Week 2: 11/6/2011-11/12/2011

As we made our way out of the first week of having you at home, we turned the corner in accepting visitors.  Uncle Tim and Auntie Jess came to visit when they were down from Pasadena to fix their car.

They brought some food to mommy and daddy and you also got a cute card from their son, Zac.  It was great to see them and they got to meet you for the first time.

The way you've been sleeping so far has been in the co-sleeper in mommy and daddy's room.  We had to flip the way  we slept because there is a window by our bed that we wanted to make sure wasn't too drafty for you since it has been relatively cold at night.

We finally got a family picture with you this week!  We were excited to finally have the 3 of us in a photo that we can share.

It was also grandma's birthday this week [11/12] and even though we didn't get to go out to celebrate with them, they came to our house and we all took some pictures.  You were definitely the star of the group.

Your grandma came down from LA with your uncle Dung to also visit you.  They brought down a lot of food for us and everyone is just happy that you're finally here!

Your last visitor of the week was mommy's friend Lyndee.  She's the one who put together mommy's baby shower back in August.  Mommy has known Lyndee since elementary school.

You've been sleeping well this week, although that will change soon.  Your weight was a little low when we went to Dr. Galang's office last week, but this week, we decided to make an appointment for a weight check and you were 6 pounds 12 ounces!  In one week, you've gained all your weight back!  You've been making a lot of noises this week [grunting, clearing of the throat, burping and passing gas!].  Dr. Galang said that she doesn't need to see you until you're 6 weeks old, so we were relieved that you've been gaining weight.  We were using formula to supplement your nursing because we didn't know how much you were taking in, but you were definitely taking in more than we thought!  We've been keeping track of your feedings and soiled diapers and you were averaging about 10-11 feedings a day, 12-14 wet diapers, and 6-8 soiled diapers.  You're definitely getting more adjusted in the outside world!

Week Two: At Home

We've been a family for 2 weeks now and still can't believe that we are your parents. This is going to take some getting used to, especially in our sleep deprived state. We brought you home from the hospital when you were 2 days old and the first night was a rough one for mommy and daddy! It's been a bit better since then because we are getting used to the MOTN routine (wake-up, diaper change, feed, burp, get you swaddled and back in your co-sleeper). Life is a blur but an enjoyable one. We know people want to come by to visit and see you but we are keeping you to ourselves for the time being! The last thing we want is for you to get sick because of someone's germy hands :D

I am getting the hang of breastfeeding you but it's not easy. You are such an eager eater! You make grunting sounds and charge at the breast like a little gremlin. So cute!

At your 2 week weight check, we were so relieved to find out that you gained all your weight back and are doing fine. Besides breastfeeding, we were supplementing with formula because we wanted to make sure you would gain weight. Because we want to avoid "nipple confusion" that might interfere with breastfeeding, daddy and I used a feeding syringe instead of a bottle. We would only give you a little bit of formula and switched to pumped breast milk as soon as we could. After getting the all-clear from the doctor this week, we stopped supplementing.

Week 1: 10/30/2011-11/5/2011

Emily Elizabeth-My Chen, you were born on October 30, 2011 at 8:25PM at Saddleback Memorial Hospital in Laguna Hills, CA.  You weighed 6 pounds and 9 ounces and was 20.5" in length.

A lot happened the day you were born.  We went to the hospital thinking we would be sent home, but little did we know at 9AM that in less than 12 hours, you would be here.  Your arrival was certainly a life changing event for me.  To see mommy hooked up to different monitors, IVs, and epidural, was quite a sight.  She courageously pushed for almost 3 hours for you to come.  We had a great team of nurses and our delivery doctor [Dr. Han] was also great.  Although at one point while waiting for another contraction to come so mommy can push, Dr. Han and the delivery nurses were talking about the new pumpkin spice coffee at Starbucks and discussing whether or not it was too sweet or not sweet enough.  Maybe not the best time to bring it up, but certainly a memorable moment.

Your families were there, all of mommy and daddy's siblings and their wives/husband and children, to your grandmothers.  It was a special time for them, especially your grandma's.  They patiently waited all afternoon until you came out.

Dr. Han, after delivering you, said she was going to cut the cord and they would bring you directly to the baby warmer station.  This was the scariest part of the delivery for me.  You finally came out and was limp and didn't seem to be breathing.  Mommy and I waited what seemed like 10-15 minutes, but if I were to guess, was probably more like 15-20 seconds.  The neonatal team was summoned and more nurses rushed through the door.  But then I saw your leg kick and a few seconds later, I heard the wonderful sound of your cry.  The nurse asked me to go to her as she was under the warmer.  I was able to trim the umbilical cord and watched as they gave you the vitamin K shot, the anti-bacterial cream over your eyes, and a blood sample from your foot.  Once the team felt you were doing well, we were able to get your footprints in your baby book and the paperwork from the hospital.

After everyone was done with you, you nursed with mommy for about 20 minutes.  After that, we invited your extended families to come in and finally meet you.  We took a lot of pictures and we got to just spend some time with you before we went down to the 1st floor to post labor recovery.

When you're old enough to read this, you really should thank you mommy for all that she did while she was carrying you, going into labor, and pushing for nearly 3 hours to have you come to this world.  And to thank God for protecting your health and your overall little self while we waited over 9 months to meet you.

The first night was difficult for us.  Mommy was extremely tired after going through so much and we just had no idea how to take care of you.  We were not sure if mommy's milk was coming in and if you were getting enough to eat.  But the nurses there were really helpful and they helped us by putting you in the nursery so we could get a few hours of rest.

While mommy recovered, everyone came to visit again.  We also had a couple of mommy's close friends [Aunty Kristy and Aunty Sandra] come all the way from LA to see you!

You got balloons, more clothes, and mommy got flowers!

After we came home, the following day, we took you to see Dr. Galang at Irvine Pediatrics.  You also had your first shot.  You had the Hep B vaccination and you were just "off" the rest of the day.

You lost 9 ounces since birth and even though it's normal for newborns to lose weight, we were worried, so that week, we supplemented mommy's milk with some formula.  We wanted to make sure you were gaining the weight you needed!  Many, many diaper changes, our families brought us a lot of food to keep us going as we took care of you.  You slept in our room and you were nursing every 2 hours.  Mommy did everything!  I changed the diapers and I tried to burp you, sometimes you were generous with your burps, and sometimes you were kind of stingy.  We took a lot of pictures of you in different awake and sleeping poses.  You were not a cryer.  You only cried when you were really hungry and you weren't that fussy.  Oh how that will change in the coming weeks!

Welcome Emily!  You were truly God's gift to us.  We prayed for you every day in our journey to have a bigger family and God gave us the most beautiful, precious, and cutest baby ever.  Mommy and I cannot tell you how many people told us how pretty you are!

Week One: In the Beginning

Hello baby! Even though you are no longer a baby, you will always be “my sweet baby!”  You came into the world this week and our lives were changed forever.  I cannot believe how fast my pregnancy went. It felt like it was moving so slowly as I counted the days, weeks and months as they went by but at the same time, everything seemed to go by quickly.  Does that make sense? 

I couldn’t wait to reach certain milestones in the pregnancy.  The end of the first trimester meant the risk of miscarriage was significantly reduced. The 22^nd week meant that if I had to deliver you prematurely for some reason, you had a very good chance of surviving with intensive medical care. The end of 36 weeks meant that you were ready to be born and could be considered full term.  I felt as if I held my breath the entire pregnancy and allowed myself to breathe a little more freely as we reached each milestone.

Yes, Emily, your mom tends to be a worrier.  It’s one of the traits that I hope you don’t inherit from me.  Life is challenging enough without worrying about everything.   I give you permission, sweetie, to not worry!

One of the best parts of the story of how we conceived you (I’m sure you’ve heard daddy tell that story by now) is how God gave me permission not to worry.  It was such an incredible invitation to let go and relax through trust in our Heavenly Father.  I was seeing Sandy Ditewig, a Spiritual Director, at the time and she was helping me as your daddy and I struggled with the possibility of never being able to have a biological child. 

At one of our last sessions, she asked me what I thought God was saying to me. This was approximately one year into our journey of dealing with a diagnosis of infertility. We had gone through 2 IVF cycles by that time and were heartbroken and discouraged.

I closed my eyes and leaned in to listen with my heart.   It’s still hard for me to put what God said/did into words but I’ll do my best to explain.  I sensed He was telling me that His goodness far exceeded my need to worry and fret.  He was reassuring me that His goodness was far greater than my problem and that He did not require that I worry about it in order to push Him to act on my behalf.  God could and would act on my behalf freely.  I felt He was giving me permission to stop worrying.  I was not being more spiritual or faithful by fretting, even in prayer.  It was the most liberating moment for me.  It was hard for me, an avid worrier, to digest the fact that God seemed to be telling me He would take care of my problem and that I could let go. Of course, I didn’t explicitly hear God promise that I would get pregnant with you in half a year’s time, but I sensed something good.

That was in August 2010. By the end of February 2011, we had 4 positive home pregnancy tests that changed our story forever.  You were on your merry little way!