Christmas 2007

We had a really great visit with Rich's family in Las Vegas over Christmas. Although I was nervous about Lia's first plane ride, she was a real trooper and had no problems... despite the airline losing the carseat (later recovered)... despite both Rich and I coming down with the cold (we washed our hands religiously- she never caught it)... despite the return flight being held up for two hours on the runway due to computer errors... Lia has just earned her first stripes as a globe trotter, just like her mama and papa!

It was really great to see everyone. Ron and Doris have had a really busy fourth quarter with their travels and parties. Randall et al drove up from Phoenix. Cousin Rylee was Lia's sponsor for her baptism.

Highlights: Red Rock, Chinatown, Bellagio Buffet, and Lia's baptism. We also had a nice family dinner on Christmas day. We were invited to Dale and Diane's for dinner on the 26th.

We did less this time around because of Lia. Rich even gave up his boys' night out gaming night (partially due to his cold). It was tough traveling with a baby. We had to work around her feeding schedule, naps, and all the baby issues that hindered our mobility. The diaper bag and babysling are treasured accessories and my best friends! All in all, I am proud to say both parents and baby did their best to get along and we had a nice time.


Visit to Red Rock.


Christmas display at Bellagio.


Lia's baptism on Christmas Day. She was sleepy but her eyes popped wide open the minute the water hit her head!




Mama and baby taking a needed break.


If she could only sleep this good at home!

Smiles!!!

Our girl is finally becoming a social butterfly! We absolutely love these first smiles and coos.

Going Back to Work

Ouch!!! The big date is January 2, looming over me like a dark snarly cloud. We had made the decision for me to return to work a few weeks ago. I don't want to do this but the economy is so weak in Detroit that, with our two mortgages, things could spiral out of control very quickly should Rich lose his job.

We already have daycare set up at the Rainbow Center, a place recommended to me by a coworker who also has her daughter there. I have toured it and liked what I saw. The best thing is it is only about a mile from the office, so that I can go visit and nurse her during lunch. I know Lia will be fine but still, leaving her will be painful. We will try to have her there four days a week, with us taking time off on Fridays. We will have to sacrifice vacations his year, but it is important to have that quality time with her in this crucial stage in her life.

A Good Night's Sleep

Sleeping through the night... that is like nirvana for new parents. And I have *almost* achieved it. Lia sleeps through the night on some occasions. I typically feed her at 10pm and go to bed at 11 (after some burping, rocking and massage) and she can make it to as long as 6am. The problem is- I still wake at 4am, because I am used to waking for her when she had shorter sleep cycles before. And, sometimes when she does wake up earlier, I have a hard time falling asleep again after nursing her. I am really hoping our cycles will sync up when I go back to work, as we won't have the luxury of sleeping in, as we do now.

Oh, I really love sleeping with her. I love watching her sleep. I love waking up with her. And I know she loves it too. She feels so comfortable and secure, as we share cuddle time. I love it when she turns toward me and puts her arm on me. This bonding experience is truly priceless.

Lia is 2 Months Old!

Lia now weighs 12lb 2 oz and measures 23.25 inches. She is in the 75th percentile for both.

She now loves to smile and get tickled. She has developed a curiosity for her surroundings, always checking out the room. She continues to be very active and I bet she will start to roll over soon.

They say you're "over the hump" at two months, but Lia finds ways to challenge us as new parents (I suspect that will continue well into adolescence). The breastfeeding, diaper changes, and baths are routine now. We are trying to settle her into more predictable routines in preparation for daycare next month. We are so used to sleeping in and getting up at 9:00 that we'll need to adjust our night time sleep hours. It will be a big adjustment for everyone.

Kung Fu Lia

Lia is quite animated when she wakes up in the morning. We decided to have some fun with it.

Year of the Golden Piggy

Unbeknownst to me, this is a very special and auspicious year to have a baby in the Chinese tradition. I knew it was the year of the pig. But the GOLDEN pig only comes around every 60 years and this year happens to be that. All over China people were timing their pregnancies to give birth this year, thus spawning a baby boom. The belief is that children born in the year of the pig will be more intelligent and healthy. We certainly hope so!

One Month Old!

Wow they sure grow up fast! Our baby girl is one month old today.

Lia had her one-month wellness checkup today. She now weighs 10lb. 4 oz. (90 percentile!!) and measures at 22 inches (75-90 percentile). So in a month she has gained 2 pounds and grew 1.5 inches.


I am no longer a newborn!


Lia is now able to hold her head up pretty well, stick her tongue at you, and make small cooing sounds. She is eating like a champ and (crossing our fingers) able to sleep for three-hour stretches at night!

In the Chinese tradition, the one-month mark is a significant passage for infants and is celebrated with fanfare. It also ends the “confinement period” for new mothers. They can now get out of bed, take showers, eat regular foods, do “normal” things, etc. In America we have this “can do it all” attitude but in many cultures new mothers are pampered and given special care post-partum (and shouldn’t we be?). Though much modified to fit with the times (I would say most women take showers now), this Chinese tradition is still practiced by many.


Here is Lia with her lucky red envelop from Grandma Justine.

Tethered to Baby

It's been a week since I have been "left alone with the baby." The grandparents are gone; Rich has returned to work. It's just me and Lia at home during the day. I have to say it took some time to adjust to this pace. I am still adjusting... trying to figure out what works for both of us.

A few things that we have sorted out...

* Nursing 101 - had a rough start at the hospital and the first few days at home. The class I took did nothing to prepare me for the problems I encountered. The pain from the c-section plus my milk coming in late hindered our initial efforts. It took some trial and errors before we found our groove. We have tried a combination of on-breast, pumping, scheduled feedings, on demand feedings. I now nurse her on-demand during the day and feed her formula at night. I don't care what people say, breastfeeding is a royal pain. I am only doing it for two reasons: to give my baby a nutritional headstart, and to (hopefully) shed some pregnancy pounds (desperately needed!).

* Lia loves tummy time. She can nap for a few hours on her tummy. It's her next favorite thing after being held. I know it's potentially unsafe for SIDS but I only do it if I'm in the same room with her. In fact, the sure way to wake her up is to put her on her back. Give her 10 minutes and she'll start fussing.

One potential real problem...

* Yes we co-sleep a bit. She loves it and it doesn't keep me up. But I know... it could be a very hard habit to break in the coming months.

Our typical day...

.. Wake up at 8:30 - feed.
.. Feed again in about 30 minutes. She is usually famished in the morning.
.. I brush my teeth.
.. Feed.
.. I eat breakfast.
.. Feed.
.. I put her in the crib and I go shower.
.. She wakes up and cries in the middle of my shower.
.. Of course I finish my shower but go tend to her before I can even get dressed.
.. Feed.
.. Some tummy time.
.. Feed.
.. Lunch.
.. Feed.

So you get the idea. Lia is fed at least a dozen times during the day. Imagine my relief when 9pm comes around and she finally gets the bottle!

Lia' First Halloween Party

The Wilsons hosted a Halloween party in their home on Saturday, October 27. This was quite a brave endeavor as their place sustained some (minor) damage by a houseful of kids! The Galavottis, Schmidts, and Toltzmans were guests.


Each kid got to decorate their own pumpkins (actually the moms did)


Claire Teresa as Cinderella


Elisabetta as Snow White


Henry the giraffe


Leo as the pumpkin (here sans costume)


Lia as the sleepy baby


Toys free-for-all


Scary jello brain treat (made by Rich)

Lia's First Picnic

We, along with the Wilsons, went to Stonycreek yesterday to take advantage of the great warm fall weather. We picnicked, walked, hung out, and took photos.


Lia, Henry and Meredith. Lia and Meredith were born 14 hours apart.




Henry and dad enjoying some playtime


Grandma, mommy and baby


Daddy, mommy and baby

The First Week

Lia's first week consists of adjustments for everyone. No more sleeping luxuriously through the night. Feedings and diaper changes take up a majority of the day. We are so blessed to have Ron and Doris here to help out.


Grandma Justine couldn't wait to hold her.


Grandpa Ron got some Lia time.


What a terrific birthday present for Grandma Doris.


Lia's first bath.. oh so traumatic!

Names & Nicknames

The name "Lia" has several meanings, depending on the origin.

In Greek, Lia means "bringer of good news."

In Assyrian, spelled Leah, it means "female ruler."

In Hebrew, spelled Leah, it means "weary."

Lia's middle name is Jiamin, which is also my Chinese name. Jiamin is actually two words: Jia means "family" and Min means "smart and clever." It was given to me by my grandmother. All of my father's male siblings' kids have Jia as part of their names. While it is not Chinese tradition to name someone after someone else in the family, we thought this gives a uniqueness to her name as well as showcases her (half) Asian heritage. And what the heck, we just like it!

Houdini: she can break out of a swaddle faster than you can say swaddle!

Lia-Do: her cute faux-hawk that she got in the hospital after her first bath. We can't seem to replicate that 'do!

Lia's Birth Story

Lia's entrance into the world began on Saturday October 6, 2007 at 1:30am as my contractions began. They were not painful but rather felt like menstrual cramps. They were about half hour apart and I was able to sleep in between. By 4:30am I told Rich I was having contractions. They were gradually getting stronger but still pretty tolerable.

The Long Day

The contractions continued on as the day went. We were timing them every now and then, knowing that once the "five-minute" interval hits we could head to the hospital. I called Karen to let her know what was happening and we kept in touch throughout the day of my progress. Even though contractions were getting stronger, I made efforts to move around the house, by lying in various positions, walking and rocking on the birth ball. Side-lying was the most uncomfortable. I also tried to eat small snacks such as soup, crackers and fruit. I even got on all fours to attempt to rotate the baby into good position. I had to hold that pose for half an hour. That was incredibly uncomfortable!

Rich and I had decided on a natural birth approach. We even drafted a birth plan and hired a doula. So much of what I have read gave thumbs down to epidurals and c-sections. We truly believed this was an experience that my body was designed to do.

Throughout the day my contractions were between 6 and 12 minutes apart. It was frustrating to wait and wait. Late in the evening I wanted to go to the hospital. I didn't think I could last another night at home. When I lay down something felt like my water broke. Amen! That was the sign we were looking for. So, at 11:30pm, we were off to Beaumont.

Once in triage it was discovered that I was 4 cm dilated/90% effaced, which by definition put me at Active Labor stage and so they decided to admit me. However, my water hasn't broken yet. Still, I was happy that things were finally moving along. We called Karen and she met us shortly after.

The Long Night

More contractions. Nurses came and went. Karen and Rich helped me walk, shower, get into comfortable positions. The contractions now were very intense and I had to pull out all my breathing techniques just to get through them. The back pain was really killing me!

Turning the Corner

By Sunday afternoon things still have not progressed much. I was only at 5 or 6 cm dilation and my water still has not broken. I now have been laboring for 37 hours un-medicated. Dr. Ida, a resident who works with Dr. Rehm, came to tell me they could break the water for me and that would help speed things along. But that also meant the contractions would get even stronger. I knew that after all these hours I just could not deal with more pain. I also felt like by now I had absolutely no strength to push. So I asked for the epidural. After that was given, I felt so much better and grateful for the instant relief. They let me sleep for three hours after which my dilation reached 9 cm. I was well on my way to be done with this!

Not So Fast

At 5:30pm I was at 10 cm and "given permission" to push. So I did along with the contractions. The baby was at zero station. I have never felt so physically challenged in my life. I was in control but not really at the same time.

Two hours of pushing went by. I didn't even realize it was that long. Dr. Rehm showed up and said I have made no progress. The baby was still at zero station. She was stuck in a transverse position. The only option left was c-section.

The Finale

I have never had surgery in my life. But I didn't feel any fear. By now I just desperately wanted this to be over, knowing my options were really limited. All of a sudden there were about 6-8 people around me, prepping me for surgery. It all happened quickly but I was very calm. Rich had to put on a "space suit" and then he was next to me in a few minutes. It was all kind of like a dream with all these bright lights in the OR.



It wasn't long before I heard the first cry of my baby. I was elated and broke into a smile. After they cleaned her up and brought her to us we couldn't have been happier. Rich said "She looks like a Lia."



Lia Jiamin was born at 8:15pm on Sunday October 7, about 43 hours after I first went into labor. She weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. and measured 20.5 inches.

Afterthoughts

Lia threw us a curve ball. The birth plan went out the window. But we did the best we could with no regrets.

Meet the Parents

Today is our one-year anniversary! What a difference a year makes. This time last year we were frantic with last minute details of our wedding (remember putting those favors and place cards together? And oh yeah, don't forget the party bus!). And now, we are attending childbirth classes!



My pregnancy has been smooth sailing but the last month was just awful. I have gained so much weight I don't even recognize myself in the mirror.



We are pleased with the nursery we have set up for Lia. The walls are painted periwinkle with sea life border all around near the ceiling. We wanted to avoid pink overload plus it is gender neutral in case our next child is a boy.