Lost in Translation

Food for my Soul

2010-09-17T10:45:00.000-04:00

Every night when I rock you to sleep or tuck you into bed,
I remind myself to stop thinking
about work
about housework
about what's on tv
about how tired, hungry and stressed I am.

Just delight in the feel of your weight in my arms,
the softness of your cheek against mine,
your hand on mine,
softly singing a lullaby or looking at the stars on your ceiling.

These moments are food for my soul:
I just want to drink them all in.

Mama Go!!!

2010-08-31T20:52:00.000-04:00

Look out ya'll- I'm back! It's been a very long time, but I got a swift kick in the pants this week. Somebody I thought knew me said (not meaning to insult) that my mind just didn't think creatively. As somebody who has always felt most comfortable being creative, this cut very deep. How did I get so far from where I started? Where is the music, the writing, the creating? Apparently I need a creative outlet outside of work, and you all are my subjects.

I'll leave you with the cutest thing Kaden has done to date. He has been slow to start speaking so far- everyone tells us it is because he is learning two languages at once. Although he may be slower to speak, it will actually help him learn faster when he is older. Even now you can tell he understands pretty much everything you say to him. Yesterday, he was trying to avoid coming downstairs for breakfast and was playing around at the top of the stairs. I had Em in my arms and was trying to talk him into coming downstairs. Kaden held his stuffed Tigger up to Em and said "Mei Mei Tigger wuv u!" It was the LONGEST sentence he had ever said and it absolutely melted my heard!

Then to follow up, when I pulled out of daycare on the way home today he yelled "Mama go!" The kid definitely has a big personality!

Favorite Things- Baby Gear!

2010-03-04T21:50:00.011-05:00

FINALLY, I am ready to post some of my favorite things for baby gear and having 2 kids under the age of 2! As with my other favorite things posts, I do not officially endorse any of these products. These are merely my experiences and a few of things that have become my favorites over the past 18 months. I'm all for anything that makes life easier, because as every other person I see when I am out in public with both my 18 month old and my 4 months old, I have my hands full! This post is dedicated to my friend Katie, her husband and their little twin miracles who will soon be here!

1. www.diapers.com- Fabulous website to get diapers, wipes, soaps, almost anything. They take manufacturers’ coupons and run sales. Free shipping when you spend $50 (very easy to do since 1 box of diapers is $34) and if you order by 6pm they literally deliver the next day. We even ordered all of Kaden’s jarred baby food (Earth’s Best) through them. They have value packs of the jars and I would order a month’s worth at a time. That with a couple boxes of diapers weighed about 70 pounds, but they still delivered everything next day for free.

2. Strollers

o Graco Snug Ride Infant Car Seat Frame- It costs less than $60 and the car seat just snaps right in. It only works while they fit in the infant car seat, but it is so light and convenient (with great storage underneath). We didn’t get the whole stroller system and went from this to an umbrella stroller. They make a double version of this, too.

o For 1 child, we went straight from the car seat frame to the Maclaren Quest Sport umbrella stroller and loved it. It cost a bit more, but extends so the kid can rest their legs, comes with a rain cover, and is really light and easy to use.

o With a second baby, we went with the Baby Trend Deluxe Double Sit N'Stand. It is the cheapest one we found, but it seems like we will be able to use it longer. You can have 2 infant carriers snapped on, and when they outgrow those you can have them strapped in like it’s an umbrella stroller. Eventually, the back seat comes off and it has a little jump seat for older kids. It was lighter than the other double strollers, easy to steer and fit through places. The storage underneath isn’t that great, but the other pros to this one outweighed that for me. *Make sure you try your infant carrier in any stroller before you buy to make sure it fits. Just because the packaging says it is compatible doesn’t mean it will work well!*

3. Baby Carrier- Of all the baby carriers we tried, the Baby Bjorn Baby Carrier is by far our favorite. It is really easy, comfortable and lightweight. We have really put miles on ours and it is so convenient. Very easy to get baby in and out quickly for diaper changes.

4. High Chairs- We have the Safety 1st 5 Recline and Grow 5 State Booster Seat (for our first we have Fisher Price’s version of this, but I like the Safety 1st one better). These take up a lot less space than a traditional high chair, cost significantly less, and convert to a regular booster seat as the child grows. One of the things I like about this one is that the tray goes on and off with 1 hand which is very handy when you have 4 little hands trying to grab at everything!

5. Bottles- We have used Avent, Born Free, and Playtex Dropins.

o Avent- My husband likes the Avent best because they have few pieces and are easy to clean. I like the older ones, but not as big of a fan of the newer ones with the extra piece for the vent(it always seems to leak for me).

o Born Free- These are my favorites, but my husband’s least favorite because they have 1 more piece than the Avent, making it a bit more difficult to clean. I never had leakage with these and they always worked for the baby.

o Playtex Dropins- These are the easiest. It’s just the frame, a nipple and a ring with the BPA free dropin liner when you need a bottle. We use these for daycare since we can just send in a few clean ones easily and leave a box of the liners there. We always use these when we are out and about since you can take just one bottle and pack a few extra nipples & liners to use later. It’s still stuff you have to carry with you, but it’s stuff that takes up less space than carrying around 3 bottles per child. If I had to pick just 1 type of bottle, this would be it for me.

6. Monitors

o Summer Infant Handheld Video Monitor- It costs more and we probably wouldn’t have bought it for ourselves, but it is awesome! We mount a little camera above the crib and it has night vision so you can see the baby. From the handheld monitor, you can zoom in and move the camera around so if the baby moves you can see them. It has audio, too, so you can hear.

o Sony Baby Call Baby Monitor- we also had a Sony audio monitor for the first child and it worked great (it just didn’t have the video). The best thing about that one is that it is voice activated, so you only hear it if the baby makes vocal noises and not just if they move around.

7. Bottle Sterilizer- We went all out and got the Avent BPA Free iQ 24 Electric Steam Sterilizer. It costs more than a microwave sterilizer, but it is so easy and convenient to use. It is something that will be permanently in use and there will not be enough time to ever put it away, so the space savings you would have by being able to put the microwave one in a cabinet doesn’t really help. We use it daily and you can put other types of bottles in there. We put nipples, any kind of bottle, sippy cup parts, pacifiers, and on and on!

8. Food Warmer- We got the Avent BPA Free Bottle/Food Warmer and it is so convenient. Especially when you have a screaming baby wanting their food now in the middle of the night. It heats up faster than using hot water to sit the bottle in and doesn’t overheat it as long as you use the right setting (there is a button for food being heated up from room temperature or from refrigerated, and different settings for if it is food instead of a bottle). If you use the Playtex Dropin bottles, just set the amount at about half to avoid overheating since those liners are thinner than a bottle and heat faster (for example, if it is a 4 ounce bottle, set it to heat up 2 ounces)

9. Bibs- Bumpkins Bibs are far and away my favorite bibs for once you start on cereal and solid foods. They are cute, give good coverage, and don’t start to look bad once they are washed (machine washable and dryable of course!)

10. Baby Fingernails! These are so scary! I’ve been told that at some point you will likely knick the baby at some point trying to trim them, but I’m terrified of that. For a long time I just used little baby emery boards to keep the nails short and dull. We used a lot of mitts, too, especially at night.

11. Sleeping- To reduce the risk of SIDS, you aren’t supposed to put anything in the crib with the baby other than a sheet on the mattress. To keep baby comfy and safe at the same time, this is what I liked best:

o Crib Mattress Pad - helps make it a bit softer and cozier for baby.

o Breathable Baby Bumper - these are mesh bumpers that come in a variety of colors to help protect little hands and heads from the edges of the crib without creating a suffocation hazard like traditional bumpers do.

o SwaddleMe- Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe Wraps are great. In the hospital they teach you how to swaddle with a receiving blanket, but as the baby gets bigger (or during the middle of the night when your head is all fuzzy and sleepy) it is easier said than done. These take the work out of it and are so easy to use. They keep baby warm and cozy but there isn’t anything that could get up in the baby’s face.

o Sleep Sacks- Once the baby figures is able to get out of a swaddle, the Halo Sleep Sack is a great wearable blanket. Both the SwaddleMe and Sleep Sack come in either knit cotton or fleece depending on the season you need it for. For the Sleep Sack, just stick a long-sleeved onesie on underneath it. Carter and Gerber also make some, but they don’t last as long size-wise especially if you have a baby that’s a bit on the big side like mine are!

12. Skin Care-

o Aquaphor!!! We use SO MUCH Aquaphor in our house (there isn’t any difference between regular and the baby one, but they charge a bit more for the baby one). Both babies had eczema and dry skin issues, and Aquaphor is the only thing that helped keep it at bay consistently. The other thing that helped was:

o California Baby Calendula Cream and Calendula Everyday Lotion- These are organic and paraben-free and contain calendula, a natural skin healer. The cream is more concentrated and the lotion is great for everyday use. We mostly get the lotion since it is more cost effective and that is my favorite thing for my little girl’s face (when I put Aquaphor on her face it seems to be too greasy and makes her face break out. We use Aquaphor on her body and the calendula lotion on her face). Bonus: it smells awesome!

14. Munchkin The Medicator– This is my favorite new find! You put the medicine or whatever in the cup and the baby takes it through the nipple, just like drinking out of a bottle. It is SO much easier than using a dropper! We give my youngest gripe water through this and she drinks it right up through this.

15. Gripe Water- My youngest has tummy issues and gets very fussy, especially at the end of the day. She seems to have an upset tummy and is a big time spitter. I tried gripe water and was amazed at how well it worked. It doesn’t fix anything, but it contains natural herbs that are soothing to the stomach and seemed to give her some relief. We have used Baby's Bliss Gripe Water and Colic Ease Gripe Water with good results both times.

16. Burp Rags- I love the pretty ones, but Gerber Premium Cloth Diapers Prefold work so much better. They are thicker and larger than pretty ones and are a necessity, especially if you have a spitter. A very good friend of mine put some pretty ribbon on the edges of some of these and that was an awesome gift- large and absorbent, but still pretty!

Brought to you by the dynamic duo- Kaden & Emily!

Emily is Here!

2009-11-18T10:54:00.005-05:00

Emily Jen-Man Chang surprised us all a little bit early and is here! She was born on October 26, 2009, at 8:35 pm, weighing in at 7 pounds 2 ounces, 20 inches long.

On Monday, October 26th, I went to work like any other day. I had contractions all weekend, but nothing progressed although something felt different than the braxton hicks contractions I'd been having they never turned into anything. I left work at lunch time, stopped by the mall to exchange some clothes and pick up some gifts for Kaden's teachers. Then I went to Kaden's school to pick him up and go to the pediatrician since he had been pulling on his ears all weekend. I was still having contractions and started to look at the clock to see if they developed into a pattern. I took Kaden to the pediatrician and the contractions started to pick up. As we left the doctor's office, I called Rob and he said to go ahead and come home. I got just a bit further down the road when I pulled over to call him back and tell him to meet me at the hospital.

I went to the OB's office and they verified that I was indeed in labor almost 2 weeks early and sent me up to labor & delivery. This whole time I'd been taking care of things and carting Kaden around with me while I WAS IN LABOR! Those of you who have held Kaden know how solid, heavy and strong he his and I am fairly amazed that I made it! It's pretty amazing what mothers are able to do when it comes to taking care of their kids. Once we got sent upstairs to labor & delivery, Rob called my friend Jen to ask if she could come get Kaden for a sleepover. She was a blessing who saved us that night since my mom was planning on getting here for the scheduled c-section! My mom immediatley took off and drove through the night to arrive the next morning.

Since Emily was breech and we needed a c-section, I thought I would go straight into surgery and not have to go through all the labor pains anymore. However, it took FOREVER! Nobody could get an IV started on me and I ended up with 15 needle sticks before it was all said and done. The anesthesiologist actually ended up being the only person who could get me hooked up. Since it was after hours, there was just 1 anesthesiologist on call and he was busy with an emergency and kept calling in to say 20 more minutes till he could come in for my surgery. I was getting slightly frustrated by the end of it and by the time he got there I could have pushed if Emily had not been breech. I ended up doing all the labor except for pushing before I could get any drugs and get the surgery! Thankfully I was able to stay awake for the surgery and could tell when the pulled Emily out- hearing her cry for the first time was so amazing and such a relief after such a difficult pregnancy! She was just perfect!

My mom stayed with us for 2 weeks and was an enormous help to me and Kaden's buddy. She was able to take him to the Halloween events at his school. They really bonded during this time and I am so glad they had that time!

C-sections are NOT fun and I would have definitely preferred to be able to deliver her myself. Thankfully, after 3 weeks I am starting to feel like a human again and have somehow lost all the weight I gained with the second pregnancy- probably thanks to being able to nurse this time. Everything with getting pregnant, the pregnancy, the delivery, and nursing has been completely different this time than it was the first time! Somehow I have been able to experience infertility, a surprise pregnancy, delivering a vaginally and via c-section, not being able to nurse and having no trouble nursing all over the course of the past few years. As different as these experiences are, they left me with a son and a daughter that I am completely in love with and will cherish every moment with them. I am truly blessed and immensly grateful!

My beautiful baby girl!

Meeting Gramma for the first time.

Both my babies!

Kaden kind of likes his baby sister :-)

My favorite pic of Baba and his girl so far

Kaden's 1st Year Choice

2009-10-18T21:29:00.009-04:00

While looking for a specific post I did a while back, I found this post that I never actually posted! In Taiwan, when I baby turns 1 you lay out several items and let the baby choose one. This gives some insight into what he will be like as he grows up. We laid out a musical maraca, a cell phone, a book, a Dunkin Donuts munchkin, and a remote control.

Kaden's first choice was the cell phone, followed VERY closely by the donut! He then checked out the book, and briefly checked out the remote control and the musical toy. But he was DEFINITELY most interested in the cell phone and donut. I like to think it means that he will be a social little guy who knows how to enjoy the sweeter side of life!

Pooplosion!

2009-10-14T19:39:00.005-04:00

Someday Kaden will hate me for posting a story like this, but after it was all over it was hilarious! Kaden was playing with his toys while Baba & Mama were in the kitchen. I kept thinking I smelled something and that Kaden must have a poopy diaper. He had just finished eating and was about 5 minutes away from going upstairs to get ready for bed. Baba went over to take him upstairs and said "Oh no! There's poop everywhere!!" This really isn't what anybody wants to ever hear, whether it involves babies, dogs, ANYTHING. He carried Kaden about a foot in front of him upstairs to get an emergency bath while I cautiously entered the stink zone to survey the damage. Apparently, Kaden had a bit of a diaper wedgie (it can happen!) and was sitting on his little lazy boy type of chair. Poop got on the chair and on the floor right in front of the chair...which he then stepped in...and then walked halfway across the room to his car leaving a trail of poop-prints...and then sat in his car, where more poop squished out. We had to clean the chair, the carpet, and disinfected the car, too. Thankfully, all the poop-prints came out of the carpet and you can't even tell anything happened.

After it was all said and done, I laugh everytime I think about it. We made it almost 14 months before we had our first pooplosion!

Fun at Dinner Time

2009-10-02T20:46:00.011-04:00

Kaden is really learning to be independent now, and doesn't like to have us feed him anymore. Spoons are still a bit hard to figure out, but he tries!

After he finished eathing, he headed straight for one of his favorite toys- his car! Just this week he discovered that he can make the car move...just backwards for now, but he can go! (I had trouble getting the video of that to upload, but I promise I'll try again soon.)

This last one is just because he is so stinking cute sometimes!

Going Private

2009-09-21T07:42:00.004-04:00

Just a heads up that I will be taking the blog private on October 1st, so readers will need to log in to see what's going on. I've started to get weird comments, including from corporate job search sites and it is getting ridiculous. For safety and privacy, we will no longer be available for just anybody. It is very sad and unfortunate that we will no longer be able to share our journey and our joys, but we have to consider the safety and privacy of our children first and foremost. Any readers who want to continue reading, please do send me a message to get connected- I don't want to cut out real people!

LeLeDee

2009-08-25T10:35:00.009-04:00

Kaden calls Lady Belle (our little shih-tzu poodle mix) "LeLeDee." He only says a few things, like "hi!" and "Tede" (for his stuffed Tigger), but I am very impressed by how often and how well he says LeLeDee.

Last week we were getting into the car and a neighbor walked by with her dog, a large golden retriever (who obviously doesn't look like Lady Belle). Kaden started squealing and pointing to the dog, saying "LeLeDee" over and over again! It was so cute that he made the connection between Lady Belle and the golden retriever! I pointed with him and said "dog" before we waived bye bye to the dog.

Last night Kaden got a birthday card from my Aunt and Uncle with a Snoopy cartoon on the front. I read the card to him after dinner and showed him the picture of Snoopy on the front- which caused Kaden to get excited and reach for the card. He held it and kept saying "LeLeDee" over and over again (then he opened it and "talked" like he was reading and studying the card, which was also so cute!) I was SUPER impressed that he made the connection between the Snoopy cartoon on the front and Lady Belle both being dogs. Man, I have a smart kid!

Then we get to this morning, when Kaden was drinking a sippy of milk while we were getting ready for work. The news was on tv and they had a segment with some sheep (I have NO idea why, but there were sheep). Kaden smiled at the sheep, pointed and said "LeLeDee!" I couldn't help it- I busted up laughing at the intolerable cuteness!

So either all animals are LeLeDee or just all four-legged hairy animals...not sure which...either way, he only calls animals LeLeDee so I am still impressed by the brain power of my little boy!

Kaden's First Birthday!!!

2009-08-20T21:24:00.007-04:00

A year ago today, my life changed in ways I could never have imagined. Being a mother is every bit as hard and wonderful as I imagined, and I am completely, 100% head over heels in love with my little man!

We celebrated his first birthday with a Phillies game! It was a great game and we all had so much fun, despite the heat.

Yeah! Home run!

My new most favorite pic EVER!

Belly shot at 29 weeks- the WHOLE family!

But this is my favorite family pic just because of how sweet little man looks.

He even had a little celebration at school. I brought in cookies and got to hang out during a cookie feeding frenzy!

Then Baba brought a cake home for the birthday boy.

Some of the strawberries apparently were a bit sour, but not too sour to eat.

Mmmmmm, cake!

My little prince Sharing with Lady Belle

And we finished the day with a bath.

It has been an amazing year and I am so looking forward to all the experiences that Kaden will have over the years. I am truly blessed and forever grateful for the privilege of being his Mama!

Ribbons and Bows

2009-08-18T20:27:00.009-04:00

I've been doing some very girly crocheting for Baby Girl Chang lately. I guess between chasing around an almost-one-year old boy, being very pregnant, working full time and moving I just don't have enough to do (I'm saying this with sarcasm in case you couldn't tell!) This time around I am really making use of ribbons, bows, and girly colors that I didn't use with Kaden. It's hard to believe that soon a little girl who is small enough to fit these is going to be here!

Tiny little hat

Tiny little mitts with a ruffle to go with the bow

Tiny little booties, again with a ruffle to go with the bow- I had fun with the ruffles!

Hot pink- very cool

A baby blanket- actually more like a crib size blanket...

...of course with a ruffle around the edge! My first border on a blanket- I was very excited!

And because no post is complete without a picture or two of Kaden, here is Kaden and his Baba being silly at dinner time.

Silly games, silly boys!

Lazy Summer Weekends

2009-07-28T08:26:00.005-04:00

We had a wonderfully lazy summer weekend. Mama got some knitting done for Baby Girl and Kaden wanted to help out. He's such a good little helper! He helped me unravel the yarn just in case I didn't need it to stay untangled and organized.

He looked so cute while being such a big helper, too!

Then we went to the beach. When we got there and Kaden saw the ocean, he started squealing and waving his arms. He recognized the ocean and got so excited! I really wished I had my camera out and ready to catch that!

This time Kaden decided he would check out how the sand tasted. He seemed to like it, even though Mama & Baba kept trying to keep him from doing it.

But then after such a nice weekend, Kaden woke up with a high fever on Monday. It went down during the day, but was right back up there overnight. Tuesday morning he fell asleep with a bottle and hugging his Tigger. Baba had a cool washcloth on his forehead, too. Isn't that just about pitiful?!?
Hopefully the fever goes down again today and stays there so my baby can get back to important things, like playing and reading and cuddling with his Mama!

Who's on First?

2009-07-16T08:43:00.006-04:00

Take a look at these profiles from ultrasounds...are they the same baby? Is one Baby Chang #1 and the other Baby Chang #2? I know you can't base exactly what the baby will look like on how the ultrasound pics look, but I think Kaden and his baby sister have almost identical profiles! Just had to point out the similarities that are already there!

The Verdict is In and...

2009-06-22T17:52:00.004-04:00

IT'S A GIRL!!! Kaden is going to have a little sister! We are so excited- I always wanted to have a boy and a girl and this one really looks like a girl. We had the doctor verify a couple of times and according to her it is definitely a girl. Now it's time to buy 'pinky' stuff- I think we're going to be in trouble!

Sweet little profile- looks a lot like Kaden's did at his 20 week ultrasound...I'm just sayin, maybe they look alike already!

She had her feet tucked in together when we were taking pictures. She is a wiggle worm who liked to move her hands all around her head, so we didn't get a good picture of them.

It's a girl!

Boy or Girl??? What do YOU think?

2009-06-16T19:58:00.008-04:00

Friday is the big day for Junior (I didn't like the sound of Baby Chang #2!) We have our big ultrasound and hopefully will find out whether little Junior is a boy or a girl. Check out our poll over there on the right and get your vote in on what YOU think Junior is!

No post is complete without pictures, so here are some of my favorites that we took on our trip to Savannah to visit Kaden's Aunt Kara (I'll have pics of the trip up soon, too!)

9 Months Old!

2009-05-17T20:55:00.008-04:00

Wow, I can't believe Kaden is 9 months old already! He's right on the verge of crawling forward (he's pretty good at crawling backwards, but hasn't quite figured out that if he keeps pushing forward he will get where he wants). He is also getting good at pulling himself up onto his knees to get closer to anything that he wants. Between rolling, scootching, and crawling backwards, he is definitely on the move.

It's been awhile since we've posted, so what has Kaden been up to?

He is learning how to swim...

... and having fun in the water...
...Baba & Mama have fun with swim lessons too!

This is what happens when all you can do is crawl backwards- it's easy to get in some tight situations.

He got a 2nd tooth!

He got even cuter than before!

And Mama got a bigger baby belly! Here is Mama with Baby Chang #2 at 15 weeks.

Baby Chang #2!

2009-04-28T09:23:00.003-04:00

This is Baby Chang #2's first post! We had a second ultrasound yesterday to do some prenatal testing at 12 weeks 3 days. They would not even guess at whether it was a boy or a girl, but thankfully everything looks good so far! We were pretty lucky to get some good profile pics since Baby was moving all over the place.

12 weeks- Profile pic with a hand up by baby's face.

12 weeks- Profile pic again with a hand up by the face and legs stretched out.

12 weeks- Just chillin!

12 weeks- We could see legs all stretched out and little feet. This pics looks like it's a girl but other pics made me think it was a little boy...we'll have to wait until week 20 for our next chance to find out!

12 weeks- Facial profile with a good shot of the arm up by the face. The little dots are itty bitty fingers!

8 weeks- This is the first ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy just a few days after we found out we were pregnant!

Kaden's Big Surprise

2009-04-17T14:51:00.001-04:00

Coming November 6, 2009!

Learning New Tricks

2009-04-14T20:52:00.007-04:00

Kaden has been learning how to pick up little Gerber Graduates puffs. Sometimes they get stuck in his palm and he can't quite get them in his mouth. But other times...

He succeeds!

Toby and Lady Belle are really enjoying this stage of learning how to feed ourselves. They wait at his feet for any little piece that he drops. So far he's only dropped something for Toby on purpose once....Toby's hoping for a lot more!

Happy First Easter!

2009-04-12T09:44:00.007-04:00

We had a lazy Easter morning since Mama hasn't been feeling so hot, and after a yummy breakfast of oatmeal and peaches it was time for the Easter basket! Kaden was immediately interested in what was in the basket and grabbed at it.

There were just a few treats inside since Kaden isn't quite to the eating chocolate stage. Easter Bunny brought him a stuffed Easter bunny, some bubbles, an Easter egg, and a little toy shaped like an Easter egg rattle that lights up.

But of course, the best part was the BASKET! Guess I should have gotten a more baby-friendly basket rather than using my old one since he just wanted to play with that!
The lights were psychodelic, man :-)

Back to the basket, though.

Hamming it up...he's definitely learning to smile cute when the camera is out!

He eventually figured out how to get the lights to go on himself.

He even got an Easter box in the mail from Great-Aunt Joni and Great-Uncle Ted! Mama's gonna have to help him eat those Snickers inside that egg...poor Mama!

He liked the floppy-eared bunny they sent, too. Thanks guys!

Happy Easter everybody!

Visit from Gramma & Aunt Lori

2009-04-05T11:56:00.005-04:00

Gramma and Aunt Lori came for a visit and had LOTS of fun with Kaden- he got just a little bit spoiled! We have lots of pics from their visit, so I'll get right down to business. Oh, and Kaden turned 7 months old on the day they got here!

Yay, Gramma & Aunt Lori are here! Happy Birthday Kaden!

Aunt Lori & Kaden

Mama, Gramma & Kaden

Aunt Lori is HILARIOUS when she barks like a dog!

Being goofy with Gramma

We discovered that Baba's head makes a good chew toy, too.

Kaden loved Tigger at the Disney Store, so Gramma couldn't let him go home without him!

Mama got a little placemat for Kaden to use when we go to restaurants...surprisingly, it makes a good chew toy, too.

Being goofy with Gramma again...see the theme starting? He's performing his newest trick- he claps and everyone around him claps back and says "Yay, Kaden!"

Being goofy with Aunt Lori at the outlets.

Goofy with Gramma once again!

We stopped at Ten Ren Tea Shop for a treat and Kaden wanted a taste, too. He knows what to do with the straw, but he couldn't quite get that mango slush up to his mouth!

Mama, Baba, & Kaden in Chinatown

Playing a little basketball...

Wanna play with me?

Time for a break to do a little reading...it's hard to read books when they are always in your mouth, though.

6 Month Stats

2009-03-05T20:28:00.004-05:00

We had Kaden's 6 month well baby checkup today. The doc told us he is a big boy- something we have NEVER heard before! He weighs 22.9 pounds (97th %) and is 28 inches tall (95th%) and is just perfect with all his developmental milestones. Kaden thought the doc was pretty darn funny until it was time for the shots. He got 3 shots and started screaming with the 2nd one- but the 4th medicine he got was a liquid that he got orally, and as soon as the doc put that in his mouth he quit screaming. That's how we usually make him quiet at home when he's screaming, too- just put the bottle in his mouth and everything will be ok! He is still a big boy, but really seems to be thinning out a bit just from being so active. He still has the chubby cheeks & thighs, but he looks like he's becoming a little toddler boy rather than a chubster infant. He is so amazing and every day I am more and more in love with him. The best part of my day is going to pick him up and he lights up when he sees me! I cherish every evening I have to play with him.

Tonight Kaden ate one of his new favorite fruits for dessert- pears and raspberries! It's apparently really sour, but Kaden likes sour food. He makes great faces while he's eating it, but he keeps wanting more!

And I can't take credit for the messiness level of these pictures- Baba fed Kaden dinner while I ate the Taco Bell that Baba brought home for me!

Little Man of the House

2009-02-26T20:54:00.003-05:00

Look at how big the Little Man of the House got all of a sudden today!

He really listened to Mama when she told him that he was not allowed to do anything for the first time at daycare and had to wait till he was at home with Mama & Baba. He was just as excited as we were!
First he was rolling over, now sitting up...next he'll be crawling! Time to baby-proof!

And just because I think this looks like the most comfy place to end the night...
Good night, my boys.

Ketchup Dowowowown!

2009-02-26T14:25:00.002-05:00

5 Years ago today we lost my Grandpa. I don't think the family has ever quite recovered from it, and I'm not sure if we ever will be like we were. But I think Grandpa would want to see us remembering the good things and having fun in his honor...laughter instead of tears...smiles instead of heavy hearts.

Tonight I am going to go home, sing the silly bear song that Grandpa used to sing to me to Kaden, and maybe dance around the living room with him. Then I'm going to eat anything, as long as I put ketchup on it and at least once yell out "Ketchup dowowowowown!" I'll sit in the rocking chair and read Kaden a book from the bookshelp that Grandpa made. Then I'm going to eat a vanilla ice cream cone from Dairy Queen, just like Grandpa used to get for me. And in the morning, I'll wake my husband up with the good morning song that Grandpa liked to sing that always drives my husband crazy!

These are some of my favorite pics of Grandpa...there are lots more, but these are just a few of the many that show the kind of Grandpa he was and how much he means to so many people.

Grandpa and Mimi

Grandpa and Uncle Mike
Grandpa dancing with Lori

Grandpa playing by the beach with Hannah. We all go to experience that with him at some point, and I'm so glad Hannah got that too!

Grandpa riding horses with Little Michael, who isn't so little anymore!

We miss you Grandpa!

6 Months Already!

2009-02-22T15:11:00.006-05:00

We celebrated Kaden's 6 month birthday this weekend- I absolutely cannot believe he is 6 months old! It seems like just yesterday that he was so tiny in my arms, and now he is a little linebacker and SO active. I love seeing him learn new things everyday, even on the day that he learned that Mama's hair makes a handy toy to pull around (I am back to wearing my hair in a pony tail, thank you very much!)

RSV Update: Little big man gave RSV a beat down! On Thursday we went back to the doctor to make sure we really were fortunate enough to avoid the hospital and that he was indeed getting better. He still had junk in his ears and lungs, but was much better than when this whole thing started. We are lucky that he responded so well to the nebulizer- if he hadn't had an immediate response we would have been sent directly over to the hospital so he could get oxygen and treatments there. He still has a cough and a wheeze, but he is getting so much better. He has actually been wearing us out- that medicine that you put in the nebulizer, Albuterol, makes him act like he is hyper-caffeinated. I swear I don't put Mountain Dew in his bottles! Wow! He gets so tired and you can tell he needs to go to sleep, but he just can't. He's up and wild for hours and then just crashes, but still can't sleep so he just gets angry. We cut down to 2 nebulizer treatments a day now, and add another one in if needed. No we just need to get through the rest of RSV season without getting it again...

So what do you do to celebrate your very first half-birthday ever?

You give drinking from a big boy cup a try for the first time.

You play with the beach ball while babbling to Mama.
You try to figure out what the heck is making all that noise in there.

You eat some yummy Earth's Best Pear & Mango...sour, but one of Kaden's favorites. You can see he kept some on his face and clothes in case he wanted a snack later on.

You have a lot of laughs and giggles with Baba.

Baba is so HILARIOUS!!

You take self portraits with Mama (this is the best of a bunch of attempts...Mama's not the best at taking self portraits).

You eat some beef noodle soup...well, Mama & Baba got to eat some yummy beef noodle soup. Kaden will be eating that soon enough.

And of course, a birthday full of that much excitement will inevitably result in a nap on the couch. The light must have been too much for him (don't freak out, he passed out as soon as he pulled this over his face and we took it off...after we took a picture, of course!)

Happy Half-Birthday Kaden!

Changs vs. RSV: Day 3

2009-02-18T19:51:00.010-05:00

Day 3 is wrapping up in this battle against yucky RSV. Nothing much to report except that he seems to be on the road to recovery. He has been in a better mood and ate a lot better today. He still has the awful coughing and wheezing, but at least we don't have to battle dehydration as well. Mama went to work today and Baba stayed home with the little man...Mama missed him so much, but Baba sent this picture to show me how much fun he was having!

And to top it all off, the little booger took a 3 hour nap today! He barely naps for 45 minutes to 1 hour on a good day- most days he has just a couple of 30 minute naps! Oh well, as long as he's feeling better.

Kaden and I watched 24 on tivo - we are big Jack Bauer fans!-while he ate a little bottle this evening. When he got finished eating, I stood up to take him to the living room so we could do a breathing treatment on the nebulizer. When I got to the living room, all our power shut off! Can't do much of a nebulizer treatment without power to run the thing! The buildings around us lost power as well, and the emergency lights in the hallway came on...but that didn't really help us inside our apartment. I grabbed the flashlight that I keep under my bed (that's what happens when you grow up where there are tornadoes and summer storms that cause you to lose power a lot, even though I've never needed it here before) and went right into the kitchen to get the emergency candle that my Mom got us. I have never ever needed it before, but I was glad I had it tonight! I lit it and carried it into the living room so my family could have light during this trying time. As soon as I sat down on the couch to sing songs with Kaden and Rob, the lights came back on. That candle sure helped, though, for the whole 10 minutes we were without power! Thanks Mom!

Changs vs. RSV: Day 2

2009-02-17T20:40:00.005-05:00

Day 2 is just about done and Kaden is sleeping, hopefully for the night. He has had several doses of medicine for that ear infection, so hopefully that will start to feel better. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but by tonight's dose I think he kind of liked it. I'm not so sure what the flavor is, but it is a very unnatural, bright shade of pink. As long as he eats it, I don't care what flavor it is! He also had 4 treatments with the nebulizer today and did pretty good with it. He always acts like he feels a bit better after we do them, so we are thankful for that. If that didn't help him, the alternative is to put him in the hospital. We hope to avoid that and get him better with the nebulizer at home. We have added one new enemy to our battle against RSV: dehydration! His input and output have decreased significantly, so that is something that we are watching very closely. If it doesn't correct itself by tomorrow, I will call our doctors again.

Speaking of doctors, our pediatricians are AWESOME! They are so nice and so good at keeping crazy new moms who don't know what they're doing from freaking out. This morning the doctor that we saw on Monday (there are 2 of them that have the practice together, and I love both of them) called to see how little man did last night, how he was eating, how we were all doing. I thought it was so nice and made me feel better that they were checking in on him...either that or he is REALLY sick and they are scared to tell me...do you see what I mean about how they keep crazy new moms from going over the edge? I'm sticking with them being nice and thorough doctors.

This is Kaden getting his breathing treatment. He is just so pitiful I have to frown every time I look at this. He just sits there like this most of the time when we are doing this. My poor little boy!

Here Mama, let me help you with that...

There's a little bit of a smile. After his 3rd treatment of the day he seemed to feel better and was a bit more smiley and a bit less pitiful for a while. Then it was bed time...bed times are rough when he doesn't feel good...
When he was acting like he felt a bit better, I put him on this little blue mat with the round things over him. He likes to play with the fish that hang down and knows how to make the musical fish play music. Well, I guess he got tired of playing with the fish and wanted to watch General Hospital with Mama. He wiggled himself out from underneath the round things and off the mat so he could see the tv. He can't crawl yet, but between rolling and wiggling he is DEFINITELY moving around!

Hopefully, Day 3 will bring some progress in this battle against RSV...

Good night, and good luck.

Changs vs. RSV: Day 1

2009-02-17T12:23:00.007-05:00

Technically, I guess that Sunday was day 1, but Monday, February 16th is the first day of diagnosis and treatment, so that is day 1 of the battle. RSV was my BIGGEST fear with Kaden going to daycare, and now he has that plus an ear infection. For history's sake, I will document this most epic battle here.

Kaden had a pretty bad coughing fit (that RSV cough where it sounds like they are choking and can't breathe- it's pretty scary). So I took him in to the bathroom and ran the shower hoping the steam would help him breathe a bit better. We were going to the doctor's that afternoon, so I just tried to help him breathe so we could get there. While we were in the bathroom we sang silly songs with Mama (they're silly because I never remember the words and end up making some up- sounds kind of familiar, huh? Turning anything into a song? I haven't picked up the dancing yet, though- Love ya Mom!). We also tried out a bit of finger painting. They tried it at daycare and Kaden had fun with it. I started out by trying to trace his hand, but it's hard to get an almost 6 month old baby to hold still long enough. He let me put his hand in the paint and then he patted the paper when I showed him how. This magnificant piece of artwork is the result. I think he did pretty good! Of course, this only kept him occupied for about 5 minutes.

He has had some high fevers, a scary cough, and has been very lethargic and not wanting to interact. I didn't get a smile out of him until after his first treatment with the nebulizer at the doctor's office. He could breathe a bit better after that and decided that the doctor was pretty funny.

Kaden refused his afternoon bottle, took maybe an ounce, and then took a whole bottle at about 6pm, which he promptly projectile vomited all over me. I think it's funny how before baby I would have been grossed out by that...in this instance, I tried to catch it all! Anyway, after we got cleaned up and ready for bed he finally took 3 ounces without throwing up. I do not want to have to add dehydration to the list of enemies!

Just for funsies, here is a pic of Kaden in his swing when we first brought him home from the hospital...

And here is a pic now! He is 4 pounds away from the weight limit for the swing and we will truly be sad when the time comes to put it away. He loves his swing! In the second pic, he is looking at himself in the mirrored part.

As always, Lady Belle is keeping guard. You can also see his nebulizer in the bottom...so sad :-(

You Give Me Fever

2009-02-16T10:00:00.004-05:00

This week Kaden celebrated his very first Valentine's Day. He made such a cute little Valentine with his heartbreaker shirt & bib. He got all decked out for school with his heartbreaker onesie, bib, some blue jeans from Gramma, and some super cool Robeez shoes from Aunt Kara. He picked out some little Snoopy boxes of chocolates for his teachers, too. He is just such a sweet, thoughtful little guy!

Kaden had a little tiny bit of a tooth break through! He's been teething & has been my little drool monster for such a long time...this week something finally broke through. Last time we were at the doctor the doctor commented that his gums were really swollen and his teeth would likely start popping out soon. And something did pop through, finally! The drooling has not diminished at all, however. I got Kaden some teething biscuits called Baby Mum-Mums. I heard a lot about them at the message board that I frequent on iVillage (I'm a proud member of the August 2008 Honeybees!), so I thought I'd try them out. Not that he can eat them with the tip of a tiny little tooth, but they dissolve in the mouth and he can practice chewing and holding his own little cookie. He tried it out...

but he's not too sure about them yet! We'll have to try again and see if they grow on him.

It's still kind of fun to sit up and play with them, though.

Kaden has had a fever and really bad cough since Friday, and on Sunday his fever was up to 103.5. He hung out at home and didn't do much of anything. A fever isn't going to keep him from watching the IU basketball game with Baba, though! This is the face of a sick baby with a high fever...you can tell in his eyes that he isn't himself, but this kid amazes me that he is still smiling through a fever and a cough that makes it hard to breath. He is definitely more resilient than me!

Since the teething biscuits got a mixed review, we'll just chew on Baba's fingers for a little snack during the game.

While the boys were watching the game, I baked some bread! On Friday night while I was up with a sick baby, I watched The Waitress on tivo (it was a cute movie and DEFINITELY preferable to watching infomercials at 3am). It got me in the mood to bake, but I am not ready for pies like she made in that movie. So I tried my hand at some bread. This is the result and it is pretty good if I may say so! But it is MeMaw's recipe for strawberry bread, so as long as I follow her instructions it's not likely that it will turn out bad. I think I might continue exploring this whole bread baking thing...very Little Miss Suzy Homemaker! It was a sweet (haha) way to end the weekend.

Now we are off to the pediatrician...hopefully they can help me get little man's fever under control- he's just so pitiful!

5 Month Milestones

2009-02-06T19:12:00.003-05:00

We've had a few milestones this month as the little man grows up.

Kaden has decided he doesn't like bananas anymore...

He made a new friend...we call him Senor Frog...

and drum roll please...

YAY!!!

My Favorite Things- Packing the Hospital Bag

2009-01-30T11:00:00.005-05:00

I keep saying I'm going to do some more 'favorite things' posts, so I am finally getting around to it! There are so many lists of what you should & shouldn't bring and everybody will give you there opinion. These are the things that I tool that I actually ended up using and really want. Next time around, this is all I will bring!

1. Music- It was so nice to be able to have some nice music playing in the room while we were hanging out. I made some playlists of music that was posititve and happy and relaxing- music that I wanted to welcome my son to the world with.

2. Camera- don't forget chargers and/or batteries! Kaden came so fast after we got to the hospital that we didn't have the camera right when he was born- Rob had to run down to the car (which was still parked at the emergency room!) to get it after Kaden was born. The awesome nurses there waited for the footprints & stuff till he got back.

3. Computer and/or cell phone- we didn't have any family nearby, so the computer was very important so we could get emails & pics out to people. Plus it was a nice distraction to get on the internet while I was recovering. And obviously we called people with the phone. Technically you aren't supposed to use the cell, but the nurses let us make a few calls since we didn't have any family right when he was born. Later on we called people with the computer using Skype (which also let us do webcam so my Dad & family could see the littly guy).

4. Toothbrush, toothpaste, & mouthwash- do I really need to explain that? I did not feel like myself afterwards physically (obviously) and it just makes you feel better to have a fresh mouth.

5. Travel shampoo/conditioner, facewash, soap, & lotions- this doesn't really need an explanation either. See #4- you just feel better when they finally let you take a shower!

6. Makeup- I'm not talking like getting made up for the prom or anything, but just a little bit to make you feel a little pretty. I swelled up at the birth and taking a shower/brushing my teeth/putting on a little powder & eyeshadow made me feel a little bit put back together.

7. Brush & hair bands- I did not care about my hair those first few weeks, so therefore I needed to be able to pull it back in a pony tail so I could avoid feeling like I should do anything to it.

8. Chapstick- dry lips & dry hospital air. Duh.

9. Pillow- I tool two comfy pillows from home with old pillow cases on them (not white- don't want your pillows to get mixed up with the hospital pillows- but the hospital pillows can barely be described as pillows, so that would be hard to mix up). I hugged one of my pillows all the way to the hospital and until they got me situated in the room. Then I used my pillows while I was there. It was nice to have something comfy & familiar.

10. Socks and/or slippers- cold feet on tile floors need socks and/or slippers.

11. Robe- I only used the robe when they had to transfer me to a postpartum room (too many babies being delivered & they needed the equipment in my other room). I was sure glad I had it, though. Helped me not feel so naked in that gown without the hospital blanket to wrap up in.

12. Business card for pediatrician- if you did not include that info in your pre-registration info, bring this with you. We were not able to think all that proactively outside of the contractions, but the nurses are really good at taking care of things for you. Just give them your name & hand them the card- they will take care of the rest. (if you can't tell, I have HUGE respect for labor & delivery nurses- they have a really hard job and I am so forever grateful for the nurses that helped me bring Kaden into the world).

13. Pen & notebook- if you have time to write anything down, do it. The memories are so priceless and the little details will fade quickly thanks to hormones and the needs of a newborn. Take advantage of down time to record anything you want to remember. And to write notes to yourself so you don't forget when you are supposed to do things like go to the doctor, etc. You won't remember, so write it down.

14. Granny panties & the biggest pads you can find- in the hospital, use the stuff they provide. It gets gross (I won't go into details) and it's not worth messing up anything you brought and storebought pads won't work at first. But on the day you get to go home, you feel a little more human when you get to put on panties and use pads (still seriously get the biggest ones you can get- seriously) instead of the sexy meshy things & ice pack pads they provide.

15. Couple of outfits for baby to wear home (remember that you need to be able to fasten the car seats, so no gowns for the ride home)- I say a couple because if you want pictures, you might want a choice. Plus babies spit up & poop on things.

16. Hat for baby in the hospital- the cute knit hats they had at the hospital were a bit tight for Kaden's head, but luckily I had a few knit that were bigger. Plus it felt special that it was something I made for him. If you don't knit, it can still be special if you brought it especially for your baby.

17. Outfit to wear home- I took my favorite maternity jeans (with secret fit belly, nothing tight or banded) and a maternity tee shirt. You will still have a belly. Probably for quite a while. Don't bring non-maternity clothes to wear home.

18. Bra- the most valuable bra I ever bought was the sleep bra from Mimi Maternity ($20 bucks or less). This bra is stretchy to accomodate changing size, comfortable, supportive without underwires (underwires are bad at this time), comfortable, and most importantly, IT IS COMFORTABLE. It is not comfortable without one. I used these bras constantly that first week. Best. Bra. Ever.

DON'T Bring diapers, wipes, pacifiers, bottles, or any care items for the baby. They have all this for you at the hospital. You don't need clothes or mits or blankets for baby, either. They have comfy cute stuff that is easy to get on & off.

DO make sure to take anything the hospital gives you. Especially the thermometer, nose cleaning bulb, pacifiers, breast pads, prescription pain killers, nurser size bottles, anything. Our super nice nurse even gave us an extra pacifier (Kaden would only use those for the longest time). And they will give you ointment & cream for your nipples- don't buy any if you plan to try breastfeeding.

Coming soon...

"My Favorite Things- What You Need to Survive the First Weeks After Birth"

"My Favorite Things- Best Baby Items for the First 6 Months"

What America Looks Like

2009-01-20T13:22:00.004-05:00

Today was a huge day in the history of our country. Our first African-American President, our first biracial President, the first President overwhelmingly elected by the youth and the future of our country, took office. This will be one of those 'where were you when' moments in my life- I was at work and can't listen to anything on my compter, so my WONDERFUL husband held his cell phone up to his car radio so I could listen through my phone on the other end. I got to hear President Obama's first words to the nation as our President. He is a great man for a multitude of reasons, but I cannot ignore the fact that he is blazing the way for kids like my son. Lately I have been doing a lot of searching and pondering about how to help my son deal with the mean comments and stares from strangers trying to figures out 'what' he is. This is a huge sign that maybe I won't have to worry about that for much longer. I don't want to take away from everything that President Obama has tried to do and hopes to accomlish during his time in office, but I can't help but be so thankful, in the midst of my problems dealing with those mean comments from strangers about my son's race, that he can do whatever he wants and will not always be judged by the shape of his eyes or the complexion of his skin. Today I am so proud to be an American. I am proud of my husband and all his hard work. I am proud of my beautiful son. I am proud to be a part of a multi-cultural family. I am proud to be the mother of a biracial child. I am proud. I am proud!

This is what America looks like today, and I think it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I am so proud!

We aren't really so different, right?

2009-01-18T21:12:00.003-05:00

It may seem strange, but I never thought in this day and age that I would feel like I need to protect my child from strangers' comments about his race. Interracial marriage has been legal since June of 1967 thanks to the Supreme Court's decision about the Loving couple. We now have elected not only our first African American president, but a biracial president at that. With all the acceptance that my husband and I found in places like California and even Indiana, I did not expect that in a large metropolitan city on the East Coast we would face the kind of insensitivity. This blog is not intended to be a social or political commentary, but an incident that happened on Friday has been bugging me and I feel like I should say something about it.

We went to the mall after work on Friday, and my husband went to a shoe store while Kaden and I were in a clothing store looking around. Kaden was just hanging out in his stroller while I looked, and we passed by a young couple. This couple looked to be in their late teens/early twenties and were part of a minorty group. The girl smiled at me and said "ahh how cute" to Kaden. As we passed, the guy said something to her and she said "yeah, but they make cute babies. Like Jon & Kate Plus 8." They make cute babies? Like Jon & Kate Plus 8? They didn't mean anything bad and I didn't say anything to them, but it has been something I've been dealing with for the past few weeks.

The part that bothers me is the quick categorization. As if he wasn't just a cute little boy. His differences are what they noticed. Comments like that make me wonder about every time we pass by people and they comment about how cute he is- do they really think he's cute or is he just like the kids on Jon & Kate Plus 8? I don't want him to grow up thinking he is cute because of his race or to always have his differences pointed out to him. He isn't like most of the kids he will go to school with out here, but that doesn't mean he has to feel different. He is beautiful just because he is. We will celebrate all of his heritage as he grows up and he will know and appreciate all of his family and culture. But being biracial does not define him and is not the reason he is cute or a reason for him to always be different.

Perhaps this day it bothered me because it was a culmination of things- it seems like we always get those comments. People make very insensitive comments to me, maybe thinking that because I am white it couldn't bother me or maybe they really don't think about what they are saying before they say it. But it just makes me want to shield my baby from all those kinds of comments and stares. I just want him to grow up proud of who he is and feeling like he is an extraordinary little boy not just because of his race, but just because he's him. I happen to think he is quite extraordinary and beautiful!

Sorry- no pics this time! I though since I was ranting I would save the pictures for next time.

Brand New Year

2009-01-15T21:09:00.012-05:00

We have settled back into a routine after the holidays and Kaden started at daycare for the first time. I don't think I will EVER get used to that! Kaden has great teachers, but his favorite (and my favorite because she called me to check up on me!) took a different job and has left already. A new teacher starts next week, so hopefully Kaden will like her as much as his first teacher. If I have to leave him somewhere, I think I've found a good place. It's clean, secure, organized, and the teachers are so involved with the kids. They do lots of floor time, playing with mirrors, talking, and even little crafts. It feels very comfortable and safe there. I just keep telling myself how good it is for Kaden- I just wish I could be there with him playing and taking care of him and teaching him.

On a happier note, Kaden is just learning so much! He is really grabbing stuff, laughing, standing up (supported, of course, not by himself), and playing with toys. He responds to his name in English and Chinese and really responds when you talk with him. He has a toy piano that has a little baby that pops up when you hit the keys. He seems to have figured out that he can make that little guy pop up by hitting the keys because he keeps hitting the keys over and over, then touching that little guy, then hitting the keys some more...over and over again. And there are some really fun songs that get stuck in my head on that toy, like "wiggle, I like to shake and wiggle. Wiggle, kick my feet and wiggle. Wiggle, roll around and wiggle. Come on and wiggle with me." That's a fun one to sing all day at work!

I just can't get enough of this little face!

and he can't get enough of his feet!

The little Rhinos on his feet are so cute

Playing with Elmo and Cookie Monster. He can move himself backwards until he runs into something in this thing, so we already have to be careful & watch him when he's sitting in it.

Passed out on the couch after a hard day playing with his new friends at daycare

More sweet, chubby little baby hands and feet

All greased up with Aquaphor & laughing at a very silly Mama

This is what happens when Baba puts the lotion on him

What? He's busy playing the piano! Why are we bothering him?!?

Sweet, silly boy!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2008-12-14T22:02:00.003-05:00

To get ready for the holidays, Kaden posed in his little Santa hat and a Marine outfit to honor his Great-Grandpa. His Great-Grandpa was a proud Marine born on Christmas day. He was a great man, and what better person for Kaden to try to be like at Christmas! Coming up, I am working on a favorite things post for both the first few weeks at home after giving birth AND my list of things that were essential to have at the hospital. In the mean time, enjoy some baby giggles!

Stick Out Your Tongue!

2008-11-14T17:02:00.004-05:00

Kaden learned how to stick out his tongue & it's just too cute! Sometimes his tongue gets stuck on his lower lip & the whole lip pushes out with his tongue. We have a good time sticking our tongues out and making faces at him to get him to copy off of us. It's a bit of a baby milestone- he is both mimicking us and sticking out his tongue!

Kaden Travels to Washington DC

2008-11-14T11:42:00.012-05:00

Kaden had his first overnight trip where we stayed in a hotel last weekend, and he had a blast! My boss helped get us a GREAT deal on a hotel (her husband works for the hotel chain) and we got to visit Washington DC. We have TONS of pictures, but I'll just post a handful here. I'll post again soon once I get some video of Kaden's newest trick- sticking out his tongue! Sometimes it gets caught on his lower lip and the lip comes out with the tongue, but it cracks me up! You would have thought I won the lottery by seeing how excited I got when was able to copy me and stick it out!

Faidley's Seafood in Lexington Market, Baltimore. Best crab cakes & Rob enjoyed the oysters from the raw bar.

And they even had a sale on Rob...I mean hard heads :-)

We've discovered that the very hungry caterpillar is very fun to chew on

We couldn't get to the Capitol Building because they are building the inaugeration site for President Obama!

Our little family on the steps of the Supreme Court

Our little family in front of the Capitol Building

In case you forgot where the Capitol Building is located, Rob has a sign for you.

That hat was TOO CUTE!

My boys with a view of the Washington Monument

Rob & Kaden took a break at the base of the monument...

and this is the view from where they were laying

Part of the huge World War II Memorial. My Great-Grandpa served in the Army in WWII.

They had these big signs congratulating President Obama and people from all over the world were leaving messages of hope- it was really cool!

Korean War Memorial- My Grandpa served as a Marine in the Korean War and the memorial was beautiful.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

In front of the White House right before the guards kicked everybody away from the fence. The President's dog was playing in the front yard and apparently somebody important was going to be in the area and they wanted people to leave immediately. I though 1 guard was going to arrest Rob when they split the crowd in half and Rob tried to walk towards the group headed in the same direction as our car! Thank goodness there was a nice guard who rode his bike over to us to tell us where we were allowed to go.

2008-10-31T13:49:00.016-04:00

Finally, a new post! Something has been weird with my internet and I haven't been able to post pics, so this post is actually 2 weeks late. Rob's mother (Nainai) and sister (Gugu) came to visit from Taiwan and met Kaden for the first time. We had a very nice visit and Kaden loves his Nainai and Gugu! (Nainai and Gugu are not their names, but those are the Mandarin Chinese words for paternal grandma and paternal aunt). Gugu was very good at getting lots of great smiles out of Kaden :-) And of course we made a trip to New Jersey to visit Uncle Frank and into New York City.

Liberty Bell

Nainai

Gugu

At the Statue of Liberty...it was windy, so I was covering Kaden's head with the blanket.

Uncle Frank

He LOVED talking to his Auntie!

Aunt Maria

The whole gang at Outback Steakhouse...my first steak since having Kaden. It was so nice to eat meat that wasn't cooked to the point of being jerky again!

2 Months Old Already!

2008-10-23T09:10:00.007-04:00

I can't belive it, but Kaden is already 2 months old! We celebrated the occasion by going to the doctor for his 2 month check up and 2 month shots. He is now 24 inches long and weighs 15.2 pounds- that's right, 15.2 pounds! He is in the 75th percentile for height and 97th percentile for weight. Taking his size and the amount of formula he is eating every day, the doctor recommended that we start incorporating cereal into his diet.

When we got home from the doctor, however, Kaden passed out and only woke up to eat until the next morning, when he woke up with a big poopy diaper and an even bigger grin on his face. I got a pic of him passed out, but I was not prepared with camera for grinning poopy Kaden in the morning!

The next day we tried out the cereal. He did really well, too! The first time we put it in his mouth he just looked at us like he was trying to figure out what we were doing to him. After that he seemed to like the cereal. The only thing that made him mad was when I kept taking that darn spoon out of his mouth before he was done eating. How rude of me to take it away when his belly wasn't full yet!

So the meal went like this: Mama put the spoon with food in Kaden's mouth. Kaden got all the food off the spoon. Mama takes the spoon out to get more food. Kaden gets mad because he is not done eating yet. Mama puts the refilled spoon back in Kaden's mouth. Kaden is immediately happy and eats more food. Repeat until all the cereal is gone.

We had a visit from Kaden's grandma and aunt from Taiwan these past couple of weeks, so I will have lots of pics from their visit to put up soon!

Time for a Chat

2008-10-07T10:40:00.007-04:00

This is my first time posting a video, so it's a nice short one. I was having such a nice chat with Kaden this morning that I had to capture some of it on camera. He is still figuring out how to use his voice, but he's getting better and better at it.

I just love those cheeks!!

5 Weeks Old!

2008-09-30T18:15:00.014-04:00

The past month has been so busy, but I don't feel like I've really done anything! The only thing I did was start to run again and bought a pair of non-maternity jeans (exciting!) Kaden, on the other hand, has been very busy. Very busy eating!!! He is a BIG fan of food and is not picky about how he gets it. He will take any type of food in any type of bottle- as long as it goes in his belly he wants it. And when he decides he wants food, he wants it five seconds ago...he definitely has some of his Great-Grandpa Van's blood in him (or maybe he just hasn't learned patience yet).

He has been growing like a weed and no longer fits into newborn clothes. Thankfully he still fits into the 0-3 month clothes, but I think he is going to be in the 3-6 month size before he ever turns 3 months old. He has been practicing talking and for the past couple of weeks works really hard to make little noises. Last week, he smiled at me for the first time, too. When my Dad, his Grandpa, visited this past weekend Kaden smiled and talked to him a little bit. Then last night all of a sudden he started talking up a storm and smiling at his Daddy! All day today he has been doing the same thing! It seems as if he has woken up a bit and can interact with us. It's so cool and I get so excited whenever he talks to me. I am sure I look like an idiot trying to get him to keep talking and smiling. I'll do anything to get a big grin out of that boy.

Sunday night we had another amazing thing happen...Kaden slept for 5 hours...in a row!!! He didn't repeat that miracle on Monday night, but Sunday night was pure bliss :-)

3 weeks old- he can wiggle out of a swaddle already

4 weeks old- grinning for Momma

Tummy time on his surf board

Lady Belle kind of likes him

1 month old!

Visiting with Grandpa- Lady Belle doesn't understand why he isn't playing with her

Having a chat

USMC!! Wearing the uniform from Great-Aunt Robing in honor of Great-Grandpa Van

New Pics

2008-09-04T21:01:00.003-04:00

These are the last of the pics that my sister took before she left this week. I have big shoes to fill as far as picture taking goes, but I will take as many as I can before she comes back in October. We also have a visit from Rob's Mom and sister coming up, too, so there will be lots of pics of that.

Kaden smiles a lot in his sleep, a big goofy grin. I know that technically he isn't smiling because he wants to right now and it is probably gas, but it is so incredibly cute & he does it every time he falls asleep...I like to pretend that he's smiling because he's just so happy!

Goofy grin!

A nice wink to go with the goofy grin

Aunt Lori

Gramma

Playtime on the floor, chatting with Momma

To Eat or Not to Eat...

2008-09-02T10:19:00.005-04:00

The biggest challenge we faced was breastfeeding. I really wanted to nurse my baby, but we learned that the two conditions that made it so impossible to get pregnant also delay the milk from coming in. So baby was trying and trying and just getting frustrated from being so hungry and not getting enough to fill his little belly. The nurses kept telling us to just do it and we had to teach him what to do, but he seemed to know what to do and I was convinced he wasn’t getting what he needed. The lactation consultant kept reassuring me to keep trying, that I was doing what I was supposed to do if I wanted to nurse and it would take practice for both of us. This wreaked havoc on my emotions which were already overwhelmed with all the hormones. The night before we were discharged the baby’s weight was down to 7 pounds 1 ounce. But we made it home safely along with 3 of the ready to eat bottles of Enfamil that a nurse gave us in case we gave up on nursing.

That afternoon, we saw a drop of blood in Kaden’s diaper. A little bit later, we saw another drop in his diaper. Obviously on our first night home I was freaked out and we called the pediatrician. The pediatrician looked at the discharge records and saw that the baby was not weighed the date of discharge but the night before. He thought with the weight loss he already had that he was actually more like 6 pounds 15 ounces at discharge. This with the blood indicated dehydration- the baby wasn’t getting enough to eat since I had no milk yet! He told me to supplement with formula overnight and see if that helped. We had an appointment with them already for the next morning, so he wanted to see how he did overnight. If the blood increased or continued, we were instructed to go directly to the emergency room. Amazingly, we gave the baby a bottle and he gulped the whole thing down in record time. He was starving! We continued to try to nurse and followed up with a bottle of formula. His doctor’s appointment on Saturday showed his weight to be 7 pounds 1 ounce, by Monday’s appointment he was up to 7 pounds 5 ounces, and at his appointment on Thursday, August 28 he was up over his birth weight to 7 pounds 13 ounces. Thankfully my body started to work, but we will probably have to continue supplementing with formula to fulfill his appetite. I’m just incredibly relieved to finally be able to give him what he needs, even if it isn’t quite how I had planned.

The moral of the story- listen to your instincts. Even if you are an overwhelmed new mother, your gut instinct is not always the result of hormones. God made us with instincts to help us survive and without them, your baby may not get what he needs to survive.

He loves his swing!

Watching his first UCLA football game with Daddy

No more stump- just a big boy belly button. He's already changing so fast!

Baby Kaden's Birth Story

2008-08-29T12:11:00.007-04:00

*WARNING* This is Baby Kaden's birth story and talks about child birth. It is not graphic, but if you do not want to read about childbirth, skip ahead to the pictures at the bottom.

Kaden’s birth story starts on Tuesday, August 19. We had a doctor’s appointment that morning and the doctor told us we were 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Our due date was Wednesday, August 20, so we discussed plans for how late past the due date we would go. We scheduled another ultrasound for Friday to check fluids and do a non-stress test, and if anything looked off we would go ahead and induce on Friday. If everything looked good, we would induce early the next week. So I went back to work and worked the rest of the day. I had cramps all day and was very uncomfortable, so at 4pm I got ready to go home. I had a contraction in the bathroom at work that was more intense than the Braxton Hicks contractions I had for several months and I had to lean against the wall until it passed- I couldn’t walk through it. I hurried home & laid down to rest for a while. Between 5 and 6 pm I had 2 more contractions similar to the one I had at work while Rob was at the gym.

Starting promptly at 6pm, I started having contractions on a regular basis and decided to start writing down the start time. They were consistently 9 minutes apart. Still, I didn’t think it was real labor & tried to go to sleep to get them to stop. I could not sleep and was rudely awakened with every new contraction. The contractions went to every 7 minutes, and by 9pm they were every 5 minutes and very intense. None of the yoga breathing exercises and meditation I had practiced helped me get through the pain. I couldn’t even stand to be on the soft bed and found myself headed to the solid floor every time one started. Rob took over tracking the timing and just sat on the floor with me. I held on to him and had my head pushed into his chest with each contraction- he did his best to keep me calm. I also discovered that when in pain I can be pretty noisy. By 10 pm he decided it was time to call the doctor.

One of the doctors that I really loved was on call that night and called us back within a minute of us leaving a message for her. She told me that with a first baby it was likely that I wasn’t far enough along to go to the hospital since I was likely only up to 2 cm. They would likely send us right back home & she said to stay home as long as possible. She said I should not be able to hold my breath during the contractions if they were real labor (I tried to hold my breath to keep from hyperventilating while on the phone with her) and told us to call back if I couldn’t stand the pain anymore. By 10:30, I reached that point & told Rob to call the doctor now. Rob got our stuff to the car and finally got me loaded. It was a rough ride with contractions right on top of each other, but still we thought we would get sent home with false labor. What babies are actually born on their due dates?!?

Since it was after regular hospital hours, Rob parked at the emergency room and the emergency room people took us upstairs to maternity. The labor and delivery nurse that got us, Heather, did an initial exam and discovered that I was 5 cm and 100% effaced. She started to move very quickly after that and told us she would get us back to a delivery room so we could get set up with an epidural. (Any doubt I had about getting an epidural was gone at that point!) This was at 11:45 pm- time to call the family and let them know the baby was on his way! Rob first called my mom, who was sleeping & didn’t get the call. Then he tried my sister, who thought he was joking. My sister got on the horn, got my mom up, and started calling people back home to let them know. They were on the road to make the 13 hour drive within the hour!

Once we were settled into the delivery room and had an IV hooked up, the nurse told us that we were at 9.5 cm! She then broke the news that we probably wouldn’t have time for an epidural. It was too close to delivery for any other drugs since those would cause the baby to be drowsy & have a lower heart rate at birth. But she would try to get an epidural if I wanted one. I WANTED ONE! The anesthesiologist came in and was very doubtful about getting any drugs in me to provide relief before birth. He very bluntly told me that I would most likely deliver the baby without any help from the epidural and the epidural would just help afterwards. He was going through all the consents and verifying my name and stats…with each question I tried to hurry things along and just grunted yes to everything. Then he got started. At that point, there was only a few seconds between contractions and I found it very difficult to hold still. Somehow, he got that epidural in my spine without paralyzing me or causing any spinal headache or anything. He gave me a boost of drugs and within a minute I started to feel some relief. If I could have stood up or focused on anything, I would have kissed him! The epidurals they do now are really good- I could still feel contractions starting and could still move my legs, but the sharpest pains were dulled. I stopped hyperventilating but still had the intense urge to push. They kept telling me to wait because I could hurt myself if I pushed to early, but I couldn’t keep myself from pushing. They checked again and discovered that I should indeed be pushing now! This was at 1:30 am.

Our labor and delivery nurse, Heather, talked us through pushing for a while with the help of a mirror so I could see the progress we were making. During the contractions, the baby’s heartbeat would drop very low. A couple of times, it took a very long time to get back up to an acceptable level. The contractions started coupling up- 2 at a time, then a few seconds break, then another pair would hit. Baby really didn’t like that and his heart beat couldn’t take all the pushing. We had to keep taking breaks from pushing to try to get him to recover. It was scary to hear his heartbeat stop, but Heather was AMAZING at keeping us calm and just helping us get through each contraction. She didn’t miss anything and I really credit her with the safe delivery of our baby. (Our doc was amazing, too, but Heather walked us through the whole thing and I was sad to see her go). At one point, she said one more push and it would be time for the doctor to come in. She was 100% right! After the next push the doctor came in and got ready to catch the baby. After the first push, she came at me with a pair of scissors and I figured out what she was doing- that’s when I turned my head, not really wanting to see what she was doing with those scissors!

A couple of more pushes was all it took. His head was out! After his head came out & they suctioned out his little nose, the doctor told me to get my hands down between my legs. She had to tell me a couple of times because I wasn’t processing what she was saying. She had me grab the baby under the arms and helped me carry him the rest of the way into this world and onto my chest. It was the most amazing, overwhelming, emotional moment of my life. I was holding my son for the first time! Mine were the first hands to hold him and mine was the first eyes to stare at his perfect little face! Rob cut through the umbilical cord and came up to share the view with me of our new little man. It was 2:55 am on Wednesday, August 20, 2008, his due date and my mother’s 50th birthday.

The nurses took Kaden over to the warmer to get him cleaned up, measured, & foot printed while the doctor stitched me up. At that point, Rob had to run down to the car to move it out of emergency parking and get the camera! We had expected to either get sent home or get settled in for a longer labor than we had. We were not prepared to have the baby so quickly! When running back through the emergency room the ER people were amazed that he had the baby already. He was back in time to see all the good stuff with the baby. Baby was 7 pounds 11 ounces, 21 ½ inches long. He had very healthy lungs and screamed his head off angrily the whole time he was being cleaned and foot printed. He was so strong he actually grabbed the side of the warmer with his hand and was pulling himself over on his side towards the side. He even kicked the bottom wall of the warmer open (it was on hinges). When they were done with both of us, I held him and Rob and I just stared at him. He calmed down and really seemed to be looking up at my face while I talked to him. It was so amazing! Rob called my mom’s phone and said “Hello Grandma” before the line went silent- I heard him say hello again to see if she was there and I knew she was crying. They had only made it a few hours away from home, so they stopped to catch a couple of hours sleep.

When everything calmed down, the nurse put Kaden in the bassinet by my bed and Rob stretched out on the cot they had in the delivery room (it was the type of room that you can stay in for the whole time- we eventually had to move to a smaller recovery room for our last night because they had so many babies being born & needed the delivery equipment). When she left, it hit me when I looked around the room at the 3 of us- this was our family. I cried yet again.
Later that day, when the nurses tried to get me up I was too dizzy when I stood up so they had me lay back down. When Heather tried again by herself before her shift was over, we almost made it. On the way back from the bathroom I apparently passed out and she had to carry me back to the bed. It was a while after that before the nurses would let me get up out of bed on my own. Thankfully I was at least able to take a shower before my mom & sister arrived that night. It was an amazing day and I will never be the same!

(He liked the shower and the swimming pool while in my belly, so maybe he will be the next Michael Phelps?!?)

Introducing Baby Kaden!!!

2008-08-25T12:19:00.005-04:00

I am a few days late in posting, but you really don't have much time when you have a new baby :-) Kaden Shan-Kai Chang was born on August 20th (his due date!), weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces, and was 21 1/2 inches long. We are totally in love!!! Thankfully, I was only in active labor for 6 hours. We had to take the long, hard route to get pregnant so I guess we got to skip some of the difficulties of labor. Believe me- it was still painful since I skipped all the early labor and just hit the brick wall of active labor. But we are so incredibly lucky that everything went well. Here are a few pics of the newest addition to our little family!

38 Weeks 4 Days

2008-08-10T10:44:00.004-04:00

Pictures! I have pictures! Nothing new to report right now. Every week at the doctor's office they tell me he's a little on the big side, and everything looks good. I think my version of nesting has manifested as knitting and crocheting. These are some of my projects I've done in the past few weeks (except for the blanket- I started working on that a LONG time ago while we were still at Kelley!)

Matching hat, booties and mittens

Washclothes

Umbilical cord hat with yarn from a great little place in Btown that raises their own sheep

The blanket I started while still at Kelley!

An umbilical cord hat and booties to match

Of course, we have to have the belly shots!

Toby posed so pretty!

Yes, I look tired because I'm 9 months pregnant!

This is probably the only bare belly shot I will ever post!

This last one is just for fun. We were at the grocery the other day and thought we were buying a stem of gladiolas for $3. We just wanted something pretty and colorful, and they were great. Come to find out, they were $3 for a whole bouquet! So we ended up with 2 huge arrangements- flowers just make me smile :-)

These are a few of my favorite things...

2008-08-08T09:15:00.002-04:00

I can’t say that phrase without singing the song... Anyway, in talking to some wonderful friends of mine about baby stuff, they gave me the idea to do a post about the things that have helped me get through my pregnancy. I think it’s a great idea, and would have loved something like that. There are SO many books and products out there, and it’s too hard to know which ones are helpful. So this is my blog of favorite things (Disclaimer: I am not making any promises about how these things will work for you and am not paid by any of these companies- these are just the things that I found that I personally loved)

Books

There are about a bazillion pregnancy books out there. You could spend all day at the bookstore reading them and still not have a clue as to which ones to buy. These are my favorites:

1. Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy by Mayo Clinic: This book includes weekly updates on how things are progressing with the baby and the mom, both physically and mentally. At the end of every month is a list of symptoms and whether you should call a doctor immediately or wait till your next appointment if you are experiencing these symptoms. Since this is my first pregnancy, I had no idea what to expect or what to do (FYI- your body does some CRAZY things) and this was nice to know what was usually normal. There is some good information about labor, delivery and postpartum that is informative without being hysterical and scary. This book also includes decision guides on things such as drugs during labor, breastfeeding, and circumcision that have both the pros and cons of each to help you make your decision. It does not make you feel like you will be a bad mother if you decide not to breastfeed, for example- it just lists the pros and cons of both breast and bottle so you can decide what works best for you. This was my favorite “technical” book.

2. Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine- This book tells you all the crazy stuff that the technical books leave out, including what happens to the daddy. This book really was like having your girlfriends around to tell you about their experiences. It even includes a list of what is helpful to take to the hospital and what is a waste of valuable space in the hospital bag AND how to deal with all the exciting new experiences you will have after the baby is born, like exploding diapers and sex after delivery.

3. Belly Laughs and Baby Laughs by Jenny McCarthy- This book will not win any literary awards. That being said, kudos to Jenny McCarthy for telling it like it is. These books are really easy to read and areHILARIOUS! She took all the nitty-gritty details of life while pregnant and the first year of motherhood and was brutally honest and funny about it, making it seem less scary (including the exploding diaper issue). These are must reads for any first time pregnant person, in my opinion.

Clothes

I went into maternity pants by the time I started the 2nd trimester. My waist was totally gone by then and my regular pants wouldn’t button. I tried using a rubber band to hold them together without being fastened, but that was still uncomfortable. You can continue living in denial that you need stretchy pants, but moving into stretchy pants was the biggest relief. There are some cute pants and jeans out there, and it’s not as bad as it may seem. Of course, you could go to the more expensive stores like A Pea in the Pod or Mimi Maternity and get some absolutely adorable clothes like what the stars wear. You also have Motherhood Maternity (where I got most of my pants), and you can also find some interesting (nicest way to put it) clothes. They are the least expensive of the three, and if you look around you can find some really cute stuff in between the crazy prints. Don’t be scared- I haven’t encountered a rude sales person in any of these places. They are really nice and will try to answer any questions you have. The best part is that almost all of them I’ve encountered are moms who have been through the whole maternity thing and can tell you what worked for them. Just go online and find the store nearest you and don’t be afraid to ask for help. In my experience, they have been fabulous.

The most essential item you must get (in my opinion)= the SECRET FIT BELLY style of any of the pants they carry at these three stores!!! I have Secret Fit Belly pants for work and jeans, and it is like wearing stretchy pants all the times. A lot of the pants I’ve tried at other stores have belly panels that look soft, but there is a strange hard layer that is constricting and uncomfortable. I lost my tolerance for tight clothing almost immediately, so I just couldn’t take these. Secret Fit Belly is stretchy and holds the pants up so they don't fall off, the material is light enought to not work like an extra layer of clothes (thereby making you even hotter, and not in a good way), and actually helps smooth out the belly for those cute, belly-accentuating shirts you might want to wear. I got all my Secret Fit Belly pants at Motherhood Maternity. They have some simple jeans for as cheap as $16-$20. I paid about $30 for mine and I think they are really cute. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was when someone I know who lives in New York City and is a bit of a fashionista didn’t think they were maternity pants. She was commenting that it was great that I didn’t have to wear maternity pants yet and was shocked when I explained that I actually WAS wearing maternity pants!

Another place I shopped a lot was Old Navy. Find an Old Navy that carries maternity clothes and you will find very inexpensive maternity shirts that are styled very similar to what non-pregnant women are wearing that particular season. Most of my shirts, my bathing suit, and my stretchy maternity yoga shorts are all from Old Navy. It was one of my favorites and let me have more variety of clothes without breaking the bank. They have a ton of stuff on their website, too. The only down side- they don’t have the Secret Fit Belly pants.

Nausea

If you are pregnant, you may know by now that morning sickness can strike any time of the day for however long it wants to. I was very fortunate to not have the morning sickness that causes you to lose everything you eat. I was just sick to my stomach constantly for about the first 3.5-4 months. Lemon water and citrus fruit saved my life (my stomach, at least). Not the sugary water that you buy already flavored with lemon- real lemon with water (whether you buy an actual lemon or lemon juice). I also ate oranges and tangerines throughout the day every day. It was my big first trimester craving and helped me feel better.

Sleeping

You will get progressively more uncomfortable and have a harder time sleeping as the pregnancy progresses. I started with my pillow under my head, then added a pillow between my knees, then another pillow under my head to help with heartburn, then added one behind my back (to keep me from rolling onto my back), then another under my belly to support the growing bump… My husband couldn’t even see me when he lay down because of all the pillows I had on the bed! So he bought me a Snoogle. There are other brands and shapes that I haven’t tried and can’t attest to, but I like my Snoogle. It is C shaped, wraps under your head, behind your back, between your knees and under your belly. It has drastically reduced the number of pillows on our bed. You can also fold it into different shapes (I fold it & use it for lower back support when watching tv). The only thing I have added now is a pillow under my feet to try to help with swelling (at this point, everything is swollen, from my face to my hands to my feet).

This is enough for one post, but as I think of other things that I ended up loving during my pregnancy I will share.

Oh, and I promise to get some new pics up this weekend!

36 Weeks- The Countdown Begins!

2008-07-24T21:13:00.003-04:00

Now the countdown really begins- less than a month! According to our docs, baby is estimated at 6 lbs right now (in the 60th percentile) & they are guessing he will be about 7.5 pounds by the time we get to the due date. They said he's a little bit bigger than average, but around 7.5 is OK by me considering I weighed almost 9 pounds when I was born. My poor mother! I was really hoping to avoid following in her footsteps with big babies- so far, so good!

Today my coworkers threw me a surprise baby shower! It was so nice! They had great food and lots of presents for us- but nobody had a camera, so I don't have any pics of the actual shower :-( I had to settle for getting my camera out when I got home. They were so generous & it was just so nice!

And I thought I'd throw in this last updated pic from the nursery. Earlier I had a picture of a cross that MeMaw made, saying that we had a little bit of MeMaw in the nursery (MeMaw is one of my Grandma's & Mimi is the other). Now I have a little bit of my Mimi & Grandpa in there too! Mimi made this green blanket for me when I was born, and Grandpa refinished the shelf for me several years ago. I wish my little guy could have met my Grandpa, but I'm glad he has something that Grandpa made in his room. We're getting a little bit of all our family back in our hometowns in there for the baby so he'll be surrounded by lots of love.

34 Weeks in Baltimore

2008-07-12T20:58:00.007-04:00

We went to Baltimore, Maryland, today for some good seafood and to hang out by the ocean. We had the BEST crab cakes ever at Lexington Market & then headed over to the inner harbor. Rob had some fresh oysters at the Raw Bar, but I passed on those for now. We didn't go to the National Aquarium (super busy), but we'll be back to check that out. They have a lot of food & shops around there, and it is just a really pretty place to go on an afternoon. There were even some street performers for entertainment.

This week I also had my first experience being hooked up to a fetal monitor. Thursday, the baby was really quiet & I couldn't seem to do anything to get him to move. Later in the afternoon, I felt him wiggle a couple of times, but pretty much nothing all day. I called Rob & he thought we should at least call the doc to see what we should do. After leaving a message for the nurse, she called me back before I could even walk back to my office & told me to come in right then (yea, that freaked me out a bit!) So I went to the office & they hooked me up to the monitor. The monitor has one belt on it that senses baby's movements & uterine contractions while the other belt senses his heartbeat. It spits out a strip of paper with a pattern like an EKG machine...or a seismograph :-)

Woudn't you know it, after a few minutes with those belts on my belly, he started moving all over the place. Apparently he was just being lazy or something, because as soon as we were cramping his style he got busy. Perfect heartbeat & lots of movement, so everything is fine. It just scared us a bit! And probably the worst part was that Rob was in Scranton that day & couldn't even get there. Even though it was the longest I'd spent in the OB's office (1 hour), he was just pulling in to Philly when I was leaving (Scranton is 2 hours away, so it really stinks when he has to work all the way up there). But it's all good, so nothing to worry about!

More pics from Baltimore

Really looking pregnant now!

My turn to try out the new camera

The 3 of us :-)

Have to get a side shot in there of the belly at 34 weeks!

The Name Game

2008-07-09T08:46:00.003-04:00

We don't have a final name picked out yet, but we do have some finalists for a first name. Our favorites are Kaden, Matthew, and Jacob. For the middle name, we are going to use a Chinese name and have enlisted the help of Rob's Mom to pick that out.

In Taiwan, you pick a baby's name based on the date and time they are born to get a very auspicious name for the baby. The name has to have the right number of strokes in the character and work well with the birth time. (For those of you not familiar with the Mandarin Chinese language, they are characters instead of letters and the characters are built of individual parts- similar to letters- that result in the meaning of the character).

There is actually a very involved method in determining this, and you have to consult with the "fortune tellers" at the temples for help. The "fortune tellers" are not the kind of people that read palms and card like you would probably imaging a fortune teller would, but I don't know what else to call them. They use the personal data of the individuals and the lunar calendar to determine good dates for weddings, good dates for moving into a new house, names for babies, and many other things. This is how we picked our wedding date and the date for our wedding banquet in Taiwan, and that has worked out very well for us!

When Baby Kaden, Matthew or Jacob is born, Rob's Mom will find several good Chinese names for the baby for us to choose from. The final first name choice will depend on the final Chinese name choice so he has a good, complete name. We want a Chinese middle name that sounds good, has a good meaning, and is easy to pronounce for my friends and families who are not familiar with Chinese :-) We do have a favorite first name right now, but I reserve the right to change my mind!!!

This is the character for Chang that is our name (there are a couple of characters that can be used for Chang, depending on the family and location).

33 Weeks

2008-07-09T08:33:00.004-04:00

By popular demand, we have more pictures! I will try to post weekly now, since we are coming in to the home stretch (I can't believe it!)

These are from July 4th, when Rob & I had our own little pretend barbecue. We can't grill at our apartment (some weird township rules or something), so we used our little bitty George Foreman grill. And since I can't eat regular hot dogs right now, we had veggie dogs. Let me tell ya, veggie dogs aren't that great! At least they looked better than the tofu dogs in the grocery store. If you dress them up with toppings, though, you can pretend like it's a hot dog. So we had our veggie dogs, corn on the cob, baked beans & the biggest watermelon I think I've ever seen. What you see in the picture below isn't even half of it. I'm sure it wasn't as good as the food some of you had at real barbecues, but it was still fun! Since I'm not up for dealing with the heat and the crowds and the noise right now, we finished up the meal by watching fireworks on tv.

The feast! We even had some decaf sweet tea!

31 Weeks

2008-06-22T19:43:00.008-04:00

So here I am at 31 weeks. I can't believe it's getting so close!!! Baby is getting bigger & likes to hang out under my ribs. Other than that & some Braxton-Hicks contractions, we are doing good. Braxton-Hicks contractions are not fun. Some people never feel these apparantly, but I'm just one of the lucky ones. As long as he's staying put for a few more weeks, I will take any kind of contraction or pregnancy oddity that comes my way!

The three of us in Flushing (right outside NYC)

We got caught in a rainstorm, which is why there are raindrops all over our clothes & my glasses. Oh, I miss the boba in Flushing & Chinatown!!!

Week 26

2008-05-18T20:40:00.004-04:00

Forgot to put these up. It's been a while since I've done belly shots, so here's the latest. I got big!!

This is our new glider...so comfy, but Lady Belle can't figure out why she won't fit on my lap very well anymore

Baby Room Pics

2008-05-18T20:29:00.004-04:00

We got furniture put up & did some work in the baby's room this weekend!

A touch from MeMaw on his bedroom door

No, the car seats will not be kept there...it would just look kind of funny to put them in the cars already :-)

My big bad baby blanket! I finally finished it!

Baby Shower

2008-05-02T21:11:00.007-04:00

I've been a bad blogger- my family threw me a baby shower 2 weekends ago & I'm just now sitting down to write about it! It was a wonderful day hosted by my Mom, my sister, and my Aunt Robin & Aunt Cindy. Somehow we even got just about everything to fit in our suitcases to fly home, too. Little Jenny really came to our rescue, too, wrangling 3 little girls who REALLY wanted to help with presents :-) Everything was so appreciated and meant so much- I never even thought I'd be able to have a baby, so it was really a celebration for us!

The hostesses: Lori, Aunt Cindy, Mom, & Aunt Robin

One of the Great- Grandmas, my Memaw.

Little Jenny wrangling the little girls while I opened presents- it was my own little cheering squad!

Leigh and her little one- one of the Kelley Partners! She delivered this beautiful blanket knit by my friends from Kelley- they are all spread out over the country & each knit one part of the blanket, then 1 person put it all together. It was just beautiful!

Tiny Little Kicks

2008-04-07T12:01:00.002-04:00

We already knew we had an active little boy, but this weekend I really started feeling actual kicks instead of just a little fish swimming around. It's distracting, because every time he does it I smile and think about him with my hand on my belly. This is especially interesting when I'm at work :-) Sunday night, Rob even got to feel him kick! You still can just barely feel it from the outside, but he definitely felt it.

From here on out, I will be going to the doctor every two weeks. It's early to be starting that, but because of the problems I've had and the potential for the baby to have thyroid problems in utero they want to monitor his heart beat more often. As long as his heart beat is in the normal range, I won't have to go to a high risk doctor (for now). So many specialists! My OB is monitoring the baby and an endocrinologist is monitoring me, all to try and avoid needing a high risk doctor. And I though I was done with specialists once I finally got pregnant!

IT'S A...

2008-03-27T09:49:00.008-04:00

BOY!!! We had our big ultrasound yesterday and found out we are having a little boy! Everything looks like it is developing perfectly, all the way down to ten little fingers and ten little toes. The lady that did the ultrasound was so cool- she told us what she was looking at and explained everything to us. And let me tell ya, he is not a shy little boy at all. He proudly showed us that he was definitely not a girl. He was very, very active the whole time- he kept stretching his head back, reaching his arms behind his head, and just flipping around. He definitely didn't like having the probe pusing in on my belly & kept kicking back at the tech! Below are some pictures from yesterday. She tried to take a 3D picture, but he kept moving around and making the shots blurry. In my Dad's family, this is the first little boy since my Dad was born!

He's not shy- we have a several good pictures to prove it!

A little baby leg

This is our attempt at the 3D shot. He wouldn't stop moving, so they all turned out blurry. But you can still see his little nose!

We don't have names picked out yet since we can't seem to agree on a boy name (we had a girl name that we both liked, but that doesn't do us much good now). Still haven't decided if we will share the name or if we will keep that one a secret- I might change my mind, after all!

Sheeeee's Heeeeerrre

2008-03-07T16:04:00.003-05:00

Crazy pregnant lady has officially moved into our apartment. Rob has been a trooper, but he never knows what he's going to get. I sure am glad I can blame my craziness on the baby & hormones!

And by popular request from the official Baby Chang fan club (if you would like to join, send a check or money order to- just kidding! membership is free :-) This picture is 16 weeks down and a little bit into the 17th week. I can't believe we will be trying to find out the gender in just a couple of weeks!!!

Belly Shots

2008-02-10T19:12:00.000-05:00

So I am officially not able to wear my regular pants and most of my shirts. These are the first pictures of my belly:

9 Weeks

Almost done with the 13th week- can you see it?

Baby Chang's Crib: 9 Weeks

2008-01-16T19:26:00.000-05:00

Baby Chang's Crib: 9 Weeks

9 Weeks

2008-01-16T18:37:00.000-05:00

Today we had our first appointment with the new OB. She is super smart (medical degree from Yale, MPH from Harvard, & residency at University of Pittsburgh- more schooling than even Rob has!) Everything looked good and we did another ultrasound. The baby is big enough to see the little head and little buds where the arms and legs are growing. The heartbeat was really strong and even more visible than the last time. The best part, though, was that we could see the baby wiggling around! It was too cool! This is the last picture of Baby Chang for a while- the next one will be the really important one where we try to see if Baby Chang is a boy or a girl. It's been an exciting day!

7 Weeks

2008-01-06T19:03:00.000-05:00

We had our 2nd ultrasound today and got to see the baby's heart beating! It was incredible! The baby is 9mm long right now. Everything is so much bigger than it was just 2 weeks ago at our first ultrasound- right on schedule. We have to change doctors now, which is kind of sad because our doctor was the BEST! But he referred us to a group that he has worked with for a long time at one of the top hospitals in the country, so we are in good hands.

5 Weeks

2008-01-06T19:01:00.000-05:00

This is my very first picture at only 5 weeks. You can't see much, but I'm the black spot in the middle. For all my family & friends who are far away, stay tuned to watch me grow & develop until I am born in August!