Baby Smell

Hello Kittys

As the days go by, I am learning more and more about Nayeli. Babies have a distinct smell. I assume that with sufficient diaper changes and good grooming habits, they keep that smell until they grow older. Her umbilical cord is shriveling up and I'm not too sure how long it takes before it falls off.

Umbilical Cord

Obtaining U.S. Citizenship in Japan

Soco holding Nayeli

Living in Japan and having a baby requires a lot of paperwork. I have to go to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo to obtain U.S. Citizenship for my new daughter. What a pain. We all have to show up and right now, I'm not in the mood to be riding a train or standing up for a long period of time and neither is Soco. Lately, she has been suffering from swollen feet and she has been elevating it and icing it.

Let me Sleep!

Next week I go to Okinawa for a surgery consult. Hopefully they can fit me in their busy schedule. I've been walking crooked for almost 4 months now. I'm going to have to detox from all the narcotic pain medication I've been taking so far. I hate having to take drugs to control my constant level of pain. It pains me that I can't even lift my new baby. Soco has been taking care of both of us.

Where's Nayeli?

Annoying the Baby 101:
Since having a new baby, I've been getting to have fun in all kinds of ways that I haven't ever been able to do before.
1. Try to keep the baby awake as long as possible until she starts to make an angry face. Nayeli's angry face is so adorable! I think she is getting really annoyed with me.
2. Sing bad songs. I've been singing songs such as "The Addition Song" which annoys her a lot. It goes like this: One plus one is two! One plus two is three! and so on and so forth. When I get to ten, she makes an angry face.
I'm still trying to find new and fun ways to annoy her. She doesn't cry much. Only when she absolutely has to.

Nayeli's Birthday

Nayeli Isabela
The morning of May 24th, Soco went into the hospital with contractions. The doctor checked and found that the cervix was only 2 cm and was told to come back when the contractions get worse and are 3 minutes apart. That didn't happen until 2000 at night. We came to the hospital and Soco was suffering from some "monsterous" contractions. She got on all fours and screamed for 8 hours. When she couldn't handle it anymore, she asked the doctor for an epidural to numb the pain. After that, no more screaming. She was asked, "What is your pain?" Soco replied, "I have no pain, only pressure." At 0408 on May 25th, Nayeli was born. I got to cut the cord and blood splattered everyone without a face shield. She was a beautiful baby girl.

Celebration Meal - Lobster Tail and Fried Shrimp

Now, with both of us being hospital staff, I would automatically think that I would have absolutely no privacy what-so-ever. It is true. As soon as Soco's blood was drawn, the news spread like wildfire. People tried to visit us while Soco was giving birth and an hour after. We requested no visitors until Soco rested up and she only allowed her closest friends. They then took pictures with their camera phones and showed them to everybody in the hospital, which stirred more emotion.
It wasn't long before Soco's room was full of balloons, flowers, greeting cards, baby clothes and visitors. It looked like it was a party. My team of Biomeds came in uninvited all ghetto style with a huge piece of equipment rolling in. They said, "We need to test the ultrasound machine on the baby." It was funny. Everyone congradulated me on my first baby. The Commanding Officer also spent some time out of his busy day to congradulate me.

Baby Girl

Nayeli's Baby Shower

Soco

Recently, we just had a baby shower for Nayeli. Since I've never been to one before, I really didn't know what to expect. It took place at Goban Tower, Yokosuka Japan. Kinda interesting that this isn't taking place in the states huh? The baby got all kinds of gifts. Two baby carrier backpack things, baby bottles, onesies, Baby Gap stuff, outfits, gift certificates, Daddy toolbelt, stuffed animals, balloons and a baby monitor. It was fun, there were all kinds of games and prizes. Thanks to all the guys in the USNH Lab Department and Maldonado for setting it up.

Blue Street

Armed Forces Network

Park in front of Yokosuka City Hall

After moving on base, we've been watching television a lot lately. We have our tv hooked up to the cable in the wall and we get several different channels. Unlike the shows we see in the states, the commercials are all educational such as, "how to save money" or "WW2 heros" etc. I gotta admit, they are very interesting and sometimes they play too much of the same commercial so they become annoying after a while. The best nights are Wednesday nights and Sunday nights. They show stuff like American Idol, Extreme Home Makeover, Grey's Anatomy, etc. The good stuff.

Cost of Free Medical Care

L5-S1 Bulging Disc MRI (not mine, but what it looks like)

It has been almost 2 weeks since my MRI on my back. The MRI was conclusive that I did indeed have a bulging disc in my lower back which is squeezing off my left sciatic nerve. It is driving me crazy as the pain can only be compared to having your leg being sawed off every time I try to walk upright. 8/10 on the pain scale? Right now, I'm on all kinds of pain killers such as Neurotin and Percocet and an anti-inflamatory called Naprosyn. I'm glad that I'm covered by Tri-Care and I realize that if I wasn't covered, I'd be paying a hefty sum for all the physical therapy, medication, X-rays and the MRI procedure I have already taken. The price of having free medical care is that I'm unable to choose where I get seen and am literally told where I can receive care. Because of being in Japan, the only option is to fly to Okinawa for neurosurgery. With my horrible luck, there is only one neurosurgeon in the entire pacific theatre and because of this, my schedule to see him is 4 weeks away. Damn... Since I'm not having trouble breathing or bleeding to death, I'm not a very high priority in this. So right now, the only option is to suffer.

Exion walking around with bad back and wearing a "desert face mask".

Worst Pain in my Life

I have finally taken my MRI on my back. Since the hospital doesn't have an MRI machine, they outsource the work to a local Japanese hospital, the Kyosai Hospital of Yokosuka. The trip included a translator/liaison. I didn't realize that I was going to have to lie on my back straight for 20 minutes. In my current condition, I'm bent over either to my left or right side. I'm physically unable to stand up straight without pinching my spinal cord. Well anyway, the MRI tech strapped me down on the table and forced my body into a straight position. I was experiencing the most pain I have ever felt 9/10. A 10/10 would constitute a near death experience by being lit on fire or something. It hurt. 20 minutes felt like an hour. I don't usually sweat much, but after the procedure, I was drenched in my own sweat and I was shaking out of control. I took off the kimono patient gown and put my clothes back on, sat down and recovered from the horrible pain. The next day, I went to the doctor. It was conclusive that I had a L5-S1 bulging disc which was compressing on my spinal cord which involved my left sciatic nerve. No wonder why all the physical therapy and stretching exercises weren't working. The only logical alternative is neurosurgery. Doc said that I was going to be medevaced to Okinawa for a neurosurgeon consult. Soco went with me to the doctors appointment and she is happy to see resolution to this ongoing problem.