Baby Must-have’s, Nice-to-have’s, and Shouldn’t-have’s (Part 3)

(Last part, and it doesn’t seem like I don’t have any “shouldn’t have” yet…)

Baby swing / bouncer
CC is very different from most babies. He hates the baby swing. We ended up have to return our faulty Fisher-Price Zen Collection swing and got a bouncer. At 3 months, he sometimes like the bouncer, so that’s not exactly that worth the money either.


Verdict: It may work with other baby, but not really necessary with CC.


Baby carrier
We got two Ergo carriers from friends. They do feel quite comfortable when we use them. But, we don’t really go out that much like most parents either, and when we do, at almost 14lb now, we hardly ever wear CC. I have to say though, the few times I do wear him to go to restaurants, it does keep  him calm and warm.

Verdict: Depends on how much you think you’ll wear your baby. I say it’s a nice-to-have.

Music mobile and play gym
At 3 months, we still haven’t really used the music mobile we got for CC. At first it was because it’s in the way when we try to put him down in bed, and he doesn’t seem to be interested at all. Now we just sort of forgot about it. But he does start to take an interest in things hanging from above him now. We received a play gym and he absolutely loves it! We just put the play gym on the livingroom floor, and he can amuse himself for almost 30 minutes!

Verdict: Must have if you think you’ll spend a lot of time on the floor with your newborn. Otherwise, wait until the third month.

Swaddles
Yes, YOU SHALL ALWAYS SWADDLE. Don’t worry if they put up a fight while you are trying to swaddle them. Don’t worry if they look like little dolls in strait jackets. Don’t worry if they still fuss after swaddled. The truth is, they all love it! We learned from the Happiest Baby on the Block about the concept of 4th trimester and we are firm believers of that. So for a while (and still does), we try to create an environment as similar to the womb for CC as possible. Including tightly snuggled in swaddle. It’s magical, but sometimes he somehow get his arm(s) out and that’s when he wakes himself from his sleep! Not kidding.

So back to the swaddles themselves. We tried a few types. There is the square blanket the hospital used and taught you to use; there is the Miracle Blanket, there is the velcro Kiddopotamus, and there is the Halo Sleepsack Swaddle.

The hospital square blanket is great simply because you want to teach yourself to learn how to use it, in case that is all you have at hand. Also, since it’s just a piece of cloth, it’s easier to adjust to different baby sizes by folding them. Much more economical. But let’s be honest, who wants to be doing the left-in-left-up-right-tug at three in the morning, when they told you  to “keep the lights low so baby won’t think it’s daytime!” Nobody that’s who. So there are the other ready made alternatives.

We were given two Miracle Blankets and have heard people swear by them. They are great because it has additional internal flaps to secure the baby’s arms. However, after securing their arms, you need to wrap the outer flap around the baby twice! Between keeping his arms tugged and lifting him and wrapping him, it’s usually a 2-person task. It does keep their arms in nicely better than the other two, although I have learned a trick on solving that problem too, with the other two options.


So next, the Kiddopotamus. Instead of two internal arm flaps and one outer large flap, you get two flaps that has velcro on them. Simply wrap and velcro, and you’re done! Wonder wonder for night time. Also, it comes in micro-fleece, so it’s great for winter babies. One problem is if you have a Houdini baby who always manages to get his arms out, it’s not as ideal. BUT, I did notice that when you dress them in long sleeves, due to the friction between his clothes and the swaddle, it’s harder for them to get their arms out. Do remember to buy the correct size though. And yes, like any baby clothing, they outgrow them pretty fast.


Last, Halo Sleepsack Swaddle. I don’t know why I never knew of this before. It’s a sleep sack that has a velcro-on flap for the arms only! So when baby is awake, you can keep him in the sleep sack and not have to worry about his feet gets cold. When it’s time for sleep, just put on the velcro arm swaddle flap and you’re ready! The center zipper zips from the top down, so you can open from the bottom and change the baby without even taking them out of the swaddle! Halo’s swaddle part has very large areas for velcro, so it’s more forgiving for baby growth and easier for parents. 

Verdict: Swaddle is a must. I would go for Kiddopotamus or Halo though. And yes, get them before baby arrives and learn to use them.

Bath essentials  and grooming kit
Well, yes and no. At 3 months, we have only used the all-purpose J&J bathing gel with CC. Didn’t even open the shampoo or diaper powder or anything else. We did have to use the baby oil and brush/comb to get his cradle cap out. We now bath CC every night, but only 2-3 times a week do we use bath gel.

As for grooming kit, they need it. Especially nail filer, nail cutter, and brush/comb. Of course, if you have one that has slow growth in nails or have no hair, then don’t worry about it.
Verdict: It’s not something you need to get before baby or even immediately after. Even if you need it, you can always get them at any grocery store, Target, or Amazon.

Parenting books
Yes you can pretty much find everything from the Internet. But with a baby in tow, you can’t possibly always have time or hands to go online. I happen to have Kindle which allows me to read my books on my iPhone. So I bought a few parenting books. In all honesty, they don’t say much other than common sense. But as first-time parents, our parenting common sense just isn’t enough, or we just fear so. Here are a few books I’ve bought. Oh, I would suggest buying them and reading them at least once PRIOR to the baby. Because it’s hard to read when you are sleep deprived. :) You can always reference back later.

Also, please also note I am NOT a supporter of Cry-It-Out method and therefore my opinion on parenting books is very subjective.

• The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer, by Dr Harvey Karp – I tend to like this book the most. It preaches the concept of “4th trimester”, which makes a lot of sense to me. And we have used many of his techniques with our fussy CC and they all worked! One very key point is, you have to recognize sometimes it takes more than one techniques, more than 10-15 minutes with those techniques, to change a baby’s state of fussiness. In short, be patient. Note, this also comes in DVD, which many sleep-deprived parents prefer.
• Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child , by Dr. Marc Weissbluth – This book come highly recommended by our pediatrician, but boy was it difficult to read. I felt like I’m reading JAMA rather than a parenting book! Lots of statistics and experimental details, which I feel parents could be spared of. It puts me to sleep before it puts the baby to sleep! (Maybe I should read this to CC then?!) One key take-away is, have a routine for your baby, but NEVER let your baby/toddler be awake for more than two hours at any given time. I’ve stick to that and sometimes if we get close to or go slightly beyond two hours, we do find CC gets very drowsy and even over-tired and fussy. I wouldn’t recommend buying this unless you are into doing heavy research.
• The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night, by Elilzabeth Pantley – It’s a book I think would be better bought in paperback rather than e-book format. Simply because its formatting and style. As for content, I do like her gentle approach of sleep training. No, I don’t believe babies younger than 3 months old (that’s CC’s current age and I can only speak to this based on my current experience) can be manipulative. I also believe when they are old enough to be manipulative, they are old enough to be reasoned with. And therefore, I don’t believe young babies should be left to cry. For one, I don’t have the heart to leave my CC to cry so I get a few more minutes of shut-eye every night. To quote Pantley, "The irrefutable truth is that we cannot change a comfortable, loving-to-sleep (but waking-up-all-night) history to a go-to-sleep-and-stay-asleep-on-your-own routine without one of two things: crying or time. Personally, I choose time."
• What Babies Say Before They Can Talk, by Dr. Paul Holinger and Kalia  Doner – I bought this book but just haven’t had the chance to really start it. Can’t comment on it yet but I think it’s an interesting read.

Verdict: It’s not a matter of must-have or not, it’s a matter of peace of mind for first-time parents. Therefore, just get them!


Baking soda (yes, baking soda)
Oh what a cheap smell-saver! We buy a small box of Arm and Hammer baking soda (don’t make a mistake and buy baking powder!!) and keep it by the diaper pail/changing table. We sprinkle some into the diaper pail at times and it totally keeps the smell from coming out!

Verdict: Must have for your nose sanity

Baby Must-have’s, Nice-to-have’s, and Shouldn’t-have’s (Part 2)

Part 2 is all about the yummies! I will finish up the rest in Part 3.

Nursing pads
I went through a few nursing pads, and honestly still can’t decide on which one(s) works the best. But again, if you are breastfeeding, you’ll need them. Especially if you have over supply like I do!
Here are the three types I’ve tried:

Lansinoh Ultra Soft Disposable Nursing Pad – This is great for travel because it’s individually packed and fairly thin, and it also has adhesive in the back to secure on your bra. But I am small-chested and I find it too large and therefore shifts around in my bra! Also, when it gets wet, the absorbing gel inside tend to leak out. Yuck! I did not purchase a second box.

Johnson’s – Great in size and has back adhesive. However, a bit thick. Great if your clothes or nursing bra is very sheer though.

The First Year – Lanolin Disposable – These pads are great if you have sensitive nipples. It already has lanolin at the center, so it’s soft and easy on your nipples. The size and thickness are also perfect for someone like me. One major drawback is it does not have back adhesive, so they do move around.

Verdict: Must have if you breastfeed. Which brand you prefer is just a personal choice.

Nursing cover
If you plan to breast feeding, you MUST have nursing cover. Bebe au lait is the common brand people go for, since it covers and have a semi-circle wire that allows you to look down at your baby. However, give we have a winter baby, I find it a bit too thin and expensive. So I made my own nursing cover.

Basically just a double-layered rectangular cloth, with semi-circle wire, and a strap to hook over your neck. Even if you don’t go out all that much, if you have visitors at home, this is still a life-saver. And it keeps you nice and warm! :) It very often doubles as CC’s traveling blanket or rain cover also!

Verdict: Must have, if you’re breastfeeding and nursing in person.

Breastfeeding pillow
I used to think it’s absolutely necessary to have nursing pillow. And maybe it is to some mothers. But other than the first month, and even then, I hardly use the nursing pillow. Because it’s not thick enough to rest completely on my lap, so I either have to slouch, or stuff a real pillow under the nursing pillow.

Half the time I look like a toddler with my donut going to the pool; it’s even more ridiculous when baby starts to puke and you run around with the nursing pillow on your waist trying to get towel.

And sometimes I’m downstairs while the nursing pillow is upstairs. I have the baby and now I have to try to put the nursing pillow on, stuff another pillow under it, while holding the baby. Too much work!
Yes, it does put some strain on my wrist/arm without it, but with some practice it’s not so bad at all.

I do have to say a disclaimer though. I have only used “My Breast Friend” nursing pillow, which has a buckle. I’m not sure if Boppy’s nursing pillow would be better.


Bottle warmer
Regardless how you feed, you’ll need this. We’ve got ours from Avent and honestly don’t like it so much. The light flickers on and off while it warms or turn off to keep the water constant. However, it does not keep the content being warmed at constant temperature, neither does it turns itself off when it boils dry (or I dare not try). So we always have to stand by it to watch. I have heard First Year’s is better, since it tells you how much water to put in, and when the water boils dry it turns off and the bottle/food is ready. But since we already have the Avent warmer and we don’t even bottle feed that much, we continue to stand by the warmer and wait…

Verdict: It’s a must have, starting around birth if you formula feed, 3 weeks if you breastfeed. But I’m not sure the one we have is the best choice.


Bottle drying rack
I guess you can dry the bottle on any drying rack. But it does get out of hand at times, if you are cleaning multiple bottles. So we bought the Boon Grass Coutertop Drying Rack and use it only for CC’s everything. It’s quite decorative and works with things from bottle to nipples to medicine syringe.

Verdict: Not a must have, since you can be creative and do without. But a nice-to-have.


Pacifier
Oh we tried so many and CC seems to only take the one we tried first, the Wubbanub Infant Plush Toy Pacifier. Yah, it’s ridiculous expensive for a pacifier but it’s ridiculously cute when he’s sucking on it! Also makes it easy for us to fish it out of diaper bag or purse. I guess CC likes it because the nipple shape is similar to those of his bottles. Not that he likes either one all that much, but when he’s fussy in the carseat and car is moving, I can sometimes calm him temporarily using this soothie.

We have also bought a few more, but I don’t quite remember the names and he dislike them anyhow. They are, however, much cheaper than this.

Verdict: Not a must have. CC likes his little knuckle more than any soothie.

When You Think You Can’t Do It Anymore…

Yes, I am still talking about parenthood. The sad brutal reality is, it is the one thing in this world that there is just no (easy) way out.

At three months old, CC again resist the bottle. Not sure what we are doing wrong, but “dislike” is an understatement. With his first day at daycare looming in exactly one month away, I find myself losing the already very little sleep over it, yet again.

In addition, we are hearing left and right how easy so-and-so’s baby is/was to raise. It makes me wonder, “What are we doing wrong?”

Again, losing even more of the little sleep I get. (And I swear, I was never a worry-wart!)

I shared my worries with our nanny. I also was very honest about our choice of daycare and not her is simply due to cost. Her replies comforted me greatly; and if I ever were religious like she, I would say she is a God-sent.

She told me if daycare doesn’t work out, she could also do sharecare for us and some other family to reduce the cost. In addition, her sharecare price has practically no increase to if she were to care for CC alone! I asked her why so low in price, “I just want to help.” was her simple reply.

So when you think you just can’t do it anymore, you should consider yourself lucky to have others opening doors and windows for you.

Merry Christmas.

Third Month as a Mom

Happy 3-Month Birthday to CC! 

Battle of the Bottles
[9W] Boy, is it ever hard! No, not breastfeeding, that was a piece of cake for us. Bottle-feeding was absolutely difficult for us. Who said they’ll have nipple confusion? He is definitely not confused at all! We’ve started trying since he was barely 4 weeks old and following instructions (once or twice a week). He resists at times and takes it at others, but this past week  has just been a pure act of defiance! The second the silicon nipple touches his lips, he makes it abundantly clear that’s not what he’s looking for. Finally, Mommy gave up and decided to go out while the nanny works with CC to take the bottle. And there is ends, the battle of the bottles…at least for CC and nanny Mara, and sometimes Dad. With Mommy, CC still wants the fresh stuff!

[3M] CC was taking the bottle awhile ago, but at 3 months, he’s rejecting it again. Tonight, Dad suddenly feels maybe the flow is just too slow and that’s why he gets frustrated. So we tried the Size 2 nipple from LifeFactory. And he finished within minutes! Amazing. It sort of makes sense, since my letdown is always faster than average women. Babies are suppose to like using bottle nipples over Mom’s because it’s easier and less work for them, but if it’s more work, they would definitely get frustrated! Well, we will try again tomorrow with Mara. Hopefully that solves the battle of bottles!

Breastfeeding and Mastitis
[10W] Again breastfeeding itself is not hard at all. I never gotten plugged ducts nor mastitis when I was purely just nursing CC. But the minute we introduced the bottle (and therefore started pumping), all hell broke loose. Because there is no screaming demanding baby to feed, I forgot and therefore skipped a feeding/pumping. I started to get engorged while out and have no way to drain. Then plugged milk ducts. Then, the ultimate mastitis. Oh the pain of full boobs that can’t be relieved!!
And so I went on antibiotics Keflex. As a result, my body reacted to the antibiotics with 5 days of diarrhea. Okay, 5 days of diarrhea by myself is barely tolerable, 5 days of diarrhea with baby is just impossible! Not cool.

I finally recovered from the upset stomach, and then plugged ducts came back few times. Sigh, you just can’t win!



Holidays
[11W] Don’t get me wrong, I love the holiday season! But it is also the hardest time for baby who is trying to establish his routine, and the baby’s mom. With all the parties and celebration, we tend to forget that the baby may be over-stimulated, or simply unable to stick to his own schedule or to sleep!
So it starts. Feeding and burping is rushed because we needed to get to a party on time. Medication is skipped because we forgot. Sleep is segmented because we couldn’t keep our voices down.

At the end of the day, a cranky baby with upset tummy who pukes all over his Mom.

Maybe, as much as I love the merry happy holidays, we should just skip it this year?

Dad
[11W6D] Fathers can never understand the job of a mother is tremendously more difficult than theirs. But some do try. Back in our parents’ generation, Dads don’t even touch the babies at all. Yes, I do get very frustrated with Woz at times, but I still appreciate his help and his willingness to discuss in details about CC’s growth, parenting plan, and future.

Cluster Feeding
[3M] CC was finally sleeping 3-5 hour stretches at night lately, but all of a sudden he’s waking up every 2 hours wanting to eat at night, and even more frequent in the day time! Not knowing what’s going on and fear for engorgement and mastitis again, I searched online. Apparently, at 3 months, babies go through growth spurt again! Sometimes though, they do not necessarily growth physically. Sometimes when they’re going through some developmental growth (lifting heads, turning over, learning language), they also cluster feed! After three days, the cluster feeding went away and now he’s back to his normal schedule.

Sleep Training
[3M] I have been reading up on sleep training, and in general I couldn’t agree more with Elizabeth Pantley, the author of “The No-cry Sleep Solution”, that there are only two ways to train a baby to sleep through the night, tears vs. time. And like her, I choose time. Not so much because I am an over protective and pampering Mom, but CC did and may still does have some fundamental physical discomfort that makes it hard for him to fall asleep and stay asleep.

However, we contacted a sleep training consultant recommended by a friend, just to see how things may work. Of course, unlike our pediatrician who thinks sleep training shouldn’t be done prior to 4 months, she believes sleep training should start from birth. Given CC is going to have to adjust to me working from home starting January, and then daycare late January (which coincides with his 4 months mark), we’ve decided to just hold off and wait until then to make our decision on hiring a sleep training consultant. To be honest, now he sleeps at 9-10pm and wakes at 6am, with only one feeding needed in between anyway.  We’ll just have to find some way to shorten that one feeding from 1-hr to 15-min!

Fingers crossed. CC, keep up the good work. Mommy hopes she’ll never have to put you through intensive sleep training which may result in $500 less in our pockets and lots of tears for both of us!

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It’s like a light bulb has turned on in CC’s head, he now is very aware of the surroundings. He can also reason a lot better. I truly truly love my boy and look forward to all the fun we’ll have as mother and son.

Daycare

CC is now officially enrolled in one of the most expensive and hard to get in daycare in San Francisco!
As a new Mom and a now 6 years and counting San Franciscan, I was starting to get a taste of the craziness of San Francisco’s view about daycares, both for babies and for puppies.

At 4 months pregnant, the ink was hardly dry on our pregnancy announcements to our families and friends, we were already warned about how behind we were in signing up for daycare.

“Are you joking?” was my first thought. And no they were not. I did my research and found out, just like colleges, we need to “apply” for those daycares! So I did, made Michael went on one tour, and that was enough for us. We applied to two handfuls of daycares in San Francisco, naively thinking one of them ought to take us by the time CC is out. The keyword was “naively”.

At 2 months old, that is 7 months after applying for his daycare when we didn’t even know his gender, CC was nowhere to be found on the acceptance list of any of these schools! I was nervous! I expanded the area now to also include the cities by my office, and this time personally went to see one.

“Disappointed” was much of an understatement. Okay, in SF, Twilight, our puppy, gets a 3’x5’ room in his daycare. Seriously, a room! He can have his kennel, his bed, his toys all in that room for $55 a night! On the other hand, CC gets a crib that will barely allow him to turn from back to tummy! And it will cost us spanking $2025 a month!

SERIOUSLY!

Baby Must-have’s, Nice-to-have’s, and Shouldn’t-have’s (Part 1: MostlyMust-have!)

As we celebrated (hooray!) CC’s second month birthday, I finally have a little more time to think back to the things we’ve bought/received and review the usefulness of each item. Please note this is only personal preference, but hopefully a good reference.

Please note that most of the items and their pictures here are from Amazon.com. Yes, I don’t know how Moms survive prior to online shopping!)

This entry will be mostly must-have’s, at least things that you must-have in the first few months. I will also note down if it’s something you should get before the baby arrives.

Diapers and Wipes
We had this ideal of using cloth diapers and cloth wipes. Well, little did we know, first few weeks of a baby’s life it’s almost impossible to use cloth diapers! In general, cloth diapers, because the need to be worth its cost, are made a bit bigger for most newborns, even for our 9-pounder! Also, with belly button still not completely healed, it’s best to use disposable so not to cover it and rub against it. Lastly, cloth diaper in general does not absorb as quickly as disposable, which allows the baby to complain about wetness sooner and therefore better for their skin (so they’re not stewing in their own filth!). This would be a wonderful trait for potty-training kids, but for the few days we’ve tried on CC, it was not so good for a baby who is hard to fall asleep and wakes easily (aka CC). Therefore, we’re not putting the use of our cloth diapers on hold.

However, in the meanwhile, we have discovered a wonderful service offered by Amazon.com. Amazon Mom! We subscribed to the service and they will send the diapers, free of second day shipping charge, at the schedule we set, at a discounted rate! We’ve been buying Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive diapers. and loving it! It is what the hospital uses, so far not causing any diaper rash on CC, and it also has a pee indication that allows us to tell if CC has pee’d without taking the diaper off! We love it!

As for wipes, we use Pampers Sensitive Baby Wipes. We just bought the refills and put them in the box. It’s alcohol and fragrance free. It feels good even to my skin!

Verdicts:

• Thumbs up for Pampers disposable diapers and wipes. Must have BEFORE baby is here.
• TBD for cloth diapers. Definitely a money saving product though.

Diaper Spray
Given we bought our bumGenius diapers, we also bought and installed bumGenius diaper spray. In the few days we’ve used it on soiled diapers, as well as using it to clean baby puke off any clothing item, it was WONDERFUL! It acts as a very strong spraying tiny showerhead, but it connects directly to your toilet water source. Therefore, you can spray directly into the toilet and just flush! 

Verdict: You’ll be crazy not to have it! Since it’ll need installation, you should just try to have it before the baby arrives. Otherwise you won’t have the time and the brain to install it!

Diaper Gauze / Burp Cloth
I placed Gerber diaper gauze on the registry, as well as purchased some more later and re-purpose it as burp cloth. What I did was cut them in halves and sew three/four layers together. They are the most wonder burp cloth ever! After a few wash, they absorb really well and still soft to baby’s face skin.  And it is true, YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY BURP CLOTH!

Verdict: Absolutely must have!! Get them (and lots of them) before your little one arrives.

Changing Table and Changing Pad
Instead of spending lots to buy a fancy changing table, we clear off my clothes drawer top and put the Basic Comfort Contoured Changing Pad by Summer Infant. I made a cover for the changing pad and put another layer of home-made cloth changing pad (similar to bath towel) on it. It’s inexpensive, easy to clean, and very comfortable and safe for CC.

Verdict: Must have, again, before the little one arrives.

Playpen / Day Bed / Changing Table
We received a playpen / day bed / changing table set from our friend and boy is it the best piece of baby furniture ever! That’s where CC spends most of his time during the day. It’s a hand-me-down and so I don’t have exact model, but it looks something like this. The changing table is removable and so it does not take up much space at all. The wheel on the playpen also allows CC to be moved around in the room. Worth its weight in gold!

Verdict: MUST HAVE! Need installation, get it and learn how to put it together before the little one.

Crib
We’re not exactly co-sleeper. We still want baby to have his own bed and comfortable sleeping in it. But getting up at night and bending over to pick him up and put him down has had a toll on our backs! So we have side-car’d his crib. We took one side of his crib off, and pulled the crib directly next to our bed. It provides easy access to baby while still have him sleep in his own bed. We also are able to have our own big blanket and sheets without having to worry that he’ll be suffocated.
The crib we put on registry and received was Graco Victoria Non Drop Side 5-in-1 Convertible Crib. I like everything about it EXCEPT the backboard. Given we now put the crib against our bed instead of against the wall, the backboard is now more of an obstruction than decoration. I wished we had ordered a crib that’s even height on all sides. But, once we move the crib to its original position, we won’t have this concern.

Verdict: Nice to have, can wait until baby is a little older. In the infant stage, the playpen / day bed is good enough.

Bath Tub
As any first time parents, we were clueless when it comes to bathing CC. But The First Year's Infant To Toddler Tub with Sling made it so easy! The mesh sling works as a hammock and baby just sits happily on it. Since it’s mesh material, the baby’s bottom is soaked in water just like if there is no sling, but it provides that level of security. One drawback is that it does not have a temperature indicator, but you can use any baby thermometer for that. Somehow the size of the tub also allow us to rest the baby bath tub on the two sides of our bath tub, while we sit inside our own tub to bath him. Most of all, it’s so inexpensive and safe!

Verdict: Another absolute must have. Although newborns just need sponge bath, so not something you’ll need until they’re 2-3 weeks old. Also can get easily from online.

Car Seat and Stroller
After  much thought, we opt-out on the traditional car seat / stroller combo. Instead, we purchased Chicco Keyfit 30 Car Seat. Here are our reasons: The stroller that comes in the car seat / stroller combo are usually very very bulky. Yes it’s comfortable with tray table and all, but your baby will never use it until he’s much older! By then, he can just use any umbrella stroller! In addition of being bulky (of course, hard to fit into car trunk), it is also extremely heavy. I’m a decently tall woman and I have trouble lifting it and storing it. Since we drive to places more than walk to places, space and weight is more important to us than how fancy the stroller is. Also, we can now lift the entire car seat onto the stroller without waking CC. We expect to change to another set of car seat and strollers when CC is more than 30 pounds.

Verdict: Must have, but only in this combination. If nothing else, this is something you have to have to even leave the hospital!
Diaper Disposal Bags and Dispenser
Okay, note, this is not “diaper bag” but “diaper disposal bags”. Just like puppies, you won’t want to leave the house without his poopy bags. You don’t want to be caught outside with a stinky diaper either! We bought Munchkin Arm and Hammer Diaper Bag Dispenser and just hook it onto our diaper bag. It completely masks the smell of the soiled diapers and large enough to put a couple diapers and wipes in it. Don’t forget to buy the refills too!


Verdict: Must have, unless you don’t go out.

Diaper Pail
There are many options, but this is the one we went for: Diaper Dekor Disposable System and refills. Again, another item worth its weight in gold. It has a tube of seems like endless plastic, and you can just cut off the dirty bag, tied the end, and create another bag! It’s hard to explain but you’ll know it genius-ness when you see it!


Verdict: Must must have, unless you want your place to stink.

Bottles
We originally purchased Lifefactory Glass Baby Bottle with Silicone Sleeve. I very much want to say I love it, and I do. Glass bottle gave me peace of mind when it comes to all the BPA contaminated plastic bottles. But unfortunately CC did not love the nipple that comes with the bottle. It’s too long and it causes him to gage. But I have heard many wonderful things about it and will try it with CC once he is more used to bottle feeding.

In the meanwhile, I have made purchase of The First Years Breastflow Bottle. It’s double-nipple system moderates the flow and its shape mimic real breast nipple. So far it works best for CC. And honestly, we survived fine with just one bottle.
 
Verdicts:

• Lifefactory bottles – Not a must have for newborns.
• The First Years bottles – Must have!
• [Update on 12/4/2010: We would like to change the verdict. Somehow CC now loves the LifeFactory one more. Not so much the Breastflow one anymore. We’re very glad since that means we’ll get to use all the 10 LifeFactory bottles!]

Detergent
I didn’t know how easily a baby keeps a smell, as well as how much he rubs against my clothes! But I’m just so glad I listened and bought Charlie’s Soap! It doesn’t have the “wonderful” smell of Tide or whatever brand you use usually, but it also makes the clothing much softer and free from the need to use fabric softener! Somehow our clothes are less staticky but just as soft. And we found ourselves needing to use less detergent.

Verdict: Yes, must have! And yes, get them before the baby’s born, since you want to pre-wash everything at least once before he/she arrives.

That’s all for now. When I have time next, I’ll talk about:

• Nursing pads
• Nursing cover
• Breast feeding pillow
• Baby swing
• Bottle warmer
• Music mobile
• Baby carrier
• Swaddle
• Pacifier
• Bath essentials
• Bottle drying rack
• Baking soda (yes, baking soda)

Second Month as a Mom

Baby Prison
[7W1D] I’ve always thought I would be a good mom. But my own vision of a Mom is someone who educates and disciplines. I did not know staying home 24-7, doing feed-burp-change-and-repeat is part of the job too. In fact, that is all to this "job” so far. Yes, I do feel like I’m in baby prison with no early parole. But the minute I see that cute little face, with cute chubby cheeks, and tiny little fingers…I’d like to say it’s all worth it. Or at least for that moment.


Sleeping…for Baobao that is
[4W] I’ve read from many websites and books to NOT nurse your baby to sleep. It will condition the baby to only want to nurse in order to go to sleep. While chewing on Mommy’s boobs was the best and easiest way to put the little one to sleep, I have that fear of a 7-yo needed to nurse before going to bed! So I took the advice of some people and start adding “constants” to the sleeping routine. For example, I know CC falls asleep very easily when I do lying down side-feeding with him (we both lie down, face to face, while he feeds.) So I tried to put him on his bed, on his side instead of on his back, warm up and give him the pacifier, while rubbing his back.

[8W4D] Well, 4 weeks later, we know there is no worries that CC will be a 7-yo who still wants to nurse. In the last week or two, he has started to learn to fall asleep on his own! Hooray!

Kissy Kissy Mommy! Oh, he just wants to eat!
[4W] Yes, Mommy is tricky tricky tricky! When CC wants to eat and roots around, I sometimes kiss his right cheek, and he’ll turn towards me. And then I’ll immediately kiss his left cheek, and he’ll quickly turn towards me again. If I do it quick enough, I keep kissing his mouth instead! Hee hee. Stole many many kisses!

[5W] Although, WORD OF CAUTION, DO NOT assume because they’re rooting, they have no back-up supply of milk in their tummies! One time, the little bugger decided it would be funny to puke a little into Mommy’s open mouth. YUCK!!!

Colic
[4W] Oh yah, CC gets colicky. Something every parent wish and pray and hope their baby will never get. While they say no one really knows what caused colic, one of the most plausible assumption is gas. After coming out of jaundice, CC started to be more alert/awake and ate a lot more as well. Unfortunately his little belly system did not get the message and therefore wasn’t caught up in ramping up the processing power. Result: very full, very gassy, very uncomfortable every time right after he eats. Supposedly adults get this type of gastro-reflex as well, but we don’t get it until an hour after we eat, and we are just so used to it. But babies’ gastrointestinal system is much shorter, hence affect them much much quicker.

Poor Mommy and Daddy, we want the little guy to eat more and grow more, but we also start to fear every feeding time. Little guy gets so uncomfortable that he grunt and strain and wail and goes crazy! At times, he even turns purple! We tried to do tummy massage and leg pumps, but he gets so worked up and so rigid, can’t even do much! But of course, he always gets relief right after he poops or farts, but somehow the frequency is far and much less lately. Yikes.

After a few days, Mommy finally got very worried and called the doctor. We also tried Mylicon and probiotics. They helped but not completely. Doctor said unfortunately it happens around 4-6 weeks of age, and of course, the famous last words, “It will pass.” (“It” meaning the colic? Or poop and gas? I guess both.)

One day, Mommy and Daddy realized CC was quite loosey goosey and relaxed right before eating and in the morning. Therefore we decided to do the massage and pumps BEFORE he eats instead of after. Mommy also tried to hold CC very snugly to her body, so provide some resistance when CC tried to push and poop. Well, it worked!! We were able to loosen the “goods” before the little trunk gets too stuffed up with both waste and nutrients. Hooray!

Well, this is no professional procedures, but we hope this can help future new mommies and daddies! And we hope this will pass soon for little CC!

[7W1D] In between Mylicon, Florajen (probiotics), tummy massage, and leg pumping, colic seems to ease up a bit until yesterday. Today, CC was in full-blown colicky mode! Unable to sleep for more than 30 minutes for the entire day. Mommy was pooped out by the end of the day and ready to cry herself!

[8W4D] Maybe his stomach issues have gotten better, or maybe we’re just more used to it and know how to deal with it. Seems like he has gradually move out of that fussy colicky phase. Fingers crossed!

Nanny
[7W1D] We found our nanny! Grandma went back to Taiwan last Friday night, so started on Monday, I was all alone during the day and officially full-time Mom. It was scary. Very scary. We went on Golden Gate Mother’s Group to look for nanny, but there are only limited number. So while searching for average nanny wages, I came across this domestic help searching site, Care.com. We narrowed our choices down to a handful of people, and started contacting and interview them. As of today, we have decided on a nanny! :)

[8W4D] After one week of having Mara, our nanny come in on Monday and Wednesday. When the nanny is here and I’m not busy with house work, I situate myself upstairs and do some reading / web surfing. While I complain about baby prison, the irony is I am also extremely tormented when CC cries and I’m not one (or Woz is not the one) to go to him and comfort him! I know our nanny is more than well qualified in taking care of CC and in reality probably much better than I am, but like any mother, I don’t think anyone is good enough to take care of my son! Boy, I think I’ll probably cry on his first day to daycare/school! To think I almost did when Twilight went to puppy playcare last year! But, it’s got to be done. Little boy will have to grow up to be a man, and it’s a mother’s job to teach him how by letting go.

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It’s been a good month, it really has. The drama of pregnancy, birth, and family has quiet down but it is nonetheless quite eventful still. Now back to a little family of 4, we struggled and stayed afloat just so perfectly. Woz has, in the meanwhile, gotten a spanking new job at the Canadian consulate. The little Woz family is happy and getting ready for the holiday season.
Happy early Thanksgiving to everyone!

First Month as a Mom

Happy 1-month birthday to Baby CC!

Also, happy 1-month-versary to me as a Mom!

Now c-section incision healed (at least superficially), baby in hand/bassinet/crib…I won’t lie, this has been the quickest yet longest month of my life. Everything they said, it’s all true. Everything they didn’t say, it’s all true too. Never say never, was the only golden rule.



Breastfeeding

I have considered myself extremely lucky in this front, and even I thought it was/is tough. The fact that I had a c-section and stayed in the hospital for almost 3 extra days turned out to be a blessing. We were taught over and over by nurses and lactation consultant the correct and ideal ways to nurse CC. In addition, even though I went through c-section and spinal block, my milk actually came in pretty early and abundant. I did, however, like most new moms, suffered from a couple days of engorgement. It felt like someone placed a thousand tons of pressure on my chest! Hot compress prior to feeding and cold compress in between feedings were definitely very very helpful. Of course, CC helped too. :)



Postpartum Baby Blue

So I thought an optimistic  and extremely pragmatic person like me is for sure immune from the legendary postpartum baby blue, let along postpartum depression! Hell no! The power of the almighty hormone (or the lack of) is simply devilish! First of all, 3 days postpartum, I was, by chance, alone in the hospital room. The sense of loss overwhelmed me and I became all so sentimental, even Woz thought his wife was possessed! And then, every night I was plagued by the horrible night sweats! I was by no means feeling hot or even warm, but for the first part of the night, I always wake up soaked in my sweat! Then, it didn’t help that CC has a set of pipes he knows how to use well during diaper changes or any time he was unhappy about something “unspeakable”. There I was, soaked in sweat, just lied down 30 minutes ago, hand crippled by carpel tunnel syndrome, with a baby who is unable to tell me what’s wrong other than scream...Did I resent life? Oh I did. But then I wasn’t able to distinguish this resentment from the resentment of my new baby, so of course, I felt even more guilty towards having this feeling. Vicious cycle. Even though I have a very helpful and understanding husband, it wasn’t until a call from my sister-in-law and her gentle reassurance that this will all pass, did I feel much much better. And yes indeed, now at 1 month postpartum, the baby blue feeling came and gone. CC is now also more responsive and I’m a bit better in reading cues from him. Everything did get better. But postpartum baby blue / depression is definitely possible, and definitely nothing to be ashamed of.



Sleep

Or the lack of? Okay, to be honest, I do get sleep. Just no more than 2 hours at any given time. And never mind about sleeping in! Twi needs to go potty and CC hates the dark when he’s awake and want to play. Sigh…The price of procreation.



Family/Visitors

Oh it could be such a double-edged sword! On one hand, they’re able to take over some chores / care-taking tasks and give you a few moment of desperately needed sleep, on the other hand they can also give you way too many suggestions/advices! Grandpa from the sub-tropics thinks the baby is cold, while aunt from America-Jr thinks the baby is too warm. Hm…the baby is just fine?!

We banned all non-direct family visitors during the 5 days of hospital stay, and I have to say, it was the best decision ever! Woz, CC, and I were able to spend those precious time just by ourselves, with the help of the hospital nurses/doctors. The daily doctor making rounds also saved us the trips to pediatrician’s office.

Of course, now at one month, we’re still enforcing the ban of visitors, just for a few weeks more. I am now seriously bored out of my mind! But I’m sure allowing visitors probably will put some unnecessary pressure on me as well. Again, double-edged sword.



Whooping Cough

Okay, like I said, it’s been a month and yet we still haven’t accepted any visitor other than my parents and Woz’s aunt. Why? Mostly from the fear of whooping cough! Yes, lots of friends think us silly, but I can’t help but to think of the 9 infant death incidents in CA this year already! Our doctor actually encourages our practice of no visitor and no enclosed public area, but it is truly difficult to do. Wouldn’t it be so nice if everyone just get vaccinated!! Here’s a website that encourages such: http://www.helppreventwhoopingcough.com/



Burping

No one ever emphasize the importance of burping a baby. Even in the newborn parenting class, they said you need to burp the baby. But they also said, “some babies just won’t burp and they’re fine.” Well, take note, the “some babies” are not yours! Due to my CPS, I shied away from burping CC, and therefore really suck at it. BUT, if you don’t burp diligently during feeding, you’ll pay the price later! Especially when he’s suffering from his gas bubbles, screaming at the top of his lungs, puked up milk everywhere…all I feel is my BP going from the beautiful 106/69 to 150/100!



So Fast, Yet So Slow

Yes, this has to be the longest month in my life ever! However, the feedings we give to CC every two hours seem to come around so fast! We feed, burp, change him, and finally put him down to sleep. Ten minutes later, he’s whining for food again!



Weight Gain/Loss

Prior to delivery, my crazy weight gain (50lb) was concerning to lots of people. Concerns ranges from preeclampsia to gestational diabetes to over-sized/diabetic baby. “Luckily”, while CC was large (9lb 2.1oz at 38 weeks), he was also breeched. Leaving me with c-section as the only delivery option. The nurse at my doc’s office was always telling me to watch my diet, until the last visit where she saw my swollen feet and legs, and realized there was nothing I could do! Of course, I was quite fortunate too that the weight gain were indeed water weight, which came off fairly quickly. Here is my weight tracker:

• Pre-pregnancy weight – 133lb / 60.5kg (home scale)


• 9/21 – End of pregnancy 183lb / 83kg (doc’s scale)

Postpartum weight loss:

• 9/25 – Day 4 postpartum 160lb / 73kg (hospital scale) – Minus 23 lb


• 9/30 – 154lb / 70kg (home scale) – Minus 29 lb


• 10/1 – 152lb / 69kg (home scale) – Minus 31 lb


• 10/2 – 150lb / 68kg (home scale) – Minus 33 lb


• 10/4 – 145.5lb/ 66kg (home scale) – Minus 37.5 lb


• 10/7 – 147lb / 66.6kg (doc’s scale) – Minus 35 lb


• 10/9 – 141lb / 64kg (home scale) – Minus 42 lb


• 10/15 – 139lb / 63kg (PCP doc’s scale) – Minus 44 lb


• 10/18 – 134.5lb / 61kg (home scale) – Minus 48.5 lb

One very sad thing is, even though my weight is almost back to pre-pregnancy weight, my skin seem to be very dry and almost leathery. I guess this is what happens when your hormone drops so rapidly! Time to buy some moisturizing and tightening products!

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I’ll be very very brutally honest…all in all, it was a tough month. I sometimes even have thoughts and doubts on why we bother to procreate! I mean, wouldn’t life be just wonderful with just Twilight? See how much money we could’ve saved or at our disposal to travel or enjoy! But, then I remembered the same doubts I had when we first got Twi…And look how much we enjoy him now and can’t even imagine our lives without him!

Like what everyone told us, “Sooner or later, this too will end.”

Sighting of a Newborn Mom

Newborn Moms are hard to find in public; almost as hard to find as a sasquatch. However, here are some clues:

1. She travels with a man with a wedding band, but herself may not wear a band, especially not her solitaire diamond engagement ring.
2. She’s got super muscular arms (from carrying/rocking the baby) but chicken legs.
3. Her highlights has grown out but she neither has the time to re-do them nor has the guts because she’s still breastfeeding.
4. She ties her hair up or has already cut them all off.
5. Her nail polish has chipped but she has no time to take them all off.
6. She’s eager to talk to anyone who’s older than one AND not just interested in her tits as food source.
7. She is ecstatic to be roaming down the aisles of Safeway solo. 
8. She would graciously accept 3 minutes of free time to gulp down her McDonald’s filet o’fish, double cheese burger, fries, and diet coke.
9. She smells like soured protein shake.
10. She never wears turtleneck nor t-shirt. Instead, she’s drowning in her over-sized ugly maternity/nursing shirt that has an opening all the way down to her belly.

Life on 2.5 Hour

Pre-baby, while working, my life was divided into hours. 9am-10am, meeting for customer issue escalation, 10-11am, no meeting, 11-12pm,  customer meeting, etc. On the weekend though, it was a continuation of endless minutes, until Sunday night of course. Never really had to worry about being here doing that when, except maybe for the occasional “We got to be home by 6pm to walk Twilight.”
Post-baby, I live a life of 2.5-hour intervals. Want to go to the doctor’s and then the post office? Will have to fit it into a this 2.5 hour slot. Want to sneak out to supermarket to buy some diapers and ice cream? Will have to sneak back before the 2.5 hour is up. How did the 2.5 hrs come about? Here’s the calculation:
-- 30 min of feeding (15 min on each side)
-- 15 min of changing diaper and cuddling
-- 1 hr 45 min of actual sleeping done by the baby
=> Total: 2.5 hrs

Of course, this is assuming that the baby didn’t want his third helping, or he didn’t decide to poop/pee again 2 minutes after you changed him. And if he does, it just cuts into his sleep. Not good.

See, the fact that I need to feed “in public” (or rather, in our SUV while it’s not sitting in our garage) isn’t so bad. But the challenge comes when the little guy wakes up with a soiled diaper. He wails as if being tortured by Cruella DeVil! The set of lungs the little guy has, I’m telling you, it’s incredible how something so little can scream so loud!

So our policy is to be home before the 2.5 hour is up.

Life on 2.5 hour. Story of my 10-days post-baby life.

Welcome to Mommy-hood

Now that I’ve officially been a mom for 9 days, 11 hours, and 36 minutes, albeit short, I am now entitled to have my opinion, as a human mother, without being patronized and said, “Well, what do you know, you’re not even a mom!”

Prior to having CC (short for Colt Chicken), every time I compare having kids to having dogs, my mommy friends tend to give me the “Are you crazy in comparing my precious baby to your mutt” look. Well, I’ll tell you this much, raising our puppy actually very nicely prepared me to be a human mom! It made Woz and I came to conclusions on how we will raise our (human or canine) youngs very early on:

1. We value positive reinforcements over negative reprimands –  Growing up in a culture of “criticisms make you better”, I hear more negatively implied comments than positive compliments. It does nothing but to diminish my confidence. Luckily, I realized that fairly early on in my own life, and have learned I am actually better than I’m led to believe.
2. We believed in speaking in normal adult language, rather than baby talks – Even with Twilight, I talk to him a lot. No, it’s not as if it’ll help him develop his language skill and he can, one day, have an intelligent conversation with me, but I just feel stupid talking in the baby goo-goo-ga-ga talks. So with CC, while I still find myself talking repetitive sentences with him, I tend to use adult vocabulary and structure. He, will definitely have intelligent conversation with me one of these days.
3. We believed well-manners / disciplined youngsters are happy youngsters – Rule is a good thing. If they’re applied consistently across the board, to everyone, with positive reinforcements. The scariest part of having rules for children and pets are double-standards. “No, you can’t do that as a child but guess what, as your mommy, I am immune.” Bad, bad, Mommy!
4. We believed in being good role models – As a continuation to item #3, you should always stick to your own rule and be a good role model to your child/pet. They are great imitators and they do it fast!
5. We believed in well-established routines – Routines are good, because it manages everyone’s expectation. And when expectations are met, everyone’s happy. The first night we were home with CC, we woke up at every smallest sound he made in his sleep. Unfortunately for us, he is a noisy sleeper, and therefore we had a horrible night. In the next few nights, we decided to set the alarm clock to wake us up BEFORE his expected awake time. Well, he still makes a lot of noises, but we’ve learned to ignore those meaningless noises and sleep through the 1.5 hours we allowed ourselves. We woke up much refreshed and everyone’s happy.

Here are just a few immediate things in my “parenting philosophy” pocket. I’m sure this list will be much much longer in no time.

And yes, I know I have ONLY been a human mom for 9 days, 11 hours, and now 54 minutes, but please do not judge or patronize me by using the words “whatever works for you” (translation: You’re crazy. What do you know?! Just you wait…you’ll agree with me sooner than later. )

I am a Mom now too.

To Baby Woz – 38 Weeks (09/21/2010) – Happy Birthday!

Dearest Baobao,

Life, is full of unexpected. Our lives with you, certainly aren’t the exception.

You were scheduled to arrive on 9/28/2010, at 2pm. Even though it is still one week away, your PM Mommy has already assembled all the shelves, washed all your clothes, put together your cribs and swing, and pulled together the hospital bag. All we had to do was wait…

Original plan was, your grandparents will arrive on Thursday, they’ll spend a few days to get to know Twi-twi (so they can take care of Twi-twi while we are in hospital), and we’ll spend the last weekend get them settled in. Well, like your Grandpa Wozniak used to say, “If you want to make God  laugh, tell him your plans.” In this case, you were the one laughing…

On Monday, 9/20/2010, Daddy and I decided to take Twi-twi to the park to play some more, after Mommy got her manicure and pedicure done. Mommy however, didn’t get to squeeze her hair appointment in. :(

That afternoon, I was experiencing “the most regular ever” Braxton-Hicks ever. They wsere still by no means regular, came every 7, 10, 9, 11, whatever minutes, but they were the most regular ever! One after another, each lasting not as long as the ones I’ve experienced before. They didn’t hurt though…just make my stomach super tight. So during the playtime for Twi-twi, Mommy was sitting down mostly, to minimize the soreness due to stomach tightening.

When we got back to the garage, Mommy suddenly felt some wetness on her panties. It felt different from the mucus plug I’ve been feeling for the last few days. But nonetheless, it wasn’t so obvious or continuous, and therefore we just did our usuals. We ate dinner (chicken katsu and deep fried oysters for Mommy, sushi rolls for Daddy), played fetch with Twi-twi, watched some TV, specifically, the season premiere of Hawaii Five-O, and then went to bed around 11.

At close to 1am the next morning, I was jolted awake by a popping feeling, and then the total wetness from shoulder to knees! I was literally soaked in water and it kept on coming!! I called out for your Dad and told him I think my water just broke!! He jumped up from bed, asked me, “What should we do?” Well, we decided that he would get me a towel so I can safely go sit on the toilet, while he calls the triage nurse at our OB office. While sitting on the toilet, the water just kept trickling out! Later while Daddy was getting ready and tried to clean up a bit, Mommy decided to take a quick shower, the smartest choice.  At this point, I have started experiencing painful contractions. They felt like period cramps but much much worse.

Twi-twi was still sound asleep amongst these commotion, until we were about to head out the door. He looked extremely puzzled and yet still very obediently stayed home.

On the drive to the hospital, Mommy continues to experience more painful contractions.

Once we got to the hospital, we went in through the emergency door and went to the OB check-in (thank goodness for hospital tour!) Nurse Lauren quickly hooked me up to the heartbeat and contraction monitors, as well as stick an IV into Mommy. While the contraction kept coming, now we could see when and how long. After30 more minutes, nice doctor ordered meds to slow down the contraction, since we are in for a c-section anyways. It did take away the contraction entirely, but Mommy started to shiver uncontrollably. My teeth were chattering so much it was very funny.

Some time between 2-230am, Mommy was wheeled up to the OR for preparation, while Daddy waited outside. I don’t know after how long, but the anesthesiologist came, gave me a shot of topical numbing agent (which hurt a little, more or less like novocaine in dentist’s office), and followed by the actual spinal block, which followed by extreme numbness of the waist down.  It’s a super super strange feeling. I could feel people touching my legs, but I was unable to move them at all!!

I started to feel nauseous, so the anesthesiologist gave me something to stop it, which in turn made my chest felt super heavy. Once oxygen was hooked up on me, I felt much better. Well, except the continuous shivering (while I was not cold at all), which interestingly acted as a calming affect for me.

Around 3am, Doctor Fan (OB) arrived. I remembered joking with  them about the 49ers vs. Saints game which happened earlier that night, and anesthesiologist said he was unfortunately too busy to watch it. They also finally asked Dad to come in as well. They put up the blue screen, which blocked me from seeing everyone else except the anesthesiologist and your Dad. I could hear people started to get busy, they talked in such low volume I can’t hear much. At one point someone told me I’ll feel pressure while they push it out, which I did, and then Dr. Fan said, “Wow, he’s got a big head!” followed by your cute little cries!!

Although I didn’t cry, I was very touched. Life really has begun, just like that. And of course I was extremely extremely relieved that you came out well (as well as I know at that point). I asked Daddy to go with you instead of staying in the OR with Mommy. They quickly sew me up, or rather, stapled me up, since I heard the staple gun went off, and wheeled me out of the OR and into the recovery room. Nurse Lauren was very sweet, talked to me the whole time while she was doing charts, and even Dr. Fan came in and chatted. Turned out he is from Taiwan also! At this point, I started to itch on my face, and it quick spread to everywhere. Apparently I was allergic to the pain meds and the only way around it was to wait for it to wear off after 24 hours.

I don’t know after how long, they finally brought you and your Dad to me in the recovery room. We then all went to our little room, 261.

Mommy learned to nurse in that first day, and very quickly, we just fell in love with you. Our little family is now party of 4!!

Happy Birthday, CC!

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Mommy Updates

• CC was born on 09/21/2010, at 329am. 9 lbs 2.1 oz (4143 grams), 19.5 inches.


• He was exactly 38 weeks in gestation term.


• Nicknames: Colt Chicken

Pregnancy Myth Buster!

Now that I’m more than half-way through my pregnancy, I’ve heard (and got annoyed) at many many “advices”, either given to me or given to friends of mine. Unfortunately, they are, a lot of times, myth.

1. You can eat whatever you want!!
   Yah right!!! Did no one tell you you now have to give up the yummy chu toro and foie gras?! How about only eating 300 calories more per day? That’s about 2 cookies’ worth! Honestly, I never had to worry about what I eat before, but now I’m the most health conscious in my life!
2. You shouldn’t exercise I don’t know why people say that. Every doctor or medical literature state the opposite. Even my own Mom told me it’s best to exercise to have smooth delivery! This by no means says you’ll have to go cardio kick-boxing or sky diving, but definitely keep your body moving!
3. Because you’re pregnant, you should wear a sac or PJs I have lately taken up sewing. Started with small 2-dimensional projects and slowly now venturing into 3-D items such as bags and aprons. Lately, I’m feeling even more adventurous and want to try out a maternity clothes. The only problem is I’m not that experienced in clothes making, so I decided to go to Jo-Ann’s and buy a pattern. Turned out, maternity clothes have always been lumped with “sleepwear” and often just look like a sac. Seriously? Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I’m fat nor I should wear sweats! Yes I admit I lately I’ve been wearing more dresses or yoga pants rather than slick jeans, but I still try to look decent! I ended up buy plus-size patterns and probably will have to learn on my own how to take in the sleeves and shoulder width.
4. “You’ll love being pregnant” I feel blessed. Very blessed in fact to be pregnant, let along have a fairly easy pregnancy. However, this is not a trip to the ice cream store. And I bet no one ever mention all the side-effects of pregnancy other than nausea (nose-bleed, leg cramps, stomach muscle/ligament cramp, sore back, shortness of breath, stuffy nose, acid reflux, pee when you sneeze/cough….the list can go on and on!) This is not to say there are about ten-thousand other things you would usually do that you are not allowed to do now. I don’t know who in their right mind would love to go through 40 weeks of discomfort. Think it’s just propaganda to brainwash women to want to have kids.

These are all I can think of now. I’ll post more when I remember them.

TWP (Travel While Pregnant)

I have travelled to Taiwan while 5 weeks pregnant. Could hardly tell, even by myself. So that, didn’t count. Now at 5 months, here are a few things I learned about traveling while (really, very obviously) pregnant:

1. You are just physically not as able in lifting heavy luggage. But hey, your luggage are never heavy anymore (until baby’s here of course) since now there are only about 10% of the things that you used to bring actually fits you!  :) and :(
2. People hate traveling on flights with infants and toddlers, but they LOVE to see semi-clumsy pregnant lady! Regardless who it is, the second they realized/heard you are pregnant, always become the best people on earth! Friendly, cordial, anything for you! :) 
3. Your husband milks the benefits you get by telling everyone you’re pregnant, even the front desk lady who can’t see anything below your neck. Or maybe he is just so over-joyed and feel the need to tell everyone you encountered? :)
4. If you are in a beach town or resort, you are jealous of any female in bikini (yes, including little girls), and think, “I was like that (and much better) few months ago!” and then waddle away. :(
5. Good luck trying to sun tan your back! Unless you get one of those reversed massage chair with a hole cut out where you tummy is, it’s next to impossible to lie flat on your tummy, literally. :(
6. Nose bleed, nose bleed, nose bleed! The super drying air on flight does not do you any good when you already have thinned nasal membrane. My nose was gushing blood at the bar yesterday like a cocaine addict (from the movies at least) it was embarrassing! Had to quickly explain it is a side-effect of pregnancy but bartender (being a man) still couldn’t make the connection and looked extremely worried and puzzled (of course it may be because I was bleeding all over the photo album he decided to share with me.)  :(
7. You constantly startling whoever’s next to you by yelling to your husband, “Quick! Feel this! He’s moving again!” And you both so focused on the one stomach (and publicly touching it) that you completely didn’t notice the strange stares you’re receiving.  :)
8. Now that you have the love of your life baking in you, you become much more self-centered (self=baby, not you). At the same time, nothing else matters because they are all dwarf’d by the discomfort you are in physically and happiness you’re feeling mentally. :)
9. Tummy doubles as book stand! (Like!) :)
10. Traveling to islands are torture when you cannot eat anything fresh (aka raw) from the sea. :(
11. Allow yourself 10 extra min per 30 min drive for potty breaks, especially if you have been trying to hydrate yourself in the hot climate! :(

5-to-9 Moms

We are the 5-to-9 Moms.

Mommies of little ones while working 9 to 5. That leaves us to be full-time Moms from 5pm to 9am...