Alexis baptism

Isabel wore her Chinese dress and here is Alexis with her godfather Louis cano (jaime's best friend from college) and godmother Jeannie Dropmann (Jaime's god sister and friend for many years)

Tummy time

This photo is so cute.  I have to share. Alexis is starting to have such good control of her head.

Lei

Our little monkey

Isabel is getting so agile... Check it out.  Agnes taught her to do this.  Scared me the first time I saw it, but she is so sure-footed now like a Monkey, our monkey :-)

Isabel's 2nd Karate Test

She is so good with her form and her "kiya".  She was promoted to two stripes on her white belt.  Congrats to mei mei

Alexis is 3 months old

Given it's Chinese tradition to celebrate the 100 days of a baby, my parents sent Ling Ling some money so she can get more clothes, diapers, and toys.  Here she is saying thank you to lao ye and lao lao

New Parents Survival Tips

Lately, quite a few of my friends are having their first kid.  Given now I am a veteran as I have two kids (4 years old and 3 months), I thought I share some tips from my experience.  I know this is by no means the only way to do things as there are so many great ways to be a new parent.  I just found these survival tips useful and wanted to share in case it helps.

What you do NOT need to do

1. don't need to bath baby the first month.  Babies are so clean and they don't do anything, so bathing them is extra work that you don't need especially the first 2-3 weeks.  You can start wiping the baby with a wet warm towel after that until probably 2 months old before you need to bath them.  Even then 3 times a week is probably enough
2. Don't need bottle warmer - waste of money - just get a container and put in hot water and put the bottle in there to warm up for 5 min.  works well and free :-)
3. don't need to boil bottles all the time - do it once when you first use it and then just use water and soap thereafter.  You can boil them once a month if you want but Dr says it's not needed

What to DO to survive 

For your baby

1. Feed more often during the day and let them sleep at night - every 2 hour from beginning to beginning and then let them sleep as long as they want for the night sleep.  Don't wake them up to feed unless your baby has weight or health issues after birth.  For healthy babies, you want to create a routine where they know when it's day or night and the frequency of feeding will help with that.
2. Swaddle them to sleep at night - new borns missed the feeling of being in the mother's womb and all snug.  The swaddle replicate that feeling of safety and keep the baby from waking themselves up when they move their arms uncontrollably.  They still don't realize until 2 or 3 month that the arms and hands attached to them are theirs. There are different kind of swaddle blankets out there.  I found this one to be the best. see link  http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Blanket-Baby-Swaddling-Beige/dp/B000G0L2TM
3. Realize babies sleep 16 hours a day the first 3-4 weeks of life.  baby center has a good article on what you can expect regarding the amount of sleep by age.   http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-child-need_7645.bc
4. Go out with them if you are physically ready after first month .  Babies don't mind noise at all as the womb is super noisy.  They can in fact sleep better if it's noisy.  You can take advantage that they sleep a lot and go to dinner as long as you get the breastfeeding down and okay to do it in public with a cover up.
5. Most babies love strollers and car rides.  Due to the vibration from the movement, most babies fall sleep in strollers and car ride which enable you to go places.  I say most babies as I do know a friend whose baby didn't sleep in stroller or in cars.  Every baby is different so be aware.
6. If you want breastfeeding, #1 goal in the first month is to make breast feeding work for you and your baby.   I won't lie.  This was hard to do for me with both kids.  Get help from a lactation consultant if you need help.  It's worth the effort and stress.  I must say I love breastfeeding now and I did a lot to make sure I have enough milk for kids.  I will write a separate post about breastfeeding :-)
7. White noise helps sooth baby - sounds of dishwasher, washing machine and hair dryer can calm a fussy baby as they sound similar to sounds they hear in the womb.

For the parents

1. Sleep whenever you can. As much as the baby sleep, you WILL be sleep deprived, especially the mother if you plan to breastfeed 100%.  So whenever your baby is sleep, you should also sleep.
2. Accept help when offered. don't be shy and let people help if they offer.  The best way for people to help is bring your food or do errands for you.  You are unlikely to be comfortable with them looking after your newborn
3. Get delivery  Find restaurant in advance that deliver and put them on speed dial. The last thing you want to worry about is cooking if you are on 24 hour duty with your new born.  I also recommend delivery site in SF called Eat24.  https://eat24hours.com/  Our favorite places on there are Bento House and King of Thai.
4. Drink lots of liquids - needed for breastfeeding.  You need twice as much liquid as a normal person.  So drink soup, water, often

This is what I can think of so far.  To all the experienced parents out them, add your comments below as to other survival tips you suggest.  thanks

Lei

My full time job

For the first two months since the Alexis birth, I spent about 8 to 10 hours in this set up in my bedroom to feed Alexis. I would say this is one of the hardest full-time jobs to have and the most rewarding. Luckily after the first month of struggling with breast-feeding, I have very good milk now and she is nice and chubby and healthy.

Luckily for me, I was able to learn how to pump milk better this time around. And I started having Agnes feed Alexis at night when she wakes up in the middle of the night. And during the day so I can start doing some part-time work for our little agency.

Today Alexis is three months old and this week I started formal job search. I polished up my resume this weekend and started sending out to contacts. So far some good responses. So hopefully I will have a different part-time or full-time job soon that will also allow me to spend good quality time with my two little darlings at home. Wish me luck.

Lei

Isabel is dressing herself

Isabel had great fashion sense and can now pick out her own clothes and put them all on herself. A different outfit everyday - always has a dress or skirt on. Such a girl.

First family photo

I have been so busy taking photos and videos that this is our first one in front of the camera with jaime and our daughters isabel and Alexis.

First run since birth

Agnes and I each pushed a cart and did a run yesterday. The weather was awesome and I can't believe what a beautiful place I live in.

I was also proud that I was able to finish 3 miles. Very slowly but it's progress since Alexis is only 11 week old. Both kids had fun. Alexis was fast sleep within 10 min.

We saw a man with a prosthetic leg walking - makes me appreciate life and it's every moment and goo health.

I stood here for this picture and thought I am so thankful for my life, my kids, agnes, hubby and my health.

What a pair