Jacob FERBERized at 11 mos old!

Jacob turned 11 months old (well, last wk)!!

Fresno - I've been super duper MIA (i was sick for awhile but am feeling a little better) so haven't been on-line much at all. Chuperman has been in Fresno for the last 3.5 weeks and was only home for 2 days during Thxgiving. Over the weekend I drove up to see him for 3 days, without Chuperbaby hehe. Even tho Chuperman wanted to see Jacob, I just didn't think i could handle him on my own in a 4 hr long car-ride by myself. I'm sure if I brought him, it would have easily turned into a 6 hr car-ride with ear muffs and ear plugs taped to my ears to drown out any crying:P

I wouldn't consider Fresno to be a sexy destination by any means, but contrary to my prejudice against "small towns", Fresno really isn't a small town, just totally in BFE. Surprisingly Fresno has great food! We had the tastiest Italian sandwiches at Sam's Italian Deli. I had the Italian sub and Chuperman got the NY pastrami - SCRUMPTIOUS. Fresno also has Cheesecake Factory and FLEMING'S!

Chuperman also gave me a tour of the hospital he was rounding at: UCSF-Fresno. I was totally impressed with the sprawling layout of the state-of-the-art facilities, plush doctor lounges, and swanky library. Being at such a great hospital made me think twice about Fountain Valley Regional Hospital haha. Ok, so FV is no Hoag but I just loved my OB - Dr. Wan. He has great bed-side manner, he's frickin' hilarious, his wife who is the office mgr is also hilarious - what can I say, Dr. Wan is a great doctor! He even delivers babies for wives of fellow doctors.

Okay, tangent! haha.

So as the title suggests, I Ferberized Jacob. I know what you're thinking - what the heck is ferber? Well, Jacob was a solid sleeper until we moved him into his own room around 6 mos. Since then for 5 straight months, he'd have a hard time getting to sleep on his own and would wake-up in the middle of the night. Sometimes not at all if we got lucky (like that one time he slept for 14 hrs straight haha), but most of the time during this 5 month period he'd wake-up in the middle of the night crying and wanting to be held or fed. Disrupting our sleep at least once or twice a night and wouldn't go back to bed immediately. Sometimes he'd just be up for like 2 hours in the middle of the night! During Thxgiving break, I finally got sick of waking up in the middle of the night that I resorted to the Ferber Sleep Method.

Dr. Ferber is a pediatrician who invented this wonderful technique to help babies fall asleep on their own. *Warning: this method may sound heartless and barbaric but it really works.

This is how I ferberized my lil one:

Night 1:
Feed him WITHOUT having him fall asleep on the bottle (this way baby will learn to fall asleep without the aid of a bottle or boob)
After feeding, I read a story to him with him scurrying around in the crib.
Then I kiss him good-night and turn off the lights.
Then I leave the room and close the door.
Naturally he starts crying.
I wait 3 minutes into crying to pat his back briefly (you CANNOT pick baby up otherwise it'll mess everything up) and verbally assure him "it's okay, mommy loves you. i'm just trying to help you sleep better and on your own. this isn't easy for me either"
Then wait another 5 minutes to pat him down and to verbally assure him.
Then another 10 minutes after... then 10 more minutes.. etc until baby falls asleep on his own.
He cried for a total of 35 minutes straight that first night. It was really really hard for me to just leave him crying. He'd get so pissed when I'd go in at the various intervals and not pick him up.

Night 2:
Same bed time routine of feeding and reading bed-time story. Turn off the lights.
This time, instead of waiting 3 mins, I waited 5 mins into crying, then 10 mins, then 10 mins, etc.. He only cried for 15 minutes before he gave up and fell asleep!

Night 3:
Same bed time routine of feeding and reading story. Lights go out. But this time it was different. The nanny had just gotten back and she was too quick to pick him up before I could get a chance to tell her that I was sleep-training Jacob. Her picking and holding jacob threw things off and he proceeded to cry for 70 minutes. I had to go in at 10 minute intervals for over an hour, all while listening to him scream and cry. This was the most gut-wrenching night of all hearing my baby cry like that. It was my fault for being too slow to tell the nanny.... but it's all good, cuz jacob totally learned to sleep on his own from that night on!

Night 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,... etc! JAcob has been sleeping like a baby again - YES!!!!!!! Mission accomplished. Now putting him to bed is rather pleasant and not like the torture it's been for me. I feed him and then read him a story, then the lights go out, he only cries for like 3 seconds before he gives up haha.. Then he'll like "talk" or coo himself to sleep and will be out for 12 hours straight! Sometimes he'll cry for like 10 secs but won't wake up in the middle of the night. Amazing huh!

And today, he got almost 13 hrs of straight sleep! And he's been a more solid napper. He'll sleep for about 2-2.5 hrs. Before he got ferberized, his naps were all over the place and shorter.

I am so happy that Jacob finally has a routine now! For now, we can pretty much count on him sleeping from 8pm to 8am of uninterrupted and solid sleep, then a nap from noon-2pm. This makes it a lil easier for me to schedule things!

JAcob at 11mos old. He still looks like an infant hehe.. I don't mind, I don't want him to grow up too fast!

10 mos old!

Jacob is 10 months old (and 1 week)!

I haven't had a chance to go in depth on chuperbaby's growth and development, so here goes:

Physical growth:
- estimated 23 lb butterball
- average height (50th percentile) and above average in weight (75th percentile): he's losing his rolls since he's so active!! =( how sad!
- big head (75th percentile) haha
- finally teething! his 2 bottom teeth are starting to come in and boy does he not enjoy this, especially in the late afternoon/ evening. i might wean the lil guy pretty soon!
- waiting for his hair to come in - thank God he's not a girl! we don't know why jacob still has only "fuzzy fur" on top of his head and not hair. both chuperman and i had way more hair when we were infants. hmph... could be environmental reasons?

Diet:
- mommy's milk. I can't believe i've made it this far - will cut him off soon. =P
- grains: oats, barley, brown rice, plain rice, spaghetti
- proteins: tofu, chicken, beef, fillet mignon, turkey, egg yolk, cheese
- veggies: spinach, carrots, sweet potato, beets, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, green beans, zucchini, other garden veggies
- fruits: banana, apple, pear, mango, kiwi, figs, blueberries, prunes, apricots, honeydew, cantaloupe
- dessert: chuperdaddy of all ppl offered jacob a tiny spoonful of Red Mango original flavored fro-yo... naturally chuperbaby loved it haha

Motor skills:
- Loves crawling everywhere since he was 8 mos old, especially loves crawling on a grassy patch, climbing up a whole flight of stairs, crawling on the cool tile floors and mosaic tiles
- Pulls self up to stand
- Cruises or "walks" while holding onto furniture
- "walks" and "runs" in the walker (this is a good place to put him when mom and dad are trying to eat dinner)
- Play ball. Jacob can palm a toy baseball and kind of throw it and then chase after it, and then try to "catch" it again. We're hoping that he gets mommy and daddy's athletic gene, specifically mommy's swimming skills and daddy's tennis/ping-pong skills haha.
- Pick-up giant flashcards "ABC's" & "123's", then wave it around and look at it before throwing it to the side.
- Occassionally winks at ya;)
- Likes headbutting pillows or anything pillow-like

Musical skills:
- Loves to bang on the piano.
- Love to pluck the strings of chuperdaddy's guitar.
- Loves pounding the tambourine.
- Jumps in the jumperoo to the beat of the music
- Sings/coo's every AM when he wakes up

Hand & Finger skills:
- Uses pincer grasp to feed self (cheerio's & teething biscuits)
- Lets objects go voluntarily (sippie cup, toys, etc)
- Pokes with index finger - Jacob likes poking at mommy and daddy's faces
- Puts objects into container
- Takes objects out of container
- Making good progress with the sippie cup!

Language Milestones:
- Pays increasing attention to speech. Jacob always talks back to me when I'm on the phone with someone else haha
- Crawls to me and pulls on my leg/ tugs on my shirt when he's hungry and says "Mama"
- Says dada, daddy ALL THE TIME haha. Also says baba, mama, nana, and gibberish. Grunts a lot and as one of his auntie said, "sounds like a duck" at times.
- Responds to his name and "no".
- Responds to big smiles and laughter with his own lil smile and giggling

Cognitive Milestones:
-Explores objects in many different ways - shaking, banging, throwing, dropping, lifting
- Finds hidden objects easily
- Beginning to use objects correctly - drinking from cup, trying to grab spoon to feed self, listening to receiver, dialing phone, brushing hair)
- Loves Peekaboo since he was a newborn.

Social/Emotional Milestones:
- Overall pretty laid back with strangers unless you're trying to hold him when he's super tired - good luck haha!
- Yelps when mother leaves
- Shows specific preference for certain ppl and toys
- May be fearful in some situations (like when the vacuum is on)
- Pulls down shirt over head when being dressed, sometimes extends legs to help when being dressed

Halloween in Woodbury! I got Jacob a Goofy costume for 50% off earlier that day haha




Overall, I must say, UNBIASED of course haha, that Jacob is in general a pretty "easy" baby SO FAR. We really appreciate how independent he is. In fact, our nanny gets bored pretty fast since Jacob is so low maitenance - she's always looking for stuff to do. Jacob has no problem playing by himself, sleeps in his own room by himself, does not need to be held that much in comparison to other babies, does not have too bad of stranger anxiety, is a good eater, and most of the time a good sleeper. What can I say, he's definitely inherited the laid-back gene from mommy and daddy haha. (I just know that IF we have #2 MUCH later, that #2 won't be as easy!)

We know A LOT of other baby boys and toddlers. In comparison to these other baby boys, Jacob has definitely proven himself to be pretty mild-tempered for an infant. But as we're rapidly approaching the big milestone of walking and toddlerhood, I fear his temperament will change. Rambunctious, stubborn, strong-willed are adjectives that i do not look fwd to using, especially since he's a boy!

Santa Monica! We just got back from a mini-family vacation in Santa Monica - mixing business with pleasure. More later - I'm super exhausted from the "vacay" even tho it's WAY more work than staying at home!

Jacob Pictures! 9 mos going on 10 mos!!

Baby Jacob is such a good sport. He really has mommy and daddy's laid back temperament. Jacob let Mommy put 4 Halloween costumes on him. Sure, there's the usual struggle of actually putting on the clothes, especially the limbs, but once the costume is on him, he's good to go! So far we had him in a baby chick costume, donald duck, mickey mouse, and baby male peacock costume hahaa.... I'm going to put him in as many costumes as I can. Chuperman thinks it's excessive, but this is the only time in his life when I can dress Jacob up like stuffed animals:P For Thanksgiving, my goal is to get him a turkey costume:P

Another new nanny!

Seriously, I can't believe it's October! This year is flying by and I'm averaging like 1 post every 4-6 wks.... my baaad!!

Good-bye nanny #1 - Okie, so as the title implies, we already had a turnover in nannies. Unfortunately, the first nanny didn't work out. When you live with someone, you see everything and quite frankly, though she was very quick-learner and sharp, there were some fundamental personality issues. For instance, nanny #1 would give my mom and I plenty of attitude.

Plays out like this: On a Friday night (like 3 or 4 wks ago), we told nanny #1 that she didn't have to cook the next day. She pretty much cooked dinner for us every night, as we explained to her upfront. But then after the 1st week of being here she started complaining about how she has to cook dinner everyday AND she had the audacity to tell us that we should all go out to a restaurant for dinner (including taking her out!). We were like - hellloo, i don't think so! we frickin' told you from the beginning that we want home-cooked meals everyday.. it shouldn't be a surprise. Anyway, then she fabricated a story of how C-note's nanny didn't have to cook everyday and that this nanny only had to cook 3x's a week. Nanny #1 even asked me to confirm with C-note. And I did! Not like I ever believed nanny #1 but I did confirm with C-note that her nanny cooks like everyday, NOT 3x's a week. Nanny #1 has a tendency to tell prevarications so after about 2 1/2 wks, we let her go on a Saturday morning. The sad thing is that she seemed pretty seasoned at getting fired. She made us stand there to watch her pack her belongings and to make sure she didn't steal anything. We were like, there's nothing to steal in that room (her room, which was full of my bro and I's junk from high school, if there was something worth stealing, do you think we'd be stupid enough to store in her room?), yet she insisted that we man her and escort her out.

And now I hear rumblings that our nanny #1 has been telling her friends that we offered her job back AND that we were going to give her a raise. Can we say DELUSIONAL.

Hello Nanny #2 - We did, however, hire nanny #2 just 12 days after we fired nanny #1. So far in the 8 days that she's been here, nanny #2 has been working out quite nicely. She seems hard-working, honest, and she always rushes down in the middle of the night to calm Jacob. Nanny #1 gave up on midnight wakings after the first few nights. She claimed that since JAcob is still being nursed that I was the only one capable of soothing him. PShhhh. Anyway, since I don't have to wake-up in the middle of night any more, for the first time this year (and mind you, we're almost at the end of it), I feel somewhat rested! =D These last few days I've actually felt more like myself - carefree and happy =D Thank you C-note for supplying me with nanny leads and nanny agency #'s! It's all good re: nanny #1 - a total learning experience - taught us how to be a good "lao ban" and about keeping some distance. I hope nanny #2 stays!

Tokyo Table @DJ - For lunch, I took some clients to Tokyo Table in Diamond Jamboree. It's so close to my office that we all just walked there! It was my first time in DJ. Only 1/2 the stores are open and yet the traffic is already horrendous. Why do all asian shopping ctrs have the worst parking lots designs?! There's only ONE entrance - a total bottleneck of sorts. Reminds me of how The District at Tustin Legacy bottlenecks at Millikan and Barranca - stupid stupid design. Anyway, let me say that Tokyo Table was definitely NOT my choice. I knew it was going to be faux-japanese food, and it was. Everything was fusion fusion... a very "white" establishment, good for the clients. But surprisingly, the restaurant was filled with asians, probably like 90% chinese haha... I'm guessing cuz Tokyo Table has a pretty good bento lunch special. The interior of Tokyo Table is surprisingly hip - like VERY HIP and modern. I wouldn't go back for the food, maybe more like to hang out at their bar hahaaa... I'd much rather go to Ikko or Kitayama for real Japanese food. I know, I'm such a food snob.

I can't wait to try out Guppy House, BCD Tofu house, BBQ chicken, etc etc... after work today, I'm gonna drop by H-mart really quickly ;) woo hoo!

Some exercise for once? - I feel so good and pretty rested that I think I'm actually gonna go work-out this wkend! Maybe a lil tennis, maybe a lil swimming, definitely some hiking - bring it on!

Donald Duck says TGIF!!!

Donald Duck likes nibbling on Mickey's ears.

New nanny and limited time key lime cupcake!!

New Nanny!
Ya know, sometimes I forget that I have a blog!! Sorry for my negligence! I really should be blogging more these days.. b/c..... *drumroll*.... we finally hired a nanny thanks to C-note!! I actually don't know her mandarin name (it's too hard for me to remember) and so I just call her Ah-Yi or Auntie hahaa. She started on Labor Day and for the most part, we like her. She's really good with the baby and so far she cooks really well, loves to keep clean, do laundry, she irons, vacuums, mops the floor, and makes dumplings and wontons. She even reads Chinese books to Jacob as she is studying Mandarin herself. Since I work part-time, she is able to help out with house chores while I'm with the baby. And when I go to work and run errands, she takes care of Jacob. The only thing that I'm not wild about is the fact that she is super gabby and can be loud. I need to work on laying down the law early so she won't get used to speaking her mind too much.

Having a nanny doesn't necessarily mean getting more sleep for me... just more time to take care of stuff, like for example - finally going in for a consult to get my wisdom teeth pulled!!! *cringe*... I've been putting it off for literally years and now one of the teeth is giving me some pressure. So on Monday, I'm gonna get the top 2 wisdom teeth pulled. I'd like to add that when the assistant was taking x-rays of my mouth, he observed that "you have a small jaw, more room for wisdom teeth" hahahaaa. The bottom 2 teeth are a different story. I need to get an oral surgeon to get those suckas out, cuz they're in quite deep. And of course I'd need general anesthesia. yikes!!

The next step after my wisdom teeth have been yanked out is BRACES or INVISALIGN. *cringing again*.

And the next step after braces/invisalign is to get a MOUTH GUARD, since poor chuperman has had to listen to me grind my teeth occasionally in the middle of the night to the point where they're so flat and putting me at risk at becoming a vegetarian haha.

Having a nanny is also cool to have so that I can freely go out like to Newsong's mom's ministry meetings every Friday AM, then go to work after that, without having to lug jacob around with me. So yesterday was the kick-off mtng for mom's ministry. And boy o boy, didn't realize that the leadership team was that hilarious! I was laughing the whole time! Turn out was great - there weren't enough seats, so mommies had to stand. And the best part was home-made hawaiian style brunch. We're talking hawaiian style eggs and sausages, gigantic blueberry pancakes, coconut pancakes, macadamia pancakes, banana pancakes, and tropical salad.

In response to your comment El Gato regarding celebrating at Javier's or Taco Rosa after hiring a nanny - I say someone flip a coin cuz I really like BOTH javier's and taco rosa!

Sprinkle's Chocolate Marshmellow "Ding Dong" Cupcake and Key Lime Cupcake:

Ok, so sprinkle's is really growing on me. I actually think that they've improved their recipes in the last few years. I really like their choc marshmellow cupcake and theiry key lime cupcake. However, the key lime cupcake won't be around that much longer - only until tomorrow!! So guess who's paying a visit to sprinkle's tomorrow? muahahaaa

And... just for fun... HAPPY EARLY HALLOWEEN says the fat lil chick!!!!

nightmare

the other night i had a nightmare that i was fully pregnant again- my water broke and was about to deliver another baby - what horror! It's just too soon to think of another baby. Especially when Jacob is getting harder to handle! 13 hrs of straight blissful sleep through the night are indeed LONG GONE since like 6 weeks ago... sigh. Lately, a good sleeping stretch on a GOOD night for Chuperbaby is like from 9:30pm - 6:45am. So like from 13 hrs down to 9 hrs straight. We need to work on hitting double digits at night again. I blame teething and yet I haven't seen any signs of em tiny pearly whites. But I do think his gums feel a lil tougher.

Tonight I had to miss women's bible study again b/c I'm beginning to feel sick. blegh.. Whatever Chuperhubby had is what I might be having. Sore throat, fatigue, dry cough...no high fever tho which is good. I'd be okay without the fatigue part. Which brings me to my next point.

We're looking for a nanny and we're serious this time! Jacob ain't getting any lighter and my back ain't getting any stronger. All the in'n'out of the car with Jacob to daycare is a lot of hassle, plus since he started daycare, Jacob has turned PRO at building his immunity. He gets sick like once a month. Frankly, I'm burnt out (hence the need to get trashed on my bday haha).

Some good news tho, Jacob can sit up on his own! For instance, he'll start off on his belly and push himself up into a sitting position. So cute to watch fat lil Chuperbaby move around. He's been wearing 2T and 3T shorts/pants since he was 5 months old, not to mention size 5 diapers as well. And today, he wore 24 month PJs. Fits perfectly except that the sleeper is too lenghty and the waistline is a bit snug. Ok, so not perfectly... haha

A-ma's b-day & Pool-time!

..but first, a recapo of tiramesu's dirty 30 @ javier's haha:

• setting the tone for the evening: pre-partied at home with 1/2 the crew, imbibed whole bottle of champagne, had some strawberries
• walking into javier's: champagne hitting tiramesu HARD... i found it very difficult to walk at this point and for the rest of the night haha. i was heard chanting "marcos room! marcos room!" "dirty 30 dirty 30!" "pretty wall"
  
• vaguely remember greeting anan, el gato, c-note & joey.. sorry! didn't mean to get wasted that fast haha... vaguely remember greeting everyone else... there were prob a lot of sympathetic eyes saying "wow, this is what motherhood has done to tiramesu"
• for the first time in my entire life, i actually skipped dinner!!! i felt sick from all the champagne & strawberries. i remember chuperhubby and yuko we're trying to force feed me but was met with much resistance.
  
• it was super challenging to blow out all 30 candles, especially the last one!
• i not only embarassed myself that night but i managed to embarass my commitment phobic bro-in-law ... "seal the deal!"
  
• i spat on judy bootie a few times while talking about her upcoming wedding next yr haha
• i wanted to go to ocean club afterwards haha.. had extremely difficult time walking there with one arm slumped over yuko's shoulder and other arm slumped over hubby's haha
• ocean club was jam-packed... no worries, i was in no condition to go on.. so that was the end of the night... only 10:30pm... but clearly i was done!
• went home and puked twice... i know, very gross... i won't say i will never drink like that again, but i will say that i won't be drinking LIKE THAT any time soon. haha

I think and hope everyone had a good time. Apparently, I'm quite the happy drunk.
I'm gonna shy away from posting shameful pix of myself hahaa.... a drunk tiramisu is very unattractive altho if you log onto f-book, you might see some incriminating pix haha.

My mom and I have bdays very close to each other. So pretty much the entire month of August is overloaded with various cakes, desserts, and pastries.
On the day of my mom, or A-ma's, bday - we went to Tommy Bahama Cafe on a fluke. Unfortunately, Chuperman was still working and missed dinner, so it was just me, chuperbaby, a-ma, and a-gong. It was only my 2nd time at TB. Everything we ordered was really delicious. My dad got their famous pulled pork sandwich, my mom got a light and healthy seared ahi tuna salad with coleslaw, and i tried their lobster grilled cheese sandwich with a cup of tomato soup as displayed below:


The lobster grilled chz sandwich was pretty good, but not overwhelminglygood. I still think Doughboy's afterschool special - grillled chz sandwich with 4 different kinds of cheeses and tomato soup is my top choice for comfort food.

Below is chuperbaby enjoying a-ma's pina colada hahaaaa..... the alcohol gene is being passed on as we speak!




First time swimming!!! Jacob is now 7 mos old and is still tubby as can be:
Chuperbaby loves his new ride - a swimming sea turtle!


I fear that Chuperbaby will start to crawl soon as he is able to get on his feet now and sorta crawl forwards and backwards, as well as rolling from belly to back and vice versa.

Oh, and Chuperbaby can say "ma"! He can also unintentionally say "hi" "hey" "hello" "a-gong" "a-ma" ... needs to work on saying "da da" or "ba ba". Okie, jacob is calling for me!!

Happy August!!!

I think I had a similar subject title last year hahaa... it went something like this... i love august cuz it's my birth month and i get to eat cake every single day!!! haha.. Oi... i can't believe it's been a year already since I started this post! I am indeed turning the big 3-0 tomorrow. Silence.

Gosh, what an eventful decade. Here's a timeline of Tiramesu's 20's recapo haha:

• 20-21 yrs old: went on loveboat and learned to party even harder than in sorority, gained like 20-30 lbs in college (undergrad)
• 21yrs old: after i graduated from undergrad, my mom forced me to go on a diet - lost 20-30 lbs in about 6 months, simultaneously I worked at crappy puny i-bank in irvine/costa mesa
  
• 22 yrs old: a dark time - continued working in oppressive corporate setting, gained some weight back haha
• 23 yrs old: ceased working at Equicrap, started small business with mom
• 24 yrs old: got bored. took golf clinic with anan and el gato haha. took wine tasting class by myself! husband search began and succeeded! found Chuperman on FRIENDSTER haha... or, we remet in cyberspace. y'all know that chuperman had a crush on me first in junior high right?! apparently he got a big kick outta me cuz he remembers that i sold super lemons to unassuming white kids for $1/piece and that i'd always wear a pink hypercolor shirt haha
• 25 yrs old: long-distance with chuperman... chuperman was up in berkeley finishing up his MPH while i was down in OC slaving away at the family-owned lab. every single night we'd be on the phone until 3am
  
• 26 yrs old: got engaged, then got hitched (weight was coincidentally at all-time low to fit into dress), moved to W-bury, started grad school
  
• 27 yrs old: the passing of my MIL. God bless her soul. we miss her everyday:( definitely the most difficult time in our lives.
  
• 28yrs old: enjoying baby-free lives until oops - got knocked up to make golden piggy deadline, moved back with parentals
• 29 yrs old: preggo's - gained 35 lbs, finished thesis, gave birth to Chuperbaby, lost 35lbs, and trying to get the hang of this whole mommy thing!
  

My 20's were an eventful and hectic time for me with many life and career changes. This decade was also a time for me to try to conquer my life-long battle with weight haha. Recently, like last wk, my mom so very tactfully reminded me that I look huge in short dresses and that I look better covered up in skinny jeans. She also inquired "why do you look so tired all the time? why are you tired?" THANKS mom. Do I really need to explain myself.

I have a feeling I won't be slowing down in my 30's with being a soccer mommy haha.

In the meantime, Chuperbaby got sick again this wk, but this time it only lasted 2 days. However, Chuperman is now sick! He had a fever of almost 104 on wednesday! Let's hope he's all better for my bday tomorrow!!

Looking forward to downing champagne and margaritas....!!!!

TGIF!!!!!!!

It's all goood...

Bye Bye Roseola! Pardon this delayed post... wanted to let y'all know(those who ain't on facebook) that Michelin baby is indeed feeling a lot better! As the pediatrician predicted, the roseola rash cleared up within 2 days after we saw her or 6 days long days in its entirety. Chuperbaby is back to his normal, happy, and chubby self!

Michelin-tire baby has finally started solids! Actually, Jacob started solids the same day he got his 6 month shots and subsequent fever which lead to roseola. At his 4-month check-up, the pediatrician decided against starting the butterball on solids since he is 30-40percentile points overweight for his height. I haven't had a chance to post pix, but my fat lil baby is comprised of about 20-30 rolls, including 4-5 BACK rolls. I didn't even think it was possible to have so much fat on ones back?! Anyway, Jacob was such a good sport about starting solids, even though he wasn't feeling too well. We first started him off with oatmeal, then rice cereal, then bananas, and now sweet peas. The butterball actually is somewhat pickier than we thought. I thought he'd down everything that came his way but so far he is impartial to oatmeal and sweet peas, anyone would be right? He's so laid back that even if he doesnt love oatmeal or sweet peas, the lil champ will still eat it. Just takes a lil more patience on my part haha. Jacob does like rice cereal and he especially likes bananas. We have sweet potatoes, carrots, and apples lined up in the near future. Naturally, all organic (it's kinda hard NOT to get organic babyfood) Actually, now that I think of it, his first food was the artichoke haha. I know, so mean haha. It was a mere experiment, way before the pediatrician gave us the green light for solids. Judging by the disgusted look on his face, I'm thinking Michelin baby is impartial to artichokes as well.

Apology Note to all of Tiramesu's amigas that are mommies.
Dear friends of mine that are mommies,
Before I gave birth to our lil blessing Jacob, I truly thought that you exaggerated what you were going through. You all told me that you've never been so tired or so exhausted in your entire life. That motherhood is sooo hard. That your life will never be the same. Forget about getting a good nights sleep. It's the point of no return. Well, please accept my apologies for not fully believing you and brushing you off.

I always thought they were all abuncha whiners. I thought that they were just trying to scare me. Back when I was naive and pregnant, I thought.. psshhh... I can handle being a new mom. Doesn't look THAT hard. haha... boy o boy, I've never been so wrong in my life. Even though I'm somewhat athletic, I used to be a baby-sitter in high schoola and college, almost the big 3-0, quasi-educated, and am super blessed to have a lot of awesome family and friends around me - sometimes, especially recently with the whole roseola thing, I find myself literally short of breath at least twice a day from all the demands of being a mommy. There's constant feedings, diaper changes, laundry, bath-time, sleepy-time, stain removal, running errands, cooking, going to work, taking care of everything, and when I have time - I try to read him the Bible and LA Times. Even though I'm totally beat-up at the end of each day and wake-up every morning feeling even more tired then having not slept at all - I actually have an easy baby! I can't even imagine if Jacob was fussy all the time, a light sleeper, and a light feeder. I just know if and when we are blessed enough to have baby#2 (NOT ANYTIME SOON), that he/she will not be as easy as JAcob. I should be and I am really really thankful for my mild-tempered baby. Thank you God!

The good news is that even though I'm doing exactly what all of my mommy friends did to me, which was - to try to scare the living crap outta me, I know that they were just being honest and needed to vent. Back then, I should have given them more sympathy. I always thought they were all abuncha complainers. So back to the good news: the trials and tribulations of being a new mom are complete'ly worth it all. Chuperman and I have never been so happy in our lives. We love being mommy and daddy to Chuperbaby. He makes our hearts melt on a daily basis, especially when he smiles, laughs, giggles, dances, makes funny faces, flips over, I can go on and on. Of course most of the time we are too busy to fully enjoy our bundle of joy, but truthfully, at the end of the day - this is what we've wanted and waited for for our entire lives. Praise the Lord for this miracle. Why is God so amazing?

My frickin' diploma: I thought frickin' UCI was gonna mail me my masters disploma. Apparently they sent me a notification in April to pick-up my diploma from the registrar's office. Nope, never got the notification. The sad part is that it didn't even dawn on me that it's been 10 months since I graduated and I still hadn't received my diploma yet haha. Sometimes I actually still think it's 2007.

BTW, Sorry for being MIA!! I'm gonna try to be better about returning phone calls, emails, text messages, IMs,etc. Hope everyone is doing well! Especially you preggo momma's (tamsters, nidsters, klime!) (apparently, i have a lot of non-posting non-commenting subscribers ... this is good, I'll try to keep up with my posts)

Sweet dreams y'all! To happiness and good health!

Double whammy

Last night, chuperbaby's fever subsided and finally he was in a better mood and regained his appetite. However, this morning his whole body broke into a rash. So luckily Chuperman happened to have the day off today and we all went in to see his pediatrician. We told her how it played out: low-grade fever of 100-101 for first 48 hrs, irritability, loss of appetite, poor sleep, diarrhea, then following the fever onset of generalized rash. The culprit is roseola infantum, a virile infection. Poor lil guy... no wonder he was so miserable! Jacob was dealing with the synergistic effects of both the immunization shots and roseola.

Chuperbaby's appetite is back and his fever is gone - thank God, but he's still wearing cranky pants. It took me 1.5hrs to put him to bed just now. I used various methods to try to calm him down including a new one, pushing him around the house in his bassinet stroller for 30 minutes. Usually, when chuperbaby is a bit fussy at bed-time, Chuperman plays the piano and it usually works like a charm. But tonight the usual tricks didn't really work.

The pediatrician reassured us that roseola is pretty harmless and that the symptoms should go away within 2 days.

I'm not asking for a vacation to Bora Bora or a fancy steak dinner, I just want to be able to sleep for 12 hours straight for once! A massage would also be nice. I noticed that my whole body is becoming increasingly sore. Every morning I wake up to sore joints in my hands. Don't ask me if I want another kid right now! haha.

Gonna squeeze in some rest before chuperbaby wakes up in the middle of the night again.

6 month vaccination shots...

... not good. On Monday, my lil Jacob got his 6 month vaccination shots. Three of em in the thighs. That was the easy part. Since then, he has developed a mild fever at 100.7 degrees F, just enough to get him royally pissed off at mommy and revert back to the sleeping schedule of a one-month old Jacob with 1.5-2hr sleeping intervals. Naive tiramesu was not ready for this post 6 month check-up misery since after getting 4 shots at both 2 and 4-month check-ups, there was barely any change in his temperament. Who is this cranky baby who ain't feeding or sleeping well? I want my good-natured mild-tempered and happy Jacob back!

cranky, pissed-off baby = cranky, sleep-deprived, beat-up (physically, mentally, emotionally) tiramesu

yearning for....

happy chuperbaby with healthy appetite and sleeps through the night = happy tiramesu = happy wife

Unfortunately, now i can't attend tonight's Wed night women's bible study, not like i had the time or energy to do the homework....

tiramesu's mommy night out with girls!

I'm alive! The last few wks flew by in a wink of an eye. I didn't even get a chance to stalk, i mean catch-up on other peeps blogs! Man, I'm behind - there's just too much to do and not enough hands. If only I had 8 arms like an octopus, I could really accomplish so much more.

Shoot, this post will be rather brief but better than nothing right?

Flashback to a more carefree time.....
"Sex and the city yo!!"-pic



After omakase din din at Echigo.

Flashback? Nahhhh... haha. The above pic was taken over the wkend! I took some much needed time for myself to go out with the girls. It was totally what I needed. Just some time to hang out and not have to worry about the next feeding, poopy diapers, bath time, wah wah. The whole night was awesome... getting ready and glammed up was super fun, enjoying a nice baby-free omakase sushi dinner at Echigo in Santa Monica, and watching FMP get thrown into the pool at a club for his bday hahaaa. I must say that even tho I had mounds of fun, it was a lil awkward being at the club without chuperman. I couldn't be more sober cuz i was too cheap to buy more than 1 drink. Btw, we ordered a cocktail and it cost a whopping $12 for mostly ice and juice. Anyway, I've never been so sober at club in my life!! No wonder ppl get pissed drunk at clubs cuz it ain't that much fun when you're completely sober.

When I spent the night at torosushi's place, I really really missed chuperbaby&man. Anyway, it was a super short "vacay" time for me.. only 22 hrs... I'm looking fwd to my next vacation already!




After ramen brunch on Sawtelle.



Lil guy's favorite toy! Thx anan and elgato! Michelin baby LOVES his singing blue octopus! He especially likes head-butting the octopus man.


We're celebrating our 3-year wedding anniversary today!! =D =D =D


Have a happy and safe 4th of july!!

More to come....

Metal mouth?

So, Chuperman and I paid a visit to the dentist over the wkend. Not like I didn't know this before but the dentist kindly reminded me again that my teeth are crooked and that I need braces. Most ppl don't find my teeth offensive b/c i have a small mouth with small teeth haha. He encouraged me to get braces now when I'm relatively young, instead of when I'm like 60. Why didn't I get em in junior high?! Cuz my teeth were fine back then. I think my teeth have traveled and become "overcrowded", and now i'm stuck with a worsening crooked overbite.

So, I'm on the great big hunt for a good orthodontist in the Irvine/Newpopo area. I'm willing to travel a 10-15 mile radius outside Irvine if the orthodontist is that good. So, anyone want to recommend their orthodontist to me?

Hopefully I can get away with just invisilign!

5 months 1 wk old!

Where does the time go?! My posts have been rather scant lately... my bad! It's a combination of minimal access to my own laptop (had to use chuperman's desktop and laptop), lack of pix uploaded (chuperman has been plenty busy, uploading pix is usually his job), and constantly tending to lil jacob!

So, where do I begin? Well, let's just start from the most recent since my memory is getting worse by the second.

Mommy trying to relive carefree days with Ottergirl! I spent a good part of my wkend with my high school friend Ottergirl and her fam. After Jacob went to bed last Thurs night, I was able to sneak out and drive down scenic PCH to my hometown - Dana Point/Laguna Niguel, to see Ottergirl and her family. I thought I was arriving after they had dinner to celebrate her dad's 60th bday, but in fact, dinner started really late and I arrived perfectly on time to accidentally crash their dinner party. doh haha... We had a grand ole time chowing down on lamb chops, eating cake and ice crm, and running down to the Bat Cave for more fine wine. I didn't really know what I was drinking, but it was damn good. It's always a good thing when the wine is a flowin! I also had some cocktails - 2 grapefruit juice & tequila drinks. Surprisingly, my tolerance was really high that night! They informed me that grapefruit juice is a diuretic, which in fact negates the affects of alcohol. Perhaps explains my non-drunk state for the evening. Skinteresting eh?

Then the next evening, Chuperman, Chuperbaby and I tried mtng up with Ottergirl & Co. at the Beachcomber of Crystal Cove but they were running a bit late, so we took the opportunity to take some pix (COMING SOON) and to satisfy our hungry tummies while we waited by scarfing down an order of delicious fried calamari at the bar of Beachcomber. We also saw a school of friendly dolphins showing off their jumping skills really close to the beach!
Anyway, Chuperbaby was so cuute at the bar. We sat him right on top of the bar, and he kept looking around - left,right, left, right - observing the frenzy of waiters, food carried atop flying saucers:P, and hungry customers. It was quickly approaching his bed time so we had to leave soon thereafter. We briefly saw Ottergirl & Co., but Chuperbaby urged us to take him back home:P

The next day, which would be Saturday, Ah-Ma was super nice enough to watch Chuperbaby for the day! So I headed back down to DP to chill with Ottergirl & Co. on their boats docked in the Dana Point Harbor. In the AM, we went out to sea on the big boat. It was a bit choppy and i could have easily been tossed off the boat:P Then we had a lovely lunch at DP Yacht Club. I had the most scrumptious French Dip sandwiche and a bloody mary. Then I had to pump (on the boat - in the galley) haha. A few moments later we headed back onto the water, but this time on the smaller boat. It was super duper nice and relaxing. We cruised around DP harbor, which is much more calm then the rough waters (for which I was thankful for). There were plenty o party peeps chugging down various cocktails while navigating their boats haha. I had to leave, but the crew ended up going back to the club for more drinks! I just can't keep up! I'm so weak.

Thanks Ottergirl and family for the good times!! I felt young again.. like the good ole carefree high school and college days=D

(DANA POINT HARBOR PIX PENDING OTTERGIRL - since i had to bring my pump, a cooler to put the liquid gold in, and change of clothes, i forgot to bring my camera that day - damnit)

Back To Reality - It was a super exhausting wkend for me b/c I, in fact, get seasick. So all day Saturday I was having trouble walking in a straight line. My tummy also felt weird too haha.
And, it seems like my poor baby has caught a cold. Darnit. It's his 3rd cold since he started daycare=/ NOT COOL.

On top of Jacob having a cough and runny nose, my patience is wearing thin. It's been 5.5months and I would like to give-up on BFing. I feel like im running a marathon race - I have to just keep on going and going and going until I reach the finish line, which is Jacob's 1yr old bday on January 2, 2009! Feeding my baby au naturale and the pumping is taking a toll on me. The constant feeding and pumping is just not cool. Even when the baby sleeps through the night, I still have to wake-up in the middle of the night. I know.... whine whine whine, I am so ungrateful... I just wish I could sleep for 10 hrs straight and finally catch up on sleep- without waking up to pain and discomfort. I'm constantly walking around like a zombie. I need some major encouragement and a kick in the bum.

On a happier note, it's all worth the pain, sleepless nights, and tears of frustration - especially when I look at Jacob and see that he's growing up quite nicely. He is just so mild tempered for a baby. Jacob is more independent these days. He's okie with laying around by himself now haha. Chuperbaby doesn't constantly need to be held. He likes the swing and kickpad much better than before. Jacob is an excellent feeder and he still sleeps a lot! Even though he has a cold, he still is able to sleep for a solid 10.5hrs straight. I am 100% positive that he got the sleeping gene from me haha. Jacob definitely got the eating gene from BOTH mommy and papa piggy=P haha. Chuperbaby is overweight for his height haha. We'll prob start solids next month. He's turned over a few times already and can scoot in reverse, forwards, mini U-turns haha

Taken last week. Chuperbaby in a well-insulated (more like over insulated, literally appropriate for the arctic) polar bear costume hahaa

Im done pumping, time to hit the hay! Will post pix as soon as they're uploaded!!

13.5hrs!

Happy 1st of the Month! I can't believe it's May already and Jacob is about 4 months!!

Last night, Jacob went to bed at 7:45pm and woke-up this morning at 9:20am!! If I'm calculating correctly - he slept for over 13.5hrs straights! Then he woke up to feed then went back to bed and woke up at 12:10pm - for a grand total of over 15hrs and it's only mid-day. He'll prob take another afternoon nap! Jacob loves sleeping in like a college student. I'm thoroughly enjoying this while it lasts!

During the 7 or 8 hours that he's up in a 24hr days... he enjoys feeding, reading, listening to music, sitting in the carseat, playdates with various girlfriends :P, and now trying to sit-up:

Videos:

and playdates with Josephine and Ava:

Sleeping through the night.... =D

(btw, I'm alive! Sorry for not updating sooner! I've actually been drafting this post for a few wks now)
... for the baby that is, not me! As of week 10, lil Jacob has been sleeping through the night at 8-9hrs straight and now almost 12-13 hours straight! It is quite a milestone as I've had to go back to work. I'm not as lucky at night - I still have to get up and pump every 4 hours. I'm already counting down the days until I no longer have to pump.

A brief recapo of Jacob's newborn stage:

1st month:
Mommy~

• I was under the ancient Chinese tradition of 30-day confinement "zuo yue zhe" and Chinese herbal diet consisting of "ma you ji" or sesame oil chicken broth with rice wine or "mijiu", ate pig liver, etc... i know... gross! My diet was so rich this month that I only lost a few lbs.
  
• the first 10 days I was forced to drink some sort of Chinese herbal drink that looked/tasted something like poison
• I wasn't supposed to step outside the house and get wind blown in my face - however, i broke this rule at least 5x's during the first month to go out to eat at some yummy restaurant (K-bbq, The Cannery, Blue Coral, The Ritz, etc etc)
• Not supposed to lift anything heavy - this one actually makes sense b/c i really did feel pretty weak and sore - I had to be pushed around in a deskchair b/c it was hard for me to walk during that 1st week.
• Not supposed to wash your hair or even take a shower - this one is ridiculous. When I had enough energy, I jumped in the shower as fast as I could!
• Nursing: let's just say I cried a river on a daily basis.

Baby Jacob~

• Stool: Went through 12 diapers/day then down to 8 by the end of the first month
• Feedings: Nursed 12X's/day or every 2 hours and down to 8x's per day by the end of the first month
• Weight gained: 3 or 4 lbs
• Sensory: Jacob was super alert from the get go - even the neonatologist and ped said Jacob is very alert. He was always moving his arms and feet around. Made lotsa funny animal noises at night and would make us laugh=P Starting to slip in a smile hear and there. Starting to focus better, but not track.
• Baby Jaundice: Within the first few days of birth, Jacob's bilirubin levels shot up to 22+, which is pretty severe if not contained. We took him home for just 3 days before he had to be readmitted into the hospital for 72 hours to get phototherapy or "blue light" to help break down the bilirubin in his skin. He was pretty yellow, poor thing. He was such a trooper through all the heal-pricks to test for bilirubin levels. During those 3 days he was in the NICU, I couldn't stay over with him b/c the hospital is just no equipped to let parents do so. So I came in twice a day to nurse him. I pumped and brought him milk for the rest of the feedings. The NICU gave us a buncha freezer storage bottles to store the milk, which I still use today. I was able to get some good tips from the nice nurses. So going back into the NICU wasn't all that bad, though we missed having Jacob around for those 3 days. It was also good for me to get some rest.

2nd Month
~Mommy

• Energy coming back, but still not the same.
• Still feeding and pumping like crazy.
  
• Glad to be out of Chinese confinement haha. Able to freely leave the house and eat whatever I want.
  
• I even squeezed in a few walks with the baby in the stroller, not necessarily to get exercise, more like to get out of the house for fresh air! There were a few wks at a time where I lived in my PJ's and didn't leave the house... haha. Can we say cabin-fever!
  
• Losing weight gradually b/c of non-stop BFing.

~Baby Jacob

• Gaining weight b/c of non-stop feeding. His pediatrician has warned mommy to "watch his weight".. haha... how?!
  
• # of poopy diapers decreased to an average of 8 per day.
• sensory: starting to track better! excellent neck control, probably b/c he sleeps on his belly:P
• starting to smile every single day!
• gaseous: lil babies at week 6-8 go through a period of slight colic here where they are completely inconsolable. the likely culprit is gas, especially if the baby is breastfed. we tried using Mylicon, which kind of worked. I think I need Miracle-ear soon tho from baby's outbursts haha.
• sleeping at longer intervals during the night! Jacob went from waking up every 2 hrs to feed during the 1st month to 3-4hrs , then 5 -6hrs during the 2nd month!

3rd month:
~Mommy

• I finally got my energy back!! I could even go jogging... just for a few mins tho haha. I'm able to work, run errands, take care of baby with less difficulty now!
• No more pain! Finally got the hang of it!! First two months of BFing were horrific. Wanted to give up so many times! I know everyone has a different experience but for me, BFing was much harder than labor/delivery. Seriously!
• I had to get used to dropping off Jacob at my aunt's house who has a nursery in her house. I'm still not liking the fact that she watches 4 or 5 other kids besides my lil baby. She is a relative, so I feel a lil better. I only work a few times a week, so it's not too bad.
• The pro's of BFing...To date: I've lost 29lbs! I gained about 35lbs during pregnancy. So i'd be happy if i lost 6 more lbs... but losing another 10lbs would be icing on the cake haha.
  
• sidenote: It's really ironic how when I was pregnant, I was on an awful low-carb diet and was GAINING weight. Now I eat whatever the heck I want, including all the carbs I want like CAKE, and am LOSING weight.
  
• Another sidenote: I discovered this new bakery in Irvine called Layer Cake Bakery... wow.. they have some damn good cakes - not too sweet, not too heavy - just right! I've tried their tiramisu cake, tres leches cake, green tea/white choc cake, carrotcake, boston cream pie cake, red velvet cake, napoleans, fruit tarts, hahaaa. This bakery so happens to be directly on the way from my work to day care. There was a 3 wk period where I had a slice of cake everyday!! Chuperman sharply warned me of diabetes tho.. so I've toned down my sweets..sigh.

Jacob~

• gaining lots and lots of weight - he has 20 rolls on his body! Jacob brings new meaning to double chin. He's got no neck. Well, he does but let's just say his neck is well insulated. Actually, his entire body is well insulated hahaaa. I think he weighs like 16.5lbs now!
  
• sleeping through the night! like last night, he slept for 13 hrs straight. woke up to feed this morning and went back to bed and is still sleeping right now haha. The kid loves to sleep and eat like Momma Piggy! haha
• smiles and laughs every single day!
• Jacob is a social baby - loves being around family and even strangers haha.
• loves tummy-time, especially listening to Chuperdaddy playing the piano and guitar, grandpa or "Ah-Gong" makign funny faces, singing, playing the guitar.
• Loves going places! We took Jacob on his first ever trip to Palm Springs! He was such a good baby - we didn't have to stop on the way there or back. He just loves cruising along for a car-ride or a stroller-ride. Below pic: SO happy to be on vacay in Palm Springs!
  
• Likes to make vowel sounds... his fave coo's are "ouuuu" and "ehhh". Jacob has accidentally said "hello" "ok" and "hi".. no seriously!
• Jacob has his very own freezer now! Due to mommy's oversupply - we got a 5cu ft deepfreezer to save all the hard-pumped milk for jacob. Deep freezed mommy's milk at 0 degrees F can be stored for 1 year. whereas normal freezer can stored for only 3 - 6 months.
  

Our lil sumo baby with man boobies/ Michelin tire baby/ Pillsbury doughboy Chuperbaby taking a bath =P

Happy Leap Day!

... I am so sorry if today is your b-day! If you were born on Feb 29, 1968 - As a 40 yr-old you'd only be able to celebrate your bday on your actual bday 10X's! I guess it wouldn't be that bad - cuz you'd only be 10 yr's old.

Anyway! It's been awhile since I posted, I'm alive! Barely that is!

Motherhood is kicking my ass. I was very blessed to have loads of help the first month of Jacob's life. My aunt flew in from Taiwan the first month, had occasional baby-sitting from grandma, lotsa food from relatives, food (mostly desserts hahaa) from good friends, and of course - help from my wonderful and dear husband - Chuperdaddy. With all this help, Chuperman and I were able to enjoy a few meals outside the house. Yup! We were able to sneak out of the house for a few nice dates=D

Me and my lil darling, baby Jacob=D

Immediately, after my 30-day confinement period was over - my aunt left us, the influx of home-cooked food dropped significantly, and Chuperman had to go back to work.

I am pretty much single-handedly take care of Baby Jacob myself. I know many mothers do so, but when you've had help, then suddenly you don't - it really sucks.

Nowadays, the food situation is pretty sparse. A typical day now includes something like cereal, yogurt, Costco pizza, and some fruit. I don't have time to eat. Eating is a chore now. When I get hungry, I have no choice but to ignore myself. I'm simply too exhausted.

I opted to nurse Jacob myself 24-7, which means feeding on-demand every 1-4 hours. It would be nice to go formula but I just won't. Mother's milk better be worth it!!

Btw, like eveything I do now - I'm typing w/ my free hand.

Completely sleep-deprived, drained, and having to take care of another human being - I really could use a couple of hours to myself here and there. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most challenging... motherhood, for me, has been a whopping 20. I knew motherhood was going to be incredibly challenging, but really didn't know that nursing was going to be this difficult. I am super blessed to be able to feed my child, but at the same time breastfeeding is a lot more challenging both physically and emotionally, than formula. Some adjectives that describe my b-feeding experience so far: painful, inconvenient, time-consuming. Please note that the first few months are the hardest - well, it better be! Because I feel like I'm drowning... and am turning into a zombie.

Help Wanted. I'm in a search for a nanny. Yeah, I know. It's so "OC" of me. So be it. Thanks C-note for the directory of nanny leads! I am thinking of going back to work part-time and I also have to work on publishing my thesis study into a scientific journal.

"It's worth it." This is what I keep on telling myself everyday since Jacob was born. All sarcasm aside, it truly is quite endearing to see Jacob grow bigger and bigger, making more and more expressions, smiling, and even laughing now. He's also quite active... Jacob is always moving his arms and legs, kicking and punching just like he did in the womb, he even travels in his sleep! I'd put him down at one end of the crib and a few hours later he'd end up at the other end of the crib! And, we also noticed that he's super alert and sharp. Chuperman and I couldn't be more blessed with such an adorable baby. Too bad Chuperman has a cold now. I pray that he doesn't get me sick or worse off - get Jacob sick!

Our lil piggy.... this pic is from a few wks back. Jacob has already changed so much since then!

Taking the edge off. Aside from my urge to scream my head off at least once a day, to take the edge off the trials of mothering a newborn - if I can help it, I drink a glass of Prosecco, champagne, or red wine, snack on some Pacific Whey oatmeal cookies, and if I'm lucky - a bubble bath or even a sulk in the jacuzzi.

I am SOO looking forward to a quickie vacay out in Rancho Mirage in a few weeks! I'm excited to attend the Pacific Life Tennis Open! =D

Welcome Baby Jacob!!!

My sweet boy Jacob:

(click below pic for more pix)



(pic: "a lil out of it" 2nd hr after he came out - nurse burping him)

Birth Date: 10:42am, January 2, 2008
Weight: 7 lbs 2.5oz
Length: 20 inches

9:15pm New Year's Day: water broke!!!
Is it possible that my water broke without having any contractions?? I had no warning signs - my tummy hadn't even dropped yet!
Then, mad dash to the hospital. Good thing we packed our bags.
I didn't know that once my water broke without first having contractings that I only had 24 hrs to deliver the baby.
11:30pm-midnight-ish: I had to be INDUCED. Didn't know that those who get induced normally get an epidural immediately. I was ZERO cm dilated so they had me hooked up to very strong doses of Ptocin (oxytocin) - to encourage contractions and increase dilation. The nurse warned me that b/c my water broke first before having any contractions that the petosin would encourage very painful contractions, more painful than usual. She estimated that I'd have the baby out in the afternoon. Right off the bat, since I was induced and still closed up, I had violent contractions of 2-3 minutes apart. There was nothing gradual about my contractions (like there usually is). Klutching and clawing the rail of the hospital bed, cursing under my breath, trying to breath through each painful contraction, wincing in pain, and then finally crying for help - I endured these nasty contractions for 5 hours straight until i could no longer take the pain. I really really did not want to get an epidural but it was just too hard, especially being induced. I was disappointed that I had to get an epidural b/c I knew my lower back would not like it. But I really had no choice, I had to push my pride aside - the pain was beyond anything I could imagine, especially with all that damn ptocin.
4:30am: 4cm dilated
5am-ish: Epidural administered...sigh.
6-9am: chuperman and i actually got some shut eye through the contractions and while i was getting more and more dilated.
9:15am: my OB checked for dilation - 8-9cms dilated. "-1". He estimated that I'd have the baby out by noon.
10am: moved from labor room to delivery room
10:20am-ish: I felt major pressure and started to push.
Pushed like 15x's or so....
10:42am: Welcome Baby Jacob! I'm a big sap and cried as he came out. I was super happy to meet my baby son=D Thank the Lord for this big blessing. What a milestone. Chuperman and I are super happy, tired, exhausted and getting used to the mommy and daddy thing. A steep learning curve is an understatement.

..............to be continued... my baby is getting hungry!