Summer is 6 months old!

The Playa Vista Fall Festival

October 2006 - Fall Festival

Sunset at Manhattan Beach

Oct 2006 - Manhattan Beach

September Pictures

September Pictures

Sep 1, 2006 - 13 Photos

Five months and double her birth weight

Here is a picture of Elaine Roberts, my wonderful lactation consultant at Saint John's Health Center. Without her help, I might have given up on breastfeeding a long time ago. Since Summer was two weeks old, I've been obsessed with her weight, always worrying about if she is getting enough to eat. Elaine said that babies should be about double their birth weight at 5 months and triple their birth weight at 1 year. Summer is 5 months now and more than double her birth weight! :)

Summer's 2nd Immunization

Summer's 2nd Immunization

Sep 21, 2006 - 15 Photos

Extreme close-ups

On a sunny day like today, it's fun snapping photos of Summer. I took these in a shaded area behind tall buildings, yet the beaming sun provided plenty of light. She's nice and calm after her Sunday morning walk with Daddy.

Finally, no pink!

I'm always teasing Shaunyi about how Summer only wears pink. So it was a joy to come home to my little baby girl in a cute, blue dress. And coincidentally, I was wearing blue, too.

A couple of my favorite pics

Surf's up!

It's tummy time for Summer. She's 3 months old today so we're trying to get her to lay on her stomach for a few minutes a day. This is supposed to help strengthen her arms and neck.

Summer animation

Set the speed to 1 second and enjoy!

Click here to view on flickr.com

Star Wars geek spotted

This is actually the second time I've seen this car on the freeway. I made sure to get a photo this time. The R2D2 in the back actually moved. I googled Del Sol X-Wing and sure enough, I found more photos.

Guess where my daddy works...

We had to put this on her before she gets too big. It seems like she's growing so fast right before our eyes.

Summer gets vaccinated

We weren't looking foward to bringing Summer in for her shots since we knew it would just cause her to cry and have a fever afterward (which we heard is pretty common). But as it turned out, she took it rather well considering she got poked four times. And either her immune system is pretty good or the infant Tylenol was effective because her temperature never got above 99 degrees. All in all, I guess we were pretty lucky with this experience.

Click here to view on flickr.com

Finally, more pictures!

We've been quite busy over the last few weeks so the pictures have been piling up. I posted the photos on flickr.com, which has a cool little slideshow plugin. The descriptions don't show up as the slideshow plays, so you'll have to click on each photo to view the descriptions.

Enjoy!

Click here to view on flickr.com

Finally growing into her clothes

This weekend was nice and warm, perfect for Summer to try on something besides a onesie. I think this is the time it starts to get fun for the mom; when her baby girl is big enough to wear some cute outfits. I'm just glad that at least one of us has the patience to pick out clothes for our daughter.

            

Eddie's First Father's Day

This was Eddie's very first Father's Day. Although we didn't have a chance to go out and celebrate, Eddie still had a special Father's Day. Baby Summer is Daddy's Little Girl!

Summer looks like Daddy!

Yesterday my brother Charlie said that baby Summer looks like Eddie. We've had trouble deciding who Summer looks like because her features don't look like just one of us. My mom didn't think Summer looked like Eddie because she looks very feminine and Eddie definitely does not look feminine. Looking at this photo, I think Summer's hairline, eyebrows, eyes, nose and ears definitely are from Daddy. We do think Summer has my chin.

Look how cute they both look, Summer and Daddy sleeping peacefully. I took this photo of Eddie and Summer last night and look at the resemblance! She's definitely Daddy's little girl!

Teaser video

Here's a teaser video of more Summer footage to come...

If the video does not display properly click here to upgrade to Flash 8

First baby bubbles

She just started blowing bubbles today. Not sure why.

Summer turns 2 weeks, and more birthdays in the family

It's been over a week since my last post so get ready for a long one...
Last week started off rough because Shaunyi experienced some issues with the breastfeeding. After a couple visits to the lactation specialist and very diligent feeding and pumping (breast-pumping, that is) by Shaunyi, things have really turned around over the weekend. To give you some perspective, just last Friday, Summer hadn't gained back the weight that she had lost after birth. This was very concerning since most babies lose weight right after they are born, but then gain it right back within 2 weeks of birth. We just had Summer weighed today, and thankfully, she's back to her birth weight. Watching those numbers jumble around on that scale reminded me of that reality show "The Biggest Loser," except instead of a weight loss we were praying for a weight gain. When the scale finally freezes up on a number that is close to her birth weight, I felt like throwing my arms up and yelling, "woo-hoo!"

This past weekend was also my birthday and Shaunyi's birthday. We marked the occasion with a cake and stayed home both nights. We both couldn't have asked for a better present than a beautiful, healthy baby!

The best advice I can give for parents-to-be who plan on breastfeeding: stick to the plan. The minute you step out of the hospital after some great coaching from the lactation specialist, you will be bombarded with advice and opinions from doctors, nurses, family members, friends which will all amount to nothing but confusion and self-doubt. If you are adamant about breastfeeding (these days the trend is to be, with experts touting how beneficial breast milk is over formula), remember this: your lactation specialist is your savior. Not all hospitals offer post-partum lactation consultation for free. If yours doesn't, take a class, see a specialist, attend a support group (yes, there are lactation support groups!); whatever you do, make sure you create a plan for yourself and stick to it. The first nights you are back from the hospital and exhausted, it is easy to let up and rest a little longer than you should; and your family will feel bad and encourage you to sleep. But understand that the first few days of breastfeeding are so crucial that it is far better to suffer a little loss of sleep and exhaustion than develop clogged milk ducts or even worse, a breast infection.

Keep in mind also, that breastfeeding is not for every one. Before Summer was born, Shaunyi and I attended an infant care class and I remember this one lady who replied to the instructor's question about who plans on breastfeeding, "I'll breastfeed as much as I can, but most likely I'll go with formula." Although no one did this, I could almost feel the gasp from everyone else in the class, "How can you think of not breastfeeding your child?" I have to admit, I was a little taken aback since all the other couples responded as if it was a no-brainer to breastfeed exclusively. But thinking back on it, that lady is probably going to sleep better at night knowing that if breastfeeding doesn't work out, it's time to pull out the formula.

Most mothers these days are so determined to breastfeed that they place an enormous amount of pressure on themselves and feel extremely guilty if they are not able to successfully produce breast milk for their babies. Future moms, don't get me wrong. My intention is not to get you to admit defeat and fall back on formula. I just want you to understand that if you feel strongly about breastfeeding, be prepared to be tested both physically and emotionally like you've never been tested before. And most importantly, make sure you have the full support of your partner and your family.

Wow, I went off on this breastfeeding topic more than I thought I would. I guess after all the round-the-clock feedings, the emotionally trying times, and the loud cries of a hungry baby, it's no surprise that the last week would culminate into one long advice column on breastfeeding. And all written by a man! I just hope that I've done justice to Shaunyi's cause, because really, she is the one that deserves all the credit. I can only imagine that it is the irreplaceable mother's love that fueled such drive and determination. Summer's lucky to have such a loving and caring mommy.

Okay, enough writing and more of what people really want: photos of the baby. Below are pics of visitors we had last week.

1. One of many visits from my mom
2. Joyce and John (our favorite neighbors) and their cute baby boy, Carter
3. Joyce, Shaunyi, and Shaunyi's mom
4. Our good friends, Julie and Eddy
5. Me, my aunt, Shaunyi and my cousin Stacy (she's expecting in Sept!)
6. Another adorable portrait of Nermie, Summer and Shaunyi

Visit from auntie

"It's so tiny!" was Auntie Janice's first reaction when she saw Baby Summer. Yesterday we had visits from Janice, my Mom, Bill (her boyfriend), and Auntie Huang (a friend who is staying with my mom). Summer was completely comfortable with everyone and didn't cry once. I thought it would be stressful having vistors come over becuase in those TV shows about couples' first day back from the hospital, they always seem so relieved after the wave of visting family members is over. I guess since we've had a few days to get settled in, it wasn't so bad.

Another birthday

Today is Nicky's birthday (the curious cat behind the infant carrier). Yep, that's three b-days we'll be celebrating every May. This picture was actually taken by Shaunyi's mom the day Summer arrived at home. So far the cats have been keeping their distance from Summer; I think they're still trying to get used to her. We make an effort to spend some time with each of them so that they don't associate the decreased attention with the arrival of the baby. We were most worried about Sweetpea, our dog, being jealous of the baby, but she seems fine with Summer so far.

Summer burrito

This is Summer's best swaddle yet (done by Shaunyi, of course) so I had to take pictures. Last night was a lot better than the two nights in the hospital. Not only did we have the comfort of our own home, Summer was a lot less fussy and didn't cry as often.

Shaunyi has been diligently following the instruction of the lactation consultant, so she hasn't been getting much sleep. For those of you who aren't aware (as I wasn't before having a baby) the mother does not start to produce milk right after birth. It will take a good two to three days before the milk comes, and to stimulate the production of milk, Shaunyi must breastfeed every 2-3 hours. Sounds tiring doesn't it? That's on top of the recovering from the pain from giving birth! I've gained a whole new respect for mothers after this experience. Guys, be glad that you will never have to go through what they have to go through.

Another close-up of Summer sleeping. Isn't she a cutie? I can watch her sleep for hours. She's been sleepy most of time so it's hard to catch her with her eyes open. But as soon as a get a good one of her awake, I will post it!

Meet Baby Summer

I realized that I didn't post any close-ups of Summer, so here you go. Thank you to everyone for reading and for the warm welcoming of our baby.

Okay, I've finally got some time and energy now to do another post. I thought I would be able to do another one last night, but I was so drained, both physically and emotionally. You always hear about how witnessing the birth of your child is the most beautiful and memorable moment in your life. Then you watch those videos of the mothers screaming during labor and you wonder how something so scary and painful can produce such a wonderful moment. Well, everything parents say is absolutely true. Everytime I look as Summer I realize that we've been given the most beautiful and truly perfect gift in the world. I feel like the luckiest man in the world right now.

Summer weighed in at 6 lbs 15 oz with a length of 18 3/4 inches. Shaunyi was surprised that the baby was so small because she felt her stomach was big and the active labor stage was long. She had to push for about 2 hours before Summer came out; for the faint at heart, I won't go into the gory details. I will say this though...thank goodness for our nurse, Karine. She was a superstar. Her coaching really helped us get through the labor. I say 'us' because man, even though I wasn't pushing, it was heart-wrenching watching my wife go through all that pain and frustration.

Photos you see above (left to right): Summer being measured, Grandma Moto (my mom), Great Grandma (Shaunyi's Grandmother), Grandma Sufang (Shaunyi's mom) with Shaunyi's brother and his girlfriend, Summer and her mommy, and finally, the new happy family!

Summer is here!

Baby Summer was born at around 2 pm. She hasn't been weighed yet, but she looks to be around 7 lbs. I'm still in shock right now so I can't write much. I must say though, she's the most adorable baby I've every seen.

In the photo from left to right: Shaunyi's mom (who was waiting anxiously in the waiting room), Nurse Karine, Dr. Williams (anesthesiologist), and Dr. Bliss. Okay, I've got to clean up my equipment before we move to the recovery room.

A break from pushing

Shaunyi started pushing at 11:50 am. Right now we're giving her a break while the nurse goes to give Dr. Bliss the heads-up. No crowning of the baby's head yet, but the nurse says we're making good progress.

The suspense is killing me

Shaunyi is completely dialated and ready to have the baby. However, she did some test pushes and found that it was difficult because everything down there is a bit too numb. Now we have to wait for the epidural to wear off a little so that she can feel some of the pressure of the baby coming out. Hopefully, the next time I write, Summer will be born!

9 and half cm

As I was posting my previous blog, I had to help Shaunyi through some pain. As you can see, we're really close. Shaunyi says that the contractions are really painful again so they're upping the dose of the epidural. Our doctor (Dr. Bliss) is doing a c-section right now, but as soon as she's done, we're next!

On the home stretch

Shaunyi's about 8 cm dialated...we're getting really close. They say we'll be delivering by noon. The nurse pictured on the left is Hillary. She won't be around during the delivery because her shift ended at 7 am. She was really nice and pleasant, and coincidentally, it's her birthday today!

I've got my video camera set up on a tripod, so I'm all ready to go. Shaunyi's already feeling some pressure from the baby pushing down...

So far so good

As you can see by the photo, Shaunyi got her epidural, so she's happy. Just over an hour ago she was pretty miserable with intense contractions. When we got here at around 9 pm she wasn't dialated much, but they didn't send us home because her blood pressure was high.

The doctor advised that we wait until midnight and if the contractions do not get any closer together, they will induce. Midnight rolls around and still not much change so the nurse gives Shaunyi some pitocin. This made her contractions unbearable so she asked for the epidural. After she got it, she was all smiles again. She said that the poking into the spine was not nearly as bad as she thought it would be. And even if it was, it would have been totally worth it.

Now Shaunyi can get some rest, maybe take a nap, before the big push later. I need to get some sleep to. The sitting area next to the window is actually pretty comfortable. Oh, and did I mention how great this hospital is? Every room is extremely spacious, has a nice view, is equipped with a plasma TV, and, of course has free WiFi access. Good thing too, because I couldn't imagine typing this much from my phone.

Here we go!

For the last hour, Shaunyi's been having contractions every 3-7 minutes. We just called the hospital and the nurse said we should go in. Man, the nerves are really starting to kick in.

So my next post will probably be from the St. John's. Stay tuned...

Today might be the day!

Today I was woken up by abdominal pain which I'm now sure were contractions. I've been having contractions on and off all day as well as backaches. At first I wasn't sure because some weren't that painful, just uncomfortable. Now a few are getting pretty strong and painful, and then they go away, so I'm sure it's going to be soon. We'll keep you posted.

Happy Birthday Nermie!

Today was not Summer's birthday, but it was Nermie's. Nermie turned 11 today! Happy Birthday Nermie!

Today Shaunyi woke up with back pain, which is unusual because she hasn't had any back pain for the last 2 months or so. She also felt a lot of abdominal pain throughout the day, but she's not sure they are contractions. She's still having intermittent back pains, so I'm going to look for my tennis balls and see if they really work well for massages.

No baby yet!

Since many of you are anxious to know whether or not our baby has arrived, I decided to create a little blog to keep everyone posted. Shaunyi and I are very excited and cannot wait to meet our baby Summer. She's actually been pretty calm (not much kicking) throughout the pregnancy so hopefully that means she'll be a nice, peaceful baby :)

Shaunyi's doing well despite the fact that today was supposed to be her due date. As of yesterday she was about 1-2 inches dialated, but still no contractions, water breaking, or other unmentionable signs of labor (mothers, you know what I'm talking about). We've got our bags packed, infant car seat strapped in, camera batteries charged, hospital number on speed dial...we're ready to have a baby!

Incidentally, I've figured out how to post blogs with my phone so I'll be able to keep you all in the loop of the details straight from the hospital (that is, when I'm not tending to my wife's every wishes). And for those of you who have been calling to ask about the baby, thank you so much for your warm wishes and support...but remember, this blog is especially for you, so be sure to check back here soon!