My dear Isabel

I know you don't understand me yet, my little Isabel, but mommy really wants to wish you a very merry first Christmas. Mommy has been dreaming about having you for many years now.

When Mommy was injured 4 years ago and the doctors said mommy cannot have a baby any time soon, I was so distraught and worried that i would never meet you. Luckily mommy recovered and also fell in love with daddy, so that we can have you with us now.

I remember meeting Emma, your second cousin, two years ago. She was so cute and I thought I wish I can have one just like her. Well, I got my wish and you turned out even more darling than I expected.

I really cannot believe that you are my daughter and I am your mommy, but I am so glad it's true. I cannot imagine life without you. It's hard for me even when I don't see you for just a few hours. I cannot believe how much joy you have brought me by just watching you grow. Your little laugh always warms my heart and your curiosity about everything inspires me to look at life more simply and with excitement too.

I hope we can always be as close as we are now. Mommy will always be there for you, no matter what. I hope for you a lifetime of experiences, adventure, love, and laughter. Merry Xmas and Happy New Year, my little one.

Love always,
your mommy... :-)

My first Xmas!

Hi everyone,

It's been awhile since I have been able to blog. Yaya, mommy and daddy have been watching me like a hawk since I can crawl everywhere now and love to climb up and stand whenever I find something to hold on to.

They think I will fall or something because they are following me around all the time. I tease them once in awhile and pretend to lose my balance, but really I already got the hang of it. It's just fun to see them rush to me. hee hee

Well, finally I got a moment to myself. I put on this new outfit my grandma gave me to pose for a photo. Do you like it? I love it, but what can I say, I look adorable in anything. I am glad grandma and grandpa moved from Vegas to here so I can see them a lot. They spoil me. :-)

I love it that mommy and yaya set up the xmas tree for me this year. I already see presents underneath it. Woo, I wonder what they are. I love all the pretty lights on it. I can stare at it for minutes. Mommy also got me a xmas book with a blinking tree on the last page. It's so fun. I love Xmas!

I heard a rumor that my other grandma in Houston will give me lots of money for Xmas so I can get whatever I want next year. Mommy is being tight fisted though and told me we will save it for my college or just use it for diaper funds. What is college? sounds boring. I will see if I can change mommy's mind. Heehee. It's good to be a baby and the only grandchild in the family. I better enjoy it before my cousin is born in Feburary.

That's all for now. I wish you all a very merry xmas and a happy new year! Come and visit me. I promise to be cute and cuddly. :-)

- Isabel

Reading, standing, talking

Isabel is one smart kid ;-)





- Lei

It's like Christmas morning

Remember that feeling of a kid on Xmas morning - when you wake up and start feeling the anticipation of opening presents - what will await for me in those boxes, what delightful surprises. Your heart is pounding; you feel exhilarated; and you feel you can't wait to get your hands on those wrappings to see what is inside.

That is how I feel everyday in the morning before I open the door to wake up Isabel. People sometimes ask how I feel to be a mom and I think this is the best way I can describe the joy of having Isabel in my life. She is like a present that I open every morning when I open her bedroom door. She is sometimes crying for attention, sometimes smiling with glee, but whatever her expression, my heart just melts when I see her and hold her.

I feel the same way on my way back from work. I start walking faster and faster as I get closer to home, getting excited. I know I have my present (Isabel) at home to see and enjoy. What expression will she have today?

Ahh, for all the work that motherhood is, I would not trade it for anything in the world. :-)

- Lei

I have been rushing

Only a few days ago, I realized why I have been so tense. I have been rushing around everywhere trying to do too many things.

I started work 3 weeks ago part time and I thought "great I live so close, I can come home and feed the baby at lunch time." What a brilliant idea! Well, not so. I tried and tried and ended up rushing home to feed her and thinking about work as well and then rushing back for meetings and then getting home at 6 or 6:30pm.

What was supposed to be a pretty easy schedule feels like a 12 hour work day 4 days a week. I guess that's what I get for being a perfectionist. I have since learned. Now I go to work from 8:30 to 3:30, eating lunch at my desk, so I can go home and then devote my complete attention to the baby or working out or relaxing.

Finally an doable schedule... I also was able to settle into a regular workout routine - Sundays and Thursdays yoga and Wii Fit twice a week. I haven't figured out how to fit salsa nights in there yet, although I probably should have gone tonight since I am still up now and feeling anxious.

I have been trying to go to sleep by 10pm since I get up early now to feed the baby before I go to work. Well, the idea is nice but I am not always sleepy early, like tonight. I tried for an hour to sleep and finally gave up to blog.

I am still learning how not to rush. I think it has to do with learning how to not control everything and letting it flow. It's a work in progress. I think I was doing fairly well before the baby. As a new mom, I easily reverted to my old ways of survival - by trying to be a perfectionist. Now that I am starting to get the hang of things, perhaps I will let up. Time to sleep...

- Lei

Carrots, Peas, Broccoli, Squash

Isabel loves her solids. She eats a bowl twice a day. She has tried 4 vegetables so far and loved each one. She looks like such a big girl in that booster seat. She is eating broccoli here. Enjoy!



-Lei

Isabel is 7 month old Today!

She is getting so big and love to climb things now to get on her knee or stand up. It's almost time to lower her crib as she can use the railing to pull herself to standing. She hasn't quite figured out how to get back to sitting from there, so usually she just freaks out after she stands up. It's awesome and scary. We are worried she will bump her head if she loses her balance. We have put pillows all around the crib so she would fall on something soft if she falls.

Besides trying to stand, she can also feed sitting now facing me and can crawl toward me and find milk herself. it's pretty amusing. I guess I can always know when she wants to eat. She basically just comes over and tries to get it over my shirt. :-)

She is loving her solid food and has it twice a day. We have given her rice cereal, carrots, peas, and broccoli so far. She is loving it.

- Lei

Another Inexpensive Toy for Isabel

Isabel is definitely not materialistic. In fact, she seems to love mommy's stuff that cost nothing. First there was the water bottle. Now it's the camera case. Enjoy!

Pretty in White

Isabel was baptized on Sunday, November 23, 2008. She looked so cute in her white dress. Jaime's mom got it for her in the Philippines. We have already passed the dress to Emily for her baby's baptism next year to start a family tradition.

Isabel was so good at church. She only cried a few cries but smiled for most of it. While I am not religious, Isabel was baptized since it's so important to Jaime's family. Whether she will grow up religious remains to be seen. I hope to let her decide for herself when she grows up.

For her, it was just one big festivity, with relatives all around, lots of pictures taken, and good food at Grandma's house.

- Lei

Sleep Trained Angel

After much heartache, I think we succeeded in Isabel's sleep training of crying it out. It was so hard but so worth it. We tried 3 methods before it worked.

1. Cold turkey - no swaddle, no feeding, and the Ferber method (soothing her after a few min and waiting longer each time up to as long as 25 min before soothing her again)
   Result: We gave up after 6 nights. She was crying as long as 90 min sometimes. Then on the 6th night, she woke up every hour to cry for 30 min. We couldn't take it anymore and was worried that she was afraid to go to sleep, etc...
   
   
2. Middle of the road - no swaddle, no feeding, and gentle persuasion (soothing her as soon as she cries - until she went back to sleep)
   Result: We gave up after a week. She was crying a little less but still woke up 2-4 times a night. We gave up after visiting her pediatrician at her six months check-up. He suggested method number 3
   
   
3. Cry it Out - swaddled, wedged in (so she can't easily flip over), and cry it out (no soothing at all until she sleep again)
   Result: It has been two weeks. We definitely had challenges with this one too, but it seems to be working now. She can sleep at least 9 hours straight without crying now. Around the 6th night, she cried about 90 min once and I almost gave up again. But then I thought, if I gave up now, all the training is lost and she suffered for nothing. So although it really hurts to hear her cry, I toughed it out and just stayed up the whole time she was crying. I blogged, watched TV, and talked to Jaime while we waited it out. Wow, that was a tough night. But it all got better from there.
   

She cried about 10 min the next night once, and then only 1-2 min once each night after that. The last few nights - no crying at all from 9-6 and then even when she woke up, she didn't cry until she saw one of us or it's around 7am. We peek at her without her knowing and she would just play.

Moral of the Story - Crying it Out fully works

• Ferber method didn't work. As soon as she saw Agnes soothe her, her energy to cry was renewed. It's better and faster to just let her cry until she sleeps. It sends a clear method that she needs to go back to sleep on her own and no one is coming. We of course make sure she is safe. Agnes is a trooper and checks on her from under the bumper to make sure Isabel is safe, while avoiding being seen
• Give any method 2 weeks. Isabel is smart and stubborn. She will test us fully before giving up. If I gave in on the 6th night of our 3rd method, she would have won and know she can still get us in there with pro-longed crying. So glad I stayed strong.
• Crying is not bad for the baby. She may sound like she is suffering or hungry, but our pediatrician assured us she can take it and it's worth it to train her. Uninterrupted sleep is the best for her.
  
• She doesn't need to eat at night. We actually developed that habit for her by rushing to her at her first cry. At 12 weeks, she started flipping over swaddled and we freaked out and started rushing to her at her first cry every night after that. Little did we know, that ruined her sleep through the night habit and since then, she started getting up 1 to 2 times a night to feed. I think if we just thought of putting a pillow in her crib to prevent her from turning while swaddled and then let her cry a little instead of rushing to her every night, she probably wouldn't have develop the bad sleep habits that we then had to break with the method above. Oh well, c'est la vie. Such is the life of new parents!

At the end of the day, we are lucky she is so healthy and a good girl after all. I still get up to pump, but since she is sleeping through the night now. I feel comfortable pumping at 5 or 6am now instead of 3 or 4am, so I can sleep up to 7 hours straight now, maybe even 8. Ahhhh, such a blessing!!

- Lei

Carrots

Isabel loves her solid food. After starting rice cereal, we started her on carrots. Agnes made the carrots for her, so it's nice and fresh. Carrots are supposed to be good for her eye sight. Given Jaime and I are both near-sighted, especially me, Isabel can use all the help she can get. She is such a good eater, like her mommy and daddy :-)

She is now eating Solids twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. She can eat almost a full bowl like the one in the video during one of the feedings. Wow. She lovessss food!


-Lei

Daddy and Isabel time

Daddy loves playing with Isabel. Tummy time ... Frustration... You will see what I mean



- Lei

prepping to crawl fast

She is so strong now. She can get on all fours and put her butt in the area, prepping to crawl fast. She hasn't quite figure out how to put it all together yet. all is due time.

-lei

Isabel is 6 months old

Isabel is such a healthy, active, and happy little girl. She turned 6 months old on Nov 2 and had her check up on Nov 4th.

All is great. 100% breastfed; 27.5 inches - very tall for her age. 16.5 or 18 lbs we are not sure. When we weighed her at home, she was 18 lbs. At the dr office, she weighed only 16.5 lb. Maybe she was holding onto the sides. don't know. She is somewhere in between that.

Her weight is at 60 percentile which just means she is a very active girl and is digesting her food well. She got 4 more shots, only cried a little. Jaime, Agnes, and I also got shots too - T-dap (whopping cough) and Flu. We usually wouldn't have, but for the protection of the baby, we did.

Now we are starting solids with her - rice cereal first. She is loving it.

- Lei

I have never been so happy to see....

Poop! Isabel has been constipated for 10 days. Her Pediatrician said everything seems fine since she is 100% breastfed and she is active and smiling everyday. He just recommended that we give her 4-8oz of water starting yesterday to help her out.

I was starting to worry today since she still didn't poop. Well, I didn't have to. At 8pm, she started to poop about 4 times, including pooping while Agnes and I were changing her. You think we would be grossed out or something. Instead, Agnes and I were both cheering and laughing when it happened. We were so happy and relieved. I think Isabel was so confused why we were so happy.

I guess this is what happens when you becomes parents. Seeing Poop from Isabel has made our day!

- Lei

I am proud to be

an American! I can't believe I am even saying it. Don't get me wrong. I am also proud to be Chinese, but yesterday for the first time, I am proud to be an American to witness the ultimate American dream - our first black president.

Not only does this symbolize that anything can truly happen in America, but also, for the first time I was inspiring by our President elect. I don't actually care what color he is. What I care about is he is direct, personable, gracious, inspiring, and action oriented.

Jaime and I even went to a celebration rally in Oakland because of the excitement in the air. It was great to be there and watch history in the making. To my surprised, I was for the first time moved by a political speech. I thought I was watching a movie because the only time I have ever been moved by a President was ones played in movies like Dave or American President.

You can feel the hope and inspiration in the air after Obama's speech. For the first time, so many people who have been apathetic about politics, like Jaime and I and many of our friends, were glued to the TV for the debates and the voting results. It's time for a change and I am so glad we finally will have a president that is eloquent and inspiring and will make us proud to be Americans.

- Lei

Sailor Moon and Clark Kent

Jaime and I are not big Halloween fans. We skipped it last year since I was pregnant and was planning to skip this year too - too lazy to go buy costumes.

We were planning to stay in, but at the last minute decided to go out Halloween night since it was not raining. That's the beauty of living in downtown SF. So many clubs and bars within walking distance.

Since we were going out, we didn't want to go without costumes, too conspicuous and not fun. So we looked into our closets and whipped together two costumes from what we had.

I am Sailor Moon - a sexy Japanese Anime and Jaime is obviously Clark Kent (my favorite hero). That t-shirt has come in good use. We had fun out seeing other people's costume and had a drink at Bubble Lounge (only 3 blocks away from our house). My favorite costumes were this guy in a full on baby sleep outfit, another guy who is a shower complete with shower curtains, and Mr. T.

- Lei

Isabel's self-made costume for Halloween

We decided against getting Isabel an
costume for Halloween this year since she is still so young. Well, she had other ideas and made her own. :-)

She is so strong and tall now that she reached out to the hanging musical carouselabove her crib and yanked on the hanging dog super hard. It broke the bar holding it up completely.

We decided then just to put the carousel on her head as her hat and costume - Baby Carousel :-)

How cute!

- Lei

Isabel's new toy

Who said babies need expensive toys? That's just the result of marketing to nervous new moms. As you can see in this video, Isabel is perfectly happy with her new toy, that cost mommy nothing :-). She is actually fascinated by it. Enjoy!



-Lei

Cold Turkey - night 4 and 5

Isabel did well for night 3 and 4 - slept from 10pm to 7:15am. Then last night, all was erased it seemed. She had trouble going to sleep. Didn't sleep until 10pm, then woke a little at 10:30pm, then 12:45pm (we had to feed her), 4:30am, then 8am.

While we would like for her to sleep through the night, we don't have the heart to have her cry night after night. We also don't want her to feel scared in the dark. So we have a new strategy starting tonight.

Not all was lost as we accomplished two goals with this training so far: 1. have her sleep unswaddled and sleep with no milk until at least 6am. Both were successful. Yeepy. I still have plenty of milk again for her to be 100% breastfed. She looks so cute sleeping with her arms spread out.

Our new strategy is to have a routine for her at night that is gentle. First a bath around 7:45pm, then feed her, then read or play with her for a bit before she goes to sleep. If she wakes up in the middle of the night, Agnes will try to soothe her without picking her up (she won't leave her though). We will still try not to feed her before 6am. This way I can pump some milk for her and have a chance to sleep as well. After 6am, I will feed her or Agnes would feed her the bottle if I need to sleep.

We will see how this goes. Every baby is different I guess. Isabel is a good girl. She will learn all in time. She still haven't learned how to sleep on her tummy. She always seems to freak when she is tired and happen to flip herself on her tummy. She doesn't know how to flip back to her back to sleep or sleep on her tummy. This may be why it was hard for her to be sleep trained. Whatever the reason, we are making adjustment and see. What's really important is she is a very healthy and happy baby. :-)

- Lei

Sitting around

Isabel can sit a little bit now. She still falls over sideways if we don't hold her, but at least she doesn't fall forward anymore. It's so cute.

- Lei

Cold Turkey - night 3

She didn't sleep until 9:45pm, but she slept all the way through to 7:15am this time. I was restless all night worried about her, waiting for her to cry, and feeling relieved when I didn't hear it. Motherhood is tough at times.

We agreed to feed her at 8am so she cried and complained from 7:15 to 8. And then I fed her and took a nap with her for an hour. Those are the best times. She was snoring, so cute.

I am hoping tonight will be just as good as last night. No guarantees though. She is a baby after all. Wish us luck..

- Lei

Cold Turkey - night 2

Isabel fell asleep before 9pm last night and woke up twice (at 1am and at 5:30am). I am really glad I went out salsa dancing last night because I was so tired, I was able to sleep through the crying while Agnes soothed her according to the Ferber Method. I don't think I could have taken it if I was awake. Isabel was up 45 min at 1am and almost 90 min at 5:30am. But she did fall asleep after that until 8am. While I was able to sleep through most of it, I dreamt again of feeding her and cuddling her in my dreams.

I fed her in the morning at 8:15am. She ate and slept with me until 11:30am. I guess I felt guilty, although it's so necessary. We have spoiled her by feeding her at night when she really doesn't need it. Now we are correcting that.

Tonight will be hard, as I am at home all night. I am trying to sleep late, so I will be tired later and won't wake up to her crying... my poor baby... On the bright side, I am saving up more milk for her as I still pump at night.

The battle continues... wish us luck... She looks so cute unswaddled and snoring

- Lei

Cold Turkey

Isabel is almost 6 months old. We finally decided it's time for her to sleep through the night, unswaddled and unfed. This is hard as this mean we would have to let her "cry it out" if she wakes up in the middle of the night, not pick her up, or feed her. We are using the Ferber Method. It will not affect her health as she can go without eating for 24 hrs and be fine. It's just that she is so used to waking up and eating in the middle of the night. We have to do this to break the habit eventually.

We started this last night. She actually went to sleep by 8:50pm and didn't wake up until 4:45am this morning. But then she cried and cried for what seemed like forever (maybe 45 min). Agnes soothed her according to the Ferber method (first after 5 min, then 10, then 15). Isabel fell asleep and then woke up again at 6:10am.

This time hearing her cry was heart wrenching. All I dreamed about before she woke up again was feeding Isabel and holding her in my arms. We originally agree to not feed her until 7am but I couldn't take it. Since she already fell asleep once on her own, I fed her at 6:30am and she fell sleep by 6:50.

She woke up at 8:15 this morning and seems fine. We have to do this again tonight and thereafter until she sleeps through the night. yikes. At least I am so lucky that Agnes is doing this. I just need to stay out of the room and let her cry, which is soooo hard already. Wish us luck.

- Lei

Trying solids

Agnes and I gave Isabel some rice soup on Saturday (at 5.5 months old) for the first time. Agnes made it (we are so lucky to have her). As we suspected, she ate it up. Breast milk is good but I guess she is ready for some variety. Thank goodness for that, as she is drinking so much breast milk now, I am hungry all the time again.

-Lei

Listen, I am talking to you

All of a sudden, a few days ago, Isabel started babbling a lot. I guess now that she mastered turning over on one side, she has moved on to bigger things. It's amazing to see her develop her vocal cords and seeing how she will figure out speech.

- Lei

Waiting for the other shoe to drop

Being a new mom is sometimes like waiting for the other shoe to drop. I hated it when I feel that way, but for some reason I cannot shake it at times. I feel it at least once a week. I wonder if all new moms go through this or just moms who are also type A perfectionists.

Do you know what I mean by waiting for the other shoe to drop? It's the anticipation of something unpleasant to happen. For example, whenever I go do a blood test, I have to look at the needle to see when it will prick me. This way, I can relax until it happens and I know how long it will last and only brace for the discomfort when I see the needle go in. Otherwise, if I was looking away, I would hate the feeling of anticipating that pain but not knowing when it's going to happen. Then I end up suffering for the whole time I am there waiting and when the needle hits me.

Well, it's like that sometime with Isabel. She is a baby, so her sleep schedule is unpredictable. Sometime, she gets up once or none during the night and other times she may get up 3 times in one night. For some reason, some nights, I would feel uneasy and almost wait for her to wake up to feed. That unfortunately translates to very light and uneasy sleep.

I think it's because I associate her getting up multiple times with her being uncomfortable or hurt for some reason. I have tried all kinds of methods to find out what makes her comfortable. Most of which is around the temperature of her room and how much she is wearing. It's obsessive, I know, but somehow I keep doing it. I am getting better as I have noticed no clear pattern. Like a scientist, I have been keeping track of her room temperature and how often she gets up, with no clear answers.

At the end of the day, I think I just need to accept that she is a baby and actually a very healthy one. Her getting up once or many times is random, it's what babies do, and I can't change it even if I want to. I guess it is the control freak side of me that is having a hard time accepting it.

I am not always like this every night. Just some nights, especially when I am really tired. I guess I then try to control her environment hoping she won't get up too early since I need rest. I end up doing the opposite however and worry so much that I don't rest even though she sleeps fine. Ironically, during those nights, I actually am relieved when she finally does get up to feed. It's similary to finally feeling that needle in the arm of a blood test. I end up relaxing and sleeping like a baby after that.

Life as a new mom is definitely different in some ways. I am coping better everyday though. Some of the illogical things I do doesn't even make sense to me, but I guess this is what people mean when they say no one worries the way a mom does for her baby.

- Lei

I am a big girl now

Look at me, I can sit and drink from the bottle now. I hold my bottle with one hand, so no one can take it away. :-)

- Isabel

She is starting to ....

crawl... Wow, it's so wonderful to witness how she is figuring this out. First, she figured out how to use her arms to turn 360 degrees. Now, she is piking up her hips and scooting forward. I am so glad I caught this on video. She can only move a little, but we definitely cannot leave her alone on the bed anymore.

-Lei

Taste like lemons

Imagine you saw someone take a big bite into a lemon, how do you feel? Does your mouth water just a little? I did as I think most people would because our brain remembers how sour it was when we did it before. This is how our brain could make our body feel something (like the taste of a lemon) that isn't actually real.

I was reminded of this when I saw Dr. Peter Goldman and asked him to help me with my left shoulder which seems to always have a tight knot in it. I told him I attribute it to my work injury 4 years old and also now when I stress about anything. I told him it just doesn't seem to go away. I have tried working out, getting massages, going to chiropractor and acupuncture. I would get some relief and then it would just come back as soon as I am stressed about something.

He then told me the lemon story above and told me that in fact I am compounding the issues by thinking about fixing it so much. Every time I stress about this knot in my back and remember my injury 4 years old, my mind actually will tell my body to remember the tightness I felt then. Therefore, it continues to remain tight. He told me instead to know that I have a healthy back now and that the tightness is very temporary. Just touch my shoulder a few times when it's tight and then forget about it. Don't agonize on why it's tight or what causes it. He then adjusted me to put my body back in balance.

Guess what, ever since then, I followed his advice and my left shoulder is a lot less tight then before. :-) It's amazing how the mind can play tricks on the body.

- Lei

Isabel is 5 months old

Isabel is 5 months old today. Wow, how time flies. Still 100% breast fed, she is healthy, smiling a lot, and really enjoys looking around outside. She also can play a lot on her own now, mostly on her tummy. She can move 360 degrees with her arms and use her feet to also move a little distance. Crawling wouldn't be far behind. She is 16 pounds and growing taller every day.

Making her laugh is so fun, that we couldn't resist doing it again. This time Jaime is making sounds with his hands and Isabel just love it. Here is another one taken a week ago.

- Lei

Almost a century apart!

Ernie and Aileen Norback are my parents' good friends from back in the Stanford days. They were actually my dad's English partners when he first came to the states and I met them when I was only 12 years old.

We have kept in touch with them all these years and they literally watch me grow up and now married with a daughter. Isabel, Agnes, and I went to visit them last week and it was so precious to see them play with Isabel.

Isabel is 4.5 months old and both Aileen and Ernie are 94 years old - almost a century apart. What different experiences Isabel will have in this next century. Time is so fleeting if you think about it. For now, it was so nice to see the delight in their faces when they met Isabel. Isabel also took to them nicely. :-)

-Lei

Size 6 and dropping

Hopefully... I have been striving to get into my regular size 6 jeans for awhile now. Finally, 10 days ago, I was able to wear them out without suffocating. :-) Yeah, progress is good.

I have been saving all my size 6 clothes from 4 years old when I was about 130 pounds. Now they are really coming in handy. Now I just have another 12 pounds to go, before getting to my pre-pregnancy weight and around size 2. Keeping my fingers crossed

I am doing Yoga 2-3 times a week, Wii Fit once a week, and crunches 5 times a week. Hopefully, I can keep it up. The best part though is I feel good, like my old self again. Can't wait to go dancing. :-)

- Lei

Laughing out loud

A parent will do anything to get their baby to laugh. We are no different. Apparently, Isabel loves these popping sounds. Enjoy.

-Lei

She recognizes me !

Wow, Isabel is growing so fast. One of the best developments has been that she recognizes people now. She almost always smiles when she sees me now. It warms my heart so much to see her smile. It's an indescribable feeling.

With recognition however, also comes fear. She is now afraid of anyone new to her and becomes anxious and agitated. Unfortunately, pretty much everyone except Agnes, Jaime, and I are new to her. The fear is just a phase I think. As she gets more accustomed to the world, she will get more accustomed to other people and crowds.

For now, Isabel enjoys herself a lot in her own little world, which is exploring this gym mat in our living room. You can also see in this video that she is starting to turn herself around with her arms. I wonder when she will crawl, maybe in a month or so. She is quite a fast learner. We will see. I don't actually want her to learn to crawl too fast as I haven't baby proof the house yet. yeeks.


- Lei

Head, Shoulder, Knees, and Toes

We learned a lot from baby yoga. Although the class is over, we are still doing it with Isabel. Here is a clip on how Agnes help Isabel become aware of her own body parts. It's sooooo cute. Enjoy!


-Lei

Family Portrait

Can you tell who is who? What a cute family, huh?


- Lei

How old am I?

How old do you think I am here? I ask this question because there was so much discussion regarding the age of the Chinese female gymnasts. I don't know for sure whether China faked their ages or not; however, I resent the argument that Americans thinks our gymnasts look underage.

I don't think most Americans have any idea how old a 16 year old Chinese Gymnast would look. Asians in general develop late and we look young (good genes). I remember being mistaken for a 14 years old at 16; while some 16 year old Caucasians could possibly pass for a 18 year old.

On top of that, Gymnasts, due to their rigorous athlete training probably develop even later. I hear most gymnasts get their menstrual cycle much later given how tough their training is every day. That would make any girl look even younger.

Well, my 2 cents. :-)

- Lei

Isabel is 4 months old!

Isabel is so alert and curious about everything now. It's hard to feed her and watch TV or do anything else as she would stop to look. She would check if the TV is on or look at me intently as I drink water. You can tell she is processing what everything is.

What an amazing process human development is. Well, her check up at 4 months went very well. She is at the 90% for her age for both height and weight and around 65% for her head circumference. She is 15.5 1bs, 25.75 inches long, and still 100% breast fed. I am so thankful I still have really good milk for her.

The Dr say she may get to 20 1bs by 6 months if not more. She got 4 more shots this visit and as usual, she was really tough. She only cried for 10 seconds and just stopped. This time, she didn't even get a fever from the shots like last time. Guess she is very healthy. The only thing she had was a bit of eczema on her face and arm. He prescribed a cream for her which worked well. Her skin cleared up beautifully except just one little spot now. No wonder she was hitting her face and head a lot before. She was itchy and we didn't know. Oh well. No one is perfect.

She can wear big girl clothes now, as you can see in the Jeans she wore on the photo. She looks actually much older than she is given her weight, although many people mistaken her for a boy when we go out. Oh well, I guess it's hard to tell. I just take it as it's because she looks so sturdy :-)

- Lei

Already a Dancer

Since Jaime and I both like to dance, Isabel naturally also has rhythm. She is such a cutie when she dances. :-)


- Lei

Fasination Mode

I think the first 3 months is the survival mode as everyday is a fight to get enough sleep, make sure she has enough milk, hope she can sleep well at night, and watching her build baby fat. That's why they also call it the fourth trimester I guess.

Now that she is almost four months old, I think we have transitioned to the fascination mode. Jaime and I are just fascinated at all the changes she is going through everyday
- You can tell she is thinking and processing things every day
- She is fascinated with everything she sees when she goes outside
- She is starting to smile more every day and once in awhile laughing out loud
- She begin to reach for things and grab them (you can see she is aware of her hands and feet). She grabs her feet now and may soon enough put her toes in her mouth :-)
- The most amazing thing of all recently is two days ago, she learned to turn over. At first she struggled as you can see in the first video, but a day later, she can do it more no problem (in the second video). It's just amazing how fast she is learning. Now every time we put her down, she rolls over since she is amazed by herself. The only problem is she has not learned to roll back so she always ends up frustrated after awhile on her tummy. But I am sure that will change in a few days (we hope)


- Lei

Proud to be Chinese

After watching the Beijing Olympics games for two weeks straight, it's hard not to be proud to be Chinese. The opening and closing ceremony gave me goose bumps. What a production with 15000 performers and a scale never seen in the world. It's great to see how China re-introduced itself to the world by both being faithful to our traditional cultures/history and using the most modern technologies, like that awesome screen at the top of the Bird's Nest.

It's great to see how magnificent China can be when all the people worked together to make it happen. One million volunteers helped with the Olympic games. Imagine what China can do if they put their mind to it and united its people - anything! I am so glad to see China achieve its gold medal count goals (51) and was only 10 medals behind the US in total count. I loved watching Gymnastics, Diving, Badminton especially. I was so surprised China made it to the finals in Beach Volleyball too.

While I have been in the US for 24 years now, I am still so proud to be Chinese. China may not be perfect, but it's learning and evolving constantly. I am proud that the Olympics in Beijing inspires "One World and One Dream." This is what I plan to teach Isabel as well as some of the great Chinese culture and values that I know and perhaps take her to China for summer schools when she is older so she can learn the language. Chinese will be an important language to know in the future. I was lucky to know it from birth. I hope Isabel will get a chance to learn it as a kid as well.

- Lei

Who's the Boss?

It's amazing how intuitive babies are. Two weeks ago, my mom was in town to visit and so I breastfed Isabel exclusively for a few days instead of giving her a bottle at least once a day. This just happened to be around the time she turned 100 days and became more aware.

Guess what, after a few days, she refused to drink from the bottle at all when we tried. Before this, she was fine with the bottle for at least 8 weeks already. This came as a big surprised and we experienced our first test of will with Isabel.

She is stubborn and can throw quite a tantrum. But as she is learning - mommy is the boss! There is no winning this battle although she fought hard.

First, I went out and bought every bottle type out there thinking maybe she outgrew the Medela bottle we have using. That didn't work!

Then we decided well since she is such a healthy baby and the doctor say she is fine without eating for 24 hours, we basically had to withhold breastfeeding and just feed her from the bottle. This took 2 days of battling with her before she gave up. First day, she cried for what seems like 90 min and we lost. After 5 hours of not eating and lots of crying, I didn't have the heart to keep going and I breastfed her.

That didn't help our cause as she probably learned that if she cries loudly and long enough, she will be breastfed. The next day, we (Agnes and I) because determined. She will not be fed unless she took the bottle. After 6.5 hours, lots of crying and fighting, she finally drank 3 oz and from the same bottle she always uses. Then an hour later, she drank 2 more oz. I guess she gave up after awhile and realize mommy is not going to give up. After that, she has been drinking at least one bottle a day and no longer fussing (as long as Agnes is the one feeding her the bottle).

Morale of the story: "I have to stand my ground even to a 3 months old, otherwise, she will always try to be the boss."

- Lei

Today is a gift!

I just watched Kung Fu Panda yesterday and loved it. What I loved was it was funny, silly, and philosophical at the same time.

I laughed out loud so many times and there were some great deep moments. Here are two of my favorite sayings from the movie.

1. "Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, and Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present." It's so simple yet so difficult to achieve. Most of the time we are so worried about the future or thinking about what had happened in the past that we forget to be present at the current moment. This saying inspires me to treasure every moment with Isabel, with Jaime, with my family, and my friends and to stop worrying so much about what has happened or what may happen. Just enjoying life on the roller-coaster!

2. "There is no secret ingredient." Again, so simple yet profound. All we need is to believe in ourself and our abilities and extraordinary things happen. This is why I love Buddhist philosophy so much. It's simple to understand but take years to practice. As I find my footing as a new mom, I had moments of doubt of whether I can be a good mom. I begin to also care too much about what others think of me as a mom. Now I realize I judge myself too harshly as I sometime do others. It's important to go with the flow of life - experience happy moments, welcome challenging ones and have some mercy on myself. There is no secret ingredient to being a good mom or leading a happy life. I just have to believe and the rest will work itself out. :-)

- Lei

Isabel is growing up so fast!

Isabel is 15 pounds now, can do 15 min. of tummy time, and can sit now with some assistance of the boppy pillow. Time flies. I am loving every minute of just seeing her growing up. She also laughed out loud yesterday night for a little while. I wished we caught it on film. Jaime and I was just watching her in disbelief. Now we know what people mean by the rewards of being parents. It's so priceless to watch her laugh for the first time. I can't even explain how good it feels to witness all her little milestones.

At least we caught her sitting on film. Enjoy!!!

- Lei

Isabel's first "date" with Dash :-)""

Baby Yoga

Isabel is attending 4 baby yoga classes for the last few Thursdays. It's a great way for her to start hanging out with other babies and do a little exercise. It is really interesting to see how she starts staring around at the other babies in class, soaking it all in. Here are a few videos from the classes.

Video 1 - "I love reading on my tummy"


Video 2 - "Look mommy, I can stand?"


Video 3 - "What is Yaya doing to me (says Isabel)?"


- Lei

Isabel and TV

Like father like daughter, Isabel has discovered the magic of the television. She could be crying really loud and as her eyes glance at the TV, she would all of a sudden stop crying and become fixated on the TV. You would think this is good news as it seems like another way to soothe Isabel, but I did some research on the effect of TV on infants. Click here for more details.

The bottom line is TV is BAD for infants before the age of 2. Research states that it increases the chances for babies to develop ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) later in life. Since there is a lot of brain development from now until Isabel is 2, TV is too much of a stimuli for her little brain. TV changes scenery way too quickly and babies will begin to expect that in real life, which explains the risk of ADD. Besides, Isabel is beginning to stare at things without blinking for prolonged periods of time like all babies do. I am sure staring at the TV without blinking cannot be good for her.

Everything in moderation though. We cannot prevent Isabel from glancing at the TV once in awhile as we still watch TV, but we would never leave her in front of it unattended or let her look at the TV for more than a min or two even when we are holding her.

We will have to limit her TV watched when she turns 2, probably to 1 hr a day if possible. It's too early to think about that for now. I still want to treasure every little moment of her as a baby.

- Lei

Isabel is smiling at us

Isabel is 100 days old which is a big deal in Chinese tradition. Usually, we are supposed to have a party to introduce her to everyone for the first time. But since everyone have already met her by now and we are a bit lazy, we will continue to introduce her on our blog with videos, pictures, and posts and save the party for later. :-)

Isabel is now 14.5 pounds, 24 inches, and poops like a champion. She can play by herself for almost 30 minutes some times and is learning to nap in the crib in addition to her chair since she is getting so big. She also seem a lot more alert, wanting to look around, make sounds, and also begins to smile a lot. Check it out.

- Lei

It's like coming home again!

When I walked in the room last Monday, I knew instantly that I missed it. It was my first Bikram Yoga class since giving birth, but walking into that room made me feel like I was coming home - it felt so familiar and welcoming.

I am so glad I did Bikram yoga up until the last week of my pregnancy. It may not have helped with my delivery, but it definitely helped me come back to Yoga more easily. I missed the heat, the sweat, the stretching, and the general calmness and patience it inspires in me.

Now that Isabel is 3 months old, I started to do serious exercising again - Bikram Yoga twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays) and Wii Fit for at 30 min twice a week. If I have more time, I will do Windsor Pilates and one long walk each once a week. While I still cannot do all the poses well in Yoga, I am staying in the room through the heat for all 90 min, which on its own makes me feel accomplished. The poses that squeezes my stomach are the hardest, but since I have done Yoga for 2+ years, at least I know how to push myself without risking injury. On my 3rd class this past Monday, I was able to do all the sit ups in the class (about 14 of them). Still cannot do one roll up in Pilates though but am working on it. Baby steps, remember?

The picture on the top right is that of my teacher (Lamott Atkins). He is probably the best Yoga teacher I have ever had. He also used to be a model in Europe, which is where this photo is from. Not only is his voice calming, but who wouldn't be inspired by a teacher with a body like that. Let's see how many classes it will take me to regain my body back. I will keep you posted. so far, I had 3 classes and dropped 1% in body fat. :-)

-Lei

Rather ride on a Rollercoaster

It's been a long time since I have seen the movie "Parenthood" (starring Steve Martin). It was on cable yesterday and seeing it now as a parent is so different from when I saw it as a kid in the late 80's.

There was a great scene in the movie, where the Grandma in the movie started to tell Steve Martin's character and his wife a story about how she used to love riding on roller coasters with her husband. It made her scared, sick, excited, and exhilarated all at the same time. She said that she could have just rode the merry go-around and play it safe, but it would not have been as much fun.

I thought it was such a wise story. I hope to always choose to ride the roller coaster of life with Jaime instead of the Merry Go-around. It may not always feel safe and predictable, but it will be an adventure.

- Lei

Isabel is 3 months old

Yesterday Isabel turned 3 months. We weighed her at home and she is about 14+ lbs already and about 25+ inches (a big baby!).

She is such a little person now with some personality emerging, although mostly still a typical baby (crying when she is bored, crying when she has dirty diaper, crying when she is hungry)

With that said, she is definitely focusing more on things with her eyes. At times she would look intently into my eyes for what seems like minutes without blinking. She can also play in her little gym by herself for a little bit now.

At first, I thought all these toys we got her (gym, the music soother, the toys on her chairs) were useless because she doesn't seem to like them. Now I realize it was too early for her. She couldn't focus yet on them before. Now she can and can stare for awhile at just one thing. It's so fascinating to see how she is developing into a little person.

- Lei

Observations

- Isabel can sit now leaning against me (left)
- For the most part, she loves being upright during the day
- She loves looking up at the carousel of dogs and hearts that Auntie Sue gave us (right)
- We found out the amount she eats before bed has nothing to do with how long she sleeps. I used to think the more she eats the more she sleeps.
- She discovered her tongue at around 10 weeks and now is playing with it a lot
- She gets anxious if these is no noise around her, so we always have music or the TV on around her.
- She loves making noise now (cooing sounds) and responds to us talking :-)

-Lei

I am sleeping 7+ hrs finally!

You may think, wait a minute, didn't you say your baby has been sleeping 11 hours a night? What's the big deal in sleeping 7+ hours?

For me, it is a big deal to sleep 7+ hour straight through, because even when Isabel sleeps more, I usually have to get up to pump. Before, I would have to get up after 5 or 6 hours because I get so engorged. Then after pumping and washing everything (which can take 30+ min), I may not be able to sleep anymore until later.

I have basically done that now for almost 12 weeks. Even if I get a total of 8 or 9 hours of sleep a day, it may take 3 different sleep times which is very different from sleeping straight through. I guess it's because I never get to the deep sleep I need to fully feel rested.

Only in the latter of last week and some of this week, I have been able to sleep 7.5 hours without getting up. I feel so different after that: 1. I realize just how tired I used to be when I slept less and more fragmented, 2. I feel physically much stronger since I am getting better quality sleep.

Things are finally looking up and I am on my road to full recovery soon :-)

- Lei

Inspired

Last week, I started doing Windsor Pilates at home. It's only a 20 minute work out, so I thought it was a good place to start my exercise routine.

I was shocked to find out during my first try that I couldn't do a single roll up (a slow sit up that requires you to use your stomach muscles to curl up your back all the way to sitting). I knew these were hard but I was still surprised when all I could do now was lift my head. I had no stomach muscles! I ended up using my hands to push myself up through the exercise.

Afterwards, I was sad and wanted to cry. I guess I didn't really understand how much a pregnancy and a C section would affect my body. That same day, I came across a story in my Stanford Magazine about Ben Wildman-Tobriner, a Stanford alum and an Olympic swimmer who is destined for a medal in 2008. He had the worse injury of his life last year in the fall. He torn his left pectoral tendon completely off the humerus and had to have surgery. I can't imagine how he must have felt with the Olympics less than a year away. Did he sit around and mope? No way! As soon as his surgery is done, he started training his body again "arm in sling, running sprints next to the pool while breathing out of a snorkel with half of the snorkel hole covered" For the full story, click here

Long story short, he only looked ahead and trained one day at a time until this May when he almost recovered his full strength and is ready to compete in August in China. Needless to say, I was inspired, like Ben, I must look ahead. I may not be an Olympian, but I have determination and a fresh perspective now.

I already made so much progress since giving birth. I couldn't even get out of bed without help the first day I came home. 11 days later, I only could walk outside for 10 minutes and very slowly. Now, I can walk pretty much any where including hills in my regular speed. I realized that everything takes time and baby steps. As long as I don't give up, I will get there.

Since then, i have done the Pilates work out three times - still using my hand to do the roll ups and I am planning to attend my first Bikram Yoga class today. I know it will be hard but just to show up for class is another baby step forward. :-) I am also planning to take Isabel to a baby yoga/massage class this Thursday and perhaps I will try the Bar method in a few weeks.

I am looking forward to getting my body back!

- Lei

What a Party!

We celebrated Jaime's big "30th" bday party yesterday at Bubble Lounge - the last part of his birthday celebration this month. It was a blast. 20+ of Jaime's friends showed up. We had a table in the back room and talked the night away. Jaime looked handsome as always. I guess I am biased. For more photos of last night's activities, click here



Last night was also special because it was our first night out at a club since Isabel was born. Bubble Lounge was perfect as it is only 3 blocks away from our apt. Isabel also cooperated and fell asleep at 9:30 pm until 7:30am the next morning. We were also lucky to have found our wonderful nanny, Agnes, who stayed with Isabel while we were out.

All in all, a great way to welcome a new decade for Jaime!

- Lei

Good Morning Isabel

Isabel slept 11 hours last night from 9:30pm to 8:30am and she is 12 weeks old today. Wow. Time flies. Every morning when Isabel wakes up, I say "Good Morning Isabel" and she smiles at me. Jaime and I both love loosening her swaddle as she immediately raises her arms to stretch. It's so adorable. See for yourself ... :-)

-Lei

Crying Daddy Soothes Crying Isabel

Okay, so Jaime isn't really crying. He was just making crying sounds and they had a surprising and hilarious effect on Isabel. Check it out...


- Lei

Tummy Time

Tummy time is when we put Isabel on her tummy and see if she can push up to lift her head. Our Pediatrician has been recommending that we do tummy time for Isabel since she was 1 month old (3 times a day). However, we never got a routine down for her until she turned two months. I thought perhaps she would be behind in learning how to do it. I guess I was wrong. See for yourself :-). She is growing up so fast!

Pumping 101

Get your mind out of the gutter, this is not about that! It is about pumping breast milk. You would think that if you spend almost $300 on a Medela Advanced Pump (the best out there), the milk should come out easily and comfortably when you use it.

Boy was I surprised. The first time I used it (I have the one pictured here) was when Isabel was 4 weeks old. I used it for 15 minutes and almost passed out in pain. No one ever told me that pumping actually can be quite uncomfortable and painful. I was also tense. I kept checking to see how much milk was coming out and was holding the shield and bottle the whole time (not a very comfortable feeling).

Anyways, after 15 min, my nipples doubled in size and were in pain and I only got less than 2oz out. Yeeks. I almost gave up after the first time. Long story short I didn't give up and I found out, like anything else with the baby, pumping takes patience, practice, and a lot of learning

I tried bigger shields - didn't work (I found out later the regular shields worked just fine)
I tried looking at Isabel's pictures while pumping to encourage let down - didn't work
I called Medela customer service for help - didn't help too much

What worked at the end was perseverance and practice. I just kept trying different things. I found out
- putting a heat pad or taking a shower before hand helps
- watching tv or thinking about something else help as it made me relax and not think too much about how much milk I am producing
- pump no more than 15 minutes and stop earlier if nothing is coming out for awhile
- buying the hand free pumping bra help (even though it was $30 for stretch cotton with two holes cut out of it, it's worth the money to not have to hold the shield the whole time)

Even though pumping is never as comfortable as when Isabel feeds on me, it is pretty comfortable now and helps greatly in relieving engorgement when Isabel is still asleep. I still have to get up at 4 or 5am every night to pump because I have so much milk and Isabel usually sleeps until 8 or 9 am now. It's worth it though as it gives me the freedom to go out while someone else can still feed Isabel with the bottled breast milk. Feeding her the bottle was challenging at first as well, but that's another story...

- Lei

I Found Our Future Fortune

This jewelry line is going to make us wealthy. I told Lei that she better get to work though. We've got alot of pumping to do:

From Core77:
"French design collective Duende have used a technique that can transform human or animal milk into plastic by solidifying the casein content. The 'Perle de lait' range of jewelry will be on display as part of their collection of objects exploring the relationship of food between mother and child at La Cuisine. This takes the concept of bespoke jewelry to whole new level."

"and we're movin on up, movin on up...to the east side...we've finally got a piece of the piiiiie" - The Jeffersons

- Jaime

Exploding Poop!

Isabel maybe adorable and a darling, but she also has her dark side - namely she poops so much that we have not found a diaper that can keep the poop off her clothes.

We started with Pamper Swaddlers and they worked fine for the first 6 weeks and then for some reason her poop got more powerful. When she poops, it shoots up her back. We still haven't figured out why yet.

So we switched to Huggies Secure and Dry. The result unfortunately is the same. Maybe we are not putting it on tight enough but we don't want it too tight (you should be able to insert two fingers in the waist). She gets imprints off the diapers as it is. It's amazing how baby can deal with such a big thing on their butts.

I guess at least she is not constipated. That could be worse. We are definitely happy that she poops a lot as it's a sign of a good digestive system. We just hope to find a diaper that can hold it all. Right now, we have to change her clothes 1-2 times a day and I am constantly washing poopy clothes every day. It's amazing that I don't mind it at all. I guess motherhood definitely made me change.

Another mom suggested we get diapers that are for bigger babies. We may try that next. We still have 120+ Huggies diaper as we always try to buy bulk. She goes through so many. Wish us luck!

Lei

Growing up fast

It's not me as I don't want to ever grow up even after having a child. Isabel on the other hand is growing up fast. We swear we can tell that she is gaining weight every day.

- She looked me straight in the eyes today and smiled for awhile (I cried from joy)
- She can now fall asleep on her own at night as long as she is swaddled
- She sleeps 7-9 hours straight at night (we are the luckiest parents in the world)
- She can play on her own in the crib when we turn on her music toy for about 20-30 min sometimes (especially in the morning)
- She is making many more sounds and can laugh out loud at times

We are still working on how to soothe her in public. She gets fussy sooner in public as if she is not used to being out of the house. She gets quiet as soon as we get in the elevator to go home. It's like she knows she is going home or something. She does the same when we drive into the garage.

It's amazing to watch her grow and see how she figures things out. I am in awe of the process.

- Lei

Not all pacifiers are created equal

Before I had a baby, I thought a pacifier is a pacifier and babies would automatically like them. Boy was I wrong. Apparently you have train your baby to use a pacifier and you have to try several of them before they like one.

We started with the NUK brand since it's "recommended by orthodontist" - not really sure what that means but sounds official. Their pacifier looked funny to me though because instead of looking like a nipple, it is kind of flat. Regardless, we tried it. Isabel used it once or twice but for the most part didn't take it. We couldn't figure out if she was too young or she just didn't like pacifiers. We hoped it was not the latter.

One day a month ago, I was shopping at Safeway and came across another pacifier - Soothie (the blue one in the photo) and decided to try it. First of all, it looks a lot more like a nipple and thank goodness Isabel took to it right away. I heard some moms have to try 3 or 4 different brands before finding one that their baby likes.

Isabel does not always like it though. Sometimes she would push it out with her tongue and it happened a few days in a row a few weeks ago. I started to think wow maybe she already got tired of it. Good thing I talked to another new mom, who told me it's important to be persistent and sometimes even push the pacifier in a little because when a baby nurses, she would lick the nipple first to stimulate milk let down. Well, when she gets a pacifier, she may think it's your nipple and starts licking and if you don't know the difference, it looks like she is pushing it out with her tongue. In fact, she is just learning the difference.

Knowing that, I became more confidence in using it and happily Isabel uses it regularly now every day. It's saving us hours of fussiness. Who knew using a pacifier was such a science!

- Lei

Isabel is 12.5 pounds!

Isabel turned two months old on July 2. She gained another 2.5 pounds to 12.5 1bs and grew another inch to 23 inches. Her head grew an inch in circumference as well. She is now at the 80-90 percentile of her age. She also received 4 shots that day. Poor baby... She was a strong girl though only cried for 30 seconds!! She had a fever for just one day (normal reaction to immunization shots - happens to 30% of the infants). She didn't even fuss that much when she had a temperature of 100 degrees. All is good now. We are so proud of her.

Here are 3 video clips of her at the doctors... so cute!!!

Isabel Hates the Breast Milk!

So a funny thing happened yesterday. Isabel spit out the breast milk. She hated it!

Fortunately, it was my cousin Isabel and not baby Isabel. Big Izzy was visiting us yesterday from San Diego. Maybe it was the future nurse in her, but she said she's always been curious at what breast milk tasted like. After I cringed at the thought, I told her to have at it (but told her to wait till I covered my eyes .... ewwwww). She ended up gagging and spitting it out saying that it didn't taste like she thought it would be. Go figure. Sorry Izz!

- Jaime

Clean Bill of Health

Went to my final OB appt on June 26th, where she cleared me for ALL activities. :-) as long as I take it slow. I am already walking a lot more and up the hills now. I still have stomach pains and she says that's normal.

She also said my uterus seem to have shrunk normally so I can have more babies. She is already talking to me about giving birth vaginally next time. I can't believe it, but I guess it's good she thinks I can even though I had a C section. I am not sold though. Good thing, we don't need to decide for awhile - I hope. Perhaps about 3 years, if I had my say and the stars are aligned again for us to conceive easily. Keeping my fingers crossed :-)

- Lei

"Love me tender"

Enjoy!!! I am this using Photo Story 3 by Microsoft. It's actually pretty easy.

-Lei