Holy Moly....the last update was April 2013...so much to catch up on!
July 2013
July was an exciting month for us. Tracy worked up to 36.5 weeks of her pregnancy, and July 5, 2013 was her last day of work before the baby was due (her Dr. wanted her to take off a week sooner, but Tracy wanted that holiday pay!).
We left for Yokosuka on July 7, 2013 and it hit us that we are leaving as a couple, and next time we come home, there will be 3 of us....CRAZY!
Jon & Tracy had an appointment on July 8 to meet one of the physicians and have an ultrasound to check on baby girl. The Nurse Midwife said everything looked great, and she estimated baby girl to be weighing in somewhere around 8 pounds....GREAT.... we only have 3.5 more weeks to go, at 0.5 pounds per week, we are looking at a 9-10 pound baby! We left, and scheduled our next appointment for 10 days later, and weekly after that!
To keep the boredom from creeping in, and to help baby girl think about coming out, we walked...ALOT! We would walk every morning (while it was cool) for about 2 hours, and then go out again at night as it cooled off.
Tracy was completing a class in her Masters program, so working on her final kept her a little busy.
Early Thursday morning, July 11, Tracy was very uncomfortable, and could not sleep (probably because her final was due the next day, and she was not finished yet). Tracy got up around 5am and decided to use the quiet of the morning to finish her final. The entire time, she sat on a birthing ball as her lower back was bothering her, but this was nothing new.
After finishing her final paper, Tracy jokingly said "Ok baby, I am done with school for the summer, you can come any day now". Tracy was pretty tired after working the last 5 hours on her paper, so she took a late morning nap. After she woke up, she and Jon took a walk around base, and hit up the commissary for a few groceries (and to cool off in the AC). That night, the two of us decided to go to a popular steak house in town called the Station. It was several old train cars turned into a steak house. Tracy was starving, and when her steak came, she saw what she thought was a rogue plop of potato, and took a big bite....OOOPS, it was horseradish!
After dinner we took a walk along the bay, and hit up the Starbucks for a cool treat before going back to our hotel for the night.
7/11/2013 11:55pm
Tracy woke up to go to the bathroom as usual....no big deal. Came back to bed, and rolled to her right side to get comfortable. Felt a pop in her back, and thought "thank goodness, my back kink finally went away"...WRONG!
7/12/2013 12:00am
Tracy up to go to the bathroom again, except this time, her water breaks as she stands up (although she thinks "did I just pee myself"...nope! Tracy wakes up Jon, who by the way, just went to bed at 11pm.
Jon calls the hospital to tell them what is going on, and the hospital tells us to come on over, and they will check to see if Tracy's water really did break.
Tracy, being the tough one, decides that she will walk to the hospital, as it is a 5 minute walk. That is until the first contraction hits, and Tracy just about hit the floor....on second thought, call a cab.
We get to the hospital around 1:00am, and the staff meets us at the nurses station. They take Tracy in to check her, and instead of just monitoring her, they admit her into room 1 of labor and delivery.
The Dr. comes in and checks her, and she is only at 2cm, and baby girls head is not engaged....it may be a long night. The contractions were pretty intense right from the start, and no position they put Tracy in would relieve the pain. The nurse and corpsman realized that baby girl had rotated herself into a position where the hardest part of her head, was against Tracy's tailbone....holy back labor.
At one point, the nurse gave Tracy 100mg of Fentanyl, and it did not touch her pain. Jon went out to talk to the Dr, and overheard them discussing Morphine, as they did not want to give an epidural too early (it can stall labor).
7/12/2013 4:00am
Time for an epidural (THANK YOU GOD)...too bad it only worked on the right side of Tracy's body, so she still had a lot of back pain on the left...but we will take it.
7/12/2013 6:00am
The Dr. comes in and checks Tracy and says "Ok, you are at 8, but again, her head is not engaged. I think you are going to spend most of today just getting her to drop"...GREAT!
7/12/2013 7:00am
In walks Dr. Sischy, who introduces himself, and the nurse Rebecca. They talk about how things have progressed, and him and haw over whether to check me, or just let me hang out. The Dr. decides what the heck, lets check her. Dr. Sischy says "Oh my, you are at 10, let's practice a couple pushes, and see if we can get the head to drop"!
2 pushes later, he tells the nurse to break down the bed, and for me to get ready, as we are going to have a baby soon. A few more pushes to go!
7/12/2013 7:49am
Emmalynn Joy is born! Tracy pushed less than 25 minutes, and delivered a healthy baby girl.
Emmalynn was born at 37.5 weeks weighing 6 pounds 12 ounces and was 21.5 inches long...so much for an 8 pound baby on Monday!
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Emmalynn Joy
 |
| Just a few minutes old July 12, 2013 at 0749 6 pounds 12 ounces 21.5 inches long Born at Yokosuka Naval Hospital, Yokosuka, Japan |
Happy Mom
Happy Dad
Getting some bonding time in while mom takes a nap!
Sleepy girl
She is the best thing...
Family Picture
Just waiting for discharge paperwork
us time to relax with our new baby.
Monday, April 29, 2013
We are moving...yet again!
How could I forget to update everyone on our "new" news! Every year the Marine Corps selects Marines that are getting close to the 8-9 year mark. If a Marine has not completed a "B" billet, they are looked at...the list is called the HSST List, or the HRST List, don't ask me what this means. Ok I googled it, and this is what I got "HQMC RECRUITING SCREENING TEAM (HRST) TO HQMC SPECIAL DUTY ASSIGNMENT SCREENING TEAM (HSST)".
Whatever, the list came out, and Jon's name was on the list. Basically, it means that since he has not completed a "B" billet, has needs to put in an application for one, and his options are DI (Drill Instructor), Combat Instructor, Recruiter, Special Security, and I am sure there are a few more, but I do not remember. So with Jon being selected, he had a short time to get all of his paperwork together. Not only did he have a lot of paperwork to complete, but he needed to make sure all of his medical and personnel files were up to date.
We discussed the avenue Jon would pursue, and decided that for our future, recruiting would be the best option. He submitted his package, and the waiting game began!
FAST FORWARD 8 weeks - (like I mentioned, I forgot this update)
The day that Tracy picked up her Medevac Orders for Yokosuka, she ran into one of Jon's Marines in the parking lot of the clinic. The Marine asked if Jon had heard anything regarding his selection, and I mentioned that I did not think the results were out....well guess what, they came out that day, and Jon's name was on the list.
I immediately ran to my car, and called Jon. Our conversation was short but very exciting. Jon did not even know that he was selected...go figure, always the last to know. When Jon finally found the results, it had his actual class date posted. Jon was selected for FY14-1. When I asked what this meant, Jon said it was the first class of the Fiscal Year 2014...guess what, the Fiscal Year starts at the end of September. Jon came home and did some researching, and found out that his class is scheduled for October-December 2013....that is now 5 months from now...WHOOOHOOO!!
What does this mean - Jon will leave Iwakuni, Japan sometime in October for San Diego for an 8 week training. Baby girl and I will stay behind, and take care of business here, waiting for final orders.
We should know 3 weeks into Jon's program where our next duty station will be....again, it is anyone's guess as to where we will wind up, all we know is it will be somewhere in the US!!
Whatever, the list came out, and Jon's name was on the list. Basically, it means that since he has not completed a "B" billet, has needs to put in an application for one, and his options are DI (Drill Instructor), Combat Instructor, Recruiter, Special Security, and I am sure there are a few more, but I do not remember. So with Jon being selected, he had a short time to get all of his paperwork together. Not only did he have a lot of paperwork to complete, but he needed to make sure all of his medical and personnel files were up to date.
We discussed the avenue Jon would pursue, and decided that for our future, recruiting would be the best option. He submitted his package, and the waiting game began!
FAST FORWARD 8 weeks - (like I mentioned, I forgot this update)
The day that Tracy picked up her Medevac Orders for Yokosuka, she ran into one of Jon's Marines in the parking lot of the clinic. The Marine asked if Jon had heard anything regarding his selection, and I mentioned that I did not think the results were out....well guess what, they came out that day, and Jon's name was on the list.
I immediately ran to my car, and called Jon. Our conversation was short but very exciting. Jon did not even know that he was selected...go figure, always the last to know. When Jon finally found the results, it had his actual class date posted. Jon was selected for FY14-1. When I asked what this meant, Jon said it was the first class of the Fiscal Year 2014...guess what, the Fiscal Year starts at the end of September. Jon came home and did some researching, and found out that his class is scheduled for October-December 2013....that is now 5 months from now...WHOOOHOOO!!
What does this mean - Jon will leave Iwakuni, Japan sometime in October for San Diego for an 8 week training. Baby girl and I will stay behind, and take care of business here, waiting for final orders.
We should know 3 weeks into Jon's program where our next duty station will be....again, it is anyone's guess as to where we will wind up, all we know is it will be somewhere in the US!!
26.5 Weeks.....Oh baby!
She is still small (in weight that is), but she is LONG! She is a very active little girl, and let's Jon and I know that she is in there, with her round-house kicks at all hours of the day!
Baby Girl Update - 24 Weeks
Basically, we were told that she is doing great, and that she is a skinny baby....for now! She measured in the 90% for her height, but only at 34% for her weight. I promise I am eating....just not all day (like some preggers do)!
We are finally getting to see the bump....I have a feeling this will not stay small for long!
We are slowly getting everything together....it is hard living overseas! We do not have a Carter's or a Target to walk in and look at items, and what we do have on base is limited....oh well, I have a feeling Nana & Papa will be spoiling her!
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Baby Update...continued!
So the base we live on, does not have a hospital to deliver at. Our options are USN Hospital Yokosuka, or to deliver at a local Japanese Hospital. Jon and I both agreed that we did not want to experience the local hospital, and opted for the Naval Hospital.
We were told that at 20 weeks we would be sent to Yokosuka for our "big" ultrasound. This is also a way to familiarize ourselves with the travel route it takes to get to Yokosuka.
Thursday March 21, 2013
Jon and I took a long trip to United States Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan which is about an hour (via city train) some direction from Tokyo. To get to Yokosuka, we had to first get on the Shin-kansen in Iwakuni to Hiroshima, where we switch to a larger Shin for the long ride to Shinagawa. This ride is about 5 hours of total travel time. Once at Shinagawa, we transferred over to the city train that takes us to Yokosuka...in all, it is about 7+ hours of travel.
Once in Yokosuka, we checked into our room at the Navy Gateway, and found the hospital. We had to check in with Medevac Yokosuka so that they would not cancel our appointment for the next day. After we checked in (took 30 seconds), we started to get familiar with the base. The base is not huge, but I think it is a little bigger than ours.
We found the Navy Exchange, and the Commissary and walked around. We bought a few groceries at the commissary since we were going to be there for 3 days. Our first night there was kind of a short night...as I was exhausted after travelling all day. We called it an early night, and prepared ourselves for an exciting Friday!
Friday March 22, 2013
Today is the big day....too bad our appointment is not until 1:15pm....long morning of waiting. We both woke up around 5:30am (on our day off) excited for the big ultrasound. We finally left the room around 8:00am on the hunt for coffee and some breakfast. We found the Starbucks on Yokosuka and grabbed a coffee, then headed out to find some breakfast. After breakfast we walked around the base, basically to kill time. We shopped the exchange again...but came up empty. We shopped for baby stuff, but since we had no idea who we were shopping for, it was not any fun....then again, we did not care for any of their baby stuff.
Finally noon rolls around, and we decide to grab a bite to eat, and try to get the baby happy for it's big debut. We had to make a quick run back to the room to grab our paperwork so that after our appointment, we can check out.
We arrived early for our appointment, and waited (for those that know Tracy, patience is not something she is good at). Finally at 1:15pm the radiology tech called our name.
He took us back to the room, and explained the ultrasound process, and what he would be looking for.
He covered my belly with goop, and the fun started. First he located the heartbeat, and then figured out which direction baby was laying. He told us that baby was on it's back, with it's feet folded up by its belly (flexible).
He did a quick once-over and located a head, heart, 2 arms, spine, belly, and 2 legs. It was at this time he asked if we wanted to know what we were having.....YES!!!!
He looked and said that "there are no boy parts, so I would say it is a GIRL!!!! We kind of had an idea it was a girl, but now we know for sure.
The rest of the ultrasound was measuring how big her head is, her belly, her femurs etc. The tech was very focused on her heart, and mentioned a thousand times that she has a 4 chamber heart....this is normal. The tech pointed out the lungs, kidneys and bladder, and checked blood flow through all. He then went back to baby's head, and this is where things got interesting. He was trying to focus in on her face, and she was not cooperating. Several times she placed her hands over her face. At one point she started to suck her thumb (we will have to break that habit). The tech started to get a little frustrated, and at one time, she actually flipped him off....yep that's our girl.
After about 80 minutes, the tech was finally done. He wiped off all of the goop (I think about half a gallon was used), gave us our copies of the pictures, and sent us on our way.
We checked out with Medevac, and went back to our room to inform the family. On our way back to the room, it hit Jon....he was going to have a GIRL....he is now shopping for more guns!
We got back to the room, and not only was my mom online, so was my sister.....mind you it was 11:00pm in CA. We told them both, and they were very excited. We let our friends know next, and then the rest of the world via facebook.
That night, we went to dinner with Tracy's boss at the base Chili's (Iwakuni is the only base in Japan without a Chili's).
Saturday March 23, 2013
Today we came home. We literally took the same route but in reverse. We made it home by 3:30pm to Iwakuni, and we were very happy to be in our own home. We decided to grab a celebratory Indian Dinner at our favorite restaurant Taj, and called it an early night.....again.
We have a lot to do before our little girl comes, and we will get it all done eventually!
We were told that at 20 weeks we would be sent to Yokosuka for our "big" ultrasound. This is also a way to familiarize ourselves with the travel route it takes to get to Yokosuka.
Thursday March 21, 2013
Jon and I took a long trip to United States Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan which is about an hour (via city train) some direction from Tokyo. To get to Yokosuka, we had to first get on the Shin-kansen in Iwakuni to Hiroshima, where we switch to a larger Shin for the long ride to Shinagawa. This ride is about 5 hours of total travel time. Once at Shinagawa, we transferred over to the city train that takes us to Yokosuka...in all, it is about 7+ hours of travel.
Once in Yokosuka, we checked into our room at the Navy Gateway, and found the hospital. We had to check in with Medevac Yokosuka so that they would not cancel our appointment for the next day. After we checked in (took 30 seconds), we started to get familiar with the base. The base is not huge, but I think it is a little bigger than ours.
We found the Navy Exchange, and the Commissary and walked around. We bought a few groceries at the commissary since we were going to be there for 3 days. Our first night there was kind of a short night...as I was exhausted after travelling all day. We called it an early night, and prepared ourselves for an exciting Friday!
Friday March 22, 2013
Today is the big day....too bad our appointment is not until 1:15pm....long morning of waiting. We both woke up around 5:30am (on our day off) excited for the big ultrasound. We finally left the room around 8:00am on the hunt for coffee and some breakfast. We found the Starbucks on Yokosuka and grabbed a coffee, then headed out to find some breakfast. After breakfast we walked around the base, basically to kill time. We shopped the exchange again...but came up empty. We shopped for baby stuff, but since we had no idea who we were shopping for, it was not any fun....then again, we did not care for any of their baby stuff.
Finally noon rolls around, and we decide to grab a bite to eat, and try to get the baby happy for it's big debut. We had to make a quick run back to the room to grab our paperwork so that after our appointment, we can check out.
We arrived early for our appointment, and waited (for those that know Tracy, patience is not something she is good at). Finally at 1:15pm the radiology tech called our name.
He took us back to the room, and explained the ultrasound process, and what he would be looking for.
He covered my belly with goop, and the fun started. First he located the heartbeat, and then figured out which direction baby was laying. He told us that baby was on it's back, with it's feet folded up by its belly (flexible).
He did a quick once-over and located a head, heart, 2 arms, spine, belly, and 2 legs. It was at this time he asked if we wanted to know what we were having.....YES!!!!
He looked and said that "there are no boy parts, so I would say it is a GIRL!!!! We kind of had an idea it was a girl, but now we know for sure.
The rest of the ultrasound was measuring how big her head is, her belly, her femurs etc. The tech was very focused on her heart, and mentioned a thousand times that she has a 4 chamber heart....this is normal. The tech pointed out the lungs, kidneys and bladder, and checked blood flow through all. He then went back to baby's head, and this is where things got interesting. He was trying to focus in on her face, and she was not cooperating. Several times she placed her hands over her face. At one point she started to suck her thumb (we will have to break that habit). The tech started to get a little frustrated, and at one time, she actually flipped him off....yep that's our girl.
After about 80 minutes, the tech was finally done. He wiped off all of the goop (I think about half a gallon was used), gave us our copies of the pictures, and sent us on our way.
We checked out with Medevac, and went back to our room to inform the family. On our way back to the room, it hit Jon....he was going to have a GIRL....he is now shopping for more guns!
We got back to the room, and not only was my mom online, so was my sister.....mind you it was 11:00pm in CA. We told them both, and they were very excited. We let our friends know next, and then the rest of the world via facebook.
That night, we went to dinner with Tracy's boss at the base Chili's (Iwakuni is the only base in Japan without a Chili's).
Saturday March 23, 2013
Today we came home. We literally took the same route but in reverse. We made it home by 3:30pm to Iwakuni, and we were very happy to be in our own home. We decided to grab a celebratory Indian Dinner at our favorite restaurant Taj, and called it an early night.....again.
We have a lot to do before our little girl comes, and we will get it all done eventually!
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