Hello from COVID 19 quarantine central!

I’ve been trying to share a Jack update for MONTHS, and I’ve rewritten draft after draft that have been discarded, so I am just starting from scratch. Our sweet child is a bright light through all the darkness that is enveloping the world, and it is absolute insanity that he is a full 18 months. 1.5 years old!

One takeaway from parenthood that has made the biggest impact on me is to not get too comfortable. Enjoy all the things, but know that things will change. This can be good for the stages that bring certain challenges, but harder to stomach when all of a sudden those two beautiful 1.5 hour naps turn into one nap that is met with a lot of toddler opinions.

A little about where we are at—

Schedule (adjusted for COVID 19 quarantine 2020):

0700-0900 wake up, have breakfast, change clothes, brush teeth/wash face, take Professor out for a walk. We have been getting out early before it gets too hot.

0900 Continue playing outside. Take a nature walk around the block. Eat a snack! Trying to get in a snack early, because any later and Jack wants to eat a bigger snack that ruins his lunch.

1000-1030 snack time! Read books, play inside

1030-1145 help mama around the house doing chores, play soccer, play with Professor, prep lunch

1200 eat lunch!

1300-1500 nap (in my dreams, Jack would take a 2 hour nap, but it is usually barely an hour)

1500-1530: eat a snack, free play indoors

1530-1645: play outdoors/help mama prep dinner

1700 dinner time!

1745-1815: free play!

1815 bath, jammies, read, milk, brush teeth, prayers, sing songs

1900 bedtime! (We move his bedtime early if he wakes up before 3pm. Lately, Jack has been going to bed at 6pm)

How COVID-19 has changed our routine:

We are missing things like grocery shopping, Target runs (I had just recently in February let Jack play in the toy section at Target, and he had a lot of fun), playing at the play ground (we did this almost everyday. We scored the neighborhood jackpot by living walking distance to the playground), visiting the library, running around Northpark, story time at Northpark, meeting with friends, play dates, playing at CAMP, visiting the arboretum (We had just gotten a membership and cannot wait to use it again). We were planning to start Jack in a 2 day a week school in May, but now we are postponing until we feel comfortable sending him and when all kids are back in school. We were also planning to sign Jack up for swim lessons, but the same thing applies.

We so far have missed our Easter egg hunt that we were looking forward to, a baby shower, and my parents visiting due to the quarantine.

Development:

I haven’t written in a while, so I’m going to jot down some previous milestones that I never documented. Jack started walking at 13 months while we were visiting my family in Lake Charles for Thanksgiving. In the weeks following, his comprehension started skyrocketing. My mom and I discovered that Jack knew where his nose was and he could close his eyes on command, and we were so excited! Haha.

Currently, Jack walks and runs well. The running still scares me because he often trips over his own feet because he wants to go fast.

He doesn’t really climb into the couch, but he just started sliding down himself. He loves doing squats, and his booty is pure muscle.

Jack started talking more a few weeks ago when he was 16 months. Before that, he would sometimes say mama, but nothing consistent. He now says mama, dada, and a handful of other words including his favorite: “mail man.”

In sign language, he can say more, please, thank you, milk, eat. It’s so fun to see the progression with his signs and how much better he can control his fingers and hands as he gets older.

He follows funny commands like “turn around in a circle” or “do a squat” or “bend your knees.”  He has been playing pretend with his stuffed animals for a while and will “walk” his dog Valentino, feed him water, give hugs and kisses, and put his friends down for night night.

Loves: Jack loves vehicles—he has a school bus that is was obsessed with and he played with it so much, it broke. He loves cars, trucks, and anything with wheels. He loves to read, and loves to dance. His favorite is wheels on the bus and 5 little monkey’s. He loves waving to everyone and watching the mailman drive by. We take a lot of walks around the block and Jack also loves to ride in his stroller around the park.

Dislikes: naps, diaper changes, sitting down in the bathtub for bath time, brushing his teeth (Yet he let his Auntie T (Trang!) brush them perfectly when she visited. She is a dentist, and he was showing off!). The teeth brushing has recently gotten better because we have made up a song that he dances to about brushing, and it’s helping him keep his mouth open for us to help.

Sleep: Jack started dropping his second nap around January, and his daytime sleep has since become inconsistent. At the beginning of April, Jack adjusted himself by waking up around 7am versus 5am. I didn’t do anything differently, didn’t change his nap, etc. It just happened, and I am not questioning it, or getting too comfortable with it because again, kids change daily. He went through what we are calling sleep regression around 16 months (right around the time change/quarantine) where he would look scared when we put him down for bedtime and shake his head no. He also didn’t want us to sing our usual bedtime songs. That lasted about a week, and then he started loving bedtime again. Now his naps. This sweet child needs a nap, but for the past few weeks, when I work and Yung’s parents watch him, he hasn’t been napping consistently. This only happens 1-2x/week because I’ve been coming home early. On the days that I am home, his nap on average 1 hour, but he had a 30 min one the other day. For a few weeks, Jack was napping mainly in the car, but thankfully, I think we are past that.

Eating: Jack eats roughly 3 meals and 2 snacks. He drinks milk (pea protein or oat milk) with breakfast, and I offer it before his nap and bedtime. I would define him as picky. It helps if he sees you eat something first, and he is more likely to try it, but a lot of times, he puts it in his mouth, and spits it out shortly after. He loves fruit, red beans and sausage, noodles (with soy sauce and sesame oil. he is an Asian baby. He does not like spaghetti), chicken nuggets, brown rice and kale, and packaged snacks (of course. I try to bake him healthy things so we aren’t turning to these too much). I do feel like I’m struggling with variety, but hopefully that will get better and better.

We can tell that Jack is growing taller because he can now reach books from his lowest wall shelf with ease, and he has fun taking them out and putting them back. It’s so cute to watch him discover new things each day and see the joy and pride in his eyes when he accomplishes something all by himself. His zest for life is also met with stubbornness, which certainly makes our life interesting.

In other news, our lives came to a halt about a month ago. It was Wednesday, March 11th. I brought Jack to the mall to have brunch with friends and I had dinner with a friend that night. I hadn’t had any kind of friend outing since December, so it was totally meant to be that it was my last day of normalcy. Jack had one last go at running around Northpark, an activity that we had recently grown to love, and we had just gone to the arboretum and zoo as a family the weekend before. The very next day, I had a haircut scheduled for after Jack went to bed, but he was going through his sleep regression, so that plus the fear novel fear of COVID-19 made me cancel that appointment, and now my hair is destined to be in a bun for the foreseeable future. The very next week, I was assigned to see only sick patients and eventually when they became available, start COVID-19 testing behind our building in a drive through line.

Despite all the heaviness, we seek joy in the little things, are grateful for technology and video chatting, and are literally taking this hour by hour. It took me a month to catch up with all of my charts at work, and I feel like I am now able to move on and take care of things better at home, and maybe read a new book or do some weeding. The previous owners of our house left us with the most gorgeous landscaping that is begging for some TLC. Hoping to also start some fun activities with Jack and compile a list of snack recipes we have tried and share them here. I am also working on being okay with not doing anything and taking life slower.

Yung and I have been having more movie nights on the couch and watching a lot more TV than usual. Of everything we have watched, I would recommend The Morning Show and Little Fires Everywhere.

Next up! I do want to get organized with all of Jack’s recipes and I want to go on a cleaning spree. I just learned that you are supposed to deep clean your clothes washer and there are filters that I didn’t know existed that need to be cleaned.. I’m sure our dryer and dishwasher could use a good cleaning as well. Grateful to be adulting, but most of the time, I just want to sit on the couch and eat string cheese.

Sending you love and peace, Connie

We have a one year old, you guys! I have to admit-I have been randomly bursting into tears all month, but it is getting better.  I think it’s just my hormones from weaning off pumping and all the feels from making it through a whole year with a baby and keeping him healthy. I’m still that mom that wipes down everything before putting Jack in the shopping cart or the restaurant high chair. When will that end? Probably never!  Plus, we honestly just started taking him out in public more consistently recently. We have had first child parent phobia or something to that effect, but we are getting better!

On to Jack’s update!

Growth:

Jack had his check up last week. He is 21 lbs ( 60%ile), 30 inches long (55%ile), and his head is 19 inches all around (98%ile). His growth has been pretty consistent and is increasing percentiles with his weight.

Development:

Jack is still crawling, pulling up, and cruising. He is starting to stand on his own a little more, and we are eagerly awaiting those first independent steps. He can wave bye bye, clap his hands (he knows English and Chinese), fix his hair (by putting his hands in his hair and shuffling his fingers), puts his arms over his head when we say YAY!, brush his hair, give a high five.  Jack knows the sign for “more” and is using it more consistently. We are working on “drink” and “eat.” He knows the names of several toys and stuffed animals. He will give his favorite friend (Papou, the stuffed panda) a kiss, cuddle with him, and share his snack with him. He plays peek a boo around his play tent, and thinks it’s the most hilarious thing. Jack loves to look at himself in the mirror and smile. He loves playing with his toys, but household objects tend to hold his attention better and going through the cabinet is a dream for him. He follows a few commands (throw the trash away, drop your paci, give this to me, throw the ball, bring this to me). Everyday, we work on learning new things, exposing him to language, and it’s fun to teach him things and eventually have him accomplish whatever it was that we were working on. We have invested in the Lovevery playkits and were gifted the Lovevery playmat, and I think they have been worth it. The toys have been top notch quality, and we’ll be able to save them for future babies and likely pass them along to future cousins as well 🙂

What we are working on:

Teaching Jack how to point to things, language–he says mama and will repeat it and I think is starting to associate mama to me, but otherwise, babbles a ton. Working on stacking blocks, which he shows very little interest in. Learning body parts, animals, colors, ABCs, counting. Working on eating with a fork and spoon, not pocketing food so much, not dropping food/cups/utensils/plates on the floor.

Eating:

As far as milk, Jack gets a sippy cup of milk when he first wakes up, bottle before nap #1, bottle before nap #2, and bottle before bedtime. He currently gets a mixture of breast milk, formula and almond milk. I started supplementing after he turned 11 months because my supply dropped and we tore through the freezer stash too. He drinks about 20oz-24oz of milk per day. We started offering a sippy and open cup at 6 months, and Jack drinks water from a straw sippy right now.

Jack is eating table food, and has tried all different types of things. His favorites are avocado, tofu, and eggs. He also loves his snacks. We give him a variety of Beechnut toddler snacks, flaxeed toddler cookies, prunes, cheerios, bamba, and homemade banana muffins. We are working on trying new things every week, and it’s somewhat of a challenge because he doesn’t eat just “anything” and will throw food on the ground when he is full or doesn’t like it. He will definitely choose a “beige” food over a vegetable or fruit, which I think is funny and frustrating at the same time.

Sleep:

Jack takes 2 naps at around 9am and 2pm each day. His second naptime will depend on when he woke up from his first nap. His nap length started becoming more consistent after 10 months, and they recently have been very consistent. We usually can count on Jack staying asleep for at least 1 hour, and it’s typically closer to 90 minutes for each nap.

Bedtime is between 6:30pm-7:30pm. He goes to sleep earlier if his naps were short that day, or if he woke up very early from his 2nd nap. Lately, his bedtimes have been closer to the 7pm hour, and less at 6pm, which was happening more a few months ago. Jack sleeps between 10-12 hours, and we hope that one day, his typical wake up time is after 6am 🙂 Right now, he is still an early riser, and 6am-6:15am is somewhat rare, but always a good thing. He naturally adjusted and slept when daylight savings ended, and we were so thankful.

We are learning flexibility. Sometimes we nap on the go if we are out and about or visiting friends, the best naps still happen in his crib.

Elimination:

I am super excited to report that Jack is no longer constipated. He’ll probably be embarrassed when he reads this one day (or maybe not) but I know a lot of babies struggle with this. For Jack, as soon as he started eating solids, there was a change in his stool and it took a turn for the worst. It became more solid, dry, and irregular. Truthfully, there wasn’t one food or remedy that solved it completely for us. I believe that it just took time for his little body to regulate. I recently started giving him prunes after reading about their gut health benefits and he loves the Beechnut bars (the ones with 5 ingredients!) too. Jack also drinks water throughout the day, which likely helps. We have also given him a daily probiotic for the longest time, so hopefully that makes his tummy happy. Our pediatrician recommended a probiotic with fiber included, so we will use that if needed.

Likes:

Exploring our house, pulling open drawers and taking everything out, being loud with the pots and pans, shaking things that make noise (like a medicine bottle), helping me with laundry by pulling everything out of the washer or dryer (we are working on the putting the clothes IN part), dancing and bobbing up and down to music, reading, being held up very high, going outside, hugging and snuggling with his stuffed animals, playing with the activity box, and really playing with anything that’s not a toy and not allowed. And Jack does not dislike the car seat anymore! Right after he turned 11 months, that got much better.

Dislikes:

Diaper changes, although it varies. He goes through stages where he will not lay still on his back. He has also been experiencing separation anxiety for the last month so when he’s not ready, he does not want anyone else but mama holding him.

What is next:

Continuing to work on language and gross motor development. Preparing for Jack’s 2nd plane ride for Thanksgiving. I will be taking Jack to Lake Charles alone, and then Yung will fly in later and we will all come back together.

I can’t believe it is November. We had a small birthday party for Jack at the beginning of October while family was in town, and recently celebrated Halloween. I am starting a new job in December, and life has been non stop in the best way. Hoping to write more updates in the near future <3

Baby Jack is 9 months old (10 months tomorrow–I’m just behind on everything lately), and we have definitely hit a sweet spot in life. We moved, we are prepping for our first airplane trip with baby, and we are LOVING every minute (mostly). The summer was tough for me personally. Once July hit, I had gotten extremely behind in work and was spending all my free time at home trying to catch up. I hit a new low (or high?) and once got up at 3am to work, and then left for the clinic at 6:30am. Somehow that very same day, I went to Orange Theory for a 7:30pm class and then to Target. I’m crazy, ya’ll! 

Now that August is here, I am starting to feel better. I am exercising regularly, making it a priority to go to bed early on some nights, which I’m hoping will make me more efficient and present at work. Yung has been incredible, and basically has unpacked our entire house (I have not unpacked one box since we’ve been here), is fixing all the things, and started a new job too. We are making time to spend one on one time together after Jack goes to bed, and I am looking forward to this new season.

Jack updates:

Growth:

At 9 months, Jack weighed 19 lbs 10.8oz (50%ile), 28.5in long ( 55%ile), and 18 3/4 in head (>95%ile). He had a great check up! He is so much more aware of everything, so I knew he would cry a little bit, especially when we had to lay him down for his measurements and exam, but overall, he did well. I was happy that we got a break with the vaccines too.

Development: 

At 8 months and 2 weeks, Jack started scooting backwards, and the very next week, he started crawling. He started crawling a little one day, and then the next day, he became lightening fast. Right around 9 months and 1 week, he started pulling to stand. He can stand in his crib and it’s the cutest thing. He is still doing lots of babbling and talking and is perfecting the pincer grasp. We subscribed to Lovevery baby’s toy kits, and they are perfect for him and me. They come with very clear instructions on how to play with your baby to help them develop, which I take comfort in. I thrive with direction! He understands when we say “no-no,” cries if you take something away from him that he’s held onto for at least 30 seconds and is very observant. He cocks his head to the side to try to see something around the corner and looks down on the floor when he drops something. 

Eating:

Jack continues to take breast milk in a bottle (up to 30oz per day, but more like 20-24oz most days) and he is eating purees and finger foods. He has recently been refusing purees. I wouldn’t call him a greedy eater, but he is getting more interested in feeding himself. It’s so cool to see him make progress! We started practicing with puffs around 8 months to work on his pincer grasp, and for weeks and weeks, most of the puffs ended up on the floor. He is now very proficient in eating puffs and gets excited when I bring out the package. I have a running list of finger foods that he has tried, and it is getting longer. So far, he loves green peas, and hasn’t really rejected anything completely. Jack can also drink water from a 360 sippy cup and a straw sippy. We first introduced the cup around 6 months and I thought there was NO WAY he could do it. Babies are amazing!

Sleeping:

After we sleep trained back at 5.5 months (thank you Taking Cara Babies!), his sleep has mostly been a dream. We are seriously forever grateful for TCB and I have learned SO much about baby sleep. It has become a new mini passion of mine, as I am realizing a little late that sleep in babies, toddlers, and big people alike is so important. Jack’s bedtime is 6:30pm-7pm and he sleeps until 6am (sometimes a little later) in the morning. He naps twice a day (1.5h-2h each), and this type A mama, is giddy that our routine is finally somewhat of a schedule. Jack did have a phase where he was waking up at 4am ready for the day, and then it became 3am, but thankfully a little body reset made that all better. 

Likes:

Crawling fast, pulling up on everything, pulling up using on one hand, with a toy in the other, reading books, bathtime (This varies, but we have figured out to bring safe household items (like tupperware) for him to play with, and it makes bathtime less painful), daddy making silly faces and making him laugh, and chasing after balls/toys. Jack is like a cat. He will roll a ball, chase after it, catch it with his hands (sort of) and then roll it some more.

Dislikes:

Laying down flat (diaper and outfit changes require a song and dance routine), car seat and car rides (just screams and screams. It’s not as bad when someone is riding with him in the back). 

Current schedule:

0600 Wake up + bottle + change clothes for the morning. I spend this hour pumping if I haven’t done so already (Sometimes I pump before Jack wakes up) and Jack has playtime. I pump a total of 5-6x/day. 

0700 Breakfast

0800 Playtime! Jack crawls around while I chase after him and try to get him to play with developmental toys.

0845 Diaper change, back into jammies. Jack doesn’t use a sleep sack, but I change him into long sleeves for each nap and night sleep. Bottle, book, sing a song and rock.

0900 Nap!

1030 Awake! (nap time is about 1.5h); Diaper change, outfit change

1100 Bottle (yes, Jack eats a bunch), playtime

1200 Lunch and playtime afterwards.

1330-1400 Nap (Jack goes down for nap #2 about 3.5 hours after he wakes up from nap #1)

1530 Awake!

1600 Bottle, playtime

1630-1700 Dinner 

1730-1815 Playtime!

1815 Bath, jammies, book, bottle, sing, rock and cuddle!

1900 Sleep! 🙂 Yung and I do a happy dance and hi five each other! 🙂 (no, really.) 

Baby Jack is 7 months old, and we love him more each day. Life has been nonstop, but we are taking each day in stride, and making it all count. Let’s jump right in!

Growth:

We had our check up last month around 6 months, and Jack is growing well! Weight: 17 lb 13 oz; 50th %ile Height: 26.75 in; 50th %ile Head: 18.25 in; 98%ile. He wears size 3 diapers and is filling out his 3-6m clothing. We are about to officially move to 9m+ clothing. I actually put him in a 12m onesie this morning!

Development:

Jack is doing all the things. At first he was tripod-ing, and we were so excited. Then all of a sudden (around week 28), he started sitting with no assistance and plays with his toys with both hands. He has the the ability to roll both ways, but he does not do it often. I think it is because we don’t have a large play area for him to practice, which will soon change!! When we visited my parents in Lake Charles, he became a master roller, because there was ample space to move. He also loves rolling around on our bed–with supervision of course!

We continue practicing tummy time everyday, and I’m hoping this will eventually lead him to sleep on his tummy without distress. On occasion, Jack will wake up on his tummy and cry and be very upset. He looks like he is stuck, although he knows how to roll, so I’m thinking he just needs some practice.

Jack loves to talk and babble. He has been saying mama for months and months, and it catches people by surprise. I know he is just making the consonant and not really calling me ‘mama,’ but it’s funny to see people’s reaction.  He smiles and laughs all the time and everything goes into his mouth, including his feet! He loves his toys, most of all, Sophie the giraffe. He loves to read, and his favorite books are Little Blue Truck and Dr. Seuss’ ABC. 

Jack has recently started to reach out to a light switch when he sees one, so we are practicing turning on and off lights. We are also teaching him sign language. 

Eating: 

At the beginning of April, Jack made a very noticeable shift in eating a lot better. He drinks up to 30 oz per day, and he’s taking more per bottle now. It’s not consistent, but he is no longer taking 2 oz at a time. Sometimes he will drink a whole 7-8oz first thing in the morning.

We started solids right around 6 months, and it was slow going at first. He took a little while to get used to his highchair, but since then, he is loving all of his food. We are doing all sorts of purees and are planning to incorporate baby led weaning soon, but I’m nervous about the choking hazards. I’m going through the infant Feeding Littles course at the moment. With the solids, there has been a shift in the amount of breast milk he takes, and it has come down to 24-25oz per day. We are working towards eating solids 3 times per day.

Sleep:

Right around 5 months of age, I was starting to grow weary. Jack’s overnight sleep was starting to go downhill, and he was waking up multiple times overnight. You can call it sleep regression, but I would say for something to regress, it had to have been good at some point. Whatever it was, it was getting worse. Naptime and bedtime were becoming so stressful. We couldn’t put him down awake anymore, because he would just scream, and we began rocking and feeding to sleep, and sometimes that didn’t even work well. We were trying to wean the swaddle, and that was also giving us grief, because Jack’s hands would fly around everywhere and startle him awake. His sweet little fingernails would also scratch up his face at night. Yung and I were struggling. We could hardly find a few minutes to talk and I felt like I was running around 24/7…literally. 

We’ve been following Taking Cara Babies since the beginning, so we purchased her sleep course and started on April 14th. We took away the swaddle cold turkey a few weeks before we started sleep training. By day 6, Jack was sleeping through the night (7p-6a). By day 2, he was falling asleep on his own with no crying. We are currently still working battling the “early morning wakenings.” Jack often thinks 5am is an appropriate time to wake up, so hopefully his body eventually shifts and is able to stay asleep a little longer. We also “nap trained” so now he falls asleep for naps without fussing. We are so proud of our Jack Jack. I may work on a separate post about sleep at some point. 

Miscellaneous:

Jack took his first road trip to Lake Charles and got to play with some new friends! He has also recently started loving the pacifier. He has learned how to place it in his mouth, which is very cute, and nice because in the middle of the night, he can reach for it. We try to distract him with toys during the day so he mainly uses the paci for sleep. 

We have already cut Jack’s hair twice, which makes me laugh. He has a healthy head of hair! 

Jack started cutting his bottom 2 teeth this week. Just like any other milestone, this one surprised me to tears. I know-I’m ridiculous. I’m guessing this explains why the day before I discovered the teeth, he was excessively fussy and didn’t want to be put down. 

We are still working on weaning Zantac and I hope by 9-10 months, he will be done with the medicine. 

Life update:

We are moving to a new house this summer, and could not be more excited! This is a big development for us, and we are happy to start life in the suburbs. I have been living in Uptown/downtown for about 12 years, so it is time. Jack has been sharing a room with us due to our limited space, which seemed ideal at first, but it will be nice once every one has their own space again, and we don’t have to tip toe around his sleep schedule. We feel very fortunate for this opportunity and cannot wait to settle into our new neighborhood.

Yung and I have gotten to go out on a couple date nights recently because my mom was here helping us, and we hope to continue that on a regular basis. When we aren’t able to get out, we make it a point to schedule an in home date, like getting take out and watching a movie. 

Mama update:

I am loving being a mom, and know that this is what I was built for. It is my calling to take care of others, and I have found that in my career outside of the home, but all of my dreams came true on the day that I married Yung and the night Jack was born. Despite all the love and gratefulness comes the hardship. The transition to being a mama has been a different kind of challenge. A friend once told me that motherhood is like a secret club. Isn’t that so true? 

It’s hard to explain, and it’s not really talked about much because when people ask you how your baby is doing, they are looking for you to say “We are doing well. Things are amazing.” While we are doing well for the most part, and yes, it is amazing, I am grateful to have girl friends, family members, and my husband to lean on when things get rough, which let’s be honest. This happens more so than we would like to admit to one another. 

I am still learning how to become a better mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and colleague, without compromising too much of one role. Thankful for this journey and my membership to the motherhood club. 

Wishing you a happy first week of June! 

XOXO

Jack is 3 months old and it has been fun reminiscing on his birth day and looking through old photos with Yung. Gone are the blurry days of newborn fog and scrawny legs. Jack is the sweetest and smiley-est baby who has filled out and is developing all the yummy rolls. It was difficult to write his birth story because so much happened in 24 hours. The best way I could figure out how to organize it is using a rough timeline. I couldn’t decide how honest I should be about all the bodily fluids and pain, because lets face it–childbirth is messy. I wrote down the thoughts and feelings that I could remember, and decided that the minute details were not important. Overall, birthing a baby was harder than I thought it would be. I don’t quite know what I was thinking prior to this experience, but I did not think it would be so grueling, nor would I be so exhausted. Having a baby is truly a miracle, and I am thankful for having experienced it.

Are these contractions?

On Thursday, October 25, 2018, I went in for my regular 10 hour shift in the clinic. I am a pediatric nurse practitioner, and I had a full schedule of check ups and sick visits that day. I had my 39 week appointment 2 days prior and I was dilated 2 centimeters. I had started to have some spotting and was losing my mucous plug as well. My day went pretty normally. Someone mentioned during our noon meeting that they were concerned that I would not make it to work my weekend shifts. I said, “I’m sure I’ll be fine! I’m not showing any signs of labor yet!” Now looking back at it, that was kind of a lie. I was just thinking that I had not had contractions. I never had any Braxton Hicks throughout pregnancy.

5pm:  I started having bladder pains that were not relieved by urinating. During the last month of pregnancy, I would have severe (I’m talking hunched over, can barely walk to the bathroom) bladder pains in the middle of the night from not going to the bathroom for several hours. After I urinated, the pain went away.

I wondered for a long time what contractions would feel like for me. After a little while, the “bladder pain” came and went a couple times, and I decided to let my boss know that I thought I might be in labor. I told Yung, and he asked if he should come pick me up. I said no, I needed to stay to finish my charting. Good thing I did, because baby was on his way. I stayed 2 hours extra and got everything done.

The night before

7pm:  I had been timing what I now was pretty sure were contractions and they were very irregular. I told Yung that we needed to clean the house right away! My poor husband has to deal with a lot! We cleaned, ate dinner, finished packing our hospital bags, contacted our dog sitter, and kept timing the contractions. At this point, it was mild pain and I was able to take a shower and keep moving around the house. I don’t remember feeling nervous or excited or anything really. It was more disbelief that our baby would be here very soon. Yung asked if I thought the baby would be here over the weekend. I told him if this was the real thing, we are having this baby tomorrow!

Midnight: Got in bed to sleep. Yung calls this night his last night of good rest.

The morning of

1am: Woke up to go to the bathroom. Contractions were still fairly mild.

3am: Woke up to intense pain. It was then that I decided that I was going to get an epidural. The contractions were lasting a minute or longer and coming every few minutes. It was like a Charley horse in my lower abdomen. It was pretty much like the worse gas pain ever that kept coming and going. Now looking back at it, I should have probably gotten up to walk around or something, but I just continued to lay there, writhing in pain, with my husband snoring next to me 🙂 I was trying to get some rest, but it really wasn’t working.

5am: I finally woke Yung up and told him that I was sure I was having contractions now.

6:50 am: Our dog sitter finally texted back around 6:30am and said to bring the dogs over anytime. Yung left just in time for morning traffic (sorry, hon!) to bring our dogs all the way across town (Again, sorry! I just felt so much more comfortable having them stay with our far away dog sitter versus anywhere else) the morning his wife was in labor.

7am-8:45am: Here is where I labored at home alone. I did my best to finish packing my bag with a few extra things but I couldn’t muster up enough strength to zip it up. Finally I just sat on the couch to rest. I ended up wearing my TWU alumni shirt, nike shorts, Gap flip flops, and my 10 year old Northface jacket to the hospital. The anesthesiologist later commented on my ratty flip flops and said they looked so comfortable and what a great choice to wear to have a baby. Translation=those are the sloppiest shoes I’ve ever seen anyone wear out in public. But he was nice and tried to crack jokes with us all whilst I was contracting.

Hospital time

8:45am: When Yung came home, I told him it was time. My water hadn’t broken, but my pain had intensified. It was time to go to the hospital!! We had taken a tour ahead of time, so we knew exactly which parking garage to go to and which entrance to take. We headed straight to the admissions desk in labor and delivery and got checked in. It was not dramatic like it is in the movies. No one came running up to greet us with a wheelchair (I would have liked one though). We sat in the waiting room for longer than I would have liked to wait for the charge nurse to come and triage me. I was 6cm dilated and the nurse said that was a ticket to stay! It was baby time! Unfortunately, my doctor was not on call that day, but we were happy with the physician that delivered Jack. She was kind, but also aggressive. I didn’t truly understand how high risk OB can be until this experience.

Epidural + rest

10am: We got settled into our room and I got an IV, labs drawn, and my fluids started. My epidural came shortly afterwards. I didn’t feel scared or nervous. Nor did I feel defeat. During my entire pregnancy I told myself that I was just going to see how badly it hurt, and then decide if I was going to get an epidural or not. It really wasn’t a question at this point. We didn’t ask for intermittent monitoring. I didn’t ask for the exercise ball. We didn’t do laps up and down the hall way. All of the relaxation positions we learned in class pretty much went out the door. I knew it would be extremely hard to continue with the contractions through my water breaking and complete dilation without help.

They used some type of numbing device that I was not familiar with both for my IV and epidural, but it stung a good amount. After my epidural, my pain went away, but my general feeling of being uncomfortable did not. I was afraid the epidural was going to come out, even though it was very secure. I felt huge, my lower extremities were so swollen, and I wasn’t allowed to sit up. I had to sit in a reclined position. The epidural made me nauseous and cold. It made my legs feel like rubber. Being the stubborn person that I am, I refused Zofran and also later refused any bolused pain meds. I told everyone, no thank you…I’ll just throw up instead…and I did..several times.

12:30pm:  I encouraged Yung to go get some lunch, which he did reluctantly, and I continued to nap in my darkened room. He ended up eating with a father who was expecting twins that day.

2pm: I started to feel a very intense pressure in my butt. Basically, it felt like a bowling ball was going to come out of my bottom. It came and went, and I just sat there frozen for a little while trying to figure out what it was. I finally decided to call the nurse and ask her, and she confirmed that it was the baby. When I was turned on my left side, the pressure lessened significantly. Sometime around then, the doctor came to check my progress, and broke my water accidentally.

3pm: I had made it to 10 centimeters! I was told that the baby’s head was still sitting very high, so I was going to hang out and allow my body to “labor down.” This was not a term that I had heard of, but it basically meant I was going to hang out and let the baby continue to descend down the birth canal on his own. I was also informed that my doctor had 2 other patients ahead of me that were delivering, so I was third in line.

GO TIME

5pm: The nurse told me that we were going to start pushing. Basically, she would tell me when I was having a contraction, and then I would push for about 10 seconds (I think?) and rest. After a little while, I asked her if anything was happening or if I was really doing anything. She said I was basically taking a few steps forward and one step back. The baby’s head was coming out a little, and then going back in. When the doctor came in, we did more of the same, and finally, it was decided that my epidural was going to be turned off so I could feel my contractions and be able to push more effectively. This in turn made me feel pain, which was not pleasant because it gradually started intensifying, but I think it did make me push harder. They asked if I wanted a mirror, and I said okay??! I definitely never thought my private area would be up for everyone to see, but it did help me see my progress (which was SLOW). I honestly thought the baby would never come out. It seemed like I was making such little progress. They finally had Yung get behind me to help me push. Finally, they took away the mirror, put my feet up in stirrups, and the doctor took a seat and put on her gown. No one said anything, and I wasn’t thinking clearly, but looking back at it, this meant the baby was coming!

THE BIRTH

6:36pm: After an hour and a half of pushing, Jack Weston Tsai made his debut in the world. I felt an immediate feeling of relief and it also felt like a GIANT wet slug had come out of me. I don’t remember feeling the “ring of fire” because I’m thinking I still had some medicine on board. I did, however, feeling all the stitching afterwards. It is really hilarious to hear Yung’s recount of the birth and what his initial reaction was. He says the baby looked like he was vacuum sealed and was all scrunched up.

Jack was immediately plopped on my chest and was screaming at the top of his lungs. It was truly surreal, and his cone head really scared me. I know they go away, but my first thoughts were “you feel really warm and wet” and “your head…” and then “you’re perfect.” Yung cut the cord and I got to do skin to skin. I never want to forget those sweet moments when I became a mom and Yung became a dad. We love our Jack Weston so much and are grateful we were chosen to be his parents.

Our sweet baby boy just turned 9 weeks old, and I can hardly believe we have made it this far. Each week brings on new milestones and accomplishments, and it is hard to keep up with all of the changes.

Growth:

At Jack’s 2 month check up this week, he was 13 lb 5oz and 23 inches long. Still 75th percentile for height and weight (he seems enormous to me though) and 95th percentile for head circumference. He is super consistent with his growth, which we are very happy about. In the past few weeks, Jack’s reflux has worsened and he’s starting to eat less and have back arching, but thankfully, it has not affected his growth.

Milestones:

Since about week 7, Jack has been smiling more and cooing like crazy. We love sitting with him and having “conversations” with him, and it is pretty much the cutest thing ever. We think he laughed a little the other day and loves to let our little yelps and sighs. We work on tummy time every day, and he is starting to hold his head higher and higher. In the last few weeks, he has also started self soothing by chewing on his right hand. Jack is spending more time on his play mat and loves to explore.

Eating:

Jack eats every 2-3 hours around the clock. We are working on stretching his feedings overnight, and it is a work in progress. He takes 2.5 oz- 4 oz of expressed breast milk in a bottle. It has been difficult to have time take larger feedings with his spitting up, but we are hoping with the help of Zantac (started this week), it will help his eating and sleeping.

Our routine:

We do our best to keep Jack on an eat-play time-sleep routine, but his schedule varies every day. I hope one day he’ll have a consistent wake time and bed time, but right now, we go with the flow. I’m realizing now that his poor sleeping has a lot to do with his tummy being hungry from all the spit up, so we need the Zantac to work its magic! I’m also wondering how much I should alter my diet.

During his play time, we will read books, play on his play mat, practice tummy time, or just hang out. Sometimes he will rock in his rocker or hang out on our bed as I fold laundry.

We are trying to make his sleep routine consistent, so Jack knows what the expect. 60-90 minutes after he wakes up, he is offered a nap. Any longer than that, he gets overly tired and very fussy, which results in Jack fighting his sleep and lots of screaming. He usually starts yawning, kicking, and moving his arms and legs rapidly, and that tells me he is getting tired. That’s when I close the curtains, dim the lights, put Jack in his swaddle, and get him ready for sleep. He mostly naps in his crib, and occasionally in his rocker. We try to put him down while he is awake (but drowsy), and I am super proud of him, because he will normally put himself to sleep. We are working on this!

What else?

-Still in size 1 diapers, but I’m pretty sure size 2 would fit him just fine. I’m trying to finish off the open pack before we move up.

-Wearing 0-3/3 month clothing, but he’s getting pretty long, so we may have to go up a size soon.

-I’ve established my milk supply, and I am finally happy with where I am at and how much I am producing. I’ve been able to freeze milk everyday that we will use when I go back to work. I am pumping exclusively, which was not what I had planned, but Jack had so much difficult latching in the beginning, it just wasn’t working for us. Maybe I will try to nurse him again now that he is older but it hasn’t happened yet. I am currently taking supplements from Legendairy Milk and eating the occasional lactation cookie to keep up my supply. I’m pumping every 2-3 hours during the day and the amount I pump overnight varies.

-I have lost all 40 pounds that I gained during pregnancy! I am eating as much as I can to produce milk and haven’t exercised officially, but hope to get into an exercise routine in the next few weeks.

-Every day, I find something new to worry about, but I am praying for continued perspective and decreased obsessing. Right now, it is his spit up and a mysterious rash that has developed on his trunk and thighs. Thinking it is a heat rash vs contact dermatitis.

-I still cannot believe I’m a mom, and I’m wondering when it will get easier. Some days, I feel terribly overwhelmed, and other days, I feel like I can conquer it all. All I do is stare at the baby monitor when I am away from Jack, and I know that I need to relax a bit, but it is hard. I keep going over my sleep course like I am going to be graded on it…Looking for that perfect sleep solution. Thank goodness for my husband, who has been the biggest help ever. I can see that I am not able to cope with every day blips as easily as I used to, and I am paying more attention to self care, and getting used to my new normal. I am trying to not have expectations and meet Jack where he is developmentally. It’s hard not to compare what he is doing with other babies I know that are around the same age, but I need to just focus on how well he is doing. Plus, I want to have a bunch of babies, which Yung is not going to allow if I am falling apart at the seams everyday. Just some real talk. I am so grateful for Jack, but as amazing as motherhood has been, it is equally as difficult.

Here are photos taken when Jack was 7 weeks old:

Here is his 2 month photo that I took today (Forgot his sloth stuffed animal):

Jack’s Grammie (my mom) has been staying with us since he was born, and she leaves in a few days to go home. My dad will come for the weekend to visit and pick her up, and then we will be on our own. My grandmother (her mom) did the same thing for her when Aaron and I were born. Jack will turn 6 weeks on Friday, and we don’t know what we would have done without her help. My mom is always good at putting things in perspective for me. I don’t feel like I am an overly anxious or stress ridden person (I like to come across as calm and collected), but motherhood has put me to the test.

My mom has done all of the cooking (Yung and I have not had to worry about a single meal!!), all the cleaning in the kitchen and around the house, washed my pump parts and all the bottles, washed and scrubbed baby clothes, come with me to doctor’s appointments when Yung had to go back to work, helped a ton with the baby, and SO much more.

She has been around to comfort Jack when he is just not having it (does anyone else have a gassy baby with reflux?!) and he sleeps the best when he is laying on her chest. I have also had to run some errands (did anyone else know that you have to trek downtown to obtain your baby’s birth certificate that is required for insurance verification?) and take the dogs on walks, and she has been able to love on the baby while I am gone.

In the last week, I have gotten my mom hooked on Gilmore Girls, my all time favorite show, so she’ll have something fun to watch when she goes home.

We are so lucky to have Grammie with us, and we cannot thank her enough.

Here are some of my favorite photos of Jack with his Grammie and Grandpapa when he visited. They are ordered from most recent (4 weeks) to birth.

The last photo was taken 2 hours after Jack Weston was born. He was already so alert and ready to take on the world <3

Thank you, Grammie! We will always remember this time and look forward to your visits!

XOXO

Hi friends! We had a baby! His name is Jack Weston Tsai, and we recently celebrated his 1 month birthday. I am working on his birth story and details about our first weeks, but for now, I am going to share where we are thus far. Everyday looks different for us, but one thing is for sure–this sweet baby is growing like a weed and we love him more each day. We are so grateful for a healthy baby and we are enjoying this newborn season. The good times far out weigh the difficult hours, and we keep telling ourselves that each day is a gift.

Growth: Jack weighed 10 pounds 15 ounces at his 1 month check up. He was 22 inches long and his head was 15.25 inches. He is in the 75%ile for height and weight and 90%ile for head circumference.

Eating: 3 oz (or less) of expressed breast milk about every 2-3 hours. Overnight, he eats about every 3 hours. We supplement with formula when I get behind with pumping, don’t produce enough, or if Jack starts cluster feeding. I may detail our breastfeeding journey (or lack thereof) in another post.

Sleeping: We are working on sleeping mostly in his crib, but sometimes he takes short naps in his rock and play. Let’s face it, he sleeps the best on Grammie’s chest! We were sent home with a few Halo sleepsacks from the hospital and we recently started using the Ollie swaddle. During Jack’s third week of life, I purchased Taking Cara Babies’ online course and we are attempting to practice her philosophy. The type A momma in me wants to get him on a schedule so badly. You know me and my love for timelines. I am learning to go with the flow and loosen up a bit when it comes to expectations. We were sent home with a few Halo sleepsacks from the hospital and we recently started using the Ollie swaddle.

Activity: Jack Weston is a pro at holding his head up when he’s on his tummy. He favors his right side, so we are working on looking towards the left and also doing neck stretches whenever he tolerates it. We are doing everything we can to prevent getting a flat spot on his head. Jack coos and makes the sweetest sounds. He also smiles, but we know that it is likely poop or gas and not purposeful yet. We can’t wait to see him laugh!

Other details:

-Jack officially grew out of his newborn clothes at one month and one day, and we graduated to size 1 diapers.

-He is a happy spitter, but it does not make us worry any less. His reflux is obviously not hindering his growth, and we hope he continues to be happy. It’s a struggle to keep his clothes clean, but we can deal with that.

-We think he has gas, but our guess is as good as the next person’s! Gas is so vague. He does show many of the symptoms (kicking legs, intermittent crying/fussiness) and we are trying all the things. We have gas drops, and plan to start a probiotic soon. I have been mostly dairy free and not eating spicy food, but I haven’t seen a direct connection to my diet and Jack’s symptoms.

-Jack goes from soundly sleeping to screaming the next and it usually means he was asleep and now he is starving. I’m wondering what it says about his developing personality and which one of us passed on this trait to our sweet baby.

1 month photos:

Thank you for reading along! Hoping to share Jack’s birth story and more details about the first few weeks of his life soon.

XOXO