Jim and Chan AND JUDE'S Excellent Adventure

Well.....she did it. Or I guess we did it. But after watching Chan go through labor with Lil' J I'm pretty sure they did it. Welcome into the world Mr. Jude Thomas Clapp. He arrived at 4:47 PM on April 7th, 2010 weighing in at a (I think) impressive 8 pounds 4.2 ounces and 21.25 inches. He has his fathers head already boasting the need for a 13.75 in fitted Twins cap. Everyone is happy and healthy thus far. He rarely cries and really enjoys being a burrito and being all wrapped up. Chantel did great throughout the entire labor.

Picking up from where the last one left off.... She quickly moved from 4.5 to 7 to 9.5 cm dialated in a few short hours after the epidural numbed the pain. She started to push about 12:45 and was still going 4 HOURS LATER!! Dr. Hodges came in around 4 and really turned things around (literally, Jude was face up instead of down and needed to be turned). Mom and doc worked together and found the energy to push through the final 45 minutes of labor to get Jude into this world.

Since then, we've had some visitors to share in our happy time. Chantel's parents are hear for the week and were eagerly walking around downtown Boise waiting for the phone call. We've moved out of Labor and Delivery and are going to stay the night in a regular hospital room. Jude received his first.....everything. Bath, diaper (courtesy of dad), feeding attempt, snuggle with mom, etc etc etc.

Jude is now resting with Chan and happy as a little clam. We don't know when we'll be heading home yet but for now, things are GREAT and we couldn't be happier. There will be plenty more to come so stay tuned.

Held on until the last day

We had scheduled the induction to get Jude moving for 4/7 at 7:00 AM but he decided that wasn't necessary and contractions started at 2:00 AM. Chantel didn't wake me up until quarter to 5 and we were off to the hospital by 5:45. We narrowly missed not getting admitted because we were third in line to have scheduled an induction but we were able to budge in front of girl #2 because her labor was active and she was having contractions every 2.5 minutes. The contractions were getting pretty intense for awhile when they had us walk the halls for an hour to allow her to progress enough to officially call her in active labor and get her admitted. We really didn't want to have to go home and were very glad we were allowed to budge.

We have now been admitted and are in our room. The epidural has been started and things are going MUCH better. Her pain is pretty much gone and she's able to rest. The nurse and resident physician that's hanging out with us feel like Jude should be here before Happy Hour but nobody's willing to commit to a time yet. Our doctor hasn't been in yet and Chantel is resting so I thought I'd take a minute to update this blog.

More to come as we progress....

The final countdown...

Happy Easter, all! The sun is trying valiantly to peek out from behind the clouds this morning...we've had some pretty gross weather all week; hail, sleet, rain, clouds. Very unusual for us. My patients have been saying it's because we missed winter here in Boise that all the weather is coming now! However, April showers bring May flowers, and its nice to see the tulips and daffodils coming up.

I finished my last day of work on Friday; it was good to have the distraction of going-going-going all day, but I was just beat by the end of the workday. I look forward to at least a couple of days off before Jude comes to join us! The doctor had told me almost two weeks ago that he thought baby's arrival was just around the corner...but apparently his crystal ball was not up to snuff that day, and we are just waiting (impatiently). :) I did get the go-ahead from the Dr. to induce at any time, since it just looks like Jude is being pokey -- so we have a date for 7am on April 7th, like it or not.

Jim has started working on our new deck -- of course, what better time to start a big contruction project than when your wife is 8 1/2-9 months pregnant?? Ahem...he has all the framing up, just need to get the floorboards and the railings down. Not sure of the estimated date of completion, but it would be nice to see it finished before we enroll Jude in kindergarten. :)

My mom & dad are leaving today from Fargo to drive out here to Idaho. I believe they are stopping for a little R & R (and showshoeing) in Big Sky, and then meandering out here in time for Happy Hour on April 7th. The wine fridge is stocked, and shnacks abound...in fact, the wine fridge has been stocked since about August, come to think of it. I have heard "a little dust on the bottle" only improves the experience -- hopefully this is true with cheap wine, as well.

Hope your hunt for Easter eggs was a successful one, and that the spring is a reminder of ALL of our blessings; especially new life!! :)

Chan

House Projects!!

Winter is almost over, although in Boise it never really showed up this year. Its been above freezing for quite some time now. Haven't seen snow unless I've sought it out on the slopes since before Christmas if I'm remembering correctly. Chantel is doing GREAT!! She's been truckin along all while Jude's been putting his time/effort into growing. We have decided on the little guy's name: Jude Thomas Clapp. And no, it won't be JT. That's everyone's initial reaction when they hear the name. That....or, "Jude, what if its a boy??" We hit the 34 week mark this Wednesday and we're getting pretty anxious to see this little guy. Below is the latest update on the growing baby bump. Chan has been expressing the feeling of being "One with the Manitee". I'm not seeing the resemblance but I've learned not to disagree with her these days ;) See below to "weigh in" on the subject.

We've been working on our bedroom facelift since July of 2009 (I've been working on the bedroom facelift mostly). Chan provided a lot of encouragement and patience but also a hand now and then. We've also been working on our bathroom and Jude's room. His name on the wall is 4 wood letters that have individually glued coffee beans covering them (thank you very much) and then finished with 2 HEAVY coats of lacquer. We also made the mobile. Chantel drew the birds, we cut them out, and I put it all together. Below are a bunch of photos of the (almost) finished products. There are always things that can be done or added but for the most part, things are complete.

I'm looking forward to this Spring. I get to build my deck!! The design began late last summer but I purchased a deck building book to make it official. Please stay tuned for progress photos and frustrated blogs.

We have also decided to return to Fargo in early June (2nd-8th). This is a Wed night to Tues afternoon trip. We're trying to figure out some sort of "Open House" for Jude's 1st trip to Fargo and to see friends and family that we haven't seen in awhile. It will have been a year for me since returning to ND.

Holidays 2009

With Jim off skiing in McCall this weekend, I thought I'd tie up our loose ends and update our blog...in addition to all the other exciting things I do when I'm alone for the weekend - like deep condition my hair, scrub the bathrooms, leave the dog outside all day, and make sure my PJ's can withstand a full day of wear.

We had a flurry of activity over the holidays, with my mom and dad in for Thanksgiving, then a big trip to see both Jim's dad's fam and my mom's side in AZ for Christmas/New Year's. The driving force behind our 9 day trips was Jim's grandma's 90th bday - she was full of vitality and matriarch-isms on her big day, plus she's looking damn good for 90 years (no Botox necessary!).We took advantage of my mom's sis Marnie and her hubby, Mike for as much entertainment and free room and board as possible. :) Thanks, guys! We were able to get a few touristy activities in from hiking the Phoenix Mountain Reserve, Phoenix Botanical Gardens, Prescott (brr! even AZ mountain towns are cold), and the desert oasis Mike and Marnie call home. We LOVE relaxing in their backyard & watching the aviary explosion - they have a total bird sanctuary.

I hate to say it, but it really was nice to get back to "normal" this week after our big vacation and go through the motions of our typical routine at work and home. Our little guy is always on our minds (could be cause he wont stop kicking around like David Beckham), and we are counting down the remaining 12 1/2 weeks until April 7. I feel like a million bucks - just larger dimensions, but have been so lucky not to experience any ill effects. I've treated a few pregnant women in really tough shape from sciatica and back pain in the last few weeks that makes me VERY thankful for my health and our active lifestyle. A few pictures from the last couple of months follow...a small sampling of all the opportunities we have had to see family in the last two months.

Baby BOY!!

This is our 19 week one day old baby boy in his most recent ultrasound today 11/12. We were so excited to FINALLY find out what gender baby we are having. It didn't take long to figure out and Chantel said she was so excited she didn't want to go back to work (but she rarely wants to go back to work after lunch anyway ;). We've include a small summary of the photos they gave us after we were all done. Chan likes the skull face photo the best but I'm partial to the one where it looks like he's scratching his eyes. We are super excited and couldn't wait to get these pictures up and online for you all to see. Enjoy!!

Autumn Adventures

This blog seems to be going the way of most of my new interests or endeavors...sadly, abandoned or incomplete. :) Sooo, this entry will be a quick re-cap of our lives as of late.

We were able to take a little vacation to Seattle in the beginning of October - a sort of pre-birthday celebration for the both of us. We had a fantastic time seeing the sight and catching up with Jim's cousins, Amber and Ben. We dabbled in the touristy activities of Seattle; the Aquarium, the Space Needle, a Mariners game, and an underground tour - apparently someone wasnt thinking about Seattle's high/low tide when the city was built too closely to sea level...today's downtown sits one story above the streets of the former city of Seattle. Pretty bizzare! Fortunately for us, the weather was gorgeous for our whole trip - it sure left us a wonderful impression of the city, and we look forward to many happy returns!

In addition, I've included some pictures of a budding baby bump (say that five times fast), as we anxiously dote on our pending arrival. Everything is going very well, and we are having fun tracking the baby's growth online. The website we check compares the size of the baby weekly to a fruit or vegetable - so in this week's meander through the produce aisle, we checked out the sweet potatoes. (Maybe its a little creepy, but we even ended up buying a couple for dinner tonight...mmm).

We're looking forward to Mom and Dad Frappier visiting for Thanksgiving - I think Mom has told me seven times that the turkey needs a few days to defrost. (Do you think thats the voice of experience??) Regardless, there will be a feast - be it perfectly prepared turkey or a couple of Banquet TV dinners - in a couple of weeks!