of any of her people giving Jude attention. Amanda and I though are constantly wondering what she's doing, if she's being good for Granny and Papa Steve, if she's sad, if she's confused, and on and on. These pictures below are from Kate's evening visit to the hospital and she was doing much better than the morning visit. In the morning when it was time for her to leave she started crying and saying how much she missed mommy. She crawled up in the hospital bed with Amanda and they cried on each other for a while. Kate said, "I'm worried about you mommy. Please come home. I don't want you and baby Jude to stay in the hospital anymore. I'm sad because I'm worried about you." All through choking tears. She had us all crying, but as you can see from below she recovered from her morning trip. We are so ready to be home.






Our first picture with his eyes open! His eyes are so much smaller than Kate's were. Jude's are more slit like than oval.



Granny enjoying her newest grandson!



Doing what he does best right now...sleep! Hope he keeps it up!



And, finally he ends the day back at his favorite position. Amanda is loving her cuddly little boy!

Jude's First Day, part 2

...getting to meet his big sister Kate and the rest of the fam for the first time! I wanted to make sure I had a moment with Kate before letting her meet him to tell her how much we loved her and to let her know her little brother wanted to meet her. The picture above was the first moment Kate met Jude. I think she was caught off guard a little because we had been talking about him coming for so long that she might have been shocked he was finally there.

Jude and Kate with all the grandparents!



Amanda was so sick when she had Kate we weren't really sure what to expect after having Jude. I know we weren't expecting her to be feeling this good though; this was her being moved from recovery to her room following Jude's delivery. With Kate she doesn't even remember the day and was not allowed out of bed because of the meds she had to be on, but with Jude she was able to get up and walk around, eat, and felt great (considering) all day.



Once Kate got to see mommy and that she was okay, she started warming up to Baby Jude. She wasn't so sure about touching him, but each time she is around him right now the more comfortable she gets with him.





Isn't he a cute little guy?! He definitely favors Kate with the same nose, lips, hands, and feet; but the shape of his eyes and face are different.





Like I said Kate started warming up to him slowly, but was brave enough to hold his feet while Grandma Donna was holding him.

Hey Jude!

...the day before Jude was born, all of the grandparents started arriving. My Dad and Donna (Papa Ron and Grandma Donna) stayed at a hotel with a pool, so Kate got to do a little swimming. The picture above, Kate and I were having a little talk about Jude coming the next day. Amanda and I have not been nervous about loving another child or how to handle a newborn with Kate at the house. What we have been nervous about is how Kate will react and will she know that we still love her the same even though we have to pay a lot of attention to Jude--especially in those first few weeks. So far, she's been good, but a little stand-offish toward him. She will be okay, and I think we are all looking forward to getting into our routine.



Amanda and me at 5 am in the hospital, getting ready to have Jude!



One last pregnancy silhouette. Amanda was soooo ready to have him out. The worst part of the day for Amanda was getting her IV started. Amanda is a hard stick, and it took 3 different nurses 7 tries of blowing valves to finally get one started. That 7th one finally blew, and the anesthesiologist had to try 3 more times before finally getting the successful one.



The only reason I am posting this picture is because we posted one of Kate like this, so we wanted to be fair. This was the least graphic picture, so I don't think it's too bad. By the way, I was not taking this picture--I had my head by Amanda's buried behind the surgical curtain. Did not want to spend the first few minutes of Jude's life passed out on the floor.




Here he is! He made it into the world on May 20th, 2011, weighing 7 lbs 15.5 oz's, and measuring 21 inches long. The staff in the room loved his name they were singing "Hey Jude" as we headed out to the nursery.




Meeting mommy for the first time before heading to get checked out by the nursery staff! We will be posting pictures of Jude meeting Kate and the rest of the family next.