First Day with Nanny

Today is Mia's first day with nanny RK. RK arrived at the house at 6:40 because she did not pass her driver's license test and was dropped off earlier than scheduled start of 8 AM. I was already on the road and did not see her. Mike called me later to report on progress. Mia took 4 oz this morning. They had a walk and RK read to her. Mike said she did not know how to test the temperature of the milk, which concerned me. It's really tough for me to leave my sweet pea in a stranger's hands. Good thing my mom will be around for another month and Mike still has four days to observe and train. I have Friday off, I can't wait!

Work has been quite overwhelming and I have little time to digress and think about Mia. But at the back of my mind, she's ALWAYS there. I stare at her pictures on my desk, reminding myself I am doing all this for her. Now I have a newly found appreciation for working moms. It is really not easy.

Happy Father's Day

Today is Mike's first Father's Day. We went to the in-laws to celebrate.

Baby is starting to recognize faces and cried for a long time when she first got to grandparents' house. Today she warmed up a little to grandpa but would cry whenever grandma tried to hold her. Grandma was very disappointed. She would always calm down when Mike held her. She is daddy's little girl.

Mike has been a great dad, taking care of Mia and doing everything from changing diapers to bathing her. He's incredibly patient and loving. She's lucky to have a poppa like him.

Out 'N About

Today we went to the Town Center where they had the food festival. At the restaurant, the table next to us had a baby as well. That girl was shrieking at the top of her lungs when her dad tried to bottle feed her. He had to leave the table twice to calm her down. Her mom had to pick her up too. Meanwhile Mia sat quietly in the car seat. When I talked to her, she'd smile back. She's such a low maintenance and happy baby, I feel so grateful. When the dad passed by our table, he asked how old Mia was and commented that Mia was so much more cooperative. His daughter is four months old, just one week younger than Mia. I am proud of Mia always behaving like a little angel in public. We had a peaceful meal as usual. When I was done, I picked her up and sang to her. She was oh so content.

After lunch we walked around to check out the festival. Mia fell asleep. We stopped by Ben & Jerry's for ice-cream. Baby and dad were chill'n.

The Hungry Beast

Mia ate 17 oz by bottle today. My mom reported that she was a lot more efficient and willing.

When I got home, I noticed that she refused to look at me straight in the eyes. It almost feels like she is mad at me. She's obviously expressing her displeasure by turning her little face away. My heart sank. In the past she would have responded with a smile when I cooed at her. It took quite a while for her to warm up to me again.

In the evening, I fed her and she continued to gobble down. I wonder what is going on in that little brain of hers. She must think that she would not get the next meal from me for a long time.

Separation Anxiety

I went back to work today. I was so swamped the entire day I could hardly have time to dwell on the baby. My heart was heavy with worries when I heard my mom say Mia struggled with the bottle. She ate only 5 oz from 4:30 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon. She also only took a very short nap since I usually hugged her to sleep and we could both go for two hours. I did not cry though as I thought I would even though I missed snuggling with her and I missed her coos and giggles.

I found the lactation room to enable the continuation of breast feeding. As long as I can, I will pump for a few more months to give her the most benefits.

When I got home, she looked like she did not recognize me. I hugged her tight and fed her. The little one ate and ate as if there would be no tomorrow. I hope for a better day for her and me tomorrow.

Last Day of Leave

I go back to work tomorrow. I am sad and anxious. This afternoon I took Mia out for a long walk. I talked to her the entire time. She does not know I will leave before she wakes up tomorrow and will not see her for a whole day. I hope she and I will both ease into the transition.

First Haircut

Summer's here. To avoid heat rash and control Mia's wild hair, I got a baby clipper. Today Mike gave baby her first haircut. She was ok at first but soon started fussing. We managed to shave off a bit in the back and cut an inch from each side. I haven't decided if I want to shave all her hair off yet. It's quite a popular thing to do back home, which is supposed to help hair growth but Mia's already growing quite a lot of hair, I am not sure how much more help we need.

4 Months

Mia had her four-month checkup today. She weighs 15 lbs and 15 ozs and is 26 1/4 inches tall. She's about 95 percentile for both weight and height. Big girl! Everything is fine with her. She had three shots and an oral dose again. Mike picked her up immediately after the shots and had her face the nurse. He was afraid that baby would associate pain with us. He was in such a hurry so she would not see his face, the nurse did not even have a chance to put band-aids on her.

She was not too irritable after she got back home. Hopefully she would not be affected by the shots this weekend.

I held her against my chest before I put her to bed this evening. She was already asleep and her little face was nestled in the nook of my neck. I could not stop staring at her soft cheeks. I never felt so much tenderness. Being a mom really transformed me.

Star Wars Babe

We got the matching Star Wars T-shirt and onesie for X'mas last year before Mia was even born. Mike's been waiting for baby to fit in the onesie. Now finally! Proud Star Wars maniac daddy took babe down to his man cave today in the matching outfit. Too cute! :D

Hopefully this would be it and we won't see Mia dressed in Star Wars costumes all the Halloweens in the future.

Little Changes

Mia is starting to grab various objects and sometimes my hair. Her grip is pretty tight!

She now also sleeps on her side when she naps with me. She was able to roll to her side on her own a few days ago. This morning when she was on her side, she rolled all the way to her belly. We have to watch her now in case she falls out of her changing pad.

Sleeping Through the Night

Yesterday Mike went to Atlantic City for a Bachelor's party and Maggie came to visit from Yale. Mia went to bed at 8 and slept through the night for the first time. She woke up at 6:45 this morning and I was happy beyond words. I had my first full night of sleep since her birth! I am so proud of her.

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.