Passing the rings

One of Austin's new skills.. He can pass an object from one hand to the other.



Last night went well. Austin fell asleep in his sleep sack. When I checked on him he was fast asleep and had his arms out to the sides and his left cheek was plastered to the mattress. He didn't wake me up during the night but was already awake and talking in his crib before I got up just before 7am.

It's a Girl!

She's finally here... Akemi Juliet Fu! Born 1:37pm on 1/29/08, 7 lbs., 20 1/4 inches.

I was so excited when I got Jonathan's text that he and Karen were at the hospital. Then the text came that the baby was born! I couldn't wait to get off work and head over to see the baby girl. When we got there I guess the nurse had just taken Akemi to the nursery to do some checks. Jonathan was so excited and showed me pictures right away. I don't think he stopped smiling at all while we were there. :) Karen looked happy and exhausted, as expected. I'm so happy for them, they did a great job! She's adorable and tiny and I can't wait to see her again! My heart goes out to them as they endure these first few days and weeks with a newborn. I just look back to when Willis and I were going through that time and smile, remembering how my tiny little Austin was and sighing knowing we made it through.

I was a little worried about Austin because I thought he would be hungry and fussy when we were at the hospital. I thought i'd have to feed him there. He was a little fussy, but he didn't complain too much and patiently waited until I fed him when we got home.

I tried putting Austin in his new sleep sack for the first time tonight. We're trying to see if he can sleep without the swaddle. He's starting to grow out of his small swaddle blanket and the next size is a little too big. One of his day care teachers said she swaddles him with his arms out, but I haven't tried that. When I watch him napping during the day without swaddling his arms still move around and wake him up, I hope he'll be able to sleep at night without the swaddle blanket tightly holding his arms close to him.

Mommy-time

Today was one of my last few weekdays home with Austin till we both begin our full-time work/daycare days. When i'm home with him all day it can be long and tiring but I do enjoy those days and i'm really going to miss spending so much time with my little man. Being able to watch him grow and develop is such a blessing. I put him in his rocking chair in front of the french doors today and he would look back and forth between the window and the tv and play with his bib. The bib he was wearing was one of the ones that the velcro doesn't stick very well so he pulled it off and played with it in his hands looking at it and lifting it up over his head. It was very entertaining to him and he played for a long time allowing me to prepare and eat my lunch (and of course take tons of pictures of him).

It was a little too cold and wet outside today so we stayed indoors instead of running errands. He napped quite a bit today, maybe as a delayed result of his shots? He still has the runny nose that he's had since the weekend which results in leaky nose everytime he cries and crusty nose after every nap.

After Willis came home from work we all went to the Chiropractor. Austin was very sad for some reason and cried for almost 20 minutes straight on the way home. Poor guy, he must have needed more sleep or he got scared when the receptionist at the office carried him? We finally turned up the radio and after a few tries found a song that seemed to calm him down while I danced to entertain him. He closed his eyes a few minutes after that and slept for about 30 minutes until it was time for him to eat.

I gave him his dragonfly toy to play with after I put him in his pjs tonight. He turned it in his hands, crinkled the wings, put the linking rings in his mouth then he put the dragonfly's whole foot in his mouth. So funny. He's starting to pull more things into his mouth and chew on them. Up till now it had been mostly his fingers, burp cloths or bibs and occasionally my fingers.

He's lying in his crib now just talking in the dark. Hopefully he'll fall asleep on his own soon.

4-month Doctor's Visit

Austin used the computer for the first time yesterday morning. We were emailing his Granny and Auntie. He looks like a natural. :)

This morning we took Austin to his 4-month doctor's appointment. He got all the usual vaccinations. He was probably tired and hungry during his appointment so he was already fussy and didn't even seem to notice he got shots. (at his 2-month appointment he didn't seem to mind them that much either) He did pretty well after his shots, didn't get fussy or get a fever. The nurse said he might sleep more today, but he didn't sleep noticably more.

After the doctor's appt Austin and I went to visit Karen. She's on maternity leave now so we thought we'd go keep her company for the afternoon. We had lots of fun but it's too bad it was cold and rainy. We couldn't go outside and go for a walk. It was really wet when we headed home, big drops coming down. Austin was talking for half of the ride home then it was quiet when he fell asleep.

I tested putting Austin down to fall asleep on his own tonight. It was getting pretty late and he didn't fall asleep while eating. I changed his diaper and his clothes then swaddled him and put him in his crib with the mobile playing. He fussed and complained a little but eventually it was quiet. I think he was really tired cuz he didn't nap too long during the day and it was already after 10pm by the time I put him to bed.

Happy?? Not happy?

Austin did the funniest thing last night. Willis was holding Austin while I was eating dinner and I was blowing kisses to him with my napkin in one hand. Austin was enjoying this so much, he was laughing away.. Then, after a while I guess he realized he was not so happy (I think he figured out that he was tired). While still enjoying my kisses he began laughing and making sad faces at the same time. It was soo funny and cute. Poor guy, he was so conflicted. Cry, laugh, frown, smile.. I wish I could have gotten it on tape..

Today Austin spent the day with Willis since they both had the day off for Martin Luther King Jr.'s Bday. I put Austin in his "Daddy" clothes; "Daddy's team" shirt and "I love Daddy" bib. :) Sounds like they had a nice relaxing day with lots of naps for Austin. He also finished all his milk both times he ate, I think his belly is getting bigger and he's starting to be able to eat more. He's been snoozing away in his room for a couple of hours now. That means I need to get to bed myself. Tomorrow is another fun day at day care for him.

Four months old

Austin is now four months old! Last night Willis and I were looking at my last belly pics taken the day I went into the hospital. I can't believe just four short months ago he was in my belly! And now he's getting big. Where did all those months go?? Sometimes I just wonder... "did I really have a baby?" "is he really mine?" It's still pretty surreal to me but yet at the same time I can hardly remember what it was like without him around.

I took Austin to get weighed at Torrance Memorial yesterday. He's about 12 1/2 lbs now. Then we went to Babies R Us (again) since it was on our way home. I exchanged the outfit I got him for his photo shoot (since he didn't need it) for a bigger size. I carried him in and was planning to put him in the sling if he got fussy, but he enjoyed looking at everything. No need for the sling. And for being such a good boy I got him a cute little turtle toy to play with. :)

I think Austin had a very fun and tiring day at day care today. He napped on the way home, ate, played a little with me and Aunty Allison, then fell asleep again at 9:00pm. He was so tired he didn't even flinch when I took off his noisy velcro bib and he didn't wake up when I swaddled him. He woke up a few times last night so I'll cross my fingers he stays asleep till morning. I 'm gonna go to sleep now since he'll probably be up early. Yay, it's the weekend!

Smile

We took Austin to take his 3 month pictures at a photography studio this morning. This is the first in his baby milestone pics (3, 6, 9 & 12 months). He was in a good mood in the beginning, got a little fussy in the middle, but we were able to distract him at the end. I can't wait to see the proofs at his next appointment when he takes his 6 month pictures.

"Notes from the Underbelly" is a funny show. It's about a bunch of friends; the married couple with a baby, the married couple expecting a baby, and the single friends. It's one of many shows that i'm trying to keep up with. Thank goodness for dvr!

Rock and Roll

Another week has started.. Where did the weekend go?

I was pretty tired today since Austin woke up a few times early this morning and couldn't fall back asleep. His head kept popping up and his eyes were wide open. He was just about driving me crazy when Willis rescued me and helped him drift off to sleep. (I guess it wouldn't have been so bad had I not gone to sleep at 2am. :p) I'm getting so spoiled since Austin usually falls right back to sleep, especially after he eats while it's dark.

I made a trip to Babies R Us yesterday to return a few things and pick up some extra pump parts... and, of course, picked up a few things for Austin. Heehee. (Side note: Babies R Us has a new return policy: Must have receipt. Before, they used to take back anything that their store carried and give store credit when you didn't have a receipt) *Sigh*... I love that store, I could spend hours in there. But, couldn't spend too many hours there since I had to get back home to my two men.

Austin rolled over for the first time tonight! He was doing tummy time and pushed with one arm, started leaning to the side and kept going. :) Here's a pic of what he looked like after his second roll.

He hasn't rolled from back to front yet, but sometimes when he's on his back he'll lift his leg and lean over or he'll look at something to his side and twist his body toward it. It won't be long now..

Taking down the lights

I finally took down the Christmas lights and vacuumed and dusted the living room today. I took the ornaments off of our little tree a while ago, but didn't get a chance to finish taking down the lights. It feels good to just hang around the house and get some cleaning done. Maybe tomorrow I can move on to other rooms and I need to figure out where all of Austin's new clothes and toys are going to go.

Before I was a Mom

The following is a forward going around. I just received it again and it brings tears to my eyes each time I read it. So true...

Before I was a Mom -
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Fingers are good

Austin has been sucking on his fingers a lot lately. When Allison was babysitting on new year's day she said he waited patiently for his bottles to be prepared by sucking on his thumb. Here's a picture of him with three fingers in his mouth. :)

He's just starting to put other things in his mouth too. Sometimes he tries to sneak my fingers his mouth and last night when we were reading a book he was turning a page and tried to sneak the corner of a page into his mouth.

He did it!

Austin has a rocking chair with animal toys on it. In his first month he would just look at the animals and liked looking at the black and white cow print on the bar. In his second month he started to move his arms around and hit the animals on the sides (pig and sheep, they both make noise). In his third month he could control his arms and deliberately hit the animals on the sides but he only looked at the cow in the middle. Now in his fourth month he can pick up and pull the animals with both hands and even squeeze all three animals together.

He's getting so good at reaching out and grasping and pulling objects. The cow toy on the chair has a ring that you can pull to play 'Old McDonald Had a Farm.' Yesterday for the first time he pulled it hard enough to play the music all by himself!

Zzzz...

Austin was fussy all morning, but now that he's eaten and had a couple of good naps he's in a much better mood. I think he was making up for being so tired since he didn't nap much yesterday and only ate a little before going to sleep last night. I just went to check on him playing in his crib and he was laughing and smiling at me. :)

Austin is continuing to sleep better at night. Willis has been getting pretty good at putting Austin to bed. It sometimes takes a few tries to get him to stay asleep, but ever since he slept through the night for the first time he's been doing really well. I'd say he is averaging only one (or maybe less) waking/feeding per night. He is constantly amazing me with every new development!

Him sleeping longer is slowly allowing me to get more sleep too. I think i've finally shaken the sore throat that i've been having every night for the past week. I went to sleep earlier last night, which helps, and I got to nap with Austin today.

Stronger

Austin is getting a lot stronger and can hold his head up higher and steadier during tummy time. (Here's a pic from tummy time this morning.) He isn't rolling over yet, but he's starting to lift a leg and tip over a little. I think he'll be turning over pretty soon.

He drank from a cup for the first time last Wednesday. He drank milk from the little mini cup we got for him and seemed to like it. He also likes to turn the pages when we're reading books.

Back to the 'ol grind

Austin didn't have trouble spending all day at day care yesterday, even after staying home with me for two whole weeks. He seemed to have a great day and was smiling and happy when I picked him up in the evening. I sometimes worry about him crying with the bottle or being fussy at day care, but Willis reminded me, his teachers are professionals and Austin is definitely not the hardest baby they've had to care for. I am very thankful that he's a good baby.. :)

Today I dropped him off at day care and he cried with big tears rolling down his cheeks when his teacher took him out of the carseat, but when Willis picked him up he seemed to have had a good day. According to his daily sheet, he was talking a lot and smiling and for his chalk coloring activity he held the chalk and made a few marks on the paper!

Austin is only part time at his day care so we get to spend a couple of days together during the week. Being home with him all day can be tiring but I enjoy playing, singing and reading books with him and just getting to watch him, he's growing so fast!

I'm-a-big-kid-now...

It finally happened... Austin slept through the night! I never thought it would, but I woke up around 7am and said, "Hey, did Austin cry last night, did you get up to get him??" Plus he went almost 12 hours without crying for food! Amazing. He even woke up this morning in a good mood, not crying and all smiles. What a big boy, he's growing up! I know it won't be every night, but just a couple of weeks ago I truly thought he would never sleep longer than a few hours or less at a time at night (..and I would have said it with tears rolling down my face). I'm such the proud Momma right now! And he's already napping. Sleeping through the night must make babies very tired. Haha.

Mommy's nuts about me!!!

It's crazy how fast babies grow. I still can't get over how tiny Austin was when he first came home and how he's now completely outgrown all of his itty bitty newborn clothes and diapers. He's now well into his 3 month clothes and is almost outgrowing some of them already.

Here's a picture of Austin in a cool onesie that he can finally fit into.

Rose Bowl

Happy new year! Austin woke up just before midnight and the three of us counted down to 2008 as the ball dropped on tv. Then we all went to sleep to rest up for Game Day.

This morning Willis and I got up, had our ozoni and headed to the Rose Bowl to watch USC vs. Illinois. We left about 4 hours prior to the game to pick up Karen, Jonathan and Tricia I., then we met up with Monica and her boyfriend, Jeff, at their tailgate. They had lots of delicious food; chicken, kalbi, sausage, salad.. Yum! I'm sad that I wasn't able to stick around for the grilled pineapple though. USC pulled out another Rose Bowl victory, scoring 49-17. It was a long day (the longest i've been away from Austin so far), but lots of fun. We're glad Karen and Jonathan wanted our extra tickets, it was fun hanging out with them at the game.

We recorded the Rose Parade on the dvr so we'll be watching it tomorrow. We were thinking of taking Austin to look at the floats, but i'm not sure if we're up for another trip to Pasadena and dealing with the crowds. I think we'll stay in and rest.

While Willis and I were at the game Austin got to spend the day with Aunty Allison and Aunty Jen. Sounds like they had a lot of fun eating, sleeping, playing, and pooping.

I feel nice and relaxed after my shower. Now i've got to dry my hair and go to bed. Austin's wide awake, hopefully we'll be able to get him to sleep soon.