Family

Baby Allison's cooing is getting more and more pronounced; her smiles more joyful :) She is also producing real tears now, and today I saw her sniffle after crying :( she is 7.5 weeks now and getting more mature. 

Here is a wonderful video of an interaction between baby and her ba ngoai (grandma). Ba Ngoai keeps asking baby if she is hungry or tired and baby has to respond louder and louder as if to say "I already answered you!" hehe

Di Nga (aunt) came over this week for a full day of caretaker training to prepare for being on duty when we go to a wedding. Grandma hopes she has an easy day!

 

sooo cute!

More videos

enjoy!

Thoughts & First Video

I am really enjoying my maternity leave. I get 12 weeks of paid leave + 4 weeks of vacation which I saved up. Everyday is pretty much the same routine but I am enjoying that fact that my only responsibility is to be a caretaker to my child. No deadlines, timelines, place to be, people to talk to, meetings, issues. Even though my schedule revolves around the baby's feeding and napping schedule, and even though I'm more limited in being able to go outside, I like being at home and having a somewhat flexible schedule, not to mention the quality time spent bonding with my baby. I go back to work in Jan 2014 and even though it is a while away, I'm not looking forward to it. I never thought I would want to be a stay at home mom but it doesn't seem so bad. Realistically I don't think it would ever happen but if it does, I would be stealing Tom's dream of being a stay at home dad ;-)

I see other kids like 10 months, 2 year old and I can't wait to experience Allison at that age. A child of my own who laughs, giggles, walks around, play - I can't wait. But I know that I need to cherish this time because everyone says that it'll go by quickly. It's true, because already she is 7 weeks old. It's very important that I step up taking videos because those moments will never happen again. The other night, Tom and I were in the living room with the baby in her room. I heard a door open or close and I imagined that it was a little 1.5 year old Ally coming out of her run towards us, as in, "mommy, daddy, I can't sleep". Tom really liked that imagery.

I also really look forward to experiencing the love that a child has towards his/her mother. There is a special bond, a special unconditional love that exists - at least until they become a little older and resentful.

Daytime naps are so important for babies and little kids. Missed naps will result in fussiness and crankiness, as we have experienced on a few occasions. Fussiness = hysterical crying. Caretakers need to protect their little one's sleep requirements at all costs. So if the baby wakes up from a short nap, they should be rocked back to sleep If baby keeps waking up in crib, then caretaker has to hold them for the entirety of the 1-2 hour nap in order to ensure that the nap is taken.

Yesterday, Allison had the longest sleep stretch so far. Once there was a 6 hour stretch, but yesterday was a 8 hour stretch! 7pm feeding and 8pm down in crib.. and next wake up time at 4am! What the... how crazy good is that? Let's see if it continues..

Here is a video of 6+ week old Allison cooing and smiling:

Week 5 & 6 updates

Sorry for not updating in a while, been kinda busy. Here are some things that happened:

Week 5:

• Baby is starting to like warm baths now. She is very calm and really enjoys it!
• There were 2 days when the baby was extremely fussy, more than usual. Usually, if she wants something, her cries would start off small and then gradually get louder until she got it. But during this period, she would be crying hysterically at the very start and in an anxious state. It all started in the middle of one night, only 1 hour after the last feeding. I woke up to hearing her cry alarmingly loud. It turns out she had trouble breathing because her nose was really stuffed. I characterize that as a "survival cry"and am glad that she was able to do that. There was another moment later that afternoon where she was crying a lot during feeding. She wanted to eat but couldn't. I burped her but didn't get a burp. After a long bout of trying to figure her out while she is crying, it turns out she had a big burp that was stuck, which preventing her from eating, which she was hungry. Once I got that stubborn burp out, she was ok for a little while. Things finally got better the next day's afternoon, where, during a moment of calm, we took her outside for a stroll. Since then she has been back to normal and I am glad!
• The moment she stopped being fussy also coincided with the time we received in the make a rocker which vibrates. It is a place for newborns to sleep, sit, and has a continuous vibrating feature via battery. It can also rock back and forth when manually triggered by someone. I had high expectations for it, to calm the baby when fussy, but it doesn't do that. It does do a decent job when we can get the baby to a very drowsy state and put her in there, she will be able to fall asleep on her own, which saves us some time of manually rocking her to sleep and allows us to have a few free moments. 

Week 6:

• Baby is getting chubbier! I can see it in the cheeks, her thighs, and she feels heavier. I wonder if I am overfeeding her or this is just normal growth. One thing I can do is not to assume she is hungry when she cries from waking up. Instead, I will comfort her and then check to see if she is hungry by putting my clean finger joint in her mouth to see if she accepts it. I will also make sure to stretch out the time between feedings to be 3 hrs. 
• Baby is starting to smile socially while awake! She has smiled at me, her daddy, and grandma. It is such a wonderful sight to see and warms my heart. 
• Baby has starting cooing - making talking sounds and responding back to us when we talk to her. We can now catch her gaze - when she has her eyes on our face, if we move our face from side to side, her eyes follow our movement. coolios. 

Daddy, why is the balloon following me?

Check out my pretty diaper from The Honest Company

Having a conversation with grandma

Chillin with my fwends

Í love to be in mommy's arms

1 month checkup

On Sat, Oct 5, we went in for Allison's one month checkup. Her official weight is now 9 lbs 3 oz, which is pretty much a 2 lb gain from her birth weight of 7 lbs 2 oz. This is a great weight gain! She is in the 40% percentile, which means her weight is bigger that 40% of other babies her age in America.

I thought she was going to get 6 vaccination shots but that is actually going to happen at the 2 month checkup. Only after this can we take her out to enclosed places such as stores, restaurants, and church.

Week 4 update

Baby Allison is growing bigger. One day she slept for 4 hours during the afternoon and then 5 hours starting at 7:30 pm. Online forums suggest that it is a growth spurt and I think it is true because she definitely feels heavier. They literally grow while they are sleeping which is amazing to me. Even to this day, all the baby does is sleep, sleep, sleep! Night time feedings have been going well.

Her 1 month check up at the pediatrician is coming soon and I am looking forward to seeing her official weight. I am not looking forward to the multiple shots she will get for vaccinations because she will cry in pain :( I really hate to see her cry in discomfort, like when we give her a bath.

I'm still hesitant to take her outside mainly because she sleeps so much and I don't want to wake her up to put her in the car seat which goes on the stroller. Or if I am outside, I'm scared if she cries. I know I just need to suck it up and do it. We've taken her out once, to Paris Baguette for a snack, and she did well. For longer stints like going to a restaurant or a store, I really don't know what it will be like and still have that hesitant feeling. I know I just need to bite the bullet.

BTW, yesterday I experienced my first "diaper blowout". That is when baby poops so much or forcefully that it shoots out the back of the diaper and spills out. It happened when she was laying across my lap in a flat position. The mustardy, oily poop went on my leg and the couch! luckily we have a sheet covering the couch and I was able to wash it.

I love how cute she looks when being burped. 

I'm sexy and I know it ;-)

She really loves sleeping on her tummy and we let her do it during the day when we can supervise

Even though she hates taking a bath for now, it really calms her afterwards

let's see how much of the crib space she will take over time :)

Product review: Baby Monitor

The latest trend in baby monitoring is to have one with video capabilities. Having just audio monitoring is not enough anymore, and I totally agree, which is why a video baby monitor was a must have item on my registry. The top rated brand according to my research is Motorola, and the one I have is Motorola® Digital Video Baby Monitor with 2.8-Inch Color LCD Screen. At $180, this is the cheapest option. Other higher options is to have a bigger screen or an additional camera. Luckily, I was able to use a 20% off coupon at Buy Buy Baby and had enough gifts cards to cover the entire cost. It is worth the cost to give me peace of mind.

The main reason why I wanted the video monitor is because I'm paranoid about something bad happening, like SIDS, and wanted to be able to see how the baby is doing in her crib whenever I wanted. I wanted to be able to check that nothing was blocking her ability or breath and that she is sleeping on her back. 

Since we live in an apt, it's small enough that we can hear when she cries. However, if we are in the living room and there is noise like the TV or whatnot, it helps to have the monitor close by to hear. Or if after we put her down in the crib, we can look at the monitor to see if she has woken up (kicking around) shortly after and would have to go back in. Overnight, it's useful for me because sometimes I would hear her start to whimper but then when I check the monitor, she is still, so that means she has gone back to sleep and I don't need to get up. Now that the baby sleeps in her own room, I mute the audio so that I don't have to hear her small grunts because I want to get up only if she really needs me, which is when she would cry. 

I know that I will be using this product for many years so it is worth the investment and I recommend this brand. In general, I like brands that have few products but do them well, as opposed to brands that have multiple different versions of the same product at sub-par quality. 

Pumping Demystified

Breast pumping and milk storage is one of those topics that always overwhelmed me every time I researched it during my pregnancy. With the breast pump, there are so many parts and accessories and with milk storage, there are so many rules on how long to keep or when to discard the expressed milk. Wanting to buy things ahead of time with coupons that I had, I wondered what additional parts I might have to buy, etc. This is what I learned and hopefully it helps you.

First of all, I want to thank Obamacare for making lactation equipment and consultants free of charge as of 2013. Estimated value of $200+, I was able to get a Medela breast pump free of charge (insurance pays for it if it is bought from one of the three in-network providers). About the brand to choose, Medela is the way to go, hands down. From what I hear, no other brand compares. As for what to buy, just know that the kit comes with everything you need to start off with. All the various parts will come together and make sense. Any accessory that is offered in the marketplace is mainly replacement parts. The bottles that come in the kit are mainly for collecting the milk; if you want to use it to feed the baby directly, you will have to buy the nipple. Storage bags are another thing you will have to buy. I don't know if it has to be the Medela brand, but that is what I bought.

As for the experience of breast pumping itself, it is quite hilarious. The whole process is synthetic and mechanical, simulating the baby's suckling for milk. I really do feel like I'm being used, but this invention is really a marvel for this modern age because it is able to add so much value:

• relief for engorgement, like when baby starts sleeping through the night
• for bottle feeding, which is useful for allowing baby to have breast milk even if mother isn't around (like errands or going back to work), or if baby has troubling latching on
• for storage for long term use of milk after mother's supply has gone down
• to continue feeding with breast milk after mother has 
• to maintain mother's milk supply (the more you pump or feed, the more your body will continue to produce)

1 month old

Happy 1 month birthday to our sweet baby. Mommy and daddy and the extended family love you so much!