Airplane rides, polar bears and snowman adventures of a 3 month old

Well, the plane ride to Chicago went pretty smoothly. We had baked a bunch of cookies to hand out as bribes for putting up with a crying baby, but we really didn't need them and when we offered, only one person took the cookies.  Our flight ended up being delayed by one hour, but it turned out ok because we were able to have a nice dinner at the airport without having to rush. I nursed Nathan during take off and landing so the change in air pressure didn't seem to affect him at all. During the flight, the kid did not sleep a wink. He was super alert and looked around and outside the window. When he would start to get fussy, all I had to do was bounce him in my lap and he would calm down.We made the 2 hour and 8 minute flight and arrived in the cold city of Chicago.

We ended up going to bed at midnight and for the first time, Nathan slept until 5 am. Unfortunately, he has yet to do this again. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed. 

The next day we went out and made a snow man. We hope to make a Nathan sized snow man each year and have his picture taken with it. 

In the evening, great grandparents and grand uncles joined the family for Christmas eve dinner. We also opened the first set of presents. Nathan liked looking at all the different colored wrapping paper and interacting with all his newly met family members.

On Christmas Day, we attended church and Nathan almost made it through the whole service without being fussy. I just had to take him out for a few moments to walk around and he was ok.

In the afternoon, Nathan went to meet more great grandparents, grand aunt and uncles and more cousins. He partook in his first white elephant gift exchange and got some hats, scorpion lollipop and lawery's seasoning. At the end of the day, when he was hanging out with his second cousin George, he discovered his toes and was absolutely mesmerized by them as he moved his foot around.

 

As we were about to leave, a bear wanted to play. Nathan was not amused. 

All the online articles say that by 3 months, babies should be sleeping better. Ha! Not this baby. In fact, he has regressed on his night time sleep. Luckily he can still fall asleep on his own and will fall asleep quickly when we turn the lights off at night, but he's not lasting very long before he awakes wanting to be fed. 3 hours has been the max for the past 2 nights. I really hope it's the excitement of the holidays and that he will once again sleep for 3-4 hours at a time. 

Nathan has also found my fingers to be good chew toys. In the past, if my fingers were close to his face, he would find them and suck on them. But recently, he has started to chew. I wonder if this means that he is going to teethe soon. I got him a teething ring, but he seems to not be interested in it for long. 

Car rides are still rough. On our way to the San Antonio airport (yes, we drove from Austin, to San Antonio to catch our flight) he pretty much was fussy the whole way. However, I have found that singing to him helps calm him down. In fact, songs in the low register like "Amazing Grace" and especially the hymn, "I love you, Lord." will not only calm him, but put him to sleep too! I bet my in-laws are sick of hearing me sing in the back of the van, but I'm sure it's better than a wailing baby. 

We still have a few more days here and we are excited to see what other adventures lie ahead of us.

Baby Grins and Baby Trains of Week 12

This was the first week where I couldn't remember how old Nathan was. Crazy how quickly time flies. Soon, we will be referring to his age in months and even years! This week Nathan went through a major growth spurt. He was hungry every 2-3 hours, even during the night and I was starting to worry that he was regressing in his sleep. I was definitely brought back to the rough nights of the first weeks. But overall, I'm very thankful that he has had his feeding frenzies during the weekend when I have some extra help around the house. We had just weighed him on Friday and when we weighed him on Monday, he had gained 0.7 pounds. Crazy.

On a good note, last night he slept for a long time. He slept for 5 hours before I woke him up because my boobs were painfully engorged.

For awhile I've been wondering if I was producing enough milk. Sometimes I feel Nathan gets frustrated when he's nursing and gets nothing. So, I've been trying this herbal tea called "Mother's Milk." It's got fennel, anise, and fenugreek and pretty much tastes like herbs. It's not as bad as I thought it would be, considering that I'm not a big licorice fan, but I think it's helping. Nathan is feeding for less time (30-40 minutes as opposed to 60+ minutes) Apparently you just need to drink it to increase your supply and your body will sustain it, granted that the demand is there.

This week he has also started to smile a lot more. (Not just when I talk in a country accent) Other than when he's tired or hungry, he pretty much just smiles when you look at him. The moment that I've been waiting for has finally arrived.

I discovered this new game that I like to play with him. I kind of have him do sit ups. He holds on to my fingers as he starts out laying on his back. I then pull him up a bit, and then he uses his arms to pull himself upright and then slowly lifts his head up. I think he really likes it because after he is successful  he gives me this biggest smile. It almost seems as if he knows he accomplished something and is proud of himself.

Speaking of exercise, today, a few of the moms and their babies from our birthing group met up to go hiking at the greenbelt. There was a total of 5 moms and 5 babies. Half way through the hike, we stopped to nurse our babies and then we traded babies by passing each baby around in a circle. I kind of liked the feel of the bigger babies as I felt that they kind of fit a bit more snugly against my body, but I was glad when my light baby was returned to me.

The hike was exactly what I needed. We pretty much chatted about things from how we met our significant others to the sensation of breast feeding let downs. Since most of us had our babies in September, I really like being able to share the joys and trials of motherhood with other moms who were at similar stages with their babies. As each mom shared their experiences, I felt a sense of admiration in how strong and yet graceful these moms were for their babies.  (Perhaps strong and graceful aren't the exact words I want to use...maybe empowered and loving.)  It was such a neat experience, an experience that I hope to continue to have. I think our next event will be a pot luck.

As people passed us on their mountain bikes, someone in the group commented on how the baby train was coming through. Baby Train... I like it.

Week 11

During my run this past Saturday, I thought about how relatively stress free my life has become. Unlike my school days, I no longer have the stress of completing homework or studying for tests looming over my head. Nor do I have any of the teacher stresses such as thinking about students' problems or pesky administrative tasks to deal with. And no more grading! Yeah!  Has planning what to eat for lunch become the most stressful part of my day?

So recently, I've realized that I often wake up with my hands numb, sore, or asleep. It turns out that I have been clenching my fists as I sleep. My google-crazy self looked this symptom up and many have suggested that it is due to stress. At first I was like, no way. I have never been this stress free in my life! But then I thought about it some more and I realized that perhaps I am stressed, just in a different way. In the past, I have really only dealt with mostly external stressors. Family, school, and work issues were things that I faced, but really had little control over. The stress that I now face is more of an internal one, one that I've imposed upon myself; to raise the perfect child, and to do so, I must be the perfect mom.

I know that kids are really resilient, but a part of me thinks, why not create the most optimal environment? I feel like I'm doing a fairly good job, but I find myself always second guessing myself and I turn to the internet or parenting books to see what others suggest. Then, when I find that other moms have done it different ways (and their critical opinions on how others do it), I suddenly become a bit overwhelmed as I evaluate my own execution of the method.

For example, recently, I have Nathan on a pretty good sleep routine. One that I am happy with. I check out Dr. Karp's baby sleep book and I start to read it. Suddenly phrases like never have your child sleep on their backs and have your child sleep with white noise in the background the whole time or you can rock your child to sleep, just make sure you wake them a bit before they fall asleep are going across my mind. So last night when I put Nathan to bed, I held him until his eyes were closed. I put him down on his back and woke him up a bit and then turned on the white noise app on my phone (in airplane mode). This happened at around 9:45. Nathan did not fall asleep until 11:15, after Steve turned him on his stomach.

A part of me really just wants to say screw the expert. I'm going to follow my instincts.  But then another part of me thinks, well, he is the expert and I pretty much have no experience, so I should trust him. 

I guess that I just need to be more confident and trust my instincts. If we mess up, there's always number 2 right?

As far as Nathan goes, things are pretty steady. Nothing much has changed since last week, although I have discovered that speaking english in a country/western accent makes him laugh. It doesn't work with chinese, which was a bit weird for me to try in the first place. But almost without fail, if I speak to him like a country hick, he gets this huge smile on his face. It's really adorable.
This past weekend we took our Christmas and fall pictures. (Isn't it weird that we can take them during the same weekend?) It was pretty difficult to get both baby and dog looking at the camera at the same time. But we succeeded.


Enough leaves have fallen from the trees in the front 5yard for us to take a fall picture. He was a bit squinty from the sunlight...or it could be the Asian in him.

 I've been taking advantage of the child care at the gym I belong to. It's nice to get back to working out. I'm lifting weights, doing yoga, working on my core and of course, continuing with zumba! I really enjoy the exercise and it's also nice to have an hour just to myself. The ladies in the nursery are pretty awesome. They have been at the same gym for 11 years. They tell me that compared to many of the babies that they see, I have a really good boy. I'm so proud of him :) 

The first true smiles of week 10

Yay! Nathan is finally smiling. He smiles at me when he first wakes up and realizes that I'm in front of him. He smiles when I make funny noises, and he smiles when I contort my face to express what I would look like if my nose just suddenly fell off.

Sleeping is still going well. In fact, for the first time, he actually slept 4 hours and 52 minutes last night.  He sleeps one long stretch and then sleeps for 2 hours, and wakes up hungry. I expected a 3 hour stretch, but now that I know to expect this short stretch after the long one, I will be a bit more content.

According to the Wii, Nathan is finally a little over 10 pounds. He has about a month and a half to gain 2 more pounds (to double his weight by 4 months). I really hope I am producing enough milk for him. Sometimes after a long feed, he gets frustrated as he sucks. I find that when I relax and take a few deep breaths, a let down occurs. So, I guess I will just try that more often.

Yesterday, we attended the Baby love massage class again and I'm proud to say that Nathan made it through the whole class tears free. We even had a cute photography session where we took pictures with some Christmas props.

As you can see, he can hold his head up, but not his body. There were so many cute babies in Santa and elf outfits. I kind of wish we took a picture with all the babies together. Those seem to turn out really well. Oh well.

I've also started to read chinese children's books to Nathan. I borrowed 2 from the library and we are just reading and re-reading those before his afternoon naps.  I can tell that he really enjoys our reading time because he focuses on the pictures and he coos occasionally in response to what I read. I enjoy our reading sessions too.

In my spare time, I'm currently reading 2 books, which I recommend to anyone who has a young child. Here's my brief review of each.

The first one is Welcome to Your Child's Brain. By Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang.

It's very scientific in nature in that portions of it reminded me of my college human physiology book, but I like it because it helps me understand the physiology behind my baby's behaviors. Each chapter (out of 30) covers a different of development such as play, reading, and socialization. In addition, in each chapter is a short snippet of an article that give you practical applications of the information. Occasionally, the authors explain the studies that have been conducted to learn about the child brain.  It's not necessarily a "how to" book, but a "why" book. I kind of like this book better than other "how to" books because there are so many philosophies of thought out there and I like to know the facts and make my own choices on how to raise my son.

The next book is How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm by Mei-Ling Hopgood. The chapter titled "How the Chinese Potty Train Early" got me to check out this book. The author herself is an adopted child and examines how different cultures tackle different issues on raising children. The chapter titles such as "How Asians Learn to Excel in School" and "How the Japanese Let Their Children Fight" have some sort of a shock factor and are intriguing. I have one more chapter left and I've found a lot of the methods interesting. I agree with a lot of the reasoning behind why certain civilizations choose to their children the way they do, I would even prefer to follow their ways myself, but, I'm not sure if some of those methods would be feasible in the American society that I live in.

Compared to many of the babies in our centering group, I think Nathan is a pretty mellow guy and fairly easy to take care of. I've heard of what other parents are going through and I'm thankful that this baby is a good one. A super cute one too!

And we have a self-soother!

As you know, I have to train Nathan so that he can fall asleep on his own and not in our arms. After a week, I think we have success!

He's a drooler. Just like his mommy.

I'm not sure exactly how I did it, but I'm thinking it was the combination of the following:

1. No more bed sharing and having him only sleep in his pack and play.
2. Teaching him that he can fall asleep on his own using the white noise machine for a week.
3. Letting him cry it out, with a pacifier while returning to comfort him every 5 minutes. But not pick him up. And I only did this yesterday afternoon. He fell asleep after about 30 minutes of crying on and off.

Last night, Steve put him down drowsy. I was about 10 feet away, and reading in bed. He stirred a bit, but slowly, and quietly fell asleep on his own. I couldn't believe it. I actually got up to check if he was breathing.  Today when I put him down for his first nap, he also stirred and fussed for a few seconds, but then quietly soothed himself to sleep. No white noise machine, no pacifier. I was also reading in bed a few feet away. I'm not sure if my proximity made a difference in this process so, for the next nap, I will read again in bed, but periodically go out of the room and tomorrow, I will try to not be in the room as he falls asleep.

I also got 8 hours of sleep for the first time in over 2 months. Even though it wasn't consecutive, I am happy to have gotten that much sleep at night. This is how it happened. I hopped in bed at around 9:45 to read while Steve walked Nathan around for about 10 minutes. When he got drowsy, Steve put Nathan down in his pack and play. Steve left and took a shower. During his shower, Nathan was a bit squirmy, and whined quietly, but never really started to cry. Occasionally, he would get really quiet. When Steve was finished with his shower, he went to the office to surf the net. No noise coming from the Nate. I crept closer to him and he was asleep! This was about 10:15. I stayed awake to read until about 10:30. Steve joined me in bed and lights out for the night. 10 minutes til 3:00, I woke up and Nathan started to stirr. I waited a bit until he started to whimper more and I ended up picking him up at 3:00 for a feeding. I fed him, changed him and we were off to sleep by 4:00. 3 and a half hours later, Nathan woke up at 7:30 and I woke up refreshed with 8+ hours of sleep. I hope this trend continues.

First set of shots of week 9

The Best Gift Of All

This week Nathan is becoming more and more  interactive. I am really enjoying our short bursts of play time. He likes to look in the mirror. We also sing, dance, talk and imitate each other's facial expressions. Having a baby is starting to get more and more fun. As far as other milestones go, he is drooling a lot and can hold his head up. He's also gripping onto things as I put them into his hands.

As far as sleep goes, we are no longer bed sharing. He is now sleeping in his pack and play at night. I have also started to transition him into sleep training. By transitioning, I mean that I'm starting off by having him not fall asleep in a human's arms. When he's starting to nod off, I put him in his crib or pack and play. Most of the time, I put on some white noise to help soothe him, but there's been a few times when he does not need it and will fall asleep on his own. I'm going to keep this up until Christmas. In the new year, I will start sleep training him.

Every week, we attend a class at the birthing center called "Baby Love." It's basically a group of moms and their babies. We share frustrations, thoughts, and ideas while we massage our babies. The lady who teaches the class is really cool and each week she brings some signs to teach us. (Sign language) One thing I've learned so far is "just put some breast milk on it." Apparently, breast milk has antiseptic properties and is good for baby acne, cradle cap, cuts and stuffy noses. When I first heard about it, I thought it was a bit hokey, but sure enough, when I put the stuff on his baby acne, it was gone in about 2 days. Now, I'm working on his cradle cap and have seen significant improvements already.

Everyday, Nathan is a bit fussy from around 4:00 to around 7:00 pm. Around that time, we go on a walk. So far, everyday this week when I run into this old chinese lady, Nathan is crying or fussing. She always looks into his stroller and says "ay-yo" and walks off. She must think I'm a horrible mom. Other than this "witching hour" when he does not sleep and just whimpers, Nathan is a great baby.

Since Nathan was born, I've been trying to speak strictly Chinese to him. For awhile, I was failing miserably because I would forget and resort back to English. Well, this week I've done a better job and pretty much have spoken Chinese to him all week. I really hope this works and we can raise a bilingual (even trilingual) child.

Monday, he received his first round of shots. He handled it as well as a baby could and I handled it well too. I've heard of parents bawling, or feeling bad, but I had no such feelings and kind of feel guilty about it. This time, he had no reactions to the shots. His next round of shots will be in 2 months, so I hope he will have no reactions as well.

The meet and greets of 8 Weeks

Photo Credit: Michael Steiner

This week has been an exciting one for our little Nathan. First of all, he endured a long 6 hour car ride to Plano, and then he had a chance to meet a bunch of new friends.

The picture to the left is of my group of friends from high school. We started out as 6 band nerds, and over the years, we've lost and found loved ones, most of us got married, and a few of us have popped out some little ones. We had a get together over the Thanksgiving break and got a chance to catch up and have our little ones meet. It was truly a special event. Probably one of the highlights of my year. I hope we can do this more often. It will be neat to take the same picture over the years to see how the babies have grown (and how we have aged).

Nathan is getting to be so big! When I woke up one morning this week, I could have sworn that he had grown a bunch during the night. No big smiles yet, but more often, I am seeing little grins coming from his little mouth.

Steve and I are both better (from having colds) and we sure are glad that Nathan didn't catch any of our colds.

Also, how could I forget to mention that earlier this "week" my friends from Paredes (the school I used to teach at) came over to meet Nathan. We ended up having a potluck dinner and had a good time visiting with each other.

As far as sleeping goes, Nathan is mostly sleeping for 3 hour stretches, although he is sneaking in one four hour session each night...which is great for mommy. In a couple of days, Nathan will go in for his 2 month check up and....shots.

Trailor Food, Movie Theaters, and Sick Parents

Zilker Park Walk

Yay! We made it past the 6 weeks growth spurt and we are well on our way to week 7. This week was a tough one, although it didn't start out too tough. Steve's parents came to visit this past weekend so we had a chance to sneak out for our first date night since Nathan was born. The date night was very romantic. We had planned on trying out the new brick-and-mortar Gourdoughs (a gourmet doughnut shop on steroids) for dinner and then going to watch wreck-it-ralph. Well, the directions to the restaurant took us instead to the original Gourdoughs, which is in a trailer food park. So we braved the chilly night and shared 3 tacos from a taco stand and a mother clucker doughnut.
I don't know if it was the ambient lighting of the trailer park, or that it was just that long since we've had a date night, but I felt tingly feelings from back when we were dating. So, overall, we really enjoyed our time together, but at the end of the night, we looked forward to seeing our little honey bun again.

The next day, I felt cold all day. We went out to lunch with the parents, and when I got home, I was having chills, felt exhausted and a bit nauseous. I decided to take a quick nap. 30 minutes later, I hear the garage door open and suddenly Steve comes home. He was feeling sick too, but his symptoms were sinus pressure and drippy nose. We got everyone's temperature and I was the only one with a fever of 102.

We slept through the afternoon and I was dreading the night. How could we possibly take care of a baby when both of us are sick? And if I had the flu, it was going to be a tough week. But most importantly, how do we keep Nathan from getting sick?

There were times that night where I thought that I could not go on any longer. That I would just put him in his crib and go to sleep myself. My body was sore all over and I was exhausted. The feeling was almost worse than labor. Then, the sun came up and it all seemed a bit better. I expected to wake up sniffly, but my airwaves were still clear. I really had no symptoms, but my fever still lingered at 100 degrees. It turns out that I had the stomach virus. Perhaps it was something I ate. But I am thankful that it was just that.

This week really made me realize how different our lives have changed now that our little guy is in our life.

The Growth Spurt of Week 6

I can hardly believe it, but Nathan's been with us for 6 weeks already! The time sure flies by so quickly. I took him in to his 6 week check up and he's gained 2 pounds (from his birth weight) already. If you count his lowest weight after birth, it's almost 3 pounds. He's also grown about 3 inches since birth. It's scary to imagine how some babies are his size when they are born. I simply can't imagine Nathan fitting inside of me at his current size/weight.

Nathan peeking out from the Balboa Baby sling.

He's on the tail end of a growth spurt period. A few days ago, he was a ravenous baby, wanting to nurse every hour to hour and a half. It was exhausting, to say the least. The nights were the worse. But, I think he's starting to get back to his normal 3 hour feedings and he's sleeping more regularly and I can get things done while he's napping.

As far as sleep goes, I can get about 7-8 hours of sleep a night. I nurse Nathan one final time around 10 and I go to sleep. He usually wakes up every 3 hours for a feeding, with one feeding lasting a bit longer because he just won't go to sleep. When I get frustrated, Steve takes over and Nathan is asleep in 20 minutes. I've learned to just wake Steve up if he's been up for more than an hour. (Instead of trying for 3 hours). I have also tried gripe water with Nathan for his colicky periods at night. I feel like it seems to help with his gas.

He's sleeping now, and I'm hoping he can sleep for awhile since apparently more sleep correlates to more growth. Many of the baby books says that babies will start to sleep for longer stretches at about 6 weeks. I'm not seeing it yet, but I sure hope it comes soon. I guess with a larger capacity digestive system, he can go longer without having to feed. Come on, growth spurt!

After being a mom for 6 weeks, I am starting to feel more confident about my mothering abilities. I feel like I am closer to him as he is starting to respond to stimulus and I can decipher his many cues and behaviors.

A few tentative plans right now for after Thanksgiving:
1. Attend a baby swimming/water class with Nathan. The ladies in my baby love class told me about this bathtime babies class where they teach babies how to be more comfortable in the water.

2. Start sleep training. I have decided to go with the pick-up and put down method. Right now Nathan is co-sleeping with us in the bed. After Thanksgiving, I am going to start to train him to go to sleep on his own in the pack'n'play bassinet. When he is able to sleep a full 8 hours, and able to start to crawl/roll over, I will transition him to his crib.

2 Weeks Photo Shoot

Week 5...One month!

Check out the little guy! He's starting to get chubby little cheeks! This picture was taken this morning when he wasn't cranky. It's been a pretty rough week. I now know how important it is for babies to sleep. For the past few days, our schedule has been thrown off a bit, causing Nathan to not sleep for more than 10 minute stretches at a time. We didn't really understand how a baby could be tired and not go to sleep. Also, I was getting a bit stressed out about trying to sleep train him (putting him down right before he dozes off) and failing miserably.Today has been the first time this week I have been able to sit down, eat lunch, and have some time to myself.

Well, turns out that until 2-3 months, it is ok for him to fall asleep in my arms. So, I guess I will start to sleep train him when the new year rolls around. I'm still a bit torn about what sleep training method I will use. My instinct tells me to go with the PD/PU method (Put down/pick up) where you put the baby down as they are drowsy and pick them up when they start to cry. However, the easier and thus more enticing method, the one my mom used on me, was the Ferber method, AKA the cry-it-out method. I'm curious about what others have done and how their kids turned out. My mom Ferberized, and while I'm not the most confident person, and I have some issues with separation, I think I turned out ok. I guess we still have a few weeks to figure this out.

Nathan is about 8 and a half pounds now, we are actually tracking his growth on the Wii. I even created a little baby Mii for him.

Cloth diapering is going well. Right now, he's a bit small for the one-size pocket diapers, but I think my favorite system is the prefolds with the Thirsties duo snap covers. I find that they are less bulky and they have a leak guard that keeps the mess down. I found that we were having to hand wash the covers between diaper washes, so I ordered another 2 diaper covers today. I wonder if these will still be my favorites when he is a bit bigger.

Night time sleep is alright. I have found that because I now can anticipate him getting up every 3 hours, the interrupted sleep is not bad. Since Nathan is feeding more efficiently, our feeding sessions are now down to 20-30 minutes as opposed to 45-50 minutes last week. I need to do a better job burping him, because sometimes I'll put him down, lay down, and a few minutes later, he wakes up crying because of gas. I think we also have a good system that we started last night and I ended up getting at least 7 hours of sleep. After bathing and feeding him, I would pass him off to Steve at around 10, when I would go to sleep. Steve puts him to sleep and is done for the night. I wake up at around 2 and 5 to feed him (one of the feedings almost always requires me to walk around the house to get him to sleep, and the other one, he goes straight to sleep after he eats) and then I wake up around 8 in the morning for good.

I guess that's it for now. I'm headed off to tidy up the house a bit and perhaps get a short power nap in before he wakes up. He's been asleep for 2 hours! 

4 Weeks

Everywhere I go, I still get comments about how small Nathan is. He's almost 8 pounds. People, have you not seen small babies? Oh well.


Nathan's grandparents came to visit a few days ago and it was nice having a few extra pairs of hands around. Now that they are gone, we are back on our schedule and things are going pretty smoothly. I even had the opportunity to go out for a girl's night and celebrate my friend's birthday. Steve got to ride 65 miles in the Livestrong Challenge. We also went to a pumpkin patch/pick your own flower farm. I breastfed in public for the first time in the back seat of the car... not the spacious place to do so.

Nathan also met his cousins for the first time.  He didn't really like to be pushed around in a baby doll stroller. But it was amusing while it lasted.

On Tuesday, Nathan and I went to a baby + mama massage class. The massage portion was a bit underwhelming, but I loved the atmosphere of the group. We started the class out by sharing the toughest part of being a mom. It was good to hear that other moms were facing the same frustrations. I am really looking forward to going back next week.

So far, being a mom, besides being very time consuming, is very managable. The only annoying thing is that during one of his night feedings, he stays up for like 3 hours before he goes back to sleep. Now that I know to expect this, it is not as bad. But in the beginning, it was very frustrating because I would finish feeding him, burp him and put him down while he was nodding off. As soon as his eyes close and his arms go limp, I would turn off the light and get ready to sleep myself. Suddenly, I would hear a wimper, I wait a bit, and then a full  out cry. The problem is that Nathan has gas and it seems like we need to burp him forever at night to soothe him. I usually last for about 2 hours before I give up and then Steve takes over. It seems like Steve's got the magic touch because for the past 2 nights, Steve can get Nathan sleeping in 20 minutes. He's been really great! I love my family so much. Just today as I was walking Teddy, I thought to myself, God has blessed me with such a great family. Everything is just about perfect.

So far, we've been co-sleeping with Nathan. During the day, I have him napping in his pack'n play and for the first time today, I had him sleeping in his crib. He slept for almost 4 hours in the crib. I think he likes it. Perhaps he will be sleeping in his own room sooner than I thought.

3 Weeks and products you don't hear about in the baby blogs

Today marks 3 weeks and I have been hanging out alone with Nathan for about 4 days. The highlights of our day are as follows:
- A morning walk from 10-11 in the morning
- A quick walk in the sling to the mailbox in the afternoon
- A nap for mommy from 1-2:30ish
- Feedings every 3 hours.

Things are steady. Not much to report about this past week, but grandma and grandpa are visiting this week.

The next part of my post will feature 4 products that I have found to be so useful.

Changing Pad
Nathan pretty much sleeps in it. We have this in our bed between Steve and me at night so that we don't roll over him. During the day, I have him sleep in this while in his pack n' play to get him used to sleeping in there. When it's time for him to move to his crib, I will probably put the changing pad in the crib too.
My Brest Friend
Forget the Boppy. I had received a Boppy pillow for breastfeeding, but found that it was awkward to use. It simply was not made for breast feeding. However, it works great as a device that keeps Nathan from rolling off of the couch when we set him on it. I tried the MBF for the first time in the hospital when they had me nurse Nathan. I fell in love with it immediately and when we got home, immediately went to the local baby consignment store to see if they had one in stock. I was in luck and found one in my favorite color for $19.99.

The Milkies Milk Saver
Thanks to the MMS, my pumping days are over.This was a product that my friend Kym recommended that I get. You basically stick it on the boob that you are not feeding with and it catches the milk that is let down during the feeding. Normally, moms use feeding pads to absorb the milk, but I am able to save at least an ounce at each feeding. With 8 feedings a day, that's 8 ounces of milk that I can save up!

Grass Drying Rack
Who knew this little device would come in so handy. I actually have this sitting next to my bed so that at night, I have my milk saver and bottles easily accessible. It's pretty cool to have all of Nathan's washables drying in one spot. Plus, it's cool to look at and can be used as a pencil/marker holder when he's older.

I didn't think this mom thing would be so time consuming, but it is so worth it and I am enjoying the experience.

Two Weeks Old Today

If things went according to plan, Nathan would've been born today. 10/10 was his official due date, but instead, it's his 2 week "birthday/"

Things at the homestead are getting a bit more steady, just in time for Steve to go back to work.

Nathan was circumcised yesterday, and after an emotional day of seeing swelling and dealing with crying, I'm glad that his spirits have improved. I'm sure it was tougher on him than it was on me.
I weighed myself yesterday and I am proud to announce that I am only 5 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. A good diet and exercise is so important, and I'm kind of glad that one of the midwives had me avoid sugar like the devil from the start. I'm also glad that I continued to attend my Bodypump and Zumba classes at the gym. I guess it was also a good thing that I was pregnant during the summer so that I could spend lots of time at the pool.

On Monday, I had a little photo session with Nathan. I will probably post those pictures later this week. For now, I have to go and put a baby to bed and try to muster up some sleep for myself.

Needles and NICU

Bililights: A form of light treatment used to help rid the body of excess bilirubin.

Exactly a week ago, Nathan was admitted into the NICU for an extreme case of jaundice. While jaundice is a common disorder among newborns, a combination of a high red blood cell count, my milk not coming in fast enough, and being part Asian was a recipe that caused his bilirubin levels to reach an extremely dangerous level.

We were at the hospital for 2 nights and almost 3 days. We were lucky to be able to get a room to stay in overnight in the NICU. Even though I knew that Nathan was going to be ok in a few days, I don't think I have ever been so worried, scared, and emotional in my life. When I saw the IV needle taped onto his little hand, I admired how brave he was, and howI, myself was super scared about the IV (but luckily I didn't need to be hooked up to an IV at the birthing center).

I cried a lot those few days and after thinking about it, my tears were mostly tears of frustration, or tears of comfort. Most of the nurses there were unable to answer many of the questions that we had. Most of them would reply with, "well, it depends..." or "Each doctor has their own way of interpreting, so I'm not sure..." There was one nurse, in particular who seemed off. She was unable to answer any of our questions, and didn't even know if it was ok for us to put lotion on Nathan's dry feet. Unfortunately, she took care of Nathan for 2 shifts. Oh, there was one point when I went in to visit Nathan and when I felt him, he was burning hot. I mentioned it to the bad nurse and she told me to take his temperature. I took his temperature and it reached 100 degrees. Turns out, she had flipped him and didn't move the temperature sensor that controlled the heating lamp above Nathan's bed.

But then there was this awesome nurse, Lisa. She had the overnight shift and when we visited she updated us on his status, told me that he was drinking all of my pumped milk (when the bad nurse said that he's only on formula), allowed us to put lotion on his feet, let us give him a bath and hold him, and even gave Steve the algorithm that the doctors used to determine how risky the bilirubin levels were in a newborn.

In the end, I learned a lesson about needing to truly trust in God. Throughout the pregnancy, I read countless books on prenatal and baby care, making sure that I would know what to do, and know what to expect. I wanted to make sure that I was in control. But those books didn't prepare me for Nathan's birth and the days that followed. Things were out of my control, but luckily, we have an awesome God who is.

When Nathan was born, he was 6 lbs. 3 oz. When he was admitted into the hospital, his weight had dropped down to 5 lbs. 7 oz.. On the third night, we had received a phone call from the doctor saying that Nathan was stable, but they wanted to keep him overnight and test his levels one more time in the morning before he was discharged, so we went home to rest in our own bed. Around 9:30, the hospital called again, and this time, a different doctor informed us that Nathan could go home tonight. Ecstatic, we rushed to the hospital where Jimmy, the nurse, hurried through the discharge process and by 12:30, we were finally headed home. Nathan's discharge weight was 6 lbs. 2 oz..

A few days later, we took Nathan in to see the pediatrician and he looked good. In fact, his weight had gone up to 6 lbs. 5 oz. He's still a little yellow in the face and in parts of his eyes, but for the most part, he's back to normal. Now, we're just doing the feeding, changing and sleeping cycle. I'm feeding him on demand and he's normally sleeping for about 2.5-3.5 hours, meaning that I only have to get up 2-3 times a night to take care of his needs. Which isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Funny story today: I had just finished feeding and changing Nathan's diaper. As I held him in front of me, I kissed him on the cheek and told him "I love you" Immediately, he responded by spitting up milk all over

First Days of Being a Mommy

As I update this post, I have the world's most precious gift laying right next to me. I finally understand what people mean when they said, you don't know love until you have a kid.

I thought I would be bored while I rest and recover from labor, but to tell you the truth, I can stare into the little guy's face all day and be happy. He is just so adorable.

Overall, things are going well. Nathan is pretty much a feeding, pooping, peeing, and sleeping machine. At first, I was a bit overwhelmed with figuring out what his cries and motions meant, but since I've been tracking his feeding and sleeping times, coupled with my observation skillz, I think I have him figured out...for now.

Steve was sick for a few days, which meant that his interaction time with Nathan was very limited and when they occurred, he would don a very fashionable face mask. He's been so supportive and has done a great job taking care of me and running operations of the house. I'm lucky to have him here for the next 2 weeks.

Thanks to Dr. Harvey Carp and his 5 S's, the only time he cries is when we change his diaper. I think he just doesn't like the cold wipes on his bum. So, before we go out and get a wipes warmer, I may try microwaving a few wipes to see if he is a bit calmer with warm wipes.

The home visit mid-wife / lactation specialist came over today and checked Nathan out. Everything is great, except she's a bit concerned about the weight he has lost over the past few days. Now that my milk has finally come in, I've been feeding him on demand and tomorrow we will go in for another weigh-in. Hopefully he is getting the nutrients that he needs.

The two other things I'm concerned about is 1) his left leg, which is a bit bent from being cramped up in the womb and 2) his tongue, which may be a bit "tongue tied." We'll get this checked out when we take him in to see the doctor on Monday.

My mom came in today and will be here for about a week and a half. Even though she lives in Dallas, I really only get to see her for about a week out of the year. I'm excited to have this opportunity to spend some quality time with her.

Emotionally, I feel great and the only physical issues I have are with swelling tissue and healing stitches. Otherwise, I feel like I could live life normally.

That's it for now. Nap time.

Nathan Li Havlir's Birth Story

We got to meet our little honey bun 2 weeks early! So I guess I will continue with the story that I started last post.

So, we were hoping that contractions would kick in around 3 am, so I wouldn't have to take any castor oil and go through extreme diarrhea - but we did. My alarm went off at 6 am and I grudgingly paraded to the kitchen to prepare my oh so delicious breakfast. I think the midwife had told me to take 4 oz of castor oil, but the directions said 1-4 tablespoons, so I kind of compromised and ended up drinking 3 tablespoons of it in a cookies and cream with banana and pb2 milkshake. (Which tasted ok) and then I used another 3 T to scramble 2 eggs. I probably ended up eating 2 of the 3 tablespoons because there was still a lot of oil in the pan after I scrambled the eggs. Castor oil doesn't really taste that bad. It tastes just like vegetable oil, but when you have to consume a lot of it in a short period of time, it's not so palatable.I tried to make the eggs taste better by topping them with some cheese, but as I downed the last couple of bites, my gagging reflex kicked in. Fortunately, I was able to keep them down...for now.

When the midwife first told us to go pick up some castor oil, I'm glad I asked her so, we just go to the automotive isle of the store and and pick up some castor oil? She laughed and explained that castor oil is a laxative that you get at any drug store. I guess if I didn't clarify, I would've probably ended up in the ER that morning.

I then tried to go back to bed. About 30-45 minutes later, let's just say that everything was cleaned out of my system. I even saw the remains of dinner from the night before in the toilet when I was finished. Most people say that it takes about 2 hours for the castor oil to kick in, but it worked really quickly for me. Then, around 7:30, I vomited my breakfast and called the midwife to see if I needed to take anymore of that horrid stuff. Luckily, she said that I didn't need to take any more and contractions would come soon. She advised me eat something light, take a walk and a warm shower.

Around 8:30, a different midwife, Vicki, called me and talked to me about how our goal was to get some contractions started and wanted me to come in to use the breast pump. We agreed to meet up at the birthing center around 10:00. Suddenly, I remembered that the library books were due on Friday and so we stopped by the library to drop off my books before we headed to the center. Somewhere between the birthing center and the library, on William Cannon, I felt this sudden sharp punch to my cervix and then a very tight menstrual cramp-like contraction. This lasted for about 30 seconds. My first, official contraction. Then as we pulled into the parking lot, I felt a second contraction that lasted for about the same amount of time.

As soon as we entered the birthing center, we were taken quickly to our room and as Steve brought stuff in from the car, I sat on the toilet, because I just had this overwhelming pressure near my rectum. Nicole, another midwife on staff came in and started the breast pump on me for about 15 minutes and by 10:30, I felt my next contraction and took the breast pump off for a break. From that point on, my contractions started lasting for about 45 seconds to a minute and were about 3 minutes apart. They felt like heavy menstrual cramps and a strong bowel movement put together. I found that the best position for me to get into to get through the pain was to squat and lean my head against a chair or the bed. I didn't want Steve, or anyone touching me during those few seconds. They started to get more intense and just when I thought that I couldn't take them any longer, the midwifes checked me and by 11:30, I was 8 cm dilated. They asked me if I wanted to get into the tub and I eagerly said yes.

The moment I stepped into the tub, I felt a bit more relaxed. The contractions continued to come on strong, but the warm water helped me relax and I was able to just melt and get through each contraction a bit easier. Towards the end, I had Steve spray warm water on my lower back as each contraction came and went. Vicki checked me again and I was fully dilated.  She told me that from this point on, I would just have to listen to my body. If I felt an urge to push, I should push. The next 2 contractions were nice and gentle. But then on the third one, I felt this different urge, an urge to push. The pressure along my rectum was intense, so I started to push with each contraction. There was a time where I slipped in the tub and so the midwives asked me if I wanted to get out for better footing. I was kind of hoping to give birth in the tub, but I didn't want to slip again, plus, my fingers and toes were getting numb and I was really hot.

I got out of the tub around noon and stumbled onto the bed. Immediately, I resumed a fetal position on my side and suddenly one of the midwives told me to grab my leg and on came another contraction. For those of you who do yoga, this visual may help: I was doing a modified happy baby with my arm around the pit of my knees, while on my left side. Surprisingly, I felt like it was a very good position, with each contraction, the midwives would even press against my foot to help me push. Slowly but steadily I progressed. They kept telling me that I was doing a good job and when I was conscious enough to think I would think to myself, what am I doing a good job of?  I finally just asked them. Steve said that with each push, he could see stretching going on and with each push, I was stretching out about 1 mm more.

The midwives checked Nathan's heart rate almost after each contraction and at some point, it dropped a lot, so they put an oxygen mask on me and told me to push on my hands and knees. This lasted for about 3 contractions and then they had me get on my back for 3 contractions. This pattern continued on for what seemed like an eternity. Each time they told me to change positions, I felt like I was moving so sluggishly because I was just tired of pushing. Around 1:00, Vicki told me that she was going to have to do an episiotomy if this baby doesn't come out soon. For some reason having an episiotomy or a tear was my worst fear so I mustered up my strength and pushed harder. When Nathan's head crowned, I got to feel it and at that point, I knew that the end was near. For the next few contractions, Steve held my hand as I pushed with all my might. (If you can see the picture above, I have some temporary freckles from pushing so hard on my face and neck) Apparently, it wasn't good enough because I saw Vicki take the scalpel out and had this disappointed/worried look on her face. I pretty much begged her to wait one more contraction and that I would push extra hard. Well, we didn't get his head out after the first one, but on the second one, I mustered out 5 pushes with that contraction and out came Nathan. All this time, Vicki was applying warm compresses, massaging the perineum and pushing down there to help coax Nathan out. I felt so confident and was glad that she was delivering my baby.

Well, he came out, head first, then shoulders and apparently what made the labor more difficult that it needed to be was his right arm, which was kind of next to his face, like The Thinker statue. Even now, when he's not swaddled, you will most likely find his little right fist wedged under his chin, just like The Thinker. It's so adorable. By 1:15, Nathan was put on my chest and Steve cut the umbilical cord. Apparently his umbilical cord was shorter than normal and the placenta came out in one piece.

I had 2 small tears and Vicki stitched me up while I bonded with little Nathan. I felt like the most blessed woman on this world because I had just delivered a healthy little boy who was just so fragile and innocent.

Nathan took on breastfeeding like a pro and after some paperwork, a shower for me and a bath for him, by 7:30, we were headed home, ready to start Chapter 3 of our life.

Umm...That's Not Pee

So, tomorrow marks the official 38 weeks, but I just had to make a final post because my WATER JUST BROKE! [Gross details spoiler alert! Skip to next paragraph if you want to be spared the details] After rearranging the pantry and mopping the floor, I sat down for some lunch in front of the TV. When I finished,  I stood up and suddenly felt this warm rush of liquid and I quickly darted to the bathroom. At this point, I thought to myself...bladder incontinence...should've done more Kegals. I put a fresh pair of undies on and to be on the safe side, also put a pad on. I went back to lay on the couch to finish the episode of Nip Tuck. When the episode was over about 15 minutes later, I stood up again and felt the same rush. By this point, I was getting a bit suspicious because I had just emptied my bladder. I went to the bathroom and sure enough, liquid did come out, and in fact, so much had come out that the pantyliner that I just put in was completely soaked. I noticed that the liquid was clear and had no odor. I thought to myself, did my water just break? 

Being the 21st century girl that I am, I quickly Googled "How do you know if your water broke" and read a bunch of articles. Many of the test involved a microscope slide or litmus paper, both things that I used to have access to easily, but not any more. So, I decided to call the birthing center and told them all the details and the midwife said it sounded like I was leaking amniotic fluid and for me to go in to check.

Well, it turns out, the litmus paper turned bluish purple, and the fluids created a crystal pattern on the slide: both signs that it is amniotic fluid. She used the ultrasound to determine the position of the baby, and his head was engaged and his spine is along my right side. So, at this point, I asked the midwife for a timeline and she says that usually the protocol is to have labor started within 24 hours of the water breaking. They sent me home with some herbs, which I am to take 1 teaspoon every hour. They also recommended that I go take a walk and massage my uterus to naturally induce contractions. And apparently contractions usually start 4-6 hours after your water breaks, so I guess we'll see if I'm on schedule.

I had a feeling that our Honey Bun would come early, but I thought we would at least make it to October. I'm starting to grow anxious and excited about the new life that God is about to bring into our lives.

So, I guess that's it for now. The waiting game begins.

Week 37...Officially At Term

So, this honey bun could come out of the oven any day now and have a good chance of surviving. Overall, I'm still feeling pretty good, the only difference is that I feel like I'm waddling more, my Zumba is progressively getting even more spaz-like and I'm craving unhealthy food all of a sudden. All I want is some fried chicken and hot wings!

I don't feel like I'm much bigger than I was last week, but I feel a bit more cramped as my mobility is definitely more limited. I'm pretty much ready to meet this baby already! Here's a picture that I took today. 

I guess my bump is a bit smaller than average because everywhere I go, people still ask me how many months I have left. When I respond with 3-4 weeks, they seem surprised. As my due date quickly approaches, all the books and articles that I've read indicate that at this point, I should've gained all the weight that I should've gained (if not start to lose a pound or two). I've only gained about 21 pounds this pregnancy and I'm hoping to maintain (not lose) any weight until the due date. So, maybe I will give in to my fried food cravings.

Either earlier this week, or over the weekend, I went ahead and made 2 covers for our smaller than average changing pad. I don't think I could find a cover that would fit our changing pad so I looked up a tutorial and made my own. It was actually very easy and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Here are a few pictures:

View from the side

Elastic Bottom. This was the first time that I've ever worked with elastic. Surprisingly simple.

With the cooler weather and extra time on my hands, I've been spending more time in the kitchen. This week I've made my red white and blue (cranberry, blueberry and white chocolate) oatmeal cookies, beer bread (which kind of failed), a batch of butternut squash ice cream, and dinner for the week along with several meals to freeze for post-pregnancy meals. I am so thankful that I have been able to go through the "tougher" parts of pregnancy without having to work. In fact, I've been the most relaxed that I have ever been in my life. I know, I know, I should enjoy it while it lasts.

Last night I got Steve to watch the movie, What to Expect When You're Expecting. I guess the bad reviews on Netflix lowered my expectations because I ended up liking the movie and Steve liked it too. There were a few key side characters that just made the most hilarious comments that left my cheeks and ab muscles sore. Chris Rock and the co-worker of  Elizabeth Bank's character were by far my favorites.

Throughout the movie I actually had a difficult time figuring out which woman I could relate to the most. I could see a part of my eccentric pregnant self in each of the expecting women. But in the end, I think I can relate most to the Cameron Diaz character. I just hope I will have her strength when it comes time for delivery.

I love the idea of a daddy's group. I kind of wish more of our friends had kids so that something like that could exist, but who knows...