First 6 wks with 2 babies!

WARNING: FRICKIN LOOONG POST

Boy o boy has it been crazy! (sorry for the lack of posts but now that everyone is on fbook, i feel that it's just easier to upload pix and videos rather than writing this blog haha, but i figure I should really keep up with this journal to chronicle this intense life stage).. moving fwd...

I can't believe I gave birth just 6.5 wks ago to another baby! I was driving back from an unsatisfactory visit to the hair salon (stylist couldn't follow simple directions and now my bangs are too short..boo) and was thinking "i can't believe i'm a mother of TWO kids!" Everything seems to be happening so fast. And now my whole life will be completedly uprooted to the urban jungle that is NYC in just 2.5 wks! Excited? YES! Nervous? EXTREMELY.

For starters, I am really nervous for the 5 hr plane ride with J&M. It will be their first plane ride. Jacob has the attention span of a fly and is still too young to be reasoned with. I am trying to train him to watch the DVD player so we're not chasing him around the plane. I'm going to bring new toys which I'm 100% positive will end up being chucked on the floor within a minute or two. oi... i have a headache just thinking of the plane ride. Good thing Chuperman will have to deal with Jacob as I have my hands full with Micah. I know how mean ppl can be to mothers with babies on planes. I think we've all seen it or experienced it. I'm going to try my best to tune everyone out (rudeness, looks of horror, etc).

While our apt is brand new, it's quite small for a family of four. We're talking 840 sq ft. Chuperman's pix on fbook are very nice, but quite frankly, make our apt look deceptively spacious. It's only 2 bedrooms and they're side-by-side. Meaning, if one baby cries, he might wake the other baby in the next room... Even in my parent's spacious home, just yesterday, Micah was crying and woke JAcob from his nap. Jacob was PISSED off and was screaming and crying... oi... God help me perservere through the next few years of insanity. I know I can do it -- I just need to tough it out.

I'm looking for a baby-sitter/ live-out nanny. Yes, I know - many moms take care of 2 babies without much help. Well, everyone is different. I need help with Jacob. Especially since Micah can easily take 2 straight hours of my time for cluster feeds, diaper changes, cleaning up his spit up, etc.. very difficult to oversee Jacob in times like this, especially since Jacob can be so clingy and needy too, he still cannot fully feed himself, and really needs 100% supervision when he is awake since he is so rambunctious. I cannot hold both of them at the same time if they're both crying.

Yesterday, I had Micah in the stroller and Jacob almost pushed the stroller over - TWICE! And today, Jacob was shaking Micah's playpen with Micah sleeping in it.

I wish Jacob could learn to hold hands and to stand still. I think we're gonna have to get him a monkey-on-his-back backpack leash, which will prob last 5 mins haha.

Hopefully I can find a good sitter so that I can freely run errands and get things done without 2 babies attached to me in NYC!

30-Day Chinese Confinement: Boy am I'm glad this is over! For the first month after giving birth to Micah, I pretty much stayed home all day long except to go out for doctor appts. Micah also had jaundice and was sent to the NICU for phototherapy for 24+ hrs. It was super hard on me to be away from my baby AND with Chuperman gone. During those 24 hrs the baby blues hit me hard. I cried and cried and cried so hard that I could barely open my eyes. Even the NICU nurse noticed my puffy eyes. She knew that I was sad to be away from my baby, but she didn't know that I was also sad b.c my hubby wasn't around either. Once Micah got discharged, the baby blues quickly retreated as fast as it came. I was fine when I was able to bring Micah back home. Gosh, really wasn't expecting to completely meltdown while Micah was in the NICU. I'm positive it was the friggin' hormones doing their thang! Stupid hormones!

Anyway, in terms of recovery after birth, 2nd time is a cinch! Compared to the first time around, I had relatively no pain. The nurses were even surprised that I had no pain and felt fine after birth. And my energy level came back pretty fast! I even had enough energy to take Jacob to a bunch of bday parties, showers, and outings during the first 30 days. I still need to give Jacob undivided attention without Micah to make Jacob feel special and loved. I think Jacob can be jealous of Micah at times and definitely misses Chuperdaddy. It's a tough time for Jacob too so I try to spend quality one-on-one time with him everyday (in between Micah's feedings).

What is Micah like? So far, my 2nd son is in general more laid-back than Jacob was at this stage. His cries aren't as ear-piercing or urgent, although he does have fussy spells that can last an hour at a time. Micah is a big feeder just like Jacob. I have less milk this time around b/c in the beginning I had the nanny help with feedings at night so that I could rest, which kind of jacked up my supply since I was too tired in the middle of night to pump:/ But after much effort to eat more nutritious foods, drink more soymilk, my milk supply is back up and I still have a slight surplus. I currently have about 4 or 5 gallon freezer bags of milk in the freezer (takes up more than 1/2 of freezer). The last time I had so much milk that I had to purchase a deep freezer that sits in the garage! I'm less inclined to pump as much this time simply b/c our freezer in our new apt is TINY. Where are we going to store ice cream and dumplings if the freezer is jampacked with Micah's milk?!

So back to Micah, I think he drinks like 5-6 oz at each feeding which I believe is quite a lot for a 6.5wk old. The only thing that is kind of annoying is that he spits up after each feeding, prob b/c of my oversupply. Hopefully Micah will grow out of this as it adds to more laundry.

Micah has slept through the night twice already starting this past week! He slept from 11pm-6:45am one night, and the next night he slept from 11:30pm-7:45am! Last night was 2:20am - 9:20am... we're talking 7-8hrs between feedings -not bad stretches! He still wakes up in the middle of night, but I just pat him down and give him a pacifier;) Oh, I think Micah is addicted to the soothie. JAcob was not. With Jacob, I had more patience to go without a pacificer. It's definitely soo much easier with a pacifier. Saves a lot of times. I just hope Micah grows out of it SOON so he's not too dependent on it.

Oh wow, this is what happens when I don't post on a regular basis -- my post is out-of-control SUPER long. This is a frickin saga of a post. Congrats if anyone read down this far!! I'll try to post on a more regular basis.. sheesh! It's so hard to keep up between fbook, email, and this blog:P

Have a good wkend y'all!

I'm turning 31 on Sunday.. booo!! Chuperman won't be here to celebrate.. booooo!!! Although to kind of make up for his absence, he sent me abuncha beautiful roses today =D

Welcome Baby Micah!!

So, I ain't preggo any more - woohoo! We made it! After much effort to self-induce - we succeeded and met our goal of having Chuperman meet Micah before Chuperman left THIS very morning to head out to NYC for residency. Good thing Micah was delivered 7 days ago so that Chuperman could meet Chuperbebe #2 and have a few days to bond together. Phew!

*WARNING: SLIGHTLY GRAPHIC MATERIAL*

Tiramesu's L&D experience of #2 Chuperbebe:

Let's get to a timeline. Last Tuesday, I felt very desperate and frustrated that I wasn't feeling any real contractions, afterall, we obviously wanted Chuperman to be at the birth before he flew off to NY. So I decided to do JUMPING JACKS. Yup, I did about 30 jumping jacks to help kick-start contractions.

And sure enough later on that night at 2:45AM, Wednesday, June 17, Chuperman and I heard a loud snap or twang - really sounded like someone plucking a violin string "D" note to be exact, to signify that my water broke! I quickly waddled to the bathroom and changed into Depends (hahaa). Since I have a history of having my water break out of nowhere, I thought I'd better be prepared this time and sure enough these senior citizen diapers were quite useful. Especially on the car -ride to the hospital where water kept on gushing out! I also had 2 beachtowels layed out beforehand on the passenger seat for this very reason.

After my water broke, I immediately started to feel very queasy, but excited and happy that God answered our prayers of having our baby's birth day come early!. Contractions at 4-5 minute intervals took over the next few hours until about 5am where I quickly broke down and got an epidural, which btw, HURT this time. The anestheiologist used a courser more old school way of injected me with anestheia - she pumped 5 different installments into my back - i felt each one of the installments - each one had an acute/burning sensation (ouch!). Luckily shortly after the epidural was administered I was able to breath happily...

Pre-epidural words to Chuperman:

Stop talking, don't touch me, I hate you right now!

Post-epidural words to Chuperman:

I'm soo glad you're here (and not in NY). I love you.

At 6am, I was ready to push but we were waiting for the OB to get to the hospital. My OB finally got to the hospital at around 6:45am. The doc instructed an unassuming Chuperman to gown up, wear a mask/ face shield, and deliver our baby! Chuperman was caught off guard I think b/c he was ready with his big SLR to take pix of the action. Instead, he had to put down his camera and he actually delivered the baby! Chuperman helped to rotate Micah's head and pull out the body, then hand him off to me! But the downside was that no pix were taken of him delivering the baby b/c my mom didn't know how to switch from video to still photo on my point on shoot.

So after a few pushes, Micah came into the world, all 8 lbs 5 oz and 20", at 7:18am, Wednesday, June 17, 2009!

Because my L&D was so quick, my contractions were actually pushing Micah out without me having to push. Thus unfortunately, Micah sustained some bruising and hemorrhaging in his eyes. His skin is normalizing as we speak, although he has a lil bit of jaundice - so I have to take him to his ped tomorrow.

I also want to add that the anestheiologist shot me up with too much pain medication. I couldn't feel any pressure while I was pushing, thus making it hard to push. I liked my anestheiologist for Jacob's delivery MUCH better. He injected my epidural in a slower, less painful manner, and I could feel the pressure during pushing, thus making it easier to push.

We are elated that Micah's birth day came early so that Micah and Chuperman could meet each other! We feel so blessed with our new bundle of joy. Even though nursing a newborn is quite laborious (and is kicking my butt), looking into Micah's face is like falling in love again. :)

So far Micah is a pretty good feeder and sleeper for a 7 day old newborn. He sleeps every 1.5 - 5 hours. Micah let mommy and daddy "sleep-in" on Father's day which was nice of him. Micah's version of letting us sleep-in on Saturday night were feeding at 9:15pm, midnight, 5am, 9:30am. Each feeding takes me an hour (sometimes 1.5hrs including clean-up, etc) b/c Micah is still sleepy, then of course diaper changes, and I also have to pump since I have an oversupply of milk again, then wash all the pumping apparatus.

The 2nd time around of L&D overall was MUCH EASIER than the 1st time around for me. Even recovery is a lot swifter this time around. I can see how other mom's can have multiple kids. It does get easier, but tricky with a toddler around.

HAPPY FATHER's DAY CHUPERMAN! You're the BEST DAD in the WHOLE WORLD!!

In the middle of the night, Chuperman would still help me with changing Micah's diaper, burping, swaddling, and comforting our new baby even though he was tired from packing and from Jacob being ultra clingy to him. Thanks Chuperman for being our hero!




Welcome home Micah! Thank you Micah and thank you God for having your birth day land on a perfect day and according to mommy and daddy's crazy schedule!

still preggo!

I'm roughly 38 wks now and despite my efforts to self-induce, no real contractions yet, just a series of Braxton Hicks. According to an U/S last Friday, #2 baby already weights 7lb 15oz. Usually these tech's are wrong at estimating the weight - let's hope she's wrong again.

Second time around, we didn't really get a chance to document my pregnancy. We can barely keep afloat with pix of Jacob. I have gained about the same weight +/- 1 lb but my family has politely told me that I look way bigger than the 1st time around haha. With Jacob I gained most of my weight during the last trimester, whereas with this pregnancy I gained most of my weight during the 1st and 2nd trimester. If I hadn't walked all over Paris and NYC, I probably would be at least 10 lbs heavier haha.

This is a group shot of all the kiddies at Lana's 2nd Birthday party from a week ago.




At Jacob's 2nd wedding yesterday! Leland and Vera's wedding at Newport Beach Marriott. Flower girl trying to kiss Jacob but jacob would run away haha:


Jacob's last music class for the quarter. Holding his "go go":


And... CONGRATS to ERIC & FUNG (my bro-in-law and long-time g/f turned fiancee!)! After 9 years, Eric proposed to Fung at the Montage on Saturday. Chuperman, Jacob, and I helped to stage the proposal - it was super fun. I've never seen a proposal firsthand. It was really really sweet to see this proposal and to see Eric take the next step! We're SO HAPPY for Eric & GORGEOUS Fung! I couldn't have asked for a sweeter future sis-in-law!!

quite possibly any day now?!.. and DL pix of J + J;)

As of this morning, at 36 wks and 1 day - I'm already 1-2 cm dilated and 60-70% effaced. My OB thinks I'll have the baby by next week - Woohoo! With Chuperman flying out to NYC for residency on June 23, my main goal until then is to give birth to #2 bebe while Chuperman is still here!! Wish us luck!

I'm officially moving 8-18!

Pix from DL and a playdate with Joey!

...and the adventures continue!

It has been insane since I last posted. I must say that international travel and cross-country trips crammed in the 3rd trimester of housing a baby is probably not recommended. Even though I'm somewhat athletic and pretty energetic, I was definitely pushing myself. At 31wks and 33wks, to Paris and NYC respectively, I got poor sleep and walked-up too many flights of stairs, especially in the Metro and the NY subways. I had to negotiate with CHuperman on a daily basis to take cabs:P
Despite waddling around town with my inflated belly/ 30 extra lbs on my hips, we had a great time in Paris and did what we had to do in NY, which was to secure housing.
The good news is that my weight has somewhat plateaued as I have only gained 2 lbs in the last 4 wks due to all the traveling and walking.

Somewhere in between our trips to Paris and NYC, we celebrated mother's day, attended chuperman's reception, graduation, hosted a friend for a few days, attended a raging party in Santa Monica, and started packing for our move to NYC! PHEW.

It feels GREAT to be home where I can finally relax and then gear up for BIRTH and then the MOVE to NYC!

I'm happy to be posting some pix finally!!!

(these pix are going backwards starting from NYC)

Two nights ago, enjoying a Japanese inspired dessert at Kyotofu in Hell's Kitchen (Manhattan). Warm mochi chocolate cake with creme Anglaise in shotglass paired with their recommended port-like sake. To the right is a sample of their mocha/white sesame swirl soft soymilk ice cream. We should have just gone here for dinner too since they serve some yummy tapas style japanese food. KYOTOFU is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.





Bar Americain, Mid-town Manhattan. I think the general rule of thumb is that while Bobby Flay has some kick-ass BBQ recipes (Chuperman has made the best chimichurri rib-eye steaks from bobby flay), Bobby's restaurants Mesa Grill and Bar Americain are rather mediocre. We ordered the pork chops and lamb chops at Bar Americain, and both we're so tough that we could hardly cut through the meat with steak knives. However, the littleneck clam and sweet potato chowder was amazing. I would not recommend Bar Americain for food, but rather for drinks, as they have a nice looking and spacious bar.












I haven't updated on Jacob in awhile! He is now 16 1/2 mos and doing well! Jacob is learning how to communicate through simple words. His vocab is building by the week it seems.
Jacob's vocab:
Mandarin: go-go (doggie), na na (milk/bottle/cup), baba (daddy), mama (self explanatory), dada (he prefers chuperman over me), hua hua (flowers), ah-gong (grandpa), ah-ma (grandma), ah-yi (nanny), yi - er (1, 2), wa wa (stuft animal)
English: ball, more (to tell me to give him more food), okay, alright, rock, hi, bye, baby (when I point to my belly he says baby:P )
I think he knows more words but I don't remember all of them right now. He understands quite a bit more of course but I'm vocalizing these thoughts will come soon.
Feeding:
Jacob has been skillful with the sippy cup since he was 13 mos old and can feed himself with a spoon and even a fork with assistance for the past month. He also likes using straw cups. Although the nanny likes to spoonfeed him still, whenever Chuperman or I feed him, we have Jacob practice feeding himself in which he does quite well in my (biased)opinion for being so young! Feeding himself is a messy scene but worth the clean-up.
Demeanor:
Jacob is getting more rambunctious and opinionated. Combine that with his myriad of food allergies - we were afraid to take him on our recent trips, esp with me being in my 3rd trimester. We missed him SO much, esp towards the end of each trip but it's better that he stayed home.
Jacob is a friendly kid. He says and waves HI and BYE to EVERYONE haha. He likes hanging out with other kids, especially boys and is intrigued by babies since I think it makes him feel older when he sees young babies. Hopefully, he won't be too jealous when he meets his younger sibling in the next 2-4 wks!

Music class with parachute activity:



Congratulations Doctor Chuperman! We made it through an eventful 4 yrs. The next 3 yrs will be just as eventful if not more insane. Even though it's a rough path and I complain a lot, I know I'm very lucky and blessed overall. =D
















Mother's Day at Banana Boat! Jacob loves his toast!















Everything ends on a sweet note:
Angelina's in Paris (across from the Louvre). Pictured is a mont blanc dessert + hot sipping chocolate = LETHAL. I almost went into a coma after having a few sips of Angelina's famous hot cocoa. Couple that with a few bites of their other famous dessert, mont blanc, which is chestnut puree on top of meringue. Luckily I SHARED this with my friend. Good thing Chuperman was out exploring and taking pix of Paris on foot, he would have been disgusted by our lil high tea session. The hot cocoa is NOT recommended unless you're an extreme chocoholic. It's like sipping watered down hot fudge. I prefer my hot cocoa au lait style or american style - with milk! The mont blanc is DEFINITELY recommended. It actually wasn't too sweet and pairs well with Ceylon tea.

Cancun canceled - Paris here we come!

Chuperman and I are taking a vacay to Paris! We changed our travels plans from Cancun to Paris just yesterday due to the swine flu outbreak. Originally, we wanted to take Jacob with us but lately he's been more of a handful when we take him out and is wearing down even Chuperman. I'm about 30 wks pregnant - so enough said. So, Jacob is just gonna have to sit this one out. We'll miss him so much but it's better (for everyone) that he stays home with grandma&grandpa. He wouldn't remember going on a trip at his age anyway and it would be torture for us to take him on the plane and tote him around romantic Paris.

We're leaving in less than 48 hrs to Paris and staying for 7 nights - woohoo!!! I am SO excited to be immersed in the beautiful parisian culture. My college friend so happens to live in Paris - it'll be fun traveling around Paris with a local.

If we're ambitious enough - we might take a day excursion outside of Paris. Bootie suggested that we go to Champagne Valley which is only an hour away. Since I can't drink - it'll suck for me, but maybe i'll have a few sips anyway (boy do i really need it) haha.

The Big Apple!!!

Sorry for the delay! I only had time to quickly post on facebook before i dashed off to take JAcob to his tumbling class.

At10am, with our hearts pounding wildly, we checked and saw what we've been waiting for and what Chuperman has prophesied in his dream last night. This is what we saw:

Match Results: Congratulations, you have matched!
Pgm Code: 1428110C0
Emergency Medicine
Maimonides Med Ctr-NY

Both Chuperman and I had a gut feeling we'd end up in the Big Apple. I will be toughened up for sure living city slicker style in NYC. On the otherhand, perhaps I can bring with me some sunshine and warmth to all the hardened souls in NYC. Notorious for my happy-go-lucky giggling and attitude, I'm going to count on my sense of humor to get me through the rest of the year.

Surprisingly, I'm pretty neutral with the match. I didn't cry or anything. I was just relieved that we didn't match to PA or CT! If it's anywhere in the EC, i'd want to live in the Big Apple - hands down.

Now on to our next step: looking for housing and figuring out what to do with our furniture. We have to figure out how much it'll cost to move our furniture out there or probably just buy furniture out there.

After we come back from our fam vacay to Cancun in late April, Chuperman and I will make a separate trip out to NYC in May to look for housing!


Girl Scout cookies!!
My order of GS cookies were finally delivered from a GS mom coming from Balboa to my doorstep just minutes after finding out that we matched to the Big Apple. It's already going fast hahahaaa. Oh how I love my peanut butter tagalong sandwiches and caramel delights (somoas)!