Happy One-Month-Old Casey!

Casey is having her one-month-old celebration tonight. Chinese celebrate babies' arrivals with their friends and relatives on this day (Chinese also have their babies' portraits taken on the 100th day). We are throwing a banquet (about 30+ people) tonight in a Chinese restaurant. Cannot wait to dress Casey up for the occasion although most likely she'll sleep through the whole thing. :)

But gosh! Can't believe a month has passed. She's a big girl now. :p

Oh no! My poor baby!!!

Poor Casey had a tough time pooping. She was...constipated! Probably because we started giving her formula at night. The poor thing tried so hard. You could see "it" coming out, but it just wouldn't. She cried and cried! Her face bright red!!! And I was just standing there making "um...um..." noise raising her legs in the air... BOOHOO! After what seemed like an eternity, she finally got "it" out. Whew...what a relief (for now).

We are now using "barley water" (薏米水) for the formula. Hopefully she'll be able to No. 2 freely tomorrow. :)

Oh no! My poor retainer...I mean my wallet!

I have been wearing my retainer at night since I got my braces off. It's been more than 6 1/2 years. Yes, I have been good! But a couple days ago, I dropped the bottom one on the floor, and it broke into halves!!!! So today I went back to my orthodontist for a replacement since it couldn't be fixed. It's going to cost me $500!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OUCH!!!!!

I know a lot of people who've gotten braces don't wear theirs and of course their teeth have moved since. I just want my teeth to look good, especially after all those painful braces adjustements -- for three years!!! I actually got four teeth removed to make room for my too "crowded" teeth. But because of that, there are small gaps between my teeth (well, they can't be perfect), so if I don't wear the retainer, my teeth are bound to move!!! Oh well, just hope I don't break the new one any time soon!!!! >:O

Don't you dare trying to trick me!

Babies are just so smart!

Sometimes when Casey needs a little attention, she would like to be held. Funny thing is that as soon as I rest her down on the bed, still having my arms under her, her eyes would be wide open! Same thing happened today when I used the soft carrier for the first time. She fell asleep in there in seconds. But as soon as I sat down, I saw her sparkly eyes wide open again!!! Her legs were still dangling in the air, how could she tell I was sitting down instead of standing up????

First Bath

We have given Casey her first bath. We have been giving her sponge baths, but tonight is the night! She was comfy enough in her bath tub, and her hair looks so fluffy and funny afterwards.

Baby Colic

Mui2 seems to have a minor case of baby colic. We talked to her pediatrician and were recommended to try Mylicon instead of gripe water. We gave her a dose yesterday afternoon as well as before bed. And again this afternoon... OMG! The med has worked wonders. She's probably relieved from the discomfort the gas has caused her and she's calm soon after taking the med through the dropper. It's just wonderful. The suggested dosage is 12 times a day. But I don't think we'll need that much. We'll just use it when she starts to whine and we think we'll most likely use it twice a day. :)

Woohoo

I can now fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans! I am so happy!!!! Still got about 9lbs to lose. I wonder how long it will take for the linea nigra to fade! :S It's so dark now and my belly still has a bit of floppy skin. What wonderful things my baby has given me! :p

Harry Potter

Hubby and I still have NEVER watched one single Harry Potter film. We missed the first one, and therefore just never caught up with the rest. I was lent the first book when it came out, but my friend took it back (so that he could lend it to his then-girlfriend) before I could even start. Now that the last book was out, I thought, hey! Isn't it the perfect time to catch up? LOL So I bought the first six in a box set for only $30.56 including shipping, and now I am half way through the first book. It IS indeed very interesting. I can't wait to finish it and finally become a fan of the famous Harry Potter myself. Ha ha. But it's going to take some time. I only get to read a couple of lines or pages whenever Casey lets me. Normally if I pick up a book I like, I'd finish it in one seating...but now, Miss Casey comes first before anything in the whole world. :) One "eh" from her, mommy will drop everything to server the little whiny baby.

My Baby

My baby is doing well. She's eating, sleeping, pooping, doing everything a baby should do. :p She's been sleeping through the nights. Only getting up twice (usually around 1 or 2, then 4 or 5). She does stay awake for a couple of hours during the day though, and it's hard to entertain her because we are (well, more like her) NOT allowed to leave the house. I would so love to take her for walks, so I don't have to sit at the bed side and try to "un-whine" her. She seems to be gaining "weight" only at her cheeks. Ha ha. She looks like a chubby hamster with the cheeks, and I find her arms and legs are still quite skinny.

Whiny Baby

Ok, so she's cute and easy to care for most of the time, but there is another side of her... You are about to see a video of her DARK SIDE!!! Nothing could sooth or settle her. Be aware of the Casey's Moments!

Pacifier, picking her up, changing her, feeding her, singing (ok, maybe this upsets her even more, ha ha)...nothing works. Doctor said it could be gas related, so we are spending more time burping her after each feeding. It seems to work, but still too early to say for sure. In her earlier days (like right out of the hospital, LOL), she could whine for 2 hours like this in the middle of the night. That was enough to pull all my hair out. Oh well, they can't all be cute the whole time, right? :p The joy of parenthood!

http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/c4terry/?action=view&current=PICT0007.flv

Casey Bomb

I bet she thinks it's funny to keep on pooping while I am changing her diaper!!! :O It was exceptionally "crazy" today! She probably pooped a whole pound out and I kept lifting her feet/legs, so the poop wouldn't touch her butt. I kept pulling her back until her head was at the end of the changing table, she just wouldn't stop. She looked innocent enough though; that was the funny thing. Then after what seemed like the 3rd full poop, it still wasn't enough -- she peed all over the changing table. Thank god for a waterproof changing pad. :p

Normally she eats about 2 to 2.5oz per feeding. But after the bomb, she ate 3.75oz. I think she's preparing herself for the next bomb! :O

Casey's first doctor's visit

We took Casey for her first check up today. She's now 7lb 8.5oz. She has gained 15.5oz in 15 days. Doctor said that's a good weigh gain since most infants should gain about 1oz per day. She said she did well esp babies usually lose weight in the first couple of days. She's still the same length though. Dr. Lau said Casey was a good baby...if only I could show her when she's whining and wouldn't go to bed. *HA* But whining or not, she's still our baby girl. Aww....

SMS -- Silly Mom Syndrome

Here is a video clip of Casey sucking on her pacifier. She looks so serious. So cute and funny! :D

http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a318/c4terry/?action=view&current=PICT0001.flv

Woohoo! Let's celebrate!

Today is hubby's birthday! We didn't get to celebrate. His parents have already made dinner and I wasn't allow to take baby Casey out. We'll just have to make up for him later.

But a bigger celebration!!!! Our baby girl's umbilical cord stump has fallen off! WOOHOO That's our baby girl's gift to her dad. Ha ha.

*yawn*

Baby Casey usually sleeps very well (3 to 4 hours in between feeding). But she seems to have her moments very early morning. Although the day before, she was excellent, this morning, she just wouldn't settle between 4 and 8. I was so exhausted I could cry myself. LOL

Everywhere I read, they say by week 6 or so, most babies would sleep for 6 to 8 hours straight at night. I surely hope Casey would be like that. Just hope this four weeks would go by quickly without too much hassle. :p

So much to learn, so little time

Everyday is a learning experience with my newborn. And time is zooming by fast. I see pictures of my friends' kids, whom seem to be just born yesterday, but they are turning into toddlers. I am going to miss Casey being so darn small and cute. I am snapping loads of pictures. Will have to start videio-taping her every move, too. I especially wanna capture her when she sneezes. Because right after she does, she makes this funny noise. It's so cute!!!!!

Booohoo

My poor baby got a cut (an inch across) on her knee. Don't even know how and when it happened. I just found out two days ago, and it's now turned into a scab... No wonder they say: "Wound on your body, pain on my heart". :'(

Setting a routine

Casey wouldn't settle last night and was whining and and crying from 11:30pm to 4:30am... She would want to be fed, got tired, but as soon as I put her down, she'd cry. She even cried when I was holding her. I think it had a lot to do with the feeding.

We were trying to supplement formula with breast feeding. Afraid she wouldn't get enough just from breast feeding. But that kinda messes things up because sometimes she'd eat a good 2oz of formula and would sleep for 3+ hours. But then sometimes, she would only take 0.25oz, and then would get up in an hour or so.

So now we've decided to just breast feed her even though it means getting up more regularly at night. But at least we can set a routine with her. She's probably confused, too. :p She's worth losing sleep for...even for me.

You just gotta love...

BOPPY (pillow)

It's the best thing invented for all new moms. I can feed my baby and use the computer at the same time. Ha! And my baby sleeps so comfortably in it. It's so convenient to use. The design is so simple and basic -- just a U-shape pillow, yet it's so effective, useful and helpful. I just have to praise it every time I use it. So if you are expecting, go get yourself a Boppy pillow. :)

Our baby girl is here!

Our baby girl, Casey, was born on July 31, 2007 at 3:16pm. Her birth weight was 6lb 9oz and she was 20" long. She's of course the cutest little thing. Got a full head of hair! And a dimple on the right (I have one on the left). The labor went really well although it wasn't the best experience of all, but it definitely was well worth it. We came home after staying in the hospital for two nights. I still have a sore bottom. Gotta go buy a life saver tomorrow to help me sit. Other than that, all is well. Baby is eating and sleeping well and acting all cute.