Small and Friendly

My oldest brother Jimmy always calls Lydia "small and friendly" for obvious reasons. On a recent trip to Toys "R" Us with his two kids, Jimmy got Lydia a little gift which she refused to wear for more than a few seconds until today. Presenting Miss Small and Friendly...

Quite the talker

Lydia may not know how to say many words, but she still likes to babble. She will be quite the little talker once she increases her vocabulary, which consists of new words "baby", "ball", "bath", and "no more".

Having one nap time isn't going so well for Lydia; she still sleeps barely an hour and it has been four days! I'll give it a full week, but if her naps don't increase to at least two hours, I'll probably go back to giving her two naps a day and try again in a couple weeks. Actually, I'm not sure what I'm going to do because I really want Lydia accustomed to one longer nap by the time the baby is born in April, but watching her that extra hour or so every day is tiring. I honestly would rather her take two naps during the day and go to sleep at 8 PM since Trung can help during the evenings then Lydia just taking one nap and going to sleep at 7. Any advice, experienced parents?

Mother and Daughter Day

The LAN party, where a bunch of guys gather in one place to play computer games, was rescheduled for today, so Lydia and I spent the day by ourselves. We dropped Trung off at Sing's house at 10 AM and went straight to the outlet mall. Our first stop...Smoothie Paradise because Lydia just loves smoothies. Lydia got a dirty diaper in the first store we went into, so I knew we wouldn't be shopping for long. These umbrella strollers don't hold very much, so I left her diaper bag in the car; I'll be putting a diaper and wipes in the little attachable bag in the future though. So I quickly finished my purchase at that store, made an exchange at another store, and went into Stride Rite...bad idea. They were having a sale and I'm Mrs. Indecisive, so it took me forever to decide on a couple pairs of shoes. By the time we got to the car, Lydia was so fussy because she had apparently exploded in her diaper. It was such a mess that I ended up completely undressing her and putting her in the car seat with just a diaper. Lydia fell asleep on the way home, but I had to wake her to give her a mini-bath and feed her lunch. I put her to sleep at 2 PM and she woke up at 3:20 with a dirty diaper; this nap reduction thing is harder than it seems. (Lydia only slept about an hour yesterday, but slept from 7:15 PM until 7:30 AM).

We were about to head to Chinatown around 6 PM after I transferred Lydia's clothes to the dryer when I discovered that one red shirt of hers had stained some of her other clothes...two of the shirts I had just bought today! Needless to say, I was not very happy with myself, but I've drenched them in stain remover and hopefully the stains will come out when I run the clothes through the wash tomorrow. Is there really a way to undo the staining? Anyhow, this little nut made me feel better...

Experimentation

Equipped with some helpful advice from friend and mother of two, Allison, I am attempting to reduce the number of Lydia's naps from two to one. Lydia woke up around 6:30 this morning, but went back to sleep until 7:35 . After her usual snack and breakfast, I gave her milk around 10 AM (her usual morning nap time) and let her play until 11:45 AM. Then we had lunch and Lydia finally went to sleep around 1 PM.

Oh no! I hear her whimpering already at 1:27 PM!! Maybe I'll wait about ten minutes and see if she'll fall back asleep. Hmmm, I don't hear her anymore, so that's a good sign. I'll keep you posted on my (I hope) progress.

Lately

The weather has been quite cold lately, but at least it is no longer raining. We are all still stuck indoors in the evening when we usually take our walks, so I'm sure Lydia is dying to get out. I try to take Lydia out whenever I can, like going to the dentist with Trung yesterday and taking a quick trip to the post office today, but it's not quite the same as fresh air. We paid both neighbors a visit this afternoon and gave them some sour cream cake. We used to visit the Sults, the neighbors to the left of us, almost every week, but it's been busy since the holidays. The Lews, the neighbors to the right, were home too, so we got to play catch-up with them (well, I played catch-up, Lydia banged on their keyboard). We are fortunate to have kind neighbors who give us a cup of sugar or even lend us their blenders.

*This part is more for me, but those mommies out there might find this information useful* Lydia has been waking up between 7-7:30 AM and taking only one hour naps as of late and I'm contemplating whether or not to start letting her take one nap a day. That dirty diaper is still waking her up during her naps half the time, but how do I time that right? A typical day goes like this...
7-7:30 AM - Lydia wakes up
7:30 - 8 - Lydia eats a snack
8 - 8:30 - Lydia watches a DVD (Baby Einstein or Sesame Beginnings)
8:30 - 9 - I do my morning stuff (brush my teeth, etc...) and then we have breakfast
9 - 10 - read & play
10 - ? - nap 1
12 - lunch
12 - 2 - run an errand or read & play
2 - ? - nap 2
3:30 - snacktime
3:30 - 5:30 - read & play, take a walk if the weather permits
5:30 - 6:30 - prepare (usually with Trung watching Lydia) and eat dinner
6:30 - 7:30 - read & play (more with Daddy)
7:30 - 8 - Lydia takes a bath and goes to sleep
8 - 10:30 - I take a shower, watch some TV or a movie with Trung, surf the web, go to sleep

Lydia has been really good about playing by herself, so I don't constantly have to entertain her. She loves "reading" her books and eating, especially her snacks; she's cutting her 11th and 12th teeth! While in Florida Lydia had learned to get down from the sofa, and now she is quickly learning how to get onto it (our sofa is still a bit high for her). She is still a rambunctious and happy toddler who loves to laugh, say "hi" to everyone, and blow kisses good-bye (and at Trung before every nap); and boy do we love her to bits! Just now, from across the room, this is what I see...

Then and Now

They say that during future pregnancies, you tend to be bigger since you are already all stretched and such. So, just for kicks I've posted that 29th week picture that some may recall from my first pregnancy and added one of me from today; I wore the same dress for comparison sake. I personally think the pictures look the same, but I certainly do feel bigger. By the way, I don't recall how the dress fit the first time, but it was pretty snug today and I did discover a tear on the side near my chest (Trung says that it was not from just now, but he could just be trying to be nice). :/

<--- 1st pregnancy @ 29 weeks, 2 days

---> 2nd pregnancy @ 29 weeks, 1 day

Brotherly Love

I just realized recently that Lydia has no 18-24 months clothes. I usually bust out the next season's clothes three months in advance and was prepping up when I discovered that there was a gap from her current clothes to the 2T clothes Cora gave me. So yesterday Mike and I went to the outlet mall and I went on a shopping spree on behalf of the little squirt; I even got a belly friendly top for myself. We met up Sing and Maggie for dinner at Korea House since we no longer go to Korea Garden after they were on the news. Then they chilled at our house while Lydia slept; Trung, Mike, and I watched the movie Cloverfield, which was pretty good.

This morning I went on a baking frenzy and made blueberry muffins and a cheesecake. I'm not nesting yet, I promise, I just want to make sure my family has yummy food to eat if they get hungry. We went to the Arborteum and had lunch at a new Japanese restaurant Kenobi...very good and Grace-recommended. After Mike and Trung made purchases at Express Men, we headed home where Lydia and I took naps. Jimmy's family arrived shortly after and everyone just chilled and played PS3 until dinner at Din-Ho. I predict PS3 for the next couple of hours and then off to bed, but with these boys you who know.

Close Call

Whew, I don't have gestational diabetes! My OBGYN's nurse Deb called me this afternoon and she said that my results were great. Note to self: Don't take the glucose screening test right after the holidays. :P

My brother Mike has come to visit us this weekend. He brought his PS3, so we were all up playing this super hero game. I don't normally play games, (Trung is the gamer of the family) but I had fun even though my hero kept getting killed. We have no set plans this weekend especially since Trung's LAN party got postponed, but I'm sure it will be quite fun as it always is when family members are in town. Jimmy and his family are supposed to drive up on Saturday afternoon, so more family fun yet to come!

Blog-stalking

My friend Summer had a great idea of asking all her blog readers to please leave a comment on her blog, so she would know who all was reading her blog. I hope you don't mind that I'm stealing your idea, Summer, but I too am curious to know who keeps up with all my ramblings. If you could kindly leave a comment and let us know who you are and where you're from, that would be lovely! Oh, and I whole-heartedly admit that I am a blog-stalker, well, stalker in general, so there is absolutely no harm done here. :)

By the way, I had my three hour glucose test done today and it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r! I got to the hospital around 8:20 AM and the lab technician immediately drew my blood to see if my sugar level was low enough for me to even take the orange drink. The level was fine, so I drank about a pint of the glucose drink and sat around for 3 hours while they took my blood at 9:35, 10:35, and finally at 11:35. I had to fast since midnight last night, but I wasn't as hungry as I thought; the whole process just took awhile. Thankfully, Lydia took a good hour and a half nap, so at least Trung got some work done while I was away. I'll keep you posted as to the results.

Fun Times with Daddy

Today was so beautiful! We have been fortunate enough in Austin to have at least one weekend day with nice weather these last few weeks. We met up with our Dallas friends for lunch at Wok on Fire and stopped by Wendy and Nick's place to drop off some helpful baby things. After Lydia's afternoon nap, she and Trung had a ball playing in and with cardboard boxes.

Finally we got to enjoy the fine weather at the Arboretum where Trung went to Barnes & Noble and Lydia and I took a stroll. The sun had set and it was starting to get a bit chilly, so we soon went to La Madeline for some dinner. The weekends seem to go by so quickly; I'm so glad that we are all well and can enjoy them together. :)

Busy baby day

We attended Yuri's baby shower at noon and were able to catch up with some of our Dallas friends. Henry and Yuri are expecting a baby boy in mid-March...looks like there will be lots of little playmates for Sophie.Afterwards, we dropped by Juan and Islande's house to see little 6 week old Landjuvan; that boy is getting quite big!
After dinner we finally got to meet baby Kaitlin since Wendy was a bit too tired for visitors last night. How precious and so tiny! Welcome to motherhood, girl!

Transitions

Just like when traveling, there is always a transitional period after illnesses when everyone needs to adjust back to everyday life; this observation seems even more so with a child. Trung and I started off the week letting Lydia do and have almost whatever she wanted because she was so miserable and she only really wanted to be held. Now at the end of the week, however, she has become awfully complain-y and cry-y because she wants to be held all the time, and since Trung has been busy working all week, she only wants me. I know that Lydia is shedding tears of endearment, but sometimes I too need a little break, especially when I had a stomachache last night.

Most importantly, we want to detach Lydia from me by the time the baby arrives because it will become quite overwhelming with kids dependent on me. She is gradually doing better as she is feeling better, and Trung is being a great sport, so I'm sure she will be up to par by April. We put Lydia to sleep around 7:30 PM since her nap times have been quite short lately, and then we settled down to watch some Korean monster movie called "The Host". Yeah, very interesting.

Happier Days

Lydia had a couple very wet diapers today, but otherwise her appetite is back and her demeanor is getting here. She has been very dependent on me these last few days and refusing Trung, so it's been hard carrying and messing with her all the time, but overall, I'm glad she's feeling better physically. I too am feeling much better and my appetite finally came back late this afternoon. Thanks for all the prayers! :)

Congratulations to Nick and Wendy on the birth of their baby girl, Kaitlin Nicole; she was born today at 3:30 PM. We plan on paying the new family a visit tomorrow night, so that they can rest tonight.

GI Grace

Yup, Lydia passed her GI to me. I had every intention of getting my three hour glucose test done this morning, but my stomach had other plans for me. I visited the bathroom several times early this morning, so by the time I woke up for the day, I was dehydrated. I could barely keep any food or liquids down, but I tried to eat what I could. At least Lydia was feeling better, though, right? Sure, until 2 PM, when her diarrhea started kicking in. Sorry, folks, I know these posts lately have been pretty nappy, but I'm hoping to help out other mommies (and myself in the future) regarding the same situations.

I had to take about 1.5 hour naps every 1.5 hours, usually during Lydia's naptimes, but by the end of the day, I was feeling much better. We had offered Lydia some milk since she was fine all yesterday, but the dairy finally started affecting her in the afternoon. No more milk for Lydia! The rest of the day was pretty much a blur since I was napping off and on, though around 6:30 PM Lydia and I split some Chicken Noodle Soup. Soon after, we took our bath/shower and headed off to sleep; I haven't slept at 8:30 PM since I was a kid!

Early bird catches the worm

Lydia started off the morning pretty early around 5 AM, which was honestly later that I expected; she wasn't too unhappy, just hungry. Per the nurse's orders, however, I couldn't feed her for an hour and had to keep up the 10 cc of pedialyte that I had ended with last night. Finally after 50 minutes, I finally gave in and offered Lydia some Cheerios. I thought she would practically inhale the cereal, but it was her sippy cup of water that she really wanted. Lydia drank about 7 ounces of water in one sitting with some Cheerio feedings in between; she normally drinks that much in one day!

She went back to sleep around 6:20 AM and didn't wake up until 9:30 AM, at which time I feed her some frosted mini wheats, pedialyte, and some water. After playing for about an hour, Lydia got tired again, so I put her to sleep and she hasn't gotten up yet. Wow, this infection sure has knocked her out; she barely has her round and profound belly anymore! Oh, the nurse said that GI is going around, so try to stay indoors or make sure to wash your hands frequently.

On the upside, Lydia is getting better, but on the downside, I was informed today that I am a little bit anemic (again) and that I have to take the three hour glucose exam. The nurse said that my glucose level was slightly high and that I probably don't have gestational diabetes, but that I should take the exam just to be sure. Diabetes does run in my family, and it sure didn't help that I had so many sweets during the holidays, but everything will be fine regardless of the results. It's not the end of the world as I keep trying to tell my melodramatic self.

Possible GI

Lydia woke up from her nap very upset again and threw up almost as soon as I picked her up; I discovered later that she had thrown up in her crib too. The one time that Trung tried giving her water, she lost all of it (and some) almost immediately. I finally called the pediatrician's office to ask a nurse to call me back because Lydia was now only vomiting a faint yellow liquid. The poor dear was very calm, but would start crying when she felt the vomit coming.

The nurse's advice...wait one hour from the last time the child vomits and then try giving 5 cc of pedialyte every twenty minutes to see if it is kept down. After three consecutive applications, start giving 10 cc every twenty minutes and so on and so forth. Every time we hit 40 minutes, Lydia would throw up and we'd have to start the clock all over again. She had taken only about a 30 minute nap, so she was so tired that she fell asleep in my arms for about 30 minutes around 5 PM. Lydia hasn't fallen asleep in my arms in forever; it was very sweet! Her stomach did not "settle" until 7:20 PM, but once it did, we made it to 10 cc at 8:20 PM and she went to sleep without so much as a peep. I suspect that Lydia will wake up in the middle of the night hungry, but I'm hoping at least for no more vomiting. Thank goodness she was still able to produce tears and was finally able to keep the liquid down or else we would have had to take her to the Children's Hospital. Many thanks to Trung for being so helpful tonight as we cared for Lydia and each other. *muah*

Pobrecita

Lydia woke up this morning pretty unhappy; she was crying and refused to eat her breakfast right away. She had had four dirty diapers yesterday, so I knew her stomach must be at least a little bit upset, but usually a good night's sleep takes care of that. Lydia finally ate her breakfast and was her self the rest of the morning until I put her down for her nap. I hadn't slept well last night and was looking forward to a nap too, but she did not sleep a wink so neither did I.

So, we got up and I had lunch an hour and a half later, but Lydia just picked at her food. Then we went to the grocery store and everything seemed fine until we got home. Lydia started dozing off in the car on the way home, so I planned to give her a small snack and put her to sleep. Well, the moment she walked into the house, she started vomiting A LOT (I was shocked that all that came out of her!). After we got the mess cleaned up, I gave Lydia a quick bath and changed my clothes. She didn't want anything to eat, so I took her to her room when she threw up again along the side of my arm. I finally got Lydia (sans clothes) into her crib where she immediately went to sleep. Poor thing...I've got to figure out how I'm going to help her feel better once she gets up. Please pray for Lydia today that she will feel better and for me that I will have the wisdom and patience to nurse her back to health.

The Sixes

Today Lydia is 16 months old and I am 6 months pregnant (26 weeks and 6 days to be exact), wow, time sure does fly. It was such a beautiful day that we had to enjoy the outdoors somehow, especially after cleaning all morning; I cleaned our master bathroom and Trung swiffered the kitchen floors. Lydia woke up late this morning around 8:30 AM and didn't take her nap until 10:45 AM, but we didn't expect her to sleep for two hours and 45 minutes! By the time we got her ready and headed out, we were all starving. We ate at California Pizza Kitchen and did some shopping at various places...it was quite a productive day. Lydia stopped by a fountain to play at the Domain.

Preparing for baby

Lydia had received a little Asian doll aka Calin Yang for her birthday from our neighbors (they said the doll looked exactly like her and they had to buy it), but she never really took to it. Every time I handed the doll to her, she would throw it across the room. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping that Lydia would like her baby just as she would like her real baby sister come April. Well, today I tried presenting Calin to her again for the first time in almost a month and she seemed to like her; at least she didn't throw it across the room.

Weighing in...

I had my 6th month visit today and have so far gained about 17 pounds, not bad for 26.5 weeks if I do say so myself. :) I still weigh less than I did last pregnancy at this point in my current pregnancy, but there is still plenty of time to surpass that weight at the end. People have often asked me how much total weight I gained the first time around, and I verified today that it was right around 30 pounds. (about 8 pounds of it was Lydia) Anyhow, everything is fine with the baby and hopefully, my glucose test will come back negative.

I had placed an order for some books that cousin Jacob owned which Lydia loved reading while in Tampa. Well, they came in today and after one reading, already some of the pages are bent and one even has a torn piece. All the books are board books, but a few have flip pages that ask "where is ..."; I don't think that they will last very long since they are Lydia's favorites.

Congratulations to Jonathan & Grace on the birth of Rachel on December 22th... to Christine & Jun expecting their first child in May, and to Louis & Martha expecting their third child in June.

Happy 2008!

We arrived back to Austin around 12:30 PM yesterday and boy, were we glad to be home. We weren't home for long though; after unloading the car, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed to Target to purchase some essentials, like whole milk for Lydia. Good thing we didn't go to HEB because I heard it was extremely packed. After a lot of unpacking, we had dinner at Dave, Joy, & Parker's house with several friends around 6:30 PM, and passed the time away playing wii and watching TV. (Lydia took a bath and slept at their house until we left). Almost as soon as it was midnight, everyone dispersed...it certainly isn't like the good 'ole days anymore when everyone would stay up and chat for hours. *sigh*

Today we had dim-sum with most of the friends from the night before. Later, Trung played Company of Heroes and I did laundry and posted some ebay items while Lydia took her afternoon nap. It didn't really seem like a holiday since we didn't do anything special. A cold front had swept in last night, so it was chilly, yet sunny. We enjoyed the weather briefly when Trung and I took Lydia for a walk, but the chill soon got the best of us. We look forward to many happy times in 2008 and look forward to sharing them with you. Happy New Year's to you all! :)