The Homs hang out

Friday night the Homs came to visit. We haven't seen them since I was in the hospital with Max! Just like old times we had some dinner, dessert, and nice conversation.

Here's Max with Auntie Francie!

Max interacts

I have been trying to get Max on video cooing and smiling. Once he sees the red light on the camera though, his face goes blank. Here's a little bit though that Leon caught one night.

Hank's gotta wear shades

Another Thursday morning walk for Angie, myself, and the boys. Nothing too exciting happened except a bad momma move on my part for failing to put the brake on the stroller while trying to watch Hank clap, and then the stroller rolling and almost... Let's not talk about that though...let's talk about Henry and Momma Ang sporting those shades! Love it!!!

Mama needs to get out

As much as motherhood has been rewarding for me, it also makes you turn into a hermit - especially when you breastfeed. I get cabin fever and sometimes I need to get out and about.

So although Max decided to wake up at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, and 4:30 last night, (I finally handed him over to Leon at 4:30am...that's close enough to 5am right?) I still had big ambitions to get out of the house today.

First stop was Cafe Barrone (of course right?) for lunch. Lucky for me, Ann had the day off and happened to be running errands in Menlo Park. So we met up and caught up on our weekend. Ann was kind enough to hold Max, lulling him to sleep so I could finish my sandwich. Thanks Ann!

Max then went into meltdown mode and we made a quick stop at home for a feeding before heading off to Target. I frequented Target alot before I had a kid, but now I can find alot more excuses to go. It's a good excuse to get out of the house anyway. :)

More fam

Currently listening to: Lady Gaga - Poker Face (The Cherrytree Sessions)

Yesterday we were graced with a visit from my sister and nephew (from a different sis!). My nephew Anthony is in the Marines and is on a 15 day leave. Was great to see him before his 21st b-day (yes...I am THAT old) and have him meet a cousin from the Roberts side of the fam.

Auntie Nga hasn't seen Max since he was born, so was good to squeeze in a visit here while Anthony is in town. We had a nice visit followed by a good lunch a Reposado in Palo Alto.

Cousins Max & Anthony (look at those cheeks on Max!!!)

Auntie Nga & Max

Baby-whispering Windelers

Our favorite friends from Michigan granted us with a visit this Sunday through Wednesday - the Windelers! Although it was a pretty chillaxin' time, it is always great to see them.

I mentioned in my previous post about Max being a little fussy as of late...well I think Jenn & Brahm brought some baby magic. He slept in 3 hour increments at night and even slept during the day...like a baby :) Here I was worried about him waking them all up at night and he proves me wrong. Way to go Max!

Miss you guys already...are you sure you don't want to move back to California?

Amelia enjoys the whale pool (thanks Hivelys!) while Tank checks things out

Kaija & Amelia playing games on the Mac

Jenn, Amelia (hiding), Kaija, Brahm, & Max

Wish he was always like this

Unfortunately our Maxy-bear is out of hibernation...alot of the time. He's been going through a fussy period lately and only likes to sleep on our trips to Trader Joes. So if any of you need groceries, let us know. We may be frequenting those aisles often :)

1 month stats

Successful visit to the doc today. Max took his Hep B shot better than Mom :) He cried for a short time then was ok.

Here's his stats:

Head circumference - 38.25cm, 50th percentile

Height - 21.75 inches, 57th percentile

Weight - 9 lbs 14.5ozs., 52nd percentile

Looks like he's middle of the road for now.

1 month old!

Today Max is officially 1 month old! Wow how time flies. Lots of changes already in this little one. He is starting to coo when talked to, track things with his eyes, and stay awake a little longer during the day. Tomorrow we go in for his one month check-up and I can't wait to see how much he's grown. I can definitely tell he is longer and of course, heavier.

Here's a video of Max enjoying his activity mat:

First Father's Day

A pretty chill Father's Day for Leon's first. We started off the morning at Cafe Barrone (Yes, it may seem like I suggested this, but I swear I did not!), followed by a little grocery shopping at Trader Joes & then Draegar's.

Max was a champ. He lasted a full three hours from his last feeding making us feel like we had the entire day out. Then the kid went down for another three hour nap. Leon said this is the best Father's Day gift he could ask for :)

My gift is having such a great Daddy for Maxwell. I love you Leon!!! You are the most awesomest Dad ever!

Max wears his love for dad

Proud Dad & son

Max makes a poop as Dad watches (This may not have happened, but it makes a good photo caption)

Bath time

Max is probably on his 4th bath by now. He didn't enjoy his first bath so much and screamed the entire time. Now, he loves them - and who wouldn't? Nice warm bath followed by a warm towel and jammies (we heat them in the dryer).

For mom, shower time has become a race. Take it quickly and at night (while dad is around to watch the little one). Blowdrying your hair is a luxury, shaving adds a few more minutes.

Well, at least Max gets to enjoy bath time, and that's what counts!

Thursday walk!

Thursdays are turning into walking days for Angie, I, and the boys. This time I headed over to Angie's and we took a long walk through her wonderful neighborhood. There were even kids selling lemonade on a corner - Ang shared a funny anecdote about that as a kid you will have to ask her about sometime, in which her sister had a competing stand ... lol.

It's so great to see Maxwell and Henry together like this even though they aren't really aware of it yet. I can't wait to see them running around together being lil' bruisers.

By the end of the walk, Max broke out in his crazy "feed me now" cry. (Thanks Ang for trying to comfort my kiddo). I tried to make it all the way home while awkwardly reaching in the back seat rubbing his forehead, but this did not comfort him. So...I pulled over in a parking lot to feed him. Tried to change his diaper, but after desperately searching in the diaper bag, there were NO diapers! Leon had been using the diapers and wipes from the diaper bag in the mornings when he feeds Max and forgot to replace them (oops). Poor Max, I had to slap the dirty diaper back on the guy and rush back home.

We'll get this parenting thing down sooner or later! :)

Max & Henry rollin' through the hood

Hank hams it up for the cam

Max is disinterested in the cam

A second dose of Grandparents

Max got spoiled on Sunday when all the Grandparents were in town. My Mom brought lunch (which is an understatement, she brought enough for an Army!) and we all enjoyed it outside as the Grandparents doted on the little guy. How lucky he is already :)

The 'Rents visit!

Grandparents that is! Leon's folks are in town for the weekend to see their first grandchild :) Max has been lucky getting to be in Grandma's arms. Grandma also brought pics of Leon as a newborn and can we say "spitting image"! I'll try and get scanned copies and upload them soon (don't have the driver for my scanner on the Mac).

Today Max is three weeks old and we took him to DayOne for a weigh-in. Wow, this kiddo sure knows how to eat! As you see from the scale below, he's now 8 lbs. 7oz.

Tank, Grandpa & Grandma Chen, Max

The proud Grandparents with Max

Handlin' It!

This week Leon returned back to work, which means Mama gone solo! I'll admit that Monday was rough as Max decided to stay up all night...meaning I was awake with him all day and night. Then, yesterday was a bit easier as I got in an afternoon nap.

Today, I went wild (ok not really) and got up the courage to do an outing to Target by myself with Max in tow. Success! He slept the entire time, that dear sweet boy.

The following pictures have nothing to do with my outing, but thought I would post them anyhow.

Crazy hair after a bath

Wide awake

Max's Family & Friends

Max has had alot of visitors in his first two weeks of life :)

Maxwell - 2 weeks old

Today Max is two weeks old!

We took him to DayOne to get weighed today and he is 7 lbs 9 oz - back to his birth weight plus 3 oz :)

Tank decided to get in on the action too as you can see below.

Max & Tank are BFFs

Out and About

Starting to get the courage to venture out while I am not stuck being Max's milk machine...Yesterday I managed to drop off Leon for a haircut, go to the bank, and buy some laundry detergent from Walgreens while carrying Max in the sling. We even stopped at the Crepevine to pick up some lunch to bring home (even if lunch was at 3:30pm).

Today Angie was an angel and stopped by to take a walk with me in the neighborhood. Hank and Max rocked it in the Uppababys :) Max did well, although it was pretty warm out. Poor little Hank may have a tooth sprouting and was not as excited about the ride.

Either way, it was nice to get out and about. Thanks again Ang for coming over. Before you know it, we'll be taking Hank and Max on trips to the park!

Max chillin'

Sweet little Henry

He speaks!

Maxwell - 1 week old

Today Max is 1 week old!

Thanks again Annika for this super-cute quilt that I can document his growth on :)

The story

So I have some limited time to sit down now and go through the birth story of Max's long-awaited arrival into this world.

Come Saturday morning, no contractions or active labor through the night. Leon and I had breakfast at Cafe Barrone (surprise) and headed back to the hospital for an induction.

This time, the hospital was not as crazy and I was able to check in right away around 8:45am. One of the nurses even recognized me from the day before to let the others know "no need to check her, she's already 6 cm dilated, so she's staying".

The process of getting checked in takes a long time. You go to a labor room, get changed, you're asked a number of questions about your health history, get an IV set-up, talk to the an anesthesiologist etc, etc.

It was a good hour before they were even going to start the pitocin. Then came some trouble with my IV line, so it wasn't until 11:00am that the pitocin started. Though I felt contractions about an hour in, they certainly were not what I was expecting as far as pain. They were coming about every 3 minutes. This surprised the nurse and doc, who then at 1:00pm decided to break my water. This is where the real contractions started! Before I knew it, the contractions went from a pain level of 4-5 to about an 8 and they were 1 minute apart. I couldn't even use the restroom without having about 3 contractions in between.

Though I went in thinking I would try without pain meds, I was calling the anesthesiologist. The downside of the epidural is that it did not work all the way for me. Only my left side was numb and I was still about a 6 on a pain level...I couldn't even talk through the contractions. Poor anesthesiologist felt bad that as many different meds he pumped into me, none were helping.

It wasn't long however, before it was time to push, around 4:00pm. I pushed for one hour (which actually felt better with the contractions), and into the world came Maxwell! He came out screaming, which was funny. They set him on my stomach and Leon got to cut the cord.

Though I am sure most parents feel this, there isn't a description for brining a child into the world. We were elated and in awe. I couldn't believe this squirming baby was just inside me and now out into the world.

Everyone has asked me before the birth, "Are you nervous?" meaning, about the labor. My answer was yes, but not due to the labor, but about being a parent!

We just hope to be the best we can and learn along the way :)

Putting his thinking cap on

The last few days have been a whirlwind - will share all the birthing details later. In the meantime, we are already getting Max to work his lil' brain :)

He has arrived

Proud to announce the arrival of our son :)

Maxwell Oliver Chen was born yesterday, 5/22/2010 at 5:05pm weighing in at 7lbs 6oz. 20.5 inches long.

The whole fam is doing well and will arrive home from the hospital soon.

Anticipation

Last night I had dinner with friends Ann, Angie, & Shannon. As we were discussing how much I was dilated last week, the girls threw out bets on what I would be dilated to today when I went in for my doc appointment. Ann joked 6 cm, and we all laughed, talking about doing squats or lunges to speed up the process.

Low and behold, I go in this morning and I am 5-6cm dilated! (I owe you $1 Ann) I was told how "lucky" I am, as by now, some women have been through hours of labor.

Yes, the doc, Leon, and I were all surprised. So, she asked us, would we like to have the baby today? We weren't prepared to answer that question, but we came back at 3:00pm in the afternoon to "have my membrane stripped" (not a pleasant process) and take a brisk walk around the mall to try and get some contractions going before checking into the hospital. Well, this did not bring on contractions. We went to the hospital anyhow as my doc was concerned this was going to be a very fast labor.

The hospital was a zoo...so many births they didn't even have a room available and wouldn't for one hour. This meant perhaps a delivery in the very wee hours of the morning. My doc called me and suggested we go home where we would be more comfortable, see if we make it through the night, and come back in the morning when things would be less hectic.

So we are just waiting and seeing if we make it through the night. Either way, we are meeting this little guy tomorrow! :)

39 weeks

Here's a side view...he's still in there!

Nursery (almost) complete!

On Friday, Brett & Angie came over for some breakfast-for-dinner. But first, we put the boys to work hanging up shelves in the nursery. Thanks Brett for helping out Leon! Was glad to know the drywall was still in tact :) Now I feel so much better and the nursery is just about complete. I am only missing some custom roman shades I am having made which will soon be here.

Little Hank also showed off his crawling skills! Even with obstacles such as Tank licking his face every 5 minutes. This guy is going to be walking before we know it. :)

Leon & Brett celebrate their hard work with a beer.

The finished result

Changing area and a bed (so Leon and I can take turns with all-nighters)

Crib, rocking chair

Another view of the crib (Bedding is from Skip Hop, I bought different fitted sheets though in both orange and aqua)

Artwork I bought on Etsy

This spectacular quilt that Annika made for us...it is the cutest! I plan to take pics of the little one on it each week as Annika did and Angie is also doing with little Hank.

Now it's just a waiting game. I'm trying to take it easy as my OB/GYN is at a conference this week Monday - Wednesday. No more long walks for me unless I want to go into labor. I am eager to meet this little guy in person, but I am also fine with him incubating a little longer :)

Taking bets!

Ok people...had my weekly doc appt. this morning and found out I am already 2-3cm dilated! This little guy may be arriving sooner than we thought.

Any predictions? :)

Happy 6th b-day to Tank!

My little fur-baby turned 6 years old on Tuesday! We celebrated a day late with some Fred Steak and a Sprinkles cupcake...just like last year.

This year will bring about a lot of changes for our furry first-born and us, but in the meantime, he got to be spoiled for a day.

Lounging in the sun in the backyard

Patiently awaiting his steak

A cupcake for dessert

One more visit from Mom-In-Law

On Sunday, Leon's Mom came out to visit us one more time before the baby's arrival. We ran some errands, prepared some art for the nursery, and put together a gift basket for the maternity ward at Lucille Packard. She also brought a knitted blanket she's been working really hard on and it turned out wonderful!

I know she's excited for her first grand-baby. So are we. As we anticipate his arrival so close now, we are both nervous and excited.

Here's a pic we shot before she left yesterday. I'm 38 weeks along!

Graduation

I had finally completed my degree in December, but due to peer pressure, I walked in graduation this past weekend on the 8th. After it was through, I was glad I did it. As much as I was uncomfortable with my 9 month preggers self, my friend Ali was a fellow pregger at 7 months and could empathize. The weather couldn't have been better and my family came out to join in the festivities.

With Leon...with my sister...my moms & pops...and fellow classmates.

Walking...with my advisor Dr. Nyland...with my sister and her fam

GSB Reunion Weekend - late post

The weekend of May 1st marked the one year reunion for Leon's biz school at Stanford. Alot of friends from near and far were in town to visit, so Leon and I threw an afternoon BBQ/open house for everyone to stop by. It was nice to see familiar faces and bask in the good weather. Thanks to Annika for the pics!

36 weeks

Four more weeks! Yes....the countdown is here. Today i am exactly 36 weeks along.

Leon and I don't really have a pic together with my bump. Since we took one for Stanford's reunion weekend dinner slideshow thingy (something like that) I decided to post it too.