Derick's blog: New dad

My son Israel nursed 20 min, threw up 4 times, and went through 3 diapers… all within the span of about an hour and a half last night. I’m sure this scenario is all too familiar to millions of parents who, at one time, have had the joy of caring for their infant child. I have much more respect for those dads who have gone on before me and experienced those early stages of fatherhood. In college I was in fraternities, and I compare my last two weeks to somewhat of an initiation into fatherhood. The learning curve has been pretty steep since Israel was born. Unlike my wife, I only have one sibling, my brother Dan who is 24, and there are no kids under 18 in my extended family. Being the father of a newborn isn’t always easy, but taking care of my son is so rewarding. I’ve learned that since babies can’t talk or walk, they communicate by crying. Whenever he’s crying, I’ve started just going down a list of possible solutions: 1) Ask him what’s wrong, and then remember that babies can’t talk 2) Change diaper 3) Burp him 4) Bounce him 5) Give him to momma Jill to feed 6) Repeat until crying stops. It has been a fast and furious transition, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. And as for my wife, well, she is a champion. Well I better go to bed and get some sleep before the baby wakes up.

Recap: Nesting and Room re-do

Now that the girls are down to seven in their room, they decided that it's time to remodel their room. They have had the same color in their room for almost ten years. They decided that it's time to give a more mature feel. Cindy comes up to help the family. They decided that they want to do a burnt orange, dark and light gray for paint colors.
Jim Bob says that the girls room is his favorite because it's bright and cheerful. He tries to convince the girls to leave the painted tree and horses. The girls want to cover them up.
Josh and Anna pack up their kids to head for their first appointment with their midwife. This is the first baby of the family to be born in DC. Josh and Anna are nervous about not having the family around for the birth.
Jessa and Jill head to get baby dilly's room all ready. Michelle says that she is super excited for Jill's first child.
 Grandma Duggar and Jana are taking care of the youngest ones while their parents are in Chicago for a meeting. Josie has a fever and along with a seizure. Jana and Scott carry out the information by the dispatcher that Grandma Duggar is on the phone with. Josie is taken to the hospital with her older sister. Jim Bob and Michelle were worried about their daughter made it home as soon as they could.
   Due to the fact that she was born early, Josie has had a lot of seizures which are cause by her temperature spikes up.
The next day Josie is happy to be in her parents arms and is doing great. Jana is happy to have her mom and dad back.

Recap: Family Dinner

The Boys are helping Ben and Jessa on putting their furniture into the house. Derick and Jill are packing up and leaving to DC for a visit. Josh plans to give Derick a lesson about teaching.
Josh and Derick are taking the kids to the store to get food for dinner. Derick learns how to buckle Marcus into his car seat.
Derick reveals that he can't picture himself with that many kids so day because Mackynzie and Michael keep coming up and down the aisles. Derick knows that he will adapt to being a father when Israel arrives.
Derick and Josh decided to give the girls a break of cooking. The ladies are enjoying it. Anna says that they are having a blast with Derick and Jill.
This was the first time that Anna and Jill have been pregnant for the same time. Jill and Anna decided that it's a good idea to have inspiration board which will be fill with bible verses and quotes for their husbands to read during labor.
 Meanwhile, Jessa is getting ready to make her first meal for her husband. She is nervous because she is not the best cook. Jessa knows that her tradition is to burn something. She ends up cooking the owner's manual. She also ends up using a hammer in place of the meat hitter. Ben loves his wife's cooking.

Cousin Amy update

We are so excited to announce that Cousin Amy has met a guy named Dillon. They have been dating for the past couple of months and excited for their future together.

Jessa's workout while pregnant

When Ben and Jessa learn that they were expecting baby #1, they knew that they were going to have to change Jessa's workout. Ben and Jessa are concerned that she is going to strain herself.
Jessa said to People "I am just trying not to overdo it right now. I am still working out but not trying to break any records" Then adds " I want to gain little less weight and not stress out about it. I want to make sure that I am eating healthy. You are eating for two so she is trying to make healthy choices now that she is about to enter second trimester.

Josiah and Marjorie Singing

We are super excited to share this with you. Today marks three weeks since they started to court!

We will be back on the sixth of May with their first month of courting anniversary!

Date nights in DC

Anna revealed that they don't get that many date nights now that they live in DC since their family lives in Arkansas and Florida.

Josh and Anna try to go to the Mexican restaurant in the Capitol.  Josh and Anna have to be creative on how they do date night. They put the kids to bed and have their date night on the porch and share what is on their hearts.

Anna shares her tips about taking the kids on the date rather than buying a babysitter. Anna reveals that she tells the kids "We are going on a date, but you get to come with us, and we are going to practice our manners."

Anna reveals that the kids try to do their best to have good manners because they know that it's important. Anna remembers about going on a few dates with her mom and dad and it's special to see them taking time to focus on each other and their marriage.