Photoshoot Fun with Liam

I had a little photo fun with Liam one morning and did a short photo session of him wearing a very cute onesie given to him by aunt Carey and a cute hat from surf gal, Amy.

The onesie is by Studio Bree Designs

Despite being ultra busy and lack of sleep, we're having a blast with Liam! =)

The Name

Well, we've finally come up with the name for Baby 2:

Liam has an Irish origin, and means "unwavering protector" which we hope he will be for his "big" sister. Noboru was suggested by my Mom, and means "to rise or ascend" which, not only has a climbing connotation, but is hopefully how he will meet the challenges in his life.

We've also found out that little Liam may not be as mild-mannered as we thought he was going to be...

Labor and Delivery Details

Connie first started having contractions on Wed around 3 pm during her midwife checkup. They remained brief and irregular until around 9 pm. For the next hour, they became quite regular and more intense. We contacted the hospital, and they said we should come in as soon as possible. So we dropped off Emilia with the nanny, and arrived at the hospital around 11:40 pm. The midwife checked out Connie, and she was already at 9 cm!

Things were happening very quickly so the midwife was even concerned about me leaving to get our things from the car. When I got back, Connie was getting close to having the pushing urge. It came and went a few times, and I was beginning to think that this might go on for a while. But then it came back strongly, and before you knew it, the midwife said the baby was crowning. With a couple more pushes, the baby was out in less than a hour after we had arrived at the hospital.

The baby was immediately given to Connie for the mother/baby skin-to-skin bonding. At that point, we knew this baby was very different from Emilia. He cried only briefly, and was quickly calmed and even nursing. We've found that it takes quite a lot to rile him up, and he prefers to lounge and sleep. Even the Vitamin K shot only elicited a brief cry unlike Emilia who screamed as if she was being unbearably tortured. Yes, these do seem to be two very different babies.

We're waiting now for the pediatricians to arrive who will exam the baby, and let us know if there are any concerns. The hospital requires a minimum 24 hr stay so the earliest we can be discharged is presumably around 11:40 pm on Thursday. If everything looks good, we'd like to get out earlier than that; otherwise, we spend another night here.

Connie's doing great, and trying to catch up on some sleep when not working on nursing the baby. The biggest challenge in nursing him is keeping him awake - he loves to sleep!

Baby 2 is Here!

Baby 2 (yes, that's his name right now) was born on 10/20/2011 at 12:27 am. Everything went well, and mother and baby are doing great. More info later after they fully check him out, and get all his stats. And maybe by then we'll have a name for him...maybe.


Update: Baby's weight is 7 lb 4 oz, and his length is 19-1/2".

Week 38 Comparison

Less than 2 weeks and counting down!! It's now a mad rush to get things in order.. hence, the less frequent posts. Sorry!

We have slacked on taking weekly belly photos this time around, but for comparison, we have captured a Week 38 photo of current Baby Boy pregnancy with that of my pregnancy with Emilia. My weight is roughly the same as when I was pregnant with Emilia, if anything, maybe 1-2 pounds more and that's it.


No official poll, however, we are taking guesses on when we think the baby will be born --> whether he'll be early or late and what time, when we will go into labor, how long labor will be, and how big or small he is. Ryan and I, of course, differ in all these categories.

The Count Down Begins...

Update on Emilia's Roseola: She is now starting to look and feel better. The rash is mostly going away, only a faint remnant. She lost about a pound during this, but her appetite is coming back. She was still really irritable yesterday, but today her mood seems to be more on the chipper side.

And so, with Emilia back to high-energy, we've started getting ready for little bro's arrival. The count down begins as we are less than a month away from due date. I'm at 36 weeks preggers right now, able to hold a mug of water on my table of a belly, and at the last check up, baby bro is upside down and has a weight estimate of 5-5.5 lbs right now with 4 weeks left to go.

I'm not sure how much Emilia understands the concept of a baby brother coming, but she loves to give her "brother" sweet little pats and kisses (that is, she loves to pat and kiss my belly). She "reads" the baby magazines and loves to point out all the babies in it. And I've referred to our family and how much fun her play time will be when she'll have her baby brother to play with.

Thank you thank you to friends that have given baby boy or gender neutral clothing to us! He is well equip with clothes up to 6 months now and even has a few items up to 9 months. We're slowly, but surely, getting ready for the big day... washing everything, bringing out all the stashed newborn gear and cleaning them - baby carriers, carseats, bouncer, bottles, etc.

Just like with Emilia's birth, we are planning for this blog to be the source of information update. Makes it easier. Family and friends can check in on their own time and be updated on the latest news. We're excited and nervous at the same time. As we've heard from so many, that life changes even more drastically with the arrival of a 2nd baby. Baby boy, we're ready for you. Come on out soon!

2011 Mid-Year Update

It seems to me that time is on super lighting speed. Our baby girl somewhere along the way grew out of being a newborn baby into a new toddler. Right when Ryan and I think we have the parenting thing figured out, she learns something new and stumps us once again. While we highlight some of the fun and tender moments on this blog, we fail to completely capture all the details of the good and the not-so-good along the way. As life goes, there are ups and downs and plenty of challenges. Challenges with learning how to grow as parents with Em because every step of the way is still all new. Challenges with how to balance life with having only a finite amount of time with work, responsibilities, quality time with family, maintaining contact with friends and family, exercise (barely existent), and all the in-between.


Life is much much different now than 2 years ago (pre-Em) and I remember my own perspectives back then as I tried to envision life with a husband and a baby girl. I laugh now because it has been not even close to what I imagined being settled and having a family would be like. Let's just say, climbing Mt. Everest was fun, adventurous, breath-taking... but I can't even bring a fair comparison to any adventures I've experienced with the fun and adventures we have now with Em as we see a little of us in that strong and developing personality of hers. Every day holds something new and unexpected. I see a little Ryan in her as she tries to climb on EVERYTHING... or when she takes the avocados and arranges them in a neat line across the floor. I see a little bit of myself when she adamantly and stubbornly refuses to eat the blended kale porridge mix I make her.. or when she has that spark in her eye which I know means something has caught her curiosity. It is pretty neat to look and find similarities with our personalities and our little girl.


So, long story short.. our life is, and will continue to be non-stop adjustment. As Ryan also blogged a few posts earlier, our home has required just as much of his attention lately. He's been hard at work every chance he gets at maintaining it and trying to make it more kid friendly. The avocado harvest came and went and along with it, more maintenance for Ryan.

Surprisingly, I would have thought my priority on family would take precedence, and subsequently expect that my ability and drive for work would diminish. Not so, in fact, quite the opposite. I have a renewed focus with work, because work now matters even more as it will provide for my children's future. So, when not focused on family, the other portion of my time has been focused on work. I won't go into details, but work has definitely been a challenge trying to get where I want to be career-wise in this downturned economy. It makes me understand and appreciate how hard my parents worked, and also understand that as full-time working parents, we sacrifice being able to spend more time with our kids, to try to give our kids more for their future. It is a fine balance.

So... all in all, Ryan, Emilia, and I have all been keeping busy in our own ways. I guess it's just called Life. =)

The next BIG adjustment is right around the corner with the arrival of Emilia's little brother, our baby boy. Again, I can't imagine how things will be, but we're looking forward to his arrival. Here's our sneak peak at the little guy from a few weeks ago:

Resemblances...

My Mom dug up this old baby picture of me (no comments on the hat, please)...


Not sure if I see any resemblance, but I'll leave it open to interpretation...

Bath Time...

Hair washing. Not so bad. Quite comfy.




This is what we call "the Yoda". She cries so hard she contorts herself into a little mini Yoda. She really does like bath time... just not today.

Parental Units Have Taken Over

My parental units have arrived and imminently taken over the kitchen in the traditional Chinese-y way... with lots of foods which are *very good for me and baby*.


There's pig leg, chicken feet, vinegar egg, chicken cooked in wine, papaya with short rib soup, bunch of roots and herbs I know not of, among other things. The Chinese culture believes that the first month after birth is vital to re-balance the body's energy. In fact, lots of people hire a special care-taker for the first month specifically for the balancing of chi for both mom and baby. While the reasoning behind why the food is *good* for me in terms of ying yang and chi is fuzzy, it's okay cause Ryan and I get home cooking for the duration of their stay, so I cannot complain! And while its best not to ask what the ingredients are, the food is surprisingly yummy and filling. =)

Emilia is their first and only grand-child, so one can imagine how excited they are. In fact, they usually don't like taking photos, but to document the occasion, they have even demanded a photo session with baby.

Labor & Delivery Recap/Trivia

Timeline of Connie's Labor and Delivery:
2/26/10, 5 am:  Early Labor Starts
2/26/10, 2 pm:  Midwife Checkup (UCSD La Jolla), Dilation at 1 cm
2/26/10, Midnight : Active Labor Starts
2/27/10, 2 am:  Arrive at Hospital (UCSD Hillcrest), Dilation at 4 cm
2/27/10, 5 am:  Dilation at 6 cm
2/27/10, 7 am:  Dilation at 8 cm
2/27/10, 9 am:  Dilation at 10 cm, Start Pushing
2/27/10, 9:36 am:  Baby Out

Other Items of Note:

• Connie did not take any drugs during the labor and delivery.  Impressive!
• The amniotic sac did not break until mid-delivery.  This is good in that there is less chance of infection.
• They didn't wash off the amniotic fluid from the baby for 2 days to help minimize skin rashes. 
• The midwife inspected the placenta post-delivery, and said it was extremely healthy and provided a good O2 supply.
• There wasn't any need to remove excess mucous/fluids from baby's mouth or nose.  It was effectively removed by the movement through the birth canal.
• Baby was skin-to-skin with Mom immediately after delivery, and latched in about 45 min.
• Baby didn't have a conehead.  They say that this is due to her being breech (before the ECV), and then spending little time in the pelvic area.  She never "dropped" until sometime during labor.
• The umbilical cord is surprisingly tough to cut.

 

Emilia on Day 3

She's Here!

29 hours of contractions later, Connie gave birth to Emilia Ying-Zhi Sakurada at 9:36 am this morning.

It was time to cut the cord, and begin a new dependent life outside the womb.

Emilia weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz including a full head of hair.  She measures in at 19-3/4" in length.

She fortunately looks a lot more like Connie than me.

 

Mommy and baby are doing great.

 

Thanks to everyone for keeping us in your thoughts.  Stop by sometime, and check out the new kid.  We're interviewing for babysitters.

Getting Closer

At 7 am, Connie was at 8 cm.  Things are suppose to progress faster now so she should be pushing fairly soon.  She's had a strong urge to push, but they really want her at 10 cm first.  It's getting close, really close.  But I don't think I've convinced her of that yet.

Hard Labor

Connie's been in active labor since about midnight on Friday.  We headed to UCSD hospital in Hillcrest at about 1:30 am.  By about 5 am, she was at 6 cm.  The doula (Diana) says she should be in the transition stage now which is 7-10 cm.  When she gets to 10 cm, they'll allow her to start pushing.  It's been an incredible ride so far, and I'm amazed at Connie's tenacity.  Diana has been a tremendous asset as there's no way I would know how to deal with this myself.  Connie's "lounging" in the tub right now after it took literally hours to get it filled with water.

More to come...

First Stage!

Officially in first stage of labor... 10 minutes apart, 40 seconds of discomfort, past several hours. Piece of cake, no problemo right now. I'm even still blogging!

Time? Maybe?

I've been having on and off Braxton Hicks (practice contractions) for the past month now.. they are painless, short and just feel like a muscle tensing up. The past two nights, they have become a lot more frequent and regular, but no pain. This morning however is a little different. The contractions are definitely not comfortable now and have become regular ~20 seconds long, and roughly ~8 minute interval apart. Hence, I am up blogging this since I can't go back to sleep. However, this is still considered irregular and not labor yet... so, now we just wait and see.

Ode to the Belly

Belly, oh belly, at first forgotten you always were.
I thought you were still slender, forgetting you were not.
Squishing in between tight spaces, you should not.
However I have grown with you as you have grown with me.
Twice I think before walking between them parked cars,
And now you are happily unscathed by those rigid side-mirrors.
Belly, oh belly, how content you now are.

Belly, oh belly, how we have grown!
From early days of seemingly chunky over-weight,
To the reminiscent shape of ancient Romanesque arches.
The Buddha of you now brings lucky rubbings from those around,
And my excuse to pat and talk to you.
Proudly you stand and out front you have become.
Belly, oh belly, you do protrude so!

Belly, oh belly, once my paranoia, now my convenience.
How wonderful we are together!
My mug securely rests on you, as we cozy together.
A base you provide, as I scribble notes on your supportive surface.
Belly, oh belly, these are the last days we have together.
I eagerly await your bundle, though will also miss these days soon of old.
Belly, oh belly, oh belly of mine!

Baby Face

Since the ECV, I go to the hospital twice a week for fetal monitoring to make sure she is still doing okay due to the short dip in heart rate during the ECV. For the fetal monitoring, I sit in a chair and hook up to a fetus heart-rate monitor and a contraction monitor. For a duration of 20 minutes, I count baby's movement with a Jeopardy-like clicker device that puts a tick mark on the fetal heart rate monitor so they can correlate the baby's movements with an increased heart rate. The room has four chairs to monitor up to four pregnant women at a time for various reasons. After the monitoring, I go to the next room and get an ultrasound to check on baby's position.

The latest ultrasound, I was able to see a bit of baby's face. Still not so clear, esp in the still image, but it was exciting to see her little face peaking out on the ultrasound.. asleep and peaceful. =)

Baby's First Toys

Baby's first toys from daddy and mommy!



Ryan bought baby a ladybug twilight constellation nightlight. It is pretty awesome and projects the full night sky in three different color settings onto the ceiling and the walls... and the ladybug fits nicely with baby's cute forest theme.

I bought baby her first snuggly owl. It's probably bigger than she will be when she arrives. Ryan's mom says the owl is a symbol for happiness in the Japanese culture.

This Baby Has Been ECV'd

Connie went into the hospital this morning to have the ECV (external cephalic version) done. This is how she looked before they started. (Sorry for the poor iPhone photos. I forgot to bring the real camera).

Then they stuck this in her arm, and things got more serious. They told us about all of the bad things that can happen during the procedure, and had us sign a waiver. Of course, they have to do this even if the risks are minuscule. Worst case scenario we envisioned was possibly needing an emergency C-section.

Connie said that the IV was really painful. The nurse told us that they use extra large needles for pregnant women since they may need a lot of blood if something goes wrong. So they use large diameter needles to be able to pump in a lot of blood fast. How comforting...

They then administered a drug that relaxes smooth muscle. The purpose was to get the uterus to relax so it would be easier to turn the baby. A sign that the drug is working is an elevated pulse rate. Here's a shot of the vitals monitor just before they attempted to turn the baby. Connie's pulse is 111, and the baby's heart rate is 132 (it fluctuated between ~125-155).


They then hooked up the ultrasound, re-confirmed the baby's position, established a plan for rotating the baby, and began pushing. They started by ensuring the baby was up high enough out of the pelvis. This didn't require much as this baby has liked to stay high in Connie's belly. Next was to dig in deep, and start rotating. The following picture is when the baby was about in the horizontal position (rotated 90 deg CCW from her starting head-up, vertical position), and Connie was focused on that new test equipment she'd like to get at work ;^) Connie said that this was the most painful portion of the process. The last 90 deg of rotation happened so fast that I missed it. Overall the procedure took only a few minutes and was successful on the first try!


A cool thing about these dudes at UCSD (Drs. Kelly and Robertson) is that they monitored the entire procedure continuously on the ultrasound (unlike the YouTube video we watched in which they only did a before and after). This was much better because they were able to see how the baby was being re-positioned, and how she was responding. At one point her heart rate slowed (seen visually on the ultrasound) so they adjusted Connie's position, and it came right back up. However, since it did depress for a short while, they monitored everything for an additional 2 hours after they were done.

Overall it was a huge success, and went as well as can be expected. They were impressed by how well Connie tolerated the process (which isn't real pleasant for Mom nor baby). Now we just hope that baby doesn't flip back. They felt that Connie's uterus tone should be sufficient to hold her in position so they didn't recommend using any kind of restraint.

Next step: Drop Baby Drop.