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.