Confinement (catch up post)

So we hired a "confinement lady" or pui yuet. Chan Gu lerng. She is okay, started over a week ago on Friday- 11/27, the day we came home from the hospital. We were so frantic when we first got home that i think we got off on the wrong foot because she said all the clothes we got were not right, etc etc. i wasn't about to buy new clothes either, so she was just being difficult, or stubborn or something, being that it wasn't what she perhaps was used to... regardless the next day at least was better. M apologized to her but she was still pretty pushy, about pumping ( which i mentioned before too about annoyance and stupid repetitiveness!)

But overall i guess i cannot complain, she is 50, and she is helpful i guess, at least she does do stuff. She repeats herself though, perhaps this is a sign of old age though and not nagging? gosh. i hope i catch myself too when i get to that age... 20 years from now. geez. 20 years from now and little sofia will still only be 20/21... anyhow, don't need to fast forward just yet!

So Chan helps cook "special" meals, which basically consists of chicken and pork, steamed, with veggies, blanched in hot water with ginger. Since i had a c section, i am "not allowed" to eat a number of things, vs. if i gave birth naturally. This is due to the scar/ needing to heal time.

Not allowed to eat for 100 days:

-shrimp

-crab

-raw/cold * though i asked about ice cream and she said it was okay, just not too much

-raw = things like salad :(

Not allowed to eat/do for 30 days:

- use tap water, must "shower" with old ginger boiled water

- bamboo

- drink mostly red date water, not regular hot water... or drink less hot plain water. Not sure why, but the red date water is getting old after 10 days...

Not allowed to eat/do for 20 days/ only after 20th day:

-Beef

- lamb?

Not allowed to eat for 12 days/only after 12th day:

-Gogi berries

- sweets/ like cookies/cake * though should wait for 20 days

- ginger * only in little qtys at first

-Papaya

-Fish * worry too fishy, the smell/taste - start to make fish soup+papaya for milk post day 12+

- finally wash hair!! *but w/ginger peel boiled water

Minimal:

- Fruits- but only apples, oranges, grapes, nothing fancy like mango, lychee etc., of course. :p

So yah, it makes my diet & actions pretty limiting. I've basically been eating the same stuff for lunch and dinner, steamed... its clean, so i dont mind, all the oil/fat is gone. I have (thank goodness) had pizza though & gingerale YUM. For my sanity, of course. :) Oh and i did go to watsons the other day and i got thee yellow tube wine gums. hahaha.

But a sample meal at lunch consists of:

* 1 big huge bowl of soup (pork- the muscle, leanest meat, red dates- to help with blood, and other stuff like chinese stuff, red bean, wai sum, dong song, ginger, orange peel, etc.. or sometimes lotus soup, which is good... lotus supposedly also helps "bo" *** apparently i need lots of soup!

* steamed chicken (organic, i asked her to buy), all the skin taken off so less fat/oil, steamed at 100C for 15 min with red dates, ginger strips and perhaps dong song, or the black frilly fungus and lily stems...

* minced pork + mushrooms also steamed for 100C 15 min (though i still have a bad thing for mushrooms- can't handle them... )

* Or spare ribs/ "pai gwuk" pork with the black beans... or pai gwuk with chestnuts* this is my fav so far

* Steamed broccoli with sliced chicken gizzard

* Or blanched choy sum/ gai lan with ginger

* big bowl of rice

And yes, i'll eat the same stuff for dinner (as i had for lunch) usually. But y'know it's interesting, b/c i'm pretty okay with it. Surprisingly.

Apparently Clay Pots are better btw-- Chan only uses Clay pots to cook, the nutrients supposedly stay in better-- i.e. fish soup should ONLY be cooked in clay pots, if you cook in a regular metal pot, apparently all the nutrients go away. hmm... intersting! i will have to get a clay pot for myself one of these days.

Mama (great grandma wong) also makes me stuff like birds nest and "fa gao" (fish stomach), which are high protein no fat, which is also very good for me, mom (grandma tsang) agrees.

So I'm not allowed to use tap water- as mentioned before, due to later life possible "arthritis" and other potential issues. I haven't been able to wash my hair for the past 14 days too (it's actually only 12 days, but we happened to wait 14 due to her day off-- shoot, by the time we got home from the hospital on day 5, i figured we might as well wait another 7 days!). The ginger water makes my body warm, and protects from "wind"... hey, if it's going to keep me healthy when i get older, might as well do it. what've i got to lose :)

the whole no proper shower thing though is difficult, but i guess i can sacrifice now... for later. no soap might i add, so i basically bathe/wipe down with only ginger water. I tried using soap one day and broke out into semi rash... i put 180 though on it to help neutralize, thank goodness for mom's nuskin training and the ph balance of 180! I guess soap will irritate the skin now as i'm technically "recovering". C sections are still pretty major surgery. I feel lucky that i'm good, i hope my uterus is recovering as quickly as i am in the rest of my body. :)

I also have to brush my teeth with bottled water- since no tap is allowed. (face washing is done with ginger water too- being careful of the eyes not to sting... thank goodness today i finally exfoliated.) i think when the 30 days are up, i'm going to go to the spa for one of those total body exfoliation scrubs. yes, i think i need that.

There are some things though i feel are a bit off about Chan- I guess it's just werid for a "stranger" basically to be looking over your shoulder while you breastfeed... nipple and all. I suppose I am already pretty open about the boob- from what i think, being m's mom also hovers sometimes... In the hospital during those days even. Shoot she was in the labor room when they were checking down there too, so i donno, embarassed? i guess I can't be at this point lol. sigh. all part of the human body, which is beautiful i suppose so we shouldn't be embarassed, but still, um. yah. :p

Chan also is a bit stubborn, and rough, sometimes I worry about her, esp esp ESP when she is cleaning sofia's cord stump. She has noted over and over again (seriously i think almost everyday since we've been home) about how her stump is not tied/cut pretty... so that's why it hasn't fallen off. Well! I can't do anything about it now, but maybe you should be a bit nicer or gentler with my baby??? i mean even in the hospital they only used alcohol wipes, NOT Q TIPS!!! it's kinda scary the way she does it... :( I just hope little Sofia's cord stump doesn't get infected, since it started bleeding on Thursday-- when i went to the hospital for my stitches removed... We are taking Sofia to the dr tmrw as well, hope he has availability-- so that she is okay and no infection. I think it's okay b/c the skin around isn't red, but you can't be so sure since babies can't communicate really. Better Safe than Sorry.

I'm sure she's bored too, since there isn't much for her to do- we're still more hands on (ok, i am) during the day- the only time she really gets to hold baby is when she takes her bath and burping (i can also burp baby but i just let her b/c m thinks she feels un-useful if not)...

Overall though I guess I should be thankful-- i mean, having someone to take care of me/ cook and clean and stuff, since she does wash Sofia's stuff, and clean up, yah... I should be grateful overall still. Not everyone is as lucky to hire a pui yuet, or learn about these things of eastern culture, i mean shoot, if i were in the states, I wouldn't have known all these things...

Remember to be grateful...

***

As for baby sofia, she's growing every day. I don't know if her face is "changing", but she is gaining weight i do think (perhaps we need to get a scale soon)... she's becoming more alert as well, opening her eyes more when she eats, and wants to play around 8pm. She's sleeping a bit more now, about 3 hrs at a time which is great thru the night...

Her voice though started to change about 4 days ago- it's more "scratchy/sandy" now... hope her vocal chords aren't damaged, maybe it'll be good for singing later on as daddy hoped...

The only bad thing is that her belly button is starting to bleed- the cord stump... which is totally making me nervous since Chan has been cleaning it the past week and i feel like she keeps digging too deep; but M told me that she does this for a living, so just trust her... though i think you can't force these things? She keeps saying too that the stump was not cut/tied properly/nicely, so that's the problem. Perhaps it is or perhaps it isn't but either way-- we can't do anything about it!! so we just need to fix it now.

Her skin is also still really dry- perhaps i need to drink more water (though i've been drinking "red-date water" which is eh.

Her nails are also quite long-- the first week in the hospital we kept mittens on her, but since we've been home i have taken them off. Her nails have kinda broken off themselves, making them shorter (i don't have a baby nail clipper, the ones in the kits are still too big and files don't work b/c her nails are too bendable still, not hardened)... anyhow, i took them off because i don't want her to not have proper development of her fingers and hands... even when we first took them off i noticed she doesn't like people touching her hands. But each day i try to massage her fingers and her toes, and hopefully this will help. She is started to scratch herself though, which isn't great- but i just don't really want to put the mittens back on, so enhancer it is.

The past 3 days too, she hasn't been crying as much when she soils her diaper. It's weird-- either she knows daddy/mommy will change it for her, or she doesn't mind? I'm not sure. I'd like to think it's the former, where she trusts that she'll be cleaned-- though lately too, she's been pooping while we change her, or she'll pee... but i guess as long as she's not crying and is a happy healthy baby, then i am happy too. :)

The nights haven't been bad either, she wakes up about 3xs, about every 3 hrs. Somehow though it's interesting because her milk supply and her timing are pretty much on track. Though with teh pumping lately it's a bit more off, since I try to pump when the milk starts leaking- so not to waste the milk!! We try to keep about 2oz in the ridge so daddy can help feed her at least one bottle a day now. This helps i hope him bond with her more. I know she will be daddy's little girl-- i just don't want him to feel left out during feeding time now, since we are still quite close, for obvious reasons.

Daddy though has been so wonderful, changing her diapers in the evening. I do the diaper duty at night though, but that's okay. It's quiet time for us...

i think Sofia is starting to recognize us now too, at least our voices if she cannot see very far in front of her (i still hope she takes after daddy with her eyesight!)... which is exciting.

the time is flying by. tomorrow she will be two weeks old already. two weeks ago we went to the hospital and labor started...

Still so amazing. Life is.

all the love for our wonderful little family, and our big family-- loved ones.

But such a blessing this little girl... I still can't believe she's ours...

Day #12 (12/4/09)

Little Sofia,

its been 12 days since your birthday... one week since we've been home... and all filled with such wonder and amazement, love and hope. High hopes of who you are, who you'll become, who you look like even... but no matter what, it puts a smile on mommy and daddy's faces, along with everyone else who's come to visit you-- including tai gong, tai pou (both sides!), yeye, mama, aunty celeste, uncle derek (while we were in the hospital), aunty virginia, jeffrey... such a blessing you are.

I am even more excited when grandma tsang and your auntie jen jen and jackie and grandpa tsang come- to see you for the first time! it will be such a great feeling, you know, my mommy, me and you little sofia. :)

The past 11 days I've learned you're a pooping and eating machine! you haven't a schedule yet, but that's okay. Waking up in the middle of the night is not a chore, not easy, but i don't mind. Breastfeeding too, has been an experience, it makes me feel like i am doing something good-- for you, making sure you are well fed with enough nourishment and nutrition to make you grow healthy and strong.

Daddy loves to come home to hang out and play with you as well, though there isn't much to "play" right now, but he has been busy trying to fix our home so that when we finally move home, home, that it'll be perfect for our little family. :) he has been working hard, getting things needed, cleaning up, putting everything into place... i know he loves us very much and i'm extremely thankful for that.

On another note - we have the pui yuet helping out for the next 3 weeks, she started last friday, and we got off on the wrong foot as she said there weren't enough "right clothes" for you-- even though we had enough clothes and she just didn't think they fit you (but they did... no comment from mom o_O) She has experience yes, but at the same time i feel there is something a bit off, but oh well, as long as she is helping mommy cook and get better, and cleaning you a bit (she bathes you, which i wish i could but because i cannot touch tap water right now due to potential arthritis later on...)- i think she wants to be more "hands on" but i guess, i'm just being overprotective in a sense, even though you don't really know any better i guess being you sleep most of the day anyhow. She changes your diaper maybe once or twice a day, and doesn't really feed you but last week mommy did have a slight breakdown. perhaps it's post partum, or the hormones re-working themselves but we went to the hospital last saturday to make sure your jaundice levels were going down so you wouldn't need to do the lights thing, and that saturday oh my, she must've told me about 4xs that i needed to pump so to see how much milk mommy had, and so she could help feed so i wouldn't be so tired. Well, i had charged the battery on friday night, and it said 24 hrs to charge and i guess between her and daddy too also saying that i needed to pump i just started to break down b/c i told them i would pump but had to wait for the battery to finish charging!! (which would be done 9pm sat night)-- oh my, the tears just kept flowing and flowing... because i felt so pressured, but it wasn't really anything looking back... just over, sorry, HYPER-active hormones. i was crying in the hospital, the nurses thought i was just upset over the jaundice issue, little did they know it was something much more minuscule than that!

But anyhow, mommy was glad that your jaundice level dropped to 10.5 on Saturday afternoon (it was 12.2 on Friday when we left the hospital- a 15+ or something and you need to go under the lights); but because your level dropped, you didn't need to go under the lights. :) yay! it was the first goal achieved, mommy was so proud of you :) so i hope your eyesight will be good, since grandma tsang says the lights may damage your eyesight later on... we still let you sleep under teh sun each morning though, since the lights are basically UV lights anyhow... but i was thrilled and so happy and am so proud of you. :) i'm glad you pooped all the bilurubin out. yeah!

The past week has flown by, on Monday, your week birthday i was actually quite sad too, a bit bittersweet- not having you in my tummy, i can honestly say that i miss the belly! i didn't think i would, but i realize that i do. i miss feeling you inside of me, though now you are outside and i can hug and hold you-- that is of course, something wonderful- but just different. I am hoping to avoid post partum depression, as it occurs in a number of women, so hopefully i can remain happy and healthy.

On wednesday, you shot poop at daddy, but nearly missed. it was quite funny, for mommy at least. Your poop is a yellow mustard color- kinda like the "gold" in the crabs... (sorry for lack of better description); it's watery too... you almost actually pooped on mommy and peed while i was changing you- it's like a little fountain! but good to know that i'll never be hit in the eye, like i hear those parents of little boys. :p

You are a good girl... the past two nights have been a bit better, sleeping and waking up are less, about 4-5xs vs the 6-7xs before. So i'm glad we're getting there, slowly but surely. You sleep much better during the day as well, it seems you're more nocturnal... but hopefully this changes after your first month too.

We have everyday to look froward to, but when mommy might have to go back to work, i will be very sad, crying i'm sure... i don't want to leave you with a stranger, as i will worry worry! i am hoping that i can figure a schedule out with daddy so that we can always be around you and not miss you growing up... Grandma Tsang was home with me and my sisters really, what a blessing that was too... again, i hope i can only be the best mommy possible to you so that when you one day, have little babies of your own, you can think back and be thankful, like i am of what i can do for you and that you can do the same for your little ones... someday. But one day at a time. we don't want to skip your growing up or baby years yet! as we'll cherish these memories always...

i love you little girl...

so does daddy. and everyone else around you.

biggest hugs,

love mommy & daddy

One week ago... 11/22

Wow, the week has gone by so quickly... One week ago, Sunday, I started to bleed- probably around this exact time, 8:45pm. I remember because it was 15 minutes before Twilight was showing on tv. And that was the beginning of when we would finally get to meet you little girl...

All day I was feeling mild to medium cramping. That afternoon daddy and I eve went to Dan Ryans to eat. He had the lunch special - ribs/chicken, clam chowder, and dessert. Mommy had a tuna melt- tuna for maybe the 3rd time for 9 months... Well maybe you didn't like the tuna because you decided it was time. So Sunday night, having not even had dinner, we (including grandma wong) drove to the hospital. Arrived about 9:50pm. Mommy got hooked up to the monitor and by 10:20 we found that they weren't normal/regular contractions but still would be staying in the hospital. We got to see all the rooms since it was fairly empty... And decided on OB13- mommy's lucky #. It even had an extra bed for daddy, which usually doesn't. :) so we got lucky lucky!!

By 10:30pm daddy drove grandma home and by 11:10pm I started feeling contractions more regularly... And 5 minutes apart. By 11:20pm I went back to the labor room to get hooked up to the monitor again and sure enough- they were 5 minutes apart and getting stronger. The strongest are usually about 120-130ish, and I saw they were going up to 90, 100, but still bearable. I called daddy to hurry back and by 11:30 he was back, in time. I was hoping labor would be 3-6 hrs max- as I had always told little girl, but I guess it was not her plan. Being exhausted by 1am, staring at the clock, I was really getting tired from also not eating since 3pm. Contractions were also hitting 120, which was pretty strong, bearable to a certain extent but because i was so tired and hadn't eaten, i figured by 1:30am we should get the epidural, just because i knew we needed to rest for the big labor process/delivery. So by 2am, Dr. Yau came in and administered the epidural. First there was an IV (yuck! needles) and then the epidural. I was shaking b/c it was so cold... It kicked in about 10 minutes later, and i started to feel nothing in regards to contractions, however little Sofia's heartbeat dropped to 73 I remember at one point within those same minutes so we had to turn onto the other side, then turn back to get her heart rate back up... scary. but at least things worked out okay... unfortunately though i'm not sure if the epidural ended up slowing down the entire process because the contractions started slowing down as well from 1.5-2min back up to 5. :(

as we watched the clock tick, the hours go by, every 2 hrs we "topped up" the epidural. it's an interesting sensation, the cold fluid you can feel entering into the tube into your body... being that this was the first ever time i have been admitted to the hospital,, it certainly was a new experience. (thankfully the first time I’ve been admitted to the hospital and for good reason of course!)

so watching the clock go by, but managing to nap about 2 hrs between each top up- i tried to just wait as long as possible between each time to see if the pain would really be as bad as you'd think / or as they show in the movies. I don't really think it was UN-bearable, but it wasn't comfortable that's for sure. i'm glad i did get the epidural after all.

at around 6:15am i heard a "pop pop pop" and though okay, either i just farted or my water broke. And sure enough, my water did break. They take a swab and swipe to see if it changes color... if it does, sure enough your water did break. Yes!! i was thinking, progress!!! but not really.

By 7am (11 to 7 = 8 hrs elapsed), i was still only 5-6cm dialated... oh but quite "funny"- as 7am a lady checked in also in labor, and apparently did not have an epidural... b/c she was breathing in the pain gas (can't remember what it's called) and when she finally started to go into labor was SCREAMING " Jiu wo!! Hao tong ah!" ...yes, really, no epidural. Entertaining a bit, sadly.

By 9am (11 to 9 = 10 hrs elapsed), i was 7 cm dialated... and Dr. tsai came to visit. He said that although i was dialated, little girl's head hadn't come down yet and was still floating around, not in my pelvis. He said we should wait till lunchtime to see, otherwise there may be swelling in her head and we'd need an emergency c section. I was a bit disappointed, but also accepting, as long as I could breastfeed immediately afterwards, which he said I could. Also we asked that knowing, with c sec, you can't have too many kids due to the scars on the uterus-- and he said yes, prob only 2-3 kids max... At least the bf part was okay... but i was still praying that her little head would drop into place for a vbirth. Oh, and i wasn't able to eat anymore. Mind you, I hadn't eaten since 3pm the prior day... over 18 hrs ago. at one point i asked daddy to sneak me a dried apricot, an almond and a raisin, but oops, those came right back up and I started to vomit and vomit some more... poor daddy said, he started to cry b/c i looked horrible. Oh well. guess I shouldn't have eaten as the dr ordered! (but i was REALLY hungry!). They even gave me some Zantac i think, but eh, that came up too.

By 11am (11 to 11 = 12 hrs elapsed), well, i was finally 8-9cm, but still no sign of her head... so the Dr started to make phone calls to prepare for an emergency c sec by 1pm. He tried to get us in earlier however the anesthesiologist, Dr. Yau was not available till then. I was worried but at the same time, just ready to meet our little girl. I think I was also so tired and exhausted from no food that it didn't matter anymore. As long as she came out healthy and strong, that's what was most important.

Catheter (not very pleasant but thanks to the epidural i couldn't feel it), shaved, and prepped for the OR, I was wheeled down to the first floor slightly before 1pm. I was checked once more prior the operation (sounds scary really) began, but still no progress... so off we were.

Dr. Yau used the epidural to add more, stronger drugs, so the entire bottom half of my body was numb. I felt like a tree/ log... because i couldn't move anything. It kicked in at about 1:10 and by 1:15 Dr. Tsai was starting to cut his way into getting little girl out. It's a very strange sensation... being tugged, pulled, moved around yet not really knowing what's going on. It doesn't hurt at all, nor was i nervous, perhaps because I really was just that exhausted and couldn't wait till the little girl finally was here. At one point daddy was able to stand up and look over the curtain but he doesn't really remember what he saw. Perhaps he blocked it out of his mind, or was just focused on that instant our little Sofia Michael made her entrance into the world- During the operation I actually was looking up at the reflection in the lights to see if i could see what the dr was doing, but all i saw was a blur... not too much blood it seemed, I wonder how many layers the dr had to cut thru to get to little girl...

And at 13:28, (1:28pm), November 23rd, Monday, 2009. ~7lbs and 11 oz (3.49kg) and 50cm (19.7") tal, Little Sofia Michael Wong- you were born.

You actually weren't chunky like we had expected from the 4d scans, instead was long and lean, and your fingers and toes too, just as long. Reminded me of when I was born, mom (grandma tsang) said that my fingers were long people were making comments on how i would play piano well... well, sure enough, i'm sure our little girl, Sofia, you too, will be good at piano-- as soon as mommy can start teaching you! :)

Daddy recorded your first moments, your first cry, cutting the umbilical cord... it's such an amazing thing, i don't know how you managed to be squished inside, but you were... i wish actually i could go back in time already (i'm writing this actually late, 12/1 today), and i know that what's in store for us, our future together as a new family, will go by even faster. Everyday is such a blessing, we much cherish and be grateful... for our health, happiness and our loved ones.

Dr. Yau took some pictures of us as a family... our first photos. :) Mommy was crying of happiness, of course. I got to hold you for a bit and then Daddy went with you up to get cleaned up while mommy finished getting stitched up... i was so tired... unfortunately i had to wait awhile before headed back up to the 2nd floor, it seemed like a long time, but probably was only 10 minutes... either way my feet were getting antsy, like i wanted to move them but couldn't... But by the time I got back to our room, they were moving again slightly-- which was around 2:15pm. I asked to see you asap and by 2:30 i was able to feed you. Yay! What a good girl you were too, latching immediately... though I knew you would want to eat, since that really was on mommy's list... "likes to eat". ;)

The rest of the afternoon seemed like a blur... all i knew though was that i needed to feed you as much possible to get all the bilurubin out of your system so that you wouldn't have jaundice and need to have lights, since grandma tsang said that might damage your eyesight later on... my goal was for you to poop poop and poop some more... and that you did. Little girl, you are the eating and pooping champ!! :) it makes me happy to see you eat though, that i am doing something right, and helping you get stronger and healthier everyday. I mad you a promise a long time ago little girl-- back when you started your journey... I promise to take care of you always.

***

We were in the hospital from Sunday night until Friday afternoon... each day seemed to fly by, looking forward to what to eat (the ginger pumpkin soup is quite good, as is the veg spaghetti bolognese)... the veg food is actually not bad at the hospital! I couldn't type on blackberry the first few days either... my eyes were so tired i just tried to rest.

About every 3 hrs, the little girl would come visit for her feeding, and by Wednesday, we had you stay with us most of the day.

Daddy stayed with mommy and you in the hospital too, everyday and every night, which was really nice. Daddy has been so wonderful to mommy, and to you... he is such a wonderful husband and father. :)

The only bad thing about the hospital was that i used tap water to wash my hands, i hadn't showered properly (yes i smelled), nor had i washed my hair... because the chinese thing is to not wash with tap, due to possible arthritis later on in life. (Now, i didn't know this, until we came home, and my joints in my fingers (knuckles) started to ache and the pui yuet told me that it's because the water is not good. So now mommy has to bathe with ginger boiled water everyday.)

By Friday everything looked okay- the only thing was that we needed to bring you back to the hospital on Saturday to check your jaundice level again, because the 6th day is the highest typically... but aside from that, mommy looked good and so did you. So by 4:30pm, we left the hospital and were on the way home... well, close. We needed to stay at grandma/pa wong's house first because they're still doing the construction upstairs. I'm not sure how much/loud it still is, but hopefully they're done soon... Very exciting, but also not very, since it wasn't really "home" yet. when we finally are "home home", then i will be really excited i think, to finally start to settle down into our "home" and start our little family. Mommy Daddy and you, little Sofia Michael.

***

Looking back, it's okay that we had a c section vs. v-birth... things always work out in the end. I am concerned for your little brother(s) and sister(s), but i'm sure things will be okay. The scar is about 6" long, it's a sort-of-smile, a "bikini" cut as they call it, at least it's not a vertical one! And although there was bleeding, soreness and some pain, it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Dr. Yau gave me some strong pain killers, also administered thru the epidural which lasted 15 hrs before he took it out, which was nice, and then after that they gave me some suppository, which also was ok. Then by Thursday they just gave me oral pain killers but to be honest I don't think they worked. I got some to bring home as well, but yes, those didn't really work either and i didn't want to eat so many as i don't want them to affect the milk either. So mommy stopped taking them after 2 days.

Also, even though our plans didn't go accordingly, you realize that it doesn't matter. C section or not, as long as our little girl is safe and sound, healthy and happy-- this is the ultimate beauty of life... the cycle, the love... and when you look at their little angel face, nothing else matters.

***

12/1 .. .December already?!

It’s been amazing the past 8 days to see this little person grow and do new things… she’s learned to “fake cry” for attention and also today has learned to stick fingers into her mouth. I think she probably would’ve done it sooner had we not had her mittens on… but regardless, she is such an angel… we couldn’t be any more blessed…

I am actually already thinking about how she won't stay small forever and am a bit sad, but am looking forward to seeing this little girl grow and develop into a personality and character of her own... seeing just *how many* of those things on mommy's list come true. :)

and yes, she's a scorpio/sagittarius cusp. ;)

we love you so very very much little girl, and we are so unbelievably and words-cannot-describe- how happy we are.

love mommy and daddy.