who has officially retired today! after 35+ devoted years of working for the city of san francisco, he has finally decided to hang up his "mop". my father is the typical immigrant story. he came to america over 40 years ago to provide a better future for his family. with minimal english skills, he fell into a job as a janitor. although he was a blue collar worker, he always loved what he did and still does to this day. also, it was literally "blue collar" as his uniform shirt was blue hahaa. although it wasn't the most glamourous job, my dad always worked hard and really did enjoy working for the city. also, the health benefits were always great for our family and he has a really good retirement plan now. that's actually one reason why he can retire a bit earlier than his 65th birthday. it always amazes me to think how my parents were able to raise three kids, while owning 2 homes in san francisco and working pretty low income jobs. there obviously wasn't any extravagant things that we had or did while growing up but we were also never really deprived. somehow my parents learned to make things work! sometimes i do wonder (and s wonders ALL the time) how i possibly grew up with so little and somewhere along the way my tastes / preferences changed. when did i start to want all the nice things and why does it matter so much? how did i get these horrible spending habits when my parents tried to instill such a frugal mentality? s always says i act like money grows on trees. i really don't and try not to spend recklessly but sometimes i do get a bit out of control. =(
this past weekend, s and i went to dinner at gary danko with my sister, her husband, our cousin and his wife. we dropped off aj and my nephew at my parent's house...and stayed out a bit late. by the time we got back to my parent's house, it was already well past 10p. both boys were peacefully sleeping in their cribs. my mom suggested that we just leave the boys at their place and enjoy sleeping in the next morning. s and i were a bit hesitant at first but realized that this was the best decision for aj as we didn't want to wake him up.
although i felt terrible that aj might wake up my parents in the middle of the night or make them get up early in the morning, i was looking forward to sleeping in. i have NEVER slept in since aj was born because i'm on morning shift since i'm the one nursing aj. i guess my body was just used to getting up early as i woke up at 6:30a for no reason. however, i fell back asleep and woke up at 8am! i felt so guilty for sleeping so well just thinking about how my parents had an infant and toddler to take care of overnight. s and i decided to try to get to my parents house early to pick aj up. when we got to my parents house, they had plans to take the boys out to dim sum with our other relatives. my parents also told me that not only did aj sleep through the night, he didn't even get up until 7:30am! i mean, gees, that's better than when he's at home!! he was actually napping when we got there so we didn't even get to hang out with him. we stayed at home until he finally woke up and then hung out with him for a bit. while my parents took the boys out to chinatown, s and i hung out in the city. it felt SO STRANGE to walk around, just the 2 of us without our child! it felt so weird to do these things that were so normal to us a year ago.
s and i agreed that it was a nice break to have some quality time together and we are so thankful that we have such understanding parents who are so willing to take care of our son! here are some pictures of him hanging out at my parents house.
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my dad was using a pillow to try to swat a fly out of the house...aj could not stop laughing at my dad!
so proud that he's sitting up...trying to eat the book
gosh, i didn't realize how long it had been since my last entry. where does the time go?
where do i even begin? most days i struggle...frantically trying to find the balance with work, aj and s. needless to say, i'm pretty much flunking.
every morning, i'm rushing out of the house before 7am to get to work early; usually between 7:30-7:45a. i spend the majority of the day in meetings or working with my team so i never get to actually sit at my desk to do my work. i'm then rushing out of work to get home. my goal is to leave work by 5:30 but that rarely ever happens. i don't even get home until 6:30-6:45p. then s and i are rushing to cook and eat bc we have to start aj's bath routine at 7ish and put him down by 7:30p. then i get back online and work until 10ish.
i have absolutely no time to do anything. i even stopped pumping a couple of weeks ago because i just really needed that time to work or do something else. it totally sucks. i'm all over the place like a chicken running around with her head cut off. i'm not giving my all when it comes to work and i'm certainly not mom of the year. people say it gets easier and you just learn to let things go or prioritize but i just don't see how!!?! okay, just had to get that off my chest. enough about me; what fun am i haha. let's move on to my precious son!
aaron has grown and changed so much these last couple of weeks. it's just amazing how he can struggle for weeks trying to do something and then one day...he just does it like it was no big deal. it's incredible to see how engaged he is with what he sees or hears and how he interacts with the people. he definitely loves to people watch; especially when they are speaking or eating!
for the most part, he definitely has his daddy's temperament. he's a pretty laidback and low maintenance child. he seriously cries only when he's hungry or sleeping. just like dad, he eats anything!! and he can never get enough of whatever it is we are feeding him. although, he definitely has a preference for fresh fruit that i've just mashed for him.
sleep has definitely been a bit on the tough side. he started teething last weekend so he's been pretty fussy with sleeping all week. normally, he just peacefully goes down for the evening. however, every night this week, he's cried for almost an hour each night!! poor kiddo.
i haven't been good with taking too many pictures but here are some recent pics...
his favorite activity - jumping around his saucer
look ma, my teeth!
this is probably one of the best picture of his dimple
where does the time go? i've been back at work for about a month and a half and i just can't believe aj is 6 months old now! talking about my transition back to work is another entry in itself so i'm going to stick with writing about aj for now!
it's amazing how much has changed in the last 2 months! aj's personality and physical development just keeps evolving and i'm always surprised at how he's changed on a daily / weekly basis.
his physical developments:
rolling over - about 2 weeks ago, he made his first roll at my parent's house (tummy to back)! he rolled for his po-po in the afternoon and showed me his new trick when i went to pick him up in the evening. when we got home, he was too shy to show dad but was more than happy to exhibit his new trick to dad the next day! it took another week or so before he was able to roll from his tummy to back. he is rarely on his back now because he wants to roll over right away. however, it's like he forgot how to roll from his tummy to back because it doesn't happen too often.
sitting up - not so advanced. hahaa. when we try to get him to sit up, he goes straight for his toes and just lands head first on the couch! he is great with the bumbo but tends to slouch quite a bit in his booster seat.
standing up - he loves to bounce! if you hold him up or put him in his saucer, he is a jumping machine.
crawling - ummm not even close! however, when he's on his tummy, he loves to squirm his way around and stick his butt up in the air! that's really it though =)
to my other "favorite" topics: eat, sleep, drink...
eat - we started aj on solids about 2 weeks ago. at first it was just rice cereal but it made him constipated so i moved onto veggies, starting with green beans. he loves them! i started with 2 1-ounce servings a day. however, the doctor said i can probably increase it to 2 2-ounce servings a day. next we moved onto sweet potatoes. umm..can we say pooping machine! one day, he pooped 4 times! and then the poop was exactly the sweet potatoes! it was as if he didn't digest or process any of it and it just went straight to his diapers. so now we are banning sweet potatoes for awhile. i'm back to green beans and we will try apples and avocadoes this week. =)
sleep - oh, so inconsistent (but i guess that's not new and what everyone tells you)! for the last 2 weeks, he would wake up every morning at 4 or 5am!! it got better for a few days but usually he'll wake up once. recently because he can roll over, he's been rolling onto his tummy. however, he doesn't remember how to roll back to his back and then starts crying. last night, he woke up at 3am...i went to roll him back onto his back and guess what? he peed through his diaper and all over his clothes and bed! poor baby! =(
drink - even with the 4 ounces of solids, he's still drinking the same amount of milk. dr. m said we can start decreasing as he takes more solids but so far he still wants all the milk! i haven't been as diligent with pumping at work. i just get so easily distracted and caught up in my work. my supply has definitely decreased. i actually can't meet his supply on a daily basis now. i've had to use my reserves just to give him enough milk. i don't really have much reserve left so looks like we'll be adding formula soon.
so when we went his 6 month check up, these were the original stats: 16 lbs (25%) , 26 inches long and 17 inches in head circumference. when dr. m saw the stats, he was alarmed and said he wanted to remeasure because he wasn't happy with the results. when i got home, i can see why. the original stats had him only gaining 1/4 inch in his head, 1/4 inch in height and 1lb 8 ounces in weight! shhh, i would be alarmed as well!!! i felt so guilty that i was not giving him enough milk!! so dr. m remeasured and his height was 26.5 inches which keeps him in the 75th percentile. his weight did drop off a little as he was in the 50th percentile previously. but dr. m wasn't too worried. it was just so hard because he was spitting up milk so i thought he was full and gave him slightly less milk every feeding. however, everytime he was done with his bottle, he would cry. i just thought he wanted to suck on something but i guess maybe he really was still hungry.
what is daddy putting in my mouth?
yumm...i like sweet potatoes (too bad mommy and daddy don't)!
oh, i think i like green beans!
going for a walk to farmer's market
i like gymboree outfit!
these things happen after you have a baby...
1) you get so happy that you don't have your period while your pregnant but it's more than made up for when you have it for the six weeks following delivery.
2) breastfeeding is (so far) THE hardest part of pregnancy/delivery/motherhood
3) how much hair you lose!! oh my gosh, the amount of hair that i have to clean in the bathroom is insane! sure i know i barely lost any during pregnancy but seriously, my hair sheds everywhere!!!
4) what pressure/tension it puts on a relationship. gosh, there is just so much more to discuss/argue, one better have a rock SOLID relationship before they have a baby! at least s and i can laugh at how "bossy" i am (personally, i think any new mother is bossy to the hubby).
5) there is just this indescribable overflowing of love for your baby =)
these are the things that people say but i didn't really believe but now i've jumped on the bandwagon:
1) you really do forgot about any pregnancy or delivery issues. there is just so much more to deal with in motherhood that pregnancy and/or delivery issues are a walk in the park.
2) you do forget things! and become more absent minded. the whole baby brain thing is SO true.
3) priorities do change...my work attitude is totally different. however, i do have to say i enjoy going back to work. i don't enjoy leaving my son but when i'm at work, i'm in a zone and it feels good.
4) you can't help but talk about your child all the time. they take up soo much of your life and time.
5) everyone is a critic. everyone, even strangers, tell you what you should or shouldn't do in raising your child.
first, it was the toilet in our bathroom. it was clogged and would not flush. then i heard the water bubbling in the hallway toilet. i went back to our bathroom and saw water coming out of our shower pan. i knew this was not looking good. i called roto rooter and someone was coming within the hour. s called the belmont water department and apparently other residents called to complain about water flow issues as well. i looked outside of my house and saw 3 trucks working on the pipes down the street. i canceled the roto rooter and went back into our bathroom. umm...that was when i noticed that the water coming out of the shower pan was flowing out of the bathroom and onto our carpet!!! i hurriedly grabbed some old towels to prevent more water from flowing onto the carpet. i grabbed more old towels and started absorbing the water from the carpet. (note, this is where i am thankful that s takes souvenir towels from hotels). as i went back to the linen closet to see if i have any other towels, i went to check on the other bathroom. more yuck. there was brown water in the tub! we keep aj's tub in that tub and it was floating in the disgusting brown water! i immediately took aj's tub out and rinsed it. finally, the water drained back into the pipes and there was no more water leaking out! i wiped all the water from the bathroom floor and decided that was enough cleaning for me! thankfully, aj was napping during all this mess!!
s came home a couple of hours early and he cleaned the tub, shower and floor of the infected areas! then, he rented at steam cleaner and cleaned the carpet. luckily the water that came out of bedroom bathroom was clear so the carpet wasn't discolored. not exactly the way that i wanted to spend my last day at home with aj...
i just can't believe aj is 4 months old!
i am happy to report that i am finally getting some good night sleep again!! i started sleep training about 2 weeks ago to prepare us for when i go back to work. i have discovered that we have to put aj to bed at 7ish and no later than 7:30. this early bedtime is tough because s doesn't even get home until 6:30 so he only gets half an hour with aj!! that's probably the same time that i'll get when i go back to work as well. so sad...but i've tried putting him to sleep at 8pm but he wakes up quite a bit in the middle of the night.
it was rough for several nights as i just had to let aj cry. he would wake up at 1ish, cry for a couple of minutes and then go back to sleep. it was the 3am wake up that was tough. he would cry for 20-30 minutes. 30 minutes was the most he would cry or that i could handle and then i'd go and soothe him or put the pacifier in his mouth. i know, i know...30 minutes isn't really that bad. we did this for 3 days and then we had 2 days of no night wakings!! 12 straight hours of sleeping for aj! i don't sleep as early as him so i got maybe 8 hours. then we had a couple of nights where he would cry in the middle of the night but he was able to soothe himself after crying for maybe 10 minutes. this week, we've had 2 straight nights of no night wakings!
he's also been really good about the time that he wakes up. it's usually between 6:30 and 7am. this is perfect because it's the right time when i go back to work! so i can get ready for work, feed him and then go off to work. =( i'm just praying that he continues this routine!!!
at his doctor's visit, aj was very cooperative. he was very chatty with dr. m and showed him all his neck and leg strength!
a couple of minor concerns:
1) aj has a pretty dry scalp so dr. m told us to put baby oil on a daily basis
2) his neck has some redness so dr. m said we should put aquaphor before it turns into a rash
3) his belly button is still a bit dirty so we have to clean it once a week with hydrogen peroxide
4) he has poor blood circulation. his hands and feet are always cold and blue-purplish. dr. m said it's fine and not to worry
his growth is still consistent with his last checkup. aj is still in the 50% percentile in both weight (14 lbs 8 oz) and head circumference (16.75 inches) and 75% percentile in height (25.75 inches).
dr. m mentioned that we might be in for some trying times when aj is almost 6 months old. that's when aj might go through some stranger anxiety, separation anxiety and start developing object permanence. having object permanence will cause him to wake up in the middle of the night again. he said the key is to let him cry and do not feed him! if i start feeding him, he'll want to eat in the middle of the night and not eat during the day!! yeah, i don't want that to happen...
on a sad note, i have to go back to work next wednesday. =( i can't believe i've been away from work for 5 months!!
just hanging out in his rocker / swing
stretching his legs
he's really starting to suck his thumb...
practicing sitting up on the couch
he loves putting everything in his mouth now
seriously, he just turned his body and fell asleep in the living room!
it's amazing how a couple of weeks can change so much! aj is such a responsive baby now and i'm really starting to see his personality!
he's really starting to grab at things. when i'm nursing, he grabs my necklace or shirt. when s feeds him, he grabs his fingers. when he wants more milk, he moves his hands to push the bottle back into his mouth! along with grabbing, he will put anything in his mouth. his favorites for now are his hands, taggies and of course, my clothes. he actually has not been a fan of the mirror / his reflection. only yesterday did i finally see him crack a smile at himself in the mirror.
now to my favorite topics:
sleeping - just starting this week, he is sleeping much earlier. his bedtime is usually 7pm or no later than 8p, depending on when his last nap is. it's a guarantee that he wakes up at 3ish. sometimes he can soothe himself back to sleep but so far i've only been able to handle 30 minutes of crying. after 30 minutes, i check on him and give him the pacifier. then he'll wake up between 5-6am for his feeding and then he'll usually wake up at 8:30-9am. occasionally, he'll wake himself up at midnight or 1am but he can usually soothe himself; i just don't understand why he can't do it at 3am!! he doesn't really nap for very long during the day so i don't really get much done in this downtime. he averages probably 45-60 minutes per nap with normally 2 naps.
feeding - for the last 2 weeks, it's been a pretty consistent feeding schedule. he'll have his first feeding at 5-6am and then it's 10am, 2pm, 5-6pm and finally his bottle before he goes to bed! there has actually been twice when he slept through his 5-6am and woke up at 8am! i don't really like that because then he'll only get 4 feedings a day which just doesn't feel like enough milk! ideally, i'd like him to wake up between 6-7am for his feeding when i go back to work but i won't be picky. the pain has pretty much gone away and it feels pretty "normal" to breastfeed i guess you can say. now, it's just about building a good milk supply.
what he likes (as pictured below):
1) morning greeting! the mornings are my favorite. when i go to get him in the morning, i say "good morning" and he has the biggest smile for me!! oh, i'm going to miss that when i go back to work =(
2) after a feeding - he loves a full stomach
3) mommy being a dork. he loves it when i sing the abc's or kiss his tummy and toes
"how ya doin?"
after a feeding...hence the drool
so after the initial adoration that my nephew has for aj, it now has turned into bullying! my nephew sees how we play and touch aj and he loves him so wants to do the same. however, he doesn't realize how gentle we are versus how "strong" he is. don't get me wrong, my nephew still showers his cousin with kisses whenever he sees him but he also slaps, scratches and pulls at aj. =( and my poor defenseless kid just takes it all (for now). heehee
yip...pulling his ear
my nephew thinks he's big enough to carry aj =)
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