Just Us

Mom went to visit Blackburg this weekend and left yesterday morning. Mike and I took care of the baby on our own. It was of course tight! At any given moment, one person has to be watching the baby unless she was taking a nap. Regardless, we accomplished quite a bit. I even went out to see the new movie "Bridesmaids" with the girls last night. Today between the two of us, we managed to prepare two meals, did two loads of laundry, cleaned up the family room, bought and put blinds up in the sun room, gave Mia a bath and one bottle feeding with 20 minutes of fussing. I also squeezed in a thirty minute walk on the elliptical while carrying Mia. She dozed off half way through. It was a hectic yet fulfilling day. My Gosh, I got a taste of what life would be like when my mom goes back home.

Taking Baby Out

Today the whole family went out for Japanese food. Baby was super good except for the car ride. She cried. I did not realize she had pooped. Since she was behaving well at the restaurant, I did not suspect anything. When I got home, I felt pretty bad of leaving her in a dirty diaper for an hour and half. Won't happen any more next time!

A note worth mentioning. I had semi sushi in a year. I did not have anything raw, just some California rolls. I was craving for sushi so much. I still have to wait.

Sleep Progress

These days the nights are getting better for us. One night Mia slept from 8 to 5. I call this sleeping through the night. Most nights she wakes up once either at 2 or 3 then would wake up again around 7. I am not complaining. We continue to tweak the evening routine. Sometimes we let her swim before we give her a bath. We also added reading to the bedtime routine. We will read to her before we finally put her to bed. Tonight I read her two books and she yawned twice. In my mind's eye, I could see when she grows bigger and is sleeping in her big-girl bed, I cuddle with her and read her fairy tales before she goes to sleep.

We have a nanny!

We received the signed contract from our final candidate today. She's a 49 year old Japanese lady who has been a nanny for ten years. One of her references told me his family interviewed over fourty nannies and finally selected her. He said only good things about her.

For days I've been losing sleep over tbe nanny business. I even did not want to blog about her acceptance of our offer about a week ago in case I'd jinx it especially after the last nanny stood us up on contract signing day. I am just hoping she's the right person for Mia and for our family.

She starts a week after I go back to work in late June. I pray that I would leave my baby in good hands.

Wearing the Baby

Today I finally carried Mia out for a long walk in the neighborhood. I used the carrier on my own and did not forget to pin one side like what I did last time when I carried her out with Mike. She was heavy but the fit was snug and I got used to it in a few minutes. Mia peeked under her hat and grabbed my index fingers with her hands. I talked to her as I wore her around. I felt very close to her. When the weather is decent, I will carry her out more.

Look what I can do!

Mia always cried and protested whenever I flipped her onto her tummy. Today weeks of tummy time finally paid off. It actually surprised me that she was able to support her head and chest up without too much fuss and effort. I was more than excited! I bet Mia also found this new position enpowering. She seemed to be enjoying the what she had accomplished.

100 Day Celebration

In Chinese tradition, 100 days after the baby's birth, relatives and friends will gather and celebrate with a feast and offerings to the gods and goddesses. This is an important day for the baby because 100-day birth celebration represents the wish that the baby will live 100 years. The baby usually wears a silver longevity pendant (in Chinese called Longevity Lock) on the neck, locking baby to this life.

Mia celebrated her 100 day today at China Garden. Friends and family gathered for a Chinese banquet. Baby girl wore a Chinese outfit, had a silver lock down her neck and silver anklets. She was not fussy for the entire function, sweet like a lamb. We served red eggs (not for consumption but as a symbol) to signify the birth of a baby and a ten-course meal. Chinese food here is a bit Americanized but I am glad to hold a Chinese function for Mia to celebrate part of her heritage.

Bottle Re-training

Maybe because Mia's older now and can tell the difference between bottle and breast, she's been refusing to take the bottle. As I am heading back to work in a month, it's now been really challenging to retrain her on the bottle. Every morning, my mom struggles sometimes for two hours for her to eat a couple ounces. Two days ago, she did not eat from 3:30 AM until 11 AM. I gave in and nursed her. I am really getting concerned. We will continue until she gets the hang of it again.

My First Mother's Day

 My first Mother's Day is here! On Thursday when I went out shopping, Mike made a plaster cast of baby's feet and framed it for me with my mom's help. When I got home I was happily surprised. What a great present to keep for ever.








Today I had Mia pose for Mother's Day. She had her wild hairdo.

 A quick snapshot before we head to grandma and grandpa's for Mother's Day celebration.

Nanny Disaster

Nanny was supposed to come and sign the contract today. She stood us up. We are at point zero again. I am fuming at people's unprofessional behavior during the past weeks' nanny search process.  I went on Care.com and posted a review about this nanny. Be aware, other parents!

First Outing with Mom and Dad

We took Mia out the first time to a restarant. It's the Mother's Day dinner. The Baby Bjorn carrier arrived yesterday and I used it for the first time to tote her around. The R Town Center was buzzing with a street fair. We went shopping then to Jackson's for steak and fish. I've been eating so much Chinese food, I crave some simple grilled salmon. Baby was very good during diner. I changed her diaper once. Mike had to hold her for a little bit because she got bored. I laughed as I was cutting Mike's prime rib into bite size pieces. This is going to be our life from now on.

As I was shopping at Ann Taylor's, I saw Dr. E, who delivered Mia! What a small world! She gave me a hug and said baby girl was growing big and praising us for doing a great job! :)

Nanny Report

We interviewed four nannies so far. Three of them are ok. One was our favorite. Hopefully the references check out well and she is willing to work for us starting late June.

We pretty much decided not to go with family day care at this point. We don't want to send her to a germ infested place at such a young age.

I really hope to wrap up the search soon.