Is it really over?

I must be in denial...it just donned on me that today is Thursday, a.k.a. the last day of my summer vacation (and extended maternity leave)!

I am so sad!

On the other hand, this has been the BEST summer ever! I have had the best time with my husband and baby boy!

Always With Me

I love that when I close my eyes to go to sleep, I see funny and cute pictures of our baby boy. I had this one on my mind last night:

...and when I open my eyes, I see him sleeping peacefully next to me. It's the best.

We discovered a new game this morning that drew out some of his first laughs! We were at the mirror, looking at each other, when I started to go up and down with him (emphasizing the "up" and "down"), and he loved it! He was all smiles and in the beginning stages of laughing! So cute!

Turning 2 Months

Baby XA got his first round of vaccinations today! It's a big day for me because this means Mommy can start bringing Baby out, like to the park! Yay! :)

Baby was soOOOooo brave. I knew he would be fine with the shots, but I was still impressed and proud afterward! He received 3 shots (and an oral dosage), and he wailed a cry of pain at the peak of a long cry and then cried a regular cry for about half a minute to a minute before he settled down. We were so impressed with how well he took the shots! Much braver than his Mommy and Daddy!

Now, he's got a cute Garfield band-aid on one leg and a Sesame street band-aid on the other.
He has definitely put on weight. He's now at the 50th percentile for weight (up from 25th), 25th for length and head circumference (up from 10th).


He is so much fun. :) Do I really have to go back to work next month? :(

7 Weeks

Look at that smile! :)

A Time to Play

Last night, Baby Christian and I didn't get much sleep. We woke up quite a lot and had a hard time falling back asleep.

Around 6 AM, we nursed and then I tried to rock him to sleep for almost 1.5 hours. For some time, he was fidgeting a bit so at one point, I switched positions from having his head over my shoulder to a cradle position. I wasn't sure how that would work since the night before, I swung him in the cradle position and he started flailing his little arms as if he really was in his swing! It was so funny.

Well, instead of falling asleep, the little guy wanted to talk and play! His big eyes (or I guess normal size, but "big" in comparison to my eyes) stared back at me, and he cooed nonstop -- I couldn't even get a word in edgewise! I told Baby Christian that it was too early to talk and that we had to sleep some more, but he protested. Finally, I had to be the not-so-fun Mommy and put him back over my chest and shoulder so that our conversation ended. :(

Needless to say, we are both really tired now, and he is currently napping on me, but Mommy will be ready for another engaging conversation once he wakes up. :)

Our Budding Bud

Family life is wonderful. :)

Although Husband is recovering at a good rate from his knee surgery, he continues to experience some pain and needs reminders to take it easy. It's not easy for him to stay off of his feet, especially when he sees Baby Chatian and wants to pick him up and play with him. It will still take a few more weeks before he is completely well.

I had a check-up yesterday with my OB/GYN, and he said I have healed well, too. I was a little off pragmatically b/c I responded with, "thanks," as if I had anything to do with the surgical procedure. He also gave me permission to resume working out...which is the last thing on my mind when there's a little one at home who is growing by the second!

Baby Chatian is doing well. We wake up a few times during the night for feedings and diaper changes, but he usually falls back asleep very easily afterward. We get up around 10 AM, have breakfast (him first then Mommy), and spend some time awake before his next nap. During that time, we say good morning to Daddy who is already at his desk working, and we might do some of the following: tummy time, listen to music, listen to Mommy read while Baby eats, listen to Mommy tell him the day's schedule (especially when there are visitors coming), and visit the turtle. He generally gets a nice relaxing bath every other night, which he loves (the sound of running water calms him down). Baby is starting to drool so sometimes we find little wet spots on our shirts, but we don't mind; it's just another indicator that he's a healthy little boy. His hands and arms are getting really strong, too. He now grasps our shirts and holds on tight.

Lately, we see his independent side emerging. Rather than always wanting to be held, there are many times when he resists and would rather be in his swing or more recently, laying on his back and "exercising" his arms and legs. He smiles and coos even more frequently now to communicate with us, and he is starting to notice when Mommy or Daddy leave the room. He watches us and then when we disappear, he cries. Baby boy loves to smile, especially at Daddy because Daddy is so much fun! He loves it when Daddy picks him up under his arms and helps him to "walk." He is also starting to communicate through different cries. Lately, he does a short cry as if to say, "Hey! I'm still here! Don't forget about me!" But how could we ever forget that we have a beautiful perfect boy in our lives? He brings us so much joy and laughter every day.

Happy 1-Month Birthday (again)!

Well, I'm not really sure if Tuesday was Baby Cha-Tian's 1-month birthday (exactly 4 weeks after birth) or today, one calendar month. In any case, celebrating twice is perfectly fine with us!

Baby Cha-Tian received his first e-card. It was from Lolo and Lola! So cute of them to be so excited! They wrote:

OUR DEAR CHA-TIAN,

HAPPY WISHES AND HAPPY KISSES. GOD BLESS YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU ARE. HAPPY ONE MONTH DAY OLD CELEBRATION..

WARM SWEET KISSES,
LOLA & LOLO

Mommy also gave Baby C his first bath...alone! Daddy underwent minor knee surgery yesterday and is out of commission for a few days. Thankfully, Baby LOVES bath time so there were no power struggles. Daddy is now bottle feeding Baby as we continue to try this new night time routine. All is well with us all, including Daddy's knee.

Baby continues to grow right before our eyes. He has made tremendous progress in gaining control of his arm and neck muscles, he grasps at us/our clothes and holds on, and is showing signs of intentional smiling.

Birthdays

Happy 33rd birthday to my dearest Husband and happy 1-month birthday to our baby boy!

We celebrated by first giving Baby Cha-tian his first haircut (compliments of Daddy). Daddy wanted to to give Baby a haircut as a gift to himself. :) We originally discussed shaving all of Baby's hair off as an Asian 1-month old tradition, but Husband knew I was really conflicted about it...I just love rubbing his head of hair when I'm nursing him (and other times). So Xtn gave him a fade all around and left his hair on top untouched...so he's got his faux hawk again.

(The profile view of his fade. :)

(Yawn! I had such a busy day!)

For lunch, Vonny and Mason came over, and we had Islands burgers at home. Before the winning Lakers game, I rushed to Costco to buy a Red Velvet (birthday) cake.

As mellow as it was, Husband really enjoyed his birthday. He kept saying he had the greatest gifts -- a baby boy and wife. And to toot, he had his favorite cake and the Lakers and Dodgers won.

3 Weeks

I can't believe it's only/already been three weeks! Baby C is literally growing everyday. Over the past few days, we have noticed a sudden increase in vocalizations, more wakeful "quiet alert" states, and strong grasps (to our clothes).

Time keeps passing so fast, too. I only notice that when I look at the e-mails I haven't responded to and Gmail says how many days it has been since I received the e-mail. The past week has been more challenging than usual. It's as if that wack pediatrician jinxed us! 1/2 j/k I think the first two weeks were like a honeymoon period, and then as Baby C continued to grow, he said (cried) to us, "Okay, it's time to get serious since we're going to be together for a long time."

In the midst of everything, we were fortunate to have a photo shoot on Sunday. Unfortunately, Baby C was asleep for most of it (actually, Kuya Ron, father of 3, said that's a good thing). I was hoping for him to be awake so that we could capture his big, beautiful eyes.* In any case, I am really happy that we got these photos since I declined the expensive photo opportunity at the hospital. Husband made a special collage for me. :)


*The funny thing about his eyes -- that is the first thing that my relatives notice and comment on. I find myself jealous of his big eyes and long lashes (and thankful that he got them from his Daddy).

This past week, we have also had to get used to "marathon feedings," where we cycle through nonstop feedings, burpings, and diaper changes for 2-3 hours straight. Last night, we started earlier, and it went on for only 1.5 so that's drastic improvement.

Another parenting milestone for me is that I'm actually wearing him in a sling! For now, it seems like he doesn't like the cradle hold, but he is okay with the snuggle hold (or maybe b/c he doesn't know he's in the sling since I slipped him in it while he was asleep). We have been thinking that our baby is different in that he doesn't really like to be swaddled (sometimes, he gets really angry, but he does okay when Daddy lets him have an arm out) nor does he like to be worn ("like an accessory," said his Dad.) I'm not so concerned about the swaddling since he sleeps alright through the night (and wakes up every 2-3 hours for feedings and changes). I am hoping that I can wear him, though, as I really believe in all the benefits. And I really believe that he wants and needs to be near us. Even when we lay him down, it's as if he'll sneak a peek to see if we are nearby...and if we're not close enough, he cries for us.

But why does all the literature say that newborns should go through 8-12 diapers in a day? Yesterday, the little dude went through 21 diapers in 24 hours! Sometimes, he pees right after I change him, even though I tried to get him to pee during the change (I have not been successful yet). Lately, he somehow pees on himself at least 1 out of 10 changes with Mommy and I have no idea how! I cover him with a washcloth and in the few seconds I take to throw his diaper away, he magically has a few drops on his onesie...and sometimes even on his face! Then I feel soOoOOOOOo bad... I am very tempted to get the Sozo Weeblock Absorbent Sponge...

I never thought I'd be counting the weeks our baby has been with us, but here I am, telling him "happy birthday" with every passing week. Next week, his one month birthday falls on his Daddy's birthday! How special!

2 Weeks

It's official -- this is a Mommy blog! :)

Last Friday, we brought Baby C to his first pediatrician appointment. He weighed in at 6 pounds 2 ounces, down 9 ounces from birth. Since we aren't planning on bringing him back to this pediatrician, we were on a mission to make sure he gained his weight back by his two-week birthday.

Yesterday was Baby C's two-week birthday so we weighed him at home...and he came in at a whopping 7 pounds 10 ounces! Did he really gain 1.5 pounds in 4 days?? Husband thinks the pediatrician's janky scale was off to begin with. It's hard to say since babies lose between 5-10% of their birth weight in the first two weeks so he was "typical." Since Friday, he's been feeding like crazy so it's not surprising that he has gained all this weight.

We also gave him his first "real" bath last night! His umbilical cord fell off in the middle of the night so we decided to give him a real bath -- no more chaotic sponge baths. Contrary to what you might think based on the picture, he really enjoys real baths...just not the end process of being lifted out of the water to dry off and clothed.



Why does his hair stick straight up after each wash but magically goes down by the next morning?

Labor & Delivery

What a better way to celebrate Baby C's 2-week birthday than to recount an abridged (and censored) version of our labor and delivery!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Today was my first (pre-) Mother's Day. I feel like Grandma where it's like an additional birthday of the year! For the past few days, Husband's been asking what I want to do, where I want to eat, and if there is anything that I want. I don't know if pregnancy hormones have anything to do with this but I have been the most frustratingly indecisive person ever these past few months so of course I couldn't make any decisions. As I took a relaxing lavender-vanilla-oatmeal bath (to stave off the pregnancy hives), Husband slipped a sweet Mother(-to-be)'s Day card under the door. I was so touched. :)

We celebrated Mother's Day by going over to Aunty Dina's to celebrate with all the mothers there. On our way, we stopped by Target and JCPenney to exchange and purchase a few more items for Baby C. We also picked up some items to BBQ and a Boston Cream Pie for dessert. A wonderful late lunch commenced and bets were placed on when Baby C would arrive.

May 10 was his estimated due date. Shelley put her (fake) money on May 10. Aunty Dina said May 14 (the New Moon). Bro and FBIL said May 13 for Mom's birthday. I just guessed sometime this week.

Little did I know that by the middle of the night, I would KNOW that Baby C would come before May 13...

Monday, May 10, 2010

I started what I thought were false contractions on Monday around 2:30 AM. The positive thing was that I no longer woke up from the insane itch of the hives; now I was waking up on the half hour to an hour from crazy menstrual-like pains magnified about 3-fold. I finally got up around 6 AM on Monday, and the pains came more frequently ranging from 3 - 15 minutes and lasting 30-60 sec duration. I still thought they were false labor b/c I could walk them off. I even went to Costco to "walk around" (and to do a last run "just in case"). When I got home, Husband had already brought our hospital overnight bags (i.e., carry-on luggage) to the door to put in our car, and he was showered and ready to go! Haha. I told him, don't be disappointed if we don't go today. He said, "but I want to go now! I want the baby boy to come now!" ;)

Around 8 or 9 PM, the contractions got harder to manage/walk off. By the time we were hopping into bed around 12 AM, Husband knew I was in lots of pain, and I really didn't think I could make it through the night. I had been pacing back and forth in our little place all evening long. He started timing my contractions b/c he didn't believe my wide range of 2 - 10 minutes with 50-75 seconds in duration. He timed me for almost an excruciating hour, and they ranged from 2 - 6 minutes with 50-60 s average duration. He finally called the Dr. around 1 AM, who said we could go to the hospital but they'll turn us away if I'm not dilated 3 cm. How in the world would I know? We were told that we wouldn't know dilation until someone (i.e., nurse) examines me. After about 10 minutes, I told him that I wanted to go to the hospital and take the chance. I was sure I had to be at least 3 cm with all the pain I was enduring.

We got to the UCLA-Santa Monica Medical Center around 2 AM. When we got there, they checked us in and after doing the initial procedural stuff, Nurse 1 checked me and said my contractions were coming strong every 3 - 7 minutes...but I was "only dilated 1...maybe 2 cm." I was like, for reals?? How much harder could they hit?? I would come to find out that there is no proportional scale between the pain/duration/interresponse time of contractions and dilation.

Nurse 1 called the Dr., who said I should go home, but to her better judgment, she ran a test and discovered I was dehydrated so she told me to drink a pitcher of water, wait it out, and then decide whether I should go home or not. For that, I am so grateful to her. From 3 - 4 AM, Husband kept forcing me to drink water and cheering me on ("only half a pitcher left!"), and then my contractions went to 10 minutes apart on average. At that point, the Dr. made it my decision to stay. I looked at the sad little fold out recliner that Husband would be sleeping on and felt bad for him, but of course he was a sweetheart and left the decision up to me. I told him I wanted to stay b/c if we went home, I wouldn't know when to come back. I just felt so much more secure and comfortable staying at the hospital, even if it meant we could be spending an extra day. One of the nurses said that on average, it takes an hour to dilate a cm...which meant it could still be 8 more hours of excruciating pain (i.e., labor) before I delivered.

Nurse 1 left to assist a C-section, and Nurse 2 took over. At around 5 A.M., I asked Nurse 2 when we could talk about pain relief. She said, I could get the epidural any time. I asked her to examine me because I was sure I had to be at least 3 or 4 cm by now (old-skool/conservative point to get an epidural). She said I was still barely 2 cm dilated! At around 6:30 AM, Nurse 2 said the Dr. wanted to start the pitocin to help labor progress. Totally fine with me as I had requested that in my Birth Plan. The not so fine part was that 1) I could tell she wasn't as experienced as Nurse 1 and 2) when she tried to stick me for the IV, she fished around and still couldn't stick me. This made me think of BSILF's poor little Muffin Man and how awfully painful his blood draws must have been!!! I only had to endure one unsuccessful stick before she called an experienced nurse in to re-do it successfully. They put me on the lowest dosage and right away, the contractions became closer in time and after a half hour, I asked for an epidural.

Dr. Anesthesiologist came in to administer the epidural a half hour after the pitocin was administered. He took some time to set up, and Nurse 2 stayed with me to help me get the epidural. I had to sit up, hunch over like an arched cat, and keep reminding myself to relax my shoulders. I guess I did a really "good job" b/c both of them kept saying with huge smiles that I took it so well, and the Dr. couldn't have been any more proud of his work. He came in several times to check on me. Husband was pretty asleep for most of the process (which was fine with me b/c he can't stand the sight of me and needles/shots and I wanted him to be alert for the actual delivery), but he did hear prior to the stick that both Dr. Roberts and Lisa were saying that I am really healthy (my platelet count was really good).

I think I was still only 2 cm dilated when I asked for the epidural, but by the time I was done getting the epidural around 7:30 AM (a half hour later), I was dilated at 7-8 cm. In an hour, I went from 2 cm to 7-8 cm!!! Nurse 2 called the Dr. so he came by around 8 AM and in that half hour of waiting for him, I dilated to 8-9 per Dr. He told me to get some rest because I would start pushing at 10 A.M.

At 10 A.M., Nurse 3 came in and started prepping me. She was very pleased with how things were progressing. She had me give her 3 rounds of pushing and then she said, "Okay, hold on, I have to call Dr. --- b/c your baby is coming." I looked at Husband both in excitement, anxiety, and bewilderment. This is it! Our son was about to be born!

Dr. came around 10:25 - 10:30 AM, and we gave 20-25 mins of pushing. When people ask me how my labor and delivery went, I tell them, "everyone tells me I had an easy one," because that is really what every staff member told me during my stay. One even told me that I should lie if other mothers ask me because they will be so jealous. I guess that is what I have to thank my mother for. Although my mother couldn't remember her labor and delivery with my brother and me, Grandma and other relatives remembered that my mom delivered in a jiffy.

The unfortunate and unexpected thing happened when we were almost at the finish line. The Dr. said, "I know you want avoid an episiotomy, but your baby's heart rate is dropping a little bit" (fetal distress) and at that point, a whole gang of NICU staff came in (staff and students). I think I was really naive b/c for some reason, I thought the NICU staff was coming in to do the newborn clean up and procedures, but in retrospect, they came in b/c of the potential for fetal distress. Plus, when Baby C was delivered, we overheard something about a cord wrapped around him, but then it ended up being "another cord" and was of no concern (what the heck does that mean? We still don't know.).

I was like, do what you have to do (b/c b/t this and a C-section, I'd rather this as the lesser of 2 evils). When Baby C was crowning, Nurse 3 exclaimed, "wow, he has a lot of hair!" I opened my eyes during the last push, just in time to see the back of Baby C's beautiful head of hair. It was love at first (hind) sight. Beautiful Baby C popped out at 10:54 A.M. at 6 pounds, 11 ounces! I couldn't help but cry uncontrollably at that point. How can I not when we just experienced such a miraculous event?

As the NICU nurses whisked our baby boy away, one nurse said to Husband, "He's looking at you, Daddy." That's when Husband broke down in tears of love, joy, and excitement. The NICU nurses took him a few feet away to clean him up for a few minutes. I couldn't see him, but I did see his feet and how he fanned them out! That made me laugh. Husband and I held hands and just reveled in the moment.

I waited for them to clean Baby C up a little before he was placed on my chest. The sad thing is that we missed the photo op of them weighing him in. Why in the world did we not have our camera out before delivery? (This is how cheesy and "new Millenium" we are/I am; I said to Husband, "well, just take a pix with your iPhone!" He was probably too embarrassed to do that.)

Once the commotion was all over, we were left alone for the "Golden Hour" of bonding b/t the 3 of us. Baby C's uncles were kept waiting outside until after 12 PM. They finally got to come in while Nurse 3 and her student intern were finishing up measuring our little guy and doing all the newborn stuff.



The first time Daddy got to hold his baby boy was when his uncles came in. I could easily see that Baby C instantly stole Daddy C's heart. I couldn't believe such a beautiful little angel came out of me. Nine months of anticipating what our little guy will be like and what he will look like finally came! I commented about the "next time" we have a baby, and Nurse 3 laughed and said, "usually, no new mothers talk about the next birth so soon, but you're already talking about your next one!" I responded that with the epidural made all the difference.


New Uncle Ben was so excited to meet his little nephew.

(This is him saying Baby C has Mommy's "bird lips.")

Two hours postpartum, I was wheeled into a recovery room. A few hours later, we had a surprise visitor -- my mom! When she got to the hospital, she told my bro to meet her at the gift shop. She bought a cute little surgeon's outfit layette for our baby, a winnie the pooh and tigger balloon (Tigger for year of the tiger), and a cute card.



Grandma/Mom stayed for several hours. :) Baby C also had two other special visitors -- Kathy and Vonny (who co-threw Baby C's baby shower).

Late that night, around 11:45 PM, after Husband fell asleep, I brought Baby C to the nursery for his first bath. Oh my goodness, he cried so much! But he got a cute faux-hawk after his hair wash. :)

(Look at those chubby cheeks! Definitely from his Mommy!)

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

On Wednesday, Mom wasn't able to come although she really wanted to. We didn't do much except continually marvel at our little one. I constantly got checked on by the nurses so getting rest was a bit challenging. Husband went home briefly to pick up a few things and feed our turtle. My bro and FBIL stopped by that evening for a little bit and brought a mini-rose plant.

That night, the male nurse (murse?) did the newborn hearing screening and pricked Baby C's foot for PKU testing. Our baby was so brave! He was asleep and when he was pricked, all he did was wince a little and that was it! (He passed the newborn hearing screening and the nurse said, "Congratulations! He can hear you!") (I was soOOOoOo glad that by the time we had the male nurse, I no longer needed routine check-ups of my private regions! He simply asked how I was doing, rated my pain, and gave me Motrin every 4 hours without me asking -- which was perfect!)

Thursday, May 13, 2010

We got up early for breakfast, and our pediatrician's colleague came to check on me and Baby C. He thought that Baby Boy looked a little yellow so he ordered a lab test for jaundice; funny thing is that I had asked Husband the night before if he looked a little yellow. We waited until about 10 AM for results while the nurses kept coming by to hustle us out for discharge. The results came out negative. The nurse said that usually, they compare the newborn's complexion to Mom's palm as a quick-and-dirty screening...but it turns out that Baby C is the color of his Daddy's palm. Heehee. We didn't leave until about 11:45 A.M. b/c of the parking hassle that Husband had to go through. The hospital was awesome in giving us tons of things to bring home -- a goody bag filled with samples, tons of gauzes, vaseline, circumcision care, pads, Dermaplast, etc.

(First car ride home!)

When we got home, we were exhausted, but in awe of our little one. We laid him in his crib for the first time and just watched him sleep angelically. We kept giddily saying, "we made him!" and "I love him!" He is so perfect!

It was also Mom's birthday, and I didn't know she was going to come over until bro called and said, "uh, Mom's already on her way! She's in downtown!" LOL It was so nice b/c the 6 of us celebrated Mom's birthday. I don't know when was the last time my bro and I celebrated her birthday with her and on her birthday. And Mom was such an awesome Mom. She came with like 6 bags of stuff to make sure I was taken care of.

The first night at home was rough. I kept feeding and feeding and every time I put him down to sleep, he started crying! I thought I had finally put him down to sleep and went to the bathroom around 4:30 AM but then he started crying so Husband got up and took over. He told me to go to sleep and not to worry. I was so lucky to get almost 4 hours of sleep that really, really helped.

Husband has been awesome. I know my family thinks it's weird or laugh when I say Husband is going to be the stay-at-home parent, but in all honesty, he is probably so much more capable than I am! He is such a natural! And I am so grateful that he wants so much to be involved.

We are a family. :)

Priorities

I just came to the realization that my priorities have totally changed.

The first thing I did this morning when I got on my laptop was NOT to check my 3 - 5 e-mail accounts. It was to start looking at nursing bras and pumping accessories.

Details to come on the birth of our beautiful baby boy whom we are soOoOOOooo unfathomably in love with!

He's Ready

I really appreciate my Husband's characteristics. At times, we are truly opposites...I can be such a procrastinator when he is such an efficient planner/time-manager.

Yesterday, he said that we should pack our hospital bags today. I've been studying since I woke up (and my to-do list keeps growing longer as I continue to procrastinate!). When he woke up, he asked me if I have already written our Birth Plan. Uh, no, not yet...but I'll get to it this week.

After his coffee, he pulled out 2 carry-on luggages, and I heard him in the bedroom, opening dresser drawers and closet doors.

Just now, he walked out with his little suitcase, put it by the door, and said, "I'm packed! Let's go have the baby now! I'm ready!"

I can't help but laugh.... :)

On the other hand, he may be ready, but I'm not! =X

First Outfits

I meant to do a lot more studying and working out today, but since Husband had a whole afternoon to spare, we went out to run errands after I got my car back from service. We ended up going to Wal-Mart, Target, and Babies R Us...and we found our first outfit for our baby!


It's a 3-piece set with two kimono-style tops. We've been looking for kimono tops since we've read and heard that they are the best for newborns (instead of pulling tops over our baby's head), and we also wanted long sleeves with mittens to prevent scratching.

Above practicality, I appreciate the significance. We have already received a number of adorable outfits from our loving friends, but I really wanted to pick an outfit out with Husband to bring our little guy home in.

When we got home, Husband took it out of the bag and laid it on the sofa in the nursery. Just looking at it gets me all giddy. :)

~33 more days!

Happy First Anniversary to Us!

Today, we celebrated our first anniversary! :)

We originally had plans to go down to where we got married and walk the grounds, but when we woke up, we heard the rain pitter-pattering! So we spent the morning deciding what we wanted to do and where we wanted to eat.

By the time we headed out for a late lunch, the skies had cleared up into a beautiful day, but we decided to just stay local to play it safe. We enjoyed a nice meal at Houston's in Manhattan Beach, and then Husband suggested I get my hair done today (instead of tomorrow). So as he boxed at his gym nearby, I got my hair and brows done. That was a very nice pampering session since I love Vicara/Aveda salons.

In reflecting on this past year that we have been married, all I think about is how much more I love my husband (even though I didn't think it was possible).

And there is no better first anniversary gift to give each other than a baby. :)

Tonight, we're going to try some of our wedding cake from a year ago! Hope that goes well! =P

Update:
Husband and Bro's Partner were not willing to partake in the tradition, but Bro and I sure did! It wasn't bad at all!

However, in retrospect, I should have just had the top layer of our cake served at our wedding last year (and maybe save a slice for our 1st year anniversary)...because now I'm stuck eating a whole 6-8" cake by myself! Well, I guess we can say that Baby-Boy-to-be is helping me eat it, too! :)

Overheard

I can't believe I'm 34 - 35 weeks! Since I am noticeably rounder, I am constantly stopped and asked how much longer...and then I get funny comments.

So far, I've received:

"You're on the last stretch!" (Like it's a marathon?)
"Happy Labor Day!" (My favorite)
"Wow, it's getting serious!" (Just plain comical to me...it's been serious from the get-go!)

And when I leave for the weekends, I usually get a comment like, "Have a great weekend...don't go having your baby yet!"

Slurpees

I guess you could say I have some cravings for Slurpees. There's something refreshing about them, never mind how un-nutritious they are.

I've only indulged in two since I've been pregnant. After lunch, I was heading back to work for what was sure to be an intense IEP, and I pictured myself sitting at the conference table with my Slurpee. Why not? People bring coffee to meetings. Why not Slurpees?

Unfortunately, I stuck with my jug of water. Boring. :(

On another note, Husband says I totally have senioritis. He's right. For the past few weeks/months, the routine has been for me to kiss him good-bye in the mornings, tell him I love him, whine about how I don't want to go to work, hear him say "I know," and then I leave. Work isn't bad at all, but I just don't want to work any more. =P I only have 2 more whole weeks of work, but I still have so much work to do, especially as I prepare to have another SLP take over my entire caseload.

Dang, if I had known that I'd have 3 IEPs to hold, have to train my replacement the whole week, and have another SLP come observe me (or I train him for a day), I would have requested to start my maternity leave right after Spring Break!

30 Weeks

10 more weeks! Well, that's assuming we give birth around our expected due date.

This is my latest picture (at 29 Weeks and 5 days).

This is our turtle at 5 years and 2 months:

And Max when I had a date with him last Friday while Husband and FBIL had a movie date out:


(He recently got a haircut and Bro doesn't want any pictures of him with his haircut, but I thought this was a cute angle.)

Parents-To-Be

I just realized that not a day goes by that Husband and I don't talk about future parenting methodologies and stuff. Heck, I sometimes present him hypothetical scenarios to see how he'd handle a particular situation, since he will be Mr. Mom. I definitely have complete confidence in his overall parenting skills, but when it comes to some behavioral stuff, I want to be sure he'd handle it the way I would like (said the BCBA candidate) (e.g., what do you do if our son throws a major tantrum in a store? How do you prevent that?) We typically agree for the most part. (I hear that what we discuss/agree on can be different once baby is actually here, but it is reassuring for now to know that we agree.)

Our discussions have ranged from night-time feedings in the first months to schooling to what-ifs (what if our son wants to be a rapper? I said, Uh, I might have to nip that one in the bud... What if our kids want to dress a certain way to portray an image that we may not like? As long as our kids have their ethics, morals...and grades in check, we are okay. Although we will not consent to a sexualized piercing, like in middle school...which I often see at my work and it still shocks me.) Today, after our re-discussion about teaching our kids to be sure to say "please" and "thank you," I said, please also make sure that our kids learn to always push in their chairs. For some reason, it bugs me when people/kids don't push their chairs in.

Sometimes I wonder if my worries of what our kid(s) will be like when they're in middle school and high school are warranted or exaggerated. I work in a low-performing school...where kids care so much more about their reputation, image, and romantic relationships than their grades/future. Now, I know in middle school, it is a typical time to start individuating, but when I see kids coming with lots of make-up, hoochie tops with cleavage cracks bare, lip and tongue piercings, etc., it's hard for me not to worry about what my kids will end up looking like for the sake of their teenage image. Yesterday, when I was leaving work, I saw a group of about 5 girls surrounding 2 girls. One was loudly cussing at the other girl about disrespecting her, how she better come real, etc. The other girl stood with her arms crossed simply saying, "whatever." I thought, what a show just for the other 5 girls.

I know I could have easily yelled, "Hey! Break it up!" but sadly, I could care less. The last thing I want is some middle school girl shoving me over while I'm pregnant (I'm serious; I am doing high-risk maneuvers when I happen to be caught in the hallways during passing periods. These kids bump into me, not saying excuse me or sorry, and just laugh it off in front of their peers like it was cool for them to accidentally side-swipe a 7.5 month pregnant lady.)

I think I'm totally going on a tangent. =P Even though I have these worries (that I think might be typical), I also feel really confident in Husband and my soon-to-be-learned-parenting skills. We have great parents who have instilled in us important characteristics and qualities. We have great new parent friends that we certainly learn a lot from, too. We also bring our own life-experiences to the table. Besides, we also subscribe to some stellar parenting magazines and if all else fails, we have the world wide web to consult. ;)

One thing's for sure -- I am very thankful that Husband and I are partners-in-crime for life.

Baby-To-Be's Uncles (and "Cousin")

Last night, we got to pet-sit Max for a few hours. I stopped by Bro and Brian's after work, and they asked if I'd like to bring Max home for a few hours while they went out to dinner (since Bro left for his DC conference this morning; he comes back on Saturday). How could I turn that down? :)

So Max was with us from about 5:30 - 10 PM. I was really tired since I hadn't slept much the night before so I lazily hung out with Max for the majority of the time. I must have petted him for at least 3 hours of the time he was with us.

I happened to be wearing a shirt that now keeps riding up now that Baby has grown bigger so at one point, Max kissed our baby (i.e., he licked my baby bump twice). Heehee! I think he is beginning to sense that his "cousin" is in his Aunty's womb. (This time that he visited, he was more careful about not stepping all over my baby bump.)

Since yesterday, I've also noticed that B2B's movements have become softer. They feel like the soft flutters in the very beginning, when I first started feeling him about 10 weeks ago (holy snikeys, time flies!). It's expected since there is less room for him to do his gymnastic moves. I think Husband likes these soft movements more because they are less "Aliens"-like.

B2B has also always hung low in my belly. Sometimes, it's either his head or his butt that's next to my belly button (it gets super hard in that area). The other night, Husband felt his head/butt and said, "if he's down here," (gesturing to the area around and below my belly button), "then what's up here?" (pointing to the inflated area above my belly button). I just said, "stuff." Truthfully, I don't have a good anatomical grasp of what's going on inside my body. Bro has a solid grasp, though, since he's taking all those classes on anatomy, embryology, etc. (Sadly, I had to ask him what the difference was between the umbilical cord and placenta.)

Bro and Brian also booked their vacation to Greece yesterday. I'm really excited at the idea of Max staying with us for 10 days! But then Bro said, "Dearest, you also need to make arrangements for Max while we're gone...b/c what if you give birth while we're gone?" When Bro sent me their itinerary, he added, "I hope you have your baby after we get back!!!!! :)" Well, that is definitely the plan!

29 Weeks and 2 Days

My co-workers were just asking me how many weeks I am. I said 29 weeks and one of them said, "wow, only 11 more weeks!" Holy snikeys! Only 11 more weeks!

Baby and Mommy keep growing and growing. We feel him moving all the time. :) Since his movements are so prominent, Daddy has been able to feel him, too. However, Daddy often gets freaked out...because he has admittedly watched too many "Aliens" movies. Daddy gets especially skeeved out when Baby moves a few inches across in a wave-like motion (vs. a kick).

I can't believe we're already in our 3rd trimester! My pregnancy has been a very blissful time (long forgotten are the first trimester woes of queasiness and fatigue). I haven't slept so much since maybe middle or high school (until this past week). And people weren't kidding when they said that "the baby will suck you dry!" I'm an eating machine 24/7. Just in the past 3 days, I've woken up in the middle of the night to feed us a light snack.

Early on, with all the sleeping I was doing, mothers encouragingly said, "That means your baby will sleep well through the night." But when I say that I'm hungry all the time (like every 1.5 - 2 hours), they hesitatingly say, "that means your baby will be hungry every 1.5 - 2 hours..." I guess we'll know in ~ 11 weeks what's true and what's not!

Predictions:

• Baby boy will wake up around 1 and 4 AM for feedings (I generally wake up around those times and baby has been quite active).
• Baby boy will start off with Mommy's straight hair and then have Daddy's curly/wavy hair when he's older.
• Baby boy will love to eat vegetables and fruits (unlike his Daddy, but like his Mommy).
• Baby boy will be active (the past two doctor's visits, different nurses measuring fetal BPM said in astonishment, "he moves around a lot!"
• Baby boy will talk a lot...because Mommy and Daddy talk a lot!

Career Day

The M.S. I work at is planning a career day, and they are in need of speakers. I thought it would be kind of neat if Husband spoke about being a graphic designer...but I knew he wouldn't really go for it. Even so, I jokingly brought it up again last night. He asked, "What would I talk about?"

I said, "Talk about how you're a graphic designer, and you get to design stuff for cool companies like Playboy. Then my students will be like, 'Whoa! [My speech teacher's] husband is soooo cool! That must mean she's cool, too!"

Of course I was kidding and of course Husband called me crazy anyways. Gees, it's not like he has to disclose all of his clients...

New Home!

We have officially moved into our new home!

After several days of packing and moving, we are finally spending our first night here. It was sad to spend our last night at our old place last night. We had so many great memories from living their for the past 5 years. Yet, we are also looking forward to spending the next few years at our new place, where our baby boy will spend the first few years of his life.

Our place is coming together very nicely. In between unpacking, I also went to Vons really quick to pick up a few drinks. When I checked out, the cashier asked me if I needed assistance out. For the first time, I said yes (even though I was sure I had been carrying much heavier items over the past 4 days than the just-purchased groceries). The cashier told the bag lady, "go ahead." That's when I felt really bad. The lady was older...and when she started walking with me, she heavily relied on a cane. I felt really embarrassed about asking her to help me. But I also felt embarrassed and guilty for thinking about how she probably needs more help than me. :(

I came home, and we unpacked and organized some more. I did our first load of laundry in our new, fancy washer and dryer. We were so mesmerized that we sat there, staring at the wash cycle for a few minutes, before Husband said, "We can't sit here for 13 minutes watching the cycle."

So I went to set up our new iHome, our Christmas gift from my bro and his partner. It is awesome!

Tomorrow, we go back to our old place to clean up and sadly, say good-bye. Pictures to come!