Off To Sacramento

Friday, 30 November 2007

After staying up until 4 am packing and cleaning and organizing things, we got to the airport with no problem at 11 am and had a good flight to Sacramento. Chase fussed a little mid-way through, but only because he hadn't napped in 6 or 7 hours, so he was just fighting it. I ignored the fasten seat belt sign and bounced him at the back of the plane, and he fell asleep. The people around us commented on how sweet he is and how he has such a soft cry. He did well on his first plane ride. It helped that Chris was next to me so I could spread out when we needed to change him and such. It will be a different story when we head back by ourselves.

My mom and Gary were waiting at the bottom of the escalators in the baggage claim with camera in hand and a little Santa hat to put on Chase's head. We got our luggage, put the car seat in Gary's truck, and headed to their house. We enjoyed a late dinner snack. Chase had a hard time sleeping tonight. His time is probably thrown off, plus it's a new place, and it's cold. He didn't really go to sleep until 3 am.

An Uneventful Birthday

Thursday, 29 November 2007

My friend's husband Lyon commented on how he remembers going to big birthday celebrations for me in years' past, yet this year seems to be a low-key one for me. And, that it is. And that's fine by me.

32 years ago, I was born into this world. It was a Saturday night, and my parents, devout UH football fans, were about to miss the UH vs. San Jose State football game because of me. I was born right before kickoff, at 6:46 pm.

This year has been such a whirlwind one that I no longer need huge birthday celebrations. The only huge party I look forward to having is for Chase.

Besides, I was too stressed out today finishing the final details of my reports for my ELL Program and preparing for our upcoming trip that I almost forgot it was my birthday.

The morning started off with a termite inspector doing a free evaluation of our house, and then after meeting Maila and Lyon and 1 year-old Sacha for dim sum, I headed straight to school to finish copying and assembling the folders for next week's audit. The secretary helped hold Chase while I got things together. I finished by 5 pm, then walked out the door, only to realize that I left Chase's favorite tuby toy in the office! Yikes! I cannot leave Hawai'i without that toy! The librarian let me in, only to make the alarm go off. So, we had to call the custodian to come and turn it off and reset the alarm.

Call it a comedy of errors.

I rushed off to get Chase bathed and ready for dinner. Chris came home from work and we met the Halsalls. Today is also Ron's birthday (my father-in-law), so we were in for a surprise dinner. We enjoyed an all-you-can-eat buffet at the Pacific Beach Hotel. Funny thing is, my friends Leinora and Ron, whom we had dined with the night before, were also there. The highlight of the night was watching the fish and sting rays in the huge aquarium in the middle of the restaurant. A scuba diver would swim around with the fish and rays. He would hold up "Happy Birthday" signs in front of your table (though Audrey, my mother-in-law, didn't know about that extra part, so we didn't have that for our table). Chase's vision isn't quite so global yet, so he was more interested in the plants and the people than the huge aquarium.

We went back to the Halsalls for dessert, the traditional blowing of the magic candles (you know, those ones that never go out!)on the cake, and then opening of presents.

We got home close to 11:30 pm, and although I was exhausted from the day's events, I still had to pack and clean out the fridge. I knew it would be a LONG night!

Thunderstorm

Wednesday, 28 November 2007

We got hit with thunder and lightning storms from about 3 am - 8 am this morning. At 2:30 am, I had gone outside to put up a tarp around our new water heater. It's a good thing we did that because it poured today! Rain came in the house from all sides. I thought there was going to be a tsunami or an earthquake or something! The clothes were flying around on the deck, and water was leaking in the house through a termite-eaten hole in one of the window sills. Chris and I ran around the house closing everything up and wiping everything down with towels. It was crazy! We laid down tarp and dry towels underneath the windows in case more rain comes. Guess there was a flash flood warning in effect today. Chris was late to work because of the chaos, and it's a good thing Chase was fast asleep through it all!

This afternoon, I led an inservice/professional development workshop for my teaching staff at school. Although one of my power points didn't work with all of the bells and whistles, the meeting went well. The teachers are now well informed about the ELL Program, Title III funds, and supplanting vs. supplementing in preparation for next week's audit.

Went to dinner at local favorite Kim Chee 2 with Leinora and Ron, and their sons Caid and Drew. They came for vacation from Seattle, taking advantage of the new Alaska airline route to Hawaii. The kids made smoothies with the Korean food in their cups, as the adults caught up about the virtual academy Leinora is now working for and their stay in Hawai'i. Thanks for all the Trader Joe goodies and gifts for Chase!

On My List of Things To Do

Tuesday, 27 November 2007

Chase is starting to experiment with speech these days. For a week now, he's been making different sounds by putting his lips together. It's cute. The only thing is that he often has milk in his mouth when he decides to make the sound and is about two inches away from my face so he ends up spraying and spitting all over. It's entertaining. As a result, Chase usually wears a bib these days. Now he completely lives up to his "Spit Up Baby" name in more ways than one! With all the spit up, drool from teething and sucking his thumb, and now spraying, Chase definitely needs a bib to keep him dry. Plus he loves to play with it and suck on it.

After my eye doctor annual checkup yesterday, the doctor looked at my eye again to examine the pengeculum (protein lump on my eyeballs that still have not gone away after two months). He said it's "quieted down enough" for me to try contacts again. They're sampling a looser contact on me so that the edge of the contact does not irritate the lump. Finally, after two months of wearing my glasses, I can put contacts in again! It feels good. I don't mind glasses. But I much prefer contacts. And get this...my prescription actually got better, which means my vision got better! Go figure! I didn't realize breastfeeding was good for the eyes too!

I'm busy working on my power point presentations and finishing up my reports for the audit today. I'll be leading the inservice at the staff meeting tomorrow afternoon. It will be nice to have these huge projects behind me and go on vacation. Yet, it's also a reminder that physically going back to work is right around the corner for me.

I think my plugged duct is gone, but the area is still really tender and feels bruised. I'm not sure if I should go to the doctor's or not, but I've been taking liquid soy lethicin (and it's pretty gross, not the taste, but the consistency...it's as if I'm swallowing a whole tablespoon of thick vegetable oil) to see if that helps keep the ducts away. I've also been nursing on that side like crazy around the clock, drinking plenty of water as usual, and doing warm compresses. I just don't want to get hit with mastistis when I'm on vacation.

The wild pigs are running in and out of the neighbor's yard through a crack in their fence, so our dog has been barking all the time (in broad daylight too...those pigs are ruthless!). Looking out the window, I also notice the invasive weed attacking our bougainvila and grapefruit trees. I really need to get out there and cut the spider web-like weed down, but I have no time. Dad always told me to watch out for that weed.

Get estimates for repairing the deck, windows, termite treatment, and yard work. Oh, there's just too many things on my list to do!

More on Plugged Ducts

Monday, 26 November 2007

So, although still tender, I think the plugged duct is going down thanks to my disciplined regimen of warm water soaking and massaging and nursing (also equivalent to little sleep).

Here's some information I found on plugged ducts from "The Pump Station" website (Don't you just love the name?). I love the nursing on all fours suggestion. I haven't done that one, but I am going to try the soy lethicin supplement.

Plugged Ducts

"A plugged or clogged duct usually feels like a hard, tender swelling in the breast which often feels painful while breastfeeding. The skin over the affected area may be red and the area around the plug may feel full even after a feeding. Sometimes a small whitish-yellow milk plug can be seen at the opening of a duct on the nipple. Plugged ducts occur when milk flow is restricted, leading to poor drainage of the breast. Contributing factors may include:

Missed or irregular feedings and/or an unusually long interval between feedings.
Pressing the breast to provide nostril space for the baby.
Wearing a tight or poorly fitting bra that impedes milk flow.
Having an overabundant milk supply and insufficient breast drainage.
Practicing vigorous upper arm exercise.
Extreme exhaustion.
Rapid weaning.

An untreated plugged duct can quickly lead to a painful bacterial infection in the breast called "mastitis". The suggestions below will hopefully help you avoid this. If there is no change in your breast in two days or you begin to notice signs and symptoms of infection, notify your physician. Antibiotics may be indicated.

Treatment suggestions for a plugged duct:

Nurse more frequently than usual, every 2 to 3 hours.
Do not miss any feedings.
Start each nursing on the affected breast. If using only one breast at a feeding, nurse on the side with the plug at each nursing and pump the other breast as frequently as you would have nursed on it.
Apply moist heat to the breast for 15 to 20 minutes prior to feeds, or take a hot shower or bath. Heat helps fight infection and may help resolve the plug more quickly. Massage the breast while in the shower or between compresses, pressing with your thumb from behind the plug toward the nipple. A warm compress can be easily made by pouring water into a paper diaper and heating it in the microwave for a few seconds. Be careful not to overheat the compress as it could burn you.
Try gentle continuous hand pressure behind the plug while nursing.
Try a vibrating massager over the lump to help dislodge it.
Use a hospital grade pump to facilitate breast drainage if the baby doesn't nurse well or if you cannot tolerate feedings. You can also pump after feeds for 5 to 10 minutes while applying continuous pressure behind the plug.
If a plug appears at the nipple, soak the breast and gently rub the plug to remove the thin layer of skin covering it. Follow with gentle hand pressure behind the plug to force it out.
Vary nursing positions. Use gravity to help move the plug by nursing on all fours with the baby on pillows below you. Have the baby's nose or chin pointed toward the plug.
Increase your fluid intake.
Increase your intake of Vitamin C rich foods and juices (citrus, cantaloupe, strawberries, dark greens).
Take Echinacea according to package directions to boost your immune system after checking with your doctor.
For repeated plugged ducts, some women find that lecithin is helpful in lessening the liability of a reoccurrence. Soy lecithin is a naturally occurring fatty acid. It is available in capsule or liquid form from health food stores and pharmacies. The dose is 1 tablespoon, 3 to 4 times/day; or 1 to 2 capsules (1,200 milligrams each), 3 to 4 times/day.
Watch for signs of possible mastitis.

When mastitis develops, the woman's symptoms worsen. The plugged area of the breast becomes hot and the redness increases. The mother usually feels very sick and has a fever with body aches, chills and a headache, very similar to the flu.

Treatment suggestions for mastitis:

Continue following the suggestions listed above for a plugged duct.

Call your physician immediately and take the prescribed antibiotic for the duration required by your doctor. You should start to feel better within 24 to 48 hours. If not, call your doctor. He/she may want to change your medication.

Most physicians agree that acetaminophen (Tylenol - 650-1000 mg) and ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin - 400 mg) are helpful for pain and reducing inflammation. Try alternating these medications every 3 hours; for example: take acetaminophen at 6-12-6-12 o'clock and ibuprofen at 3-9-3-9 o'clock. Always check with your doctor before starting any medications.
Because the breast is hard, hot and swollen, some babies struggle to latch on and become frustrated during feedings. If this happens, pumping is a necessity. A hospital grade, electric breast pump is suggested and may be more comfortable than breastfeeding. Other pumps might feel "jerky" and painful during this time.

Mastitis can occasionally lead to a breast abscess. This is a pocket of pus that forms within the infected area of the breast. Abscess formation is actually the body's defenses at work to localize an infection and keep it from spreading.

Let your physician know if the lump in your breast does not go away even if your other symptoms are improving."

All Plugged Up

Sunday, 25 November 2007

Yes, it may be too much information, but hey they're a part of my body, and a very important part of my body which helps nourish my baby, so they're precious cargo, and I have to take care of them. Little did I know that after years of growing up wishing these things would get bigger, now I find out that bigger isn't always better, and any size will do the trick. In fact, getting bigger these days isn't comfortable at all, but quite painful actually, and is a place I'd rather not be because it only means that I'm engorged, got plugged ducts, and need to find every manhandling tool to remedy the problem, otherwise I must live in pain.

So, for the past 24 hours I've been suffering with pain, not unbearable labor-like pain, but enough to make me massage myself while riding in the car, put hot packs to help loosen things up, alternating with cold packs to stop the swelling, and then just direct manhandling until there's no tomorrow. I've nursed, and I've pumped, and I've massaged simultaneously, but the lump and the pain are still there. I've even asked my husband to help, but it's too hard to describe where the pain is and how to remedy it, as the "Do you know how to milk a cow?" concept just doesn't do it. And, well, it's not romantic at all either.

After reading things online, and because I've heard horror stories about mastitis and antibiotics (and I just don't want to go there), I have now turned to remedies that I just never thought I'd be doing. Let's see if gravity works. I went from nursing Chase sitting up to nursing him lying down. Nope, still rock hard (and not in a good way, mind you). Okay, let's take a warm shower and massage. Yes, sounds all nice and relaxing, but nope, still rock hard (and let me remind you, that this is still not in a good way). Now, I've warmed up a bowl of hot water, and I'm standing in my kitchen at 1 o'clock in the morning, with my body thrown over the bowl, giving myself a warm soak. The massaging with the warm soak helps this time, as I can see sprays of milk coming out like little smokestacks. Never have I been so happy to see clear water turn cloudy! But, it still hurts, and the lump has only subsided a little bit. I could stand here for hours over the bowl of water, but my back is getting sore, and while one might find my position quite amusing, I just want to hurry the process up and go to bed.

Only now I can't...because it looks like I've just busted a hole in the cold pack (from squeezing it so hard between my arm and my body) and now there are not only wet icicles, but there is gel ooze all over my shirt and my body. Well, better get cleaned up, because I have to be up in another two hours to try my remedies all over again.

I just gotta laugh...You know, even though I know that this is the best thing for my baby, I dream about how nice it would be to be sound asleep like my husband and baby are in the wee hours of the morning.

Let the Sun Shine

Saturday, 24 November 2007

Although the day started off cloudy and rainy, we waited for the sun to shine, and by the end of the day, it did. Today, we spent all day at home waiting for, watching, and guiding the guys who installed our new solar water heater and panels on our house. Although I don't think they quite were prepared for "all the stairs" today, they brought that 80 gallon tank down without incident, climbed in the attic, stood on the side of the roof installing 2 foot by 8 foot panels, while looking over a steep hill, and they carried all the trash up in the end (although they almost tried to leave the old water tank down here..but I kindly reminded them that they should just go ahead and take it upstairs). They did a very thorough job, and Chris had fun helping and learning along with them (as some prep work was necessary to tear down the old shed that was too short for the new heater along with guiding the guys down the stairs with all of their equipment). I was glad they came on a weekend because I would have never been able to help them on a weekday with Chase. (Even today, I had to send Chris out to get diapers and wipes because we ran out, and Chase had two hefty explosions that needed tending to.) The guys definitely earned their money today. Plus, we'll save on our electric bill, and because our house is unobstructed, we'll always have plenty of hot water!

We got cleaned up, fed Chase, and left just in time to pick up Vince at the airport this evening. We grabbed some dinner at Zippy's, then dropped him off at home, and he gave us some omiyage (gifts from his trip): Burt's Bees lotions for me, a cute onesie and booties for Chase, and Trader Joe's trail mix for Chris. We were going to go to the big holiday craft fair at the Blaisdell tonight to visit the Halsalls, but it was too late, so we just had to call it a night.

Some Holiday Fun

Friday, 23 November 2007

Since everyone is out shopping on Black Friday, and Chris had to work today, I was left to my own devices at home with Chase. And, yes, one might say I'm procrastinating on my schoolwork projects I have to do, but at least I'm not out spending money I don't have. Many are waiting for the big football game to start this afternoon: UH vs. Boise State...Too bad my dad didn't stick around to see an exciting football season for Unversity of Hawai'i. They are competing for the WAC Championship. And to think, my dad just gave up his season tickets this year after over 25 years of having the same seats (in the orange section, about ten rows from the bottom, on the 50 yard line). He could no longer use the seats, being in a wheelchair, and none of us attended many games last year. So, he gave up his seats. This football season would have been the best year to have those awesome seats. As the crowd cheers in the valley below our house, I wonder Dad is watching. Uncle Gary says for sure he's looking down, watching the UH game tonight.

Cut and paste this funny link to find a little Christmas cheer from our family to yours.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9580209261

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, 22 November 2007

Today we give thanks for good health, family, and friends. It has been quite a year full of ups and downs. It was just a year ago that we were all together sharing Thanksgiving dinner on my dad's lanai. The Halsalls had met my dad for the first time. We laughed and smiled and enjoyed good food and the company of all the Mau brothers. Little did we know that that would be his last Thanksgiving with us. Although I wish my father were here to celebrate this year with us, we are thankful for all of the love and support which has helped our family and friends overcome illnesses and gain renewed strength to enter the new year. We are thankful for baby Chase and the joy that he brings us: a symbol of new beginnings. My brother and his girlfriend Shelly are in the process of moving out of our house and into their newly purchased home in Kailua, which closed a week ago. Meanwhile, I've been working on getting estimates to repair our house, working on school projects, and trying to find daycare for Chase in preparation for going back to work in January. We'll be visiting the Wong clan next week as we bring Chase on his first airplane ride to northern California. My mom recently announced her engagement to her longtime boyfriend Gary (three times a charm), who proposed on their trip to Italy. They are all eagerly awaiting Chase's arrival, the first great-grandchild and the first baby they have had in over a dozen years. Today, we will spend a quiet Thanksgiving at the Halsalls (after we go hunting and gathering for our packaged meal at the Hyatt Hotel - so easy, just drive right up to the sidewalk with the sign that says "Turkey To Go", they put the box of food in the trunk, and you just drive off!) being thankful for these things and more. Happy Thanksgiving to you and blessings to all!

Here are some pictures of Chase (I believe at 3 months of age) enjoying time with his Nana and "Popsicle" at their house.

Working

Tuesday, 20 November 2007

Today was a full day of working (even though I'm technically on leave and not getting paid...so how does that work? Geez, I must really miss work!). I attended an administrator's meeting with the librarian and principal of our school with other district folks to go over this year's academic and financial plan. This is the second year I've been helping out with this. It's extra money, but not really worth the extra time you have to put in. We looked at spreadsheets and benchmarks and data, rewriting three years' worth of goals for our school.

At noon, I rushed over to the Halsalls to feed Chase (the leaking and engorgement were signs that I needed to feed him or pump). They were having fun this morning, as Audrey took him for a walk up the hill, visiting the neighbors and then playing and laughing at home. She said I could leave him longer if I wanted, so I could rush back down the hill to school for another meeting with my resource teacher. We reviewed information for our upcoming audit and then prepared a power point and ideas for presenting an inservice to the staff next week. I thought I would only be an hour, but I was there until 3 pm. Once again, engorgement told me when it was time to go, and I was famished, having not had lunch in between my meetings.

I quickly picked up a sandwich at the mall and headed back to the Halsalls. We hung up playing with Chase, who sure was bubbly and funny today. He was in a very good mood, laughing and playing all afternoon. We waited for Chris to come up after work, fed Chase oatmeal (and Audrey discovered that if we make it thicker, he will gobble it up), gave him a bath, changed him into his pjs, and then all five of us headed out to Costco to do some grocery shopping and get dinner at the new Taco Del Mar that opened up today.

We just got home, and after bringing all the groceries and school bags down, we're exhausted! It's now 10:30 pm, and Chase and I left the house at 7:30 this morning! I'll probably have to do more school work and try to go into work tomorrow to get my audit reports done. I'm going to try feeding Chase more oatmeal during the day now that I know the right consistency to make it. He opens his mouth and enjoys feeding time, except he makes quite a face with the tart applesauce! Hopefully, we'll all sleep good tonight!

Rats

Saturday, 17 November 2007

After a refreshing 7 am yoga class this morning (and boy were we packed like sardines as lots of people were in town for Bikram's teacher training and were graduating today), I felt renewed and all stretched out. But, I was paranoid about the rat that I saw running around the house this morning. Once Chris woke up, I asked him to throw out the dog food that the little critter had eaten up. I was catching up on the phone with some Seattle friends, and then all of a sudden I hear a "AAAAHHHHH" and a crashing sound of Chris hitting the pavement. He was trying to move the air conditioner unit out of the window and fell off the shed. Now, scraped and bruised, we spent the afternoon fixing the air conditioner (so that we wouldn't have a gaping hole in the window to invite rodents and other lovely creatures into our bedroom!) and going to the hardware store, Wal Mart, and then enjoying a late lunch at the new "mainland-looking" (according to Chris) Safeway.

Going to Safeway was probably the highlight of the day! It may be more expensive than other grocery stores, but it is nice, friendly, and has a beautiful produce department, nut bar, bakery, deli, sushi bar, bank, Starbucks, seating area, plus more! Never thought I'd be so excited about a grocery store!

We picked up a humane rat trap from the Halsalls and got a movie from Blockbuster to enjoy at home. When I got the baby bathtub (which we leave to dry outside on the lanai each night), I noticed that a rat had chewed some of the foam out of it! GROSS! Chris disinfected it immediately, and now we keep the bathtub inside the house. Within half an hour of setting the trap, we caught our first rat outside!

Sunday, 18 November 2007

As Chris worked on hoisting the air conditioner (this time without incident) and fixing the shed in preparation for our new solar water heater to be installed next week, I spent all morning cleaning the lanai, following the trails of rat poop and getting rid of old carpets and junk we've had on the deck. I discovered that rats have been eating up the dog's snacks and dog food, even chewing up Jay's shoes and the particle board from an old shoe rack. Guess they've been feasting for quite some time. I followed the trail of poop to a barbeque. I picked up the bag of charcoal, and a rat came scurrying out! I screamed, and the only thing I could think of doing was running inside the house to vent and complain to my mother. Even though she's thousands of miles away, there's some security in knowing that I can call mom. She told me to get rid of everything out there, and most importantly, get rid of that dog and the dog food. I called Jay to see when he's taking the dog to their new house. But, he has to build a gate first, so hopefully he'll take her this week.

Chris moved a shelf, and out came scurrying another rat, which jumped off the lanai to the hill below...I screamed in disgust! That's the third rat I've seen so far around the house! Even more paranoid now, Chris and I cleaned up everything, put Jay's stuff on the side, and carried many bags of trash upstairs. I talked to Uncle Gary and Auntie Jane about it. He said that yeah, there are rats everywhere on our hill. They chew on his car tires. Once, he even had one coming up the pipes in the bathroom, so they had to plug it up with a screen. We should probably go buy some steel wool and plug up any holes in the house. I do NOT want rodents in our house!

We went to dinner with the Halsalls at Big City Diner tonight. Sarah, one of the servers who knows us as regulars there, treated us to a yummy brownie sundae. (Guess Chase didn't have to request that one tonight...She read our minds!). On the car ride back, Chase went from super fussy to smiling and laughing once we were back at the house. Then, when we left their house and got back to ours, he was super fussy again. He seems to have moved his fussy period of 7-8 pm to now 10:30 - 11:30 pm. He was inconsolable at that late hour again. He's been pretty consistent this week, but we haven't figured out why. We've noticed that he definitely wants mommy when he's fussy, as he calms down immediately when I hold him, versus daddy.

Still paranoid about those rats, I had Chris set the trap again....and lo and behold, we caught another rat near the barbeque. We need about ten more traps! Chris is all about the humane trap and releasing them elsewhere. Personally, I just want them gone! I could do without rats pitter-pattering and squealing in a cage outside my window all day long.

Diaper Dude

One of Chris' good friends, Jason, recently sent him this cartoon and edited it to fit Chris' new life as a daddy. Click on the image to enlarge it. Anyone who knows my husband knows that Chris is a mountain bike fanatic who has a messy room and consumes Gatorade, trail mix, and energy bars. This cartoon fits him to a tee.

Good With His Hands

Friday, 16 November 2007

We've noticed this week that Chase is getting really good with his hands. For the past few months, he has held his hands in the "death grip", clenching his fists closed, barely opening his fingers; and even if we tried to open them up, he would clench them right back into position. He would even grab onto my shirt with his knuckles, rather than his fingers.

Now, he's opening his fingers to grab things and he's so interested in moving things with his hands. He loves my SIGG water bottle and wants to hold it and move it around to see the blue/brown patterns and shapes on all sides. It's really interesting and fun to see him zero in on an object. Tonight, he even tried to hold his bottle (and yes, he even drank a little from it!).

We hung out with Miya and Taiga today. We went to The Contemporary Art Museum. Although they had an eerie exhibit on ghosts and shadows which kind of freaked us out (and Taiga kept saying, "Go, go"), we enjoyed walking around the beautifully landscaped gardens and terraced grounds. Miya and I took turns (as the boys fell asleep on the ride over) picking up something for lunch at the brand new Safeway in Kapahulu. Went back to her house to eat and hang out. Chase only took a little cat nap (barely even half an hour), as the moment he realized he was no longer in a moving car, but rather a stationary car seat, he just opened his big blue eyes and stared at me.

Once Taiga woke up from his nap, he tried to play with Chase. It's cute how intrigued he is with Chase. Perhaps it's because there is someone smaller than him that is not trying to chase him around (not yet anyway). He was investigating every part of his car seat and watched when I changed him, patting his head gently. The funniest thing was when I looked over and Taiga was making closed fists just like Chase. I just laughed and told Taiga that he has to teach Chase how to open his hands more. (Or pehaps he is just trying to teach Chase his "Incredible Hulk" move.")

Big, New Things

Wednesday, 14 November 2007

Chase woke up and ate at his usual times last night. He was a very happy boy after having been so upset yesterday. This morning, I took him to my OB checkup. He slept the entire time. The nurse said she saw our wedding picture in our high school alumni magazine. She said that she married a classmate of mine this summer. What a small world! Dr. Lin thought he looked big.

He may not be big, but we've realized what a handful we have on our hands when we look at Chase. Not even five months yet, he is so curious and aware of things around him. Each morning, my routine is to change him and then we walk out into the living room and say "Good Morning" to his grandpa. I show him Dad's ashes and tell him "There's your grandfather." And, then I put him in front of Dad's picture, and I tell him to say "Good Morning." He always gets real excited, starts kicking his arms and legs and smiles and laughs. I wonder if Dad's smiling back at him? Perhaps playing peek-a-boo or something, because whatever it is, Chase always gets excited when he sees his grandpa's picture.

Right now, it's close to 10:30 pm, and he's been fighting going to sleep all night. Perhaps he thinks he is supposed to be on the same schedule as last night. He just wants to play in his crib, pulling the loop on his blanket and cooing at the bears swirling around on the mobile above him. I tried to nurse him a little, but he was more interested in leaning over and looking at the Archie McPhee magazine on the couch. I let him look at it a little bit (my mistake), but that only got him excited, and he started flipping the pages with his hand. Then, he spit up. I told him Archie McPhee doesn't have very intellectual material.

Chase should be tired as we had a busy day. We ran a few errands today, picking up some Mother's Milk tea at the health food store, then stopping by school where they were having a workshop, and I was just in time for lunch. We met Miya and Taiga at Kahala Mall in the afternoon. We caught up on TV shows and gossip and watched Taiga run around the mall while we enjoyed Jamba Juice.

Our most exciting thing tonight was feeding him his first food, rice cereal. He got to sit in his new chair (Thanks, Thuy and Fernando!), and he did better than we thought he would. He liked the rice cereal (most likely because it has my breastmilk in it) as we spooned it into his mouth using Chris' old spoons and dishes. Though he was most interested in blowing bubbles and grabbing onto the bowl, whereby he got much of the cereal on his chin, bib, hands, and tray, I think he ate some of it. He wasn't opposed to it. So, that's a good thing.



We're going to start a new routine when Chris comes home from work. We'll feed him (Chase, not Chris) first, bathe him, then try to feed him a bottle. Maybe a bit overzealous, but it's time for a new routine.

And, with a baby, I'm learning that there are always big, new things to look forward to.

The Lion King

Tuesday, 13 November 2007

Last week, Chris called me from work and asked if I was free next Tuesday to go out to dinner with his friend Vince. I told him that I had an ALS Support Group meeting, and since I didn't make it last month, and couldn't go next month, I wanted to go to the November one. He asked, "Can you miss it this once?". I asked, "Well, why does Vince have to go to dinner on a Tuesday? Can't he go another day?" Then, Chris said, "Oh, okay, that's the only day they have Lion King tickets available, and I was going to get them for your birthday. Do you want to go?"

I just laughed. "You gave up that easily! I would've kept going with the lie!"

So, even though he's not good at surprises, my husband is still sweet and is treating me to the Broadway show Lion King, which has been playing here for a couple of months now and is ending soon.

He also made reservations at my favorite funky restaurant here in town, Shokudo.

So, we dropped off Chase at the Halsalls, along with a few of his favorite toys, the tuby toy and rocker and the sippy cups to try for feeding time. (I was a little bit relieved, as Chase was grouchy this afternoon and screamed inconsolably when I was doing some house business at an appraiser's today. Times like those make you appreciate babysitters and inlaws. This was our first date night in a long while!)

Dinner was great, and we timed it perfectly. We were done with dinner by 7 pm and I pumped on the way to the Blaisdell and in the parking garage. Got to our seats just in time for showtime at 8 pm. The show was amazing...beautiful costumes and choreography and music. Not a fan of musicals, Chris thought it was at least visually pleasing. I bought a cd of the original Broadway recording as a keepsake. What a nice early birthday present!

We called to check on Chase a couple of times, and to our despair, Chase was inconsolable most of the night. He refused to take the bottle or sippy cup and was just plain hungry, but fell asleep a couple of times (after "Popsicle" walked him up and down the stairs - but they only have about six stairs, so he had to go back and forth on those to bounce and calm Chase down) out of exhaustion from crying so much.

Got back to the Halsalls close to 11:30 pm and nursed him right away. Boy was he hungry! (Stubborn little thing!)

Entertaining Baby

Sunday, 11 November 2007

Went to 7 am yoga this morning, since I didn't make it yesterday. It was a great workout. If I can go at least on the weekend, I feel so much better. But, hopefully, I'll be able to go a couple times during the week too as my mother-in-law has offered to babysit while I workout. Besides not being as flexible as I used to be when I was a regular a year ago, I now get completely engorged about halfway through practice. Alexis (the owner of the yoga studio), who recently became a new mommy too, and I laugh about it. I was laying on my side, rather than on my back like everyone else, in between poses, and the teacher asked me what was wrong. I told her, "I'm engorged!" But not having children, she didn't know what that meant. So, I told her (and the entire class of 40 people) that I'm breastfeeding, and she said, "Oh, I see, a little tender." It was kind of funny because she got all confused after that and started talking about breasts.

Chris and I did laundry the rest of the day, while I entertained and changed the spit-up and poopy baby all day. Then Chris started cooking his chicken (with his special recipe of salad dressing in the "wonder grill", as we'd like to call it) for his coworker get-together. We got ourselves and Chase ready and headed off to his friend's house. His unit at work decided to have a potluck with an Italian theme. So, we enjoyed baked spaghetti, spaghetti squash salad, Italian chicken (Chris' contribution), other pastas, and cupcakes and jello for dessert (go figure, but there were a lot of kids there, so the confetti cupcakes and finger jello were a hit!). Chris' boss Sandy loved holding Chase (and held him and put him to sleep most of the night), and other coworkers held him too while we played Scene It after dinner. Surprisingly, Chris knew a lot of movie trivia and we won the game. Chase was passed out from all the excitement I think. We called it a night close to 11 pm and headed home.

Chase is sleeping better through the night these days. He tends to get real fussy between 7 - 8 pm, unless there are lots of people entertaining him, then sometimes he'll just play and wear himself out. He eats again at about 11:30 pm, and then he'll go to sleep in his crib (which he's still sleeping in the pack-n-play) until about 3:30 am, eat again, and then sleep until 7:30 or 8 am. What's even better is that when he wakes up in the morning, he doesn't cry anymore. He's so interested in his mobiles and bright colors, that he'll play in his crib for a long time until I hear him and come inside to change him and feed him. We'll play in the morning for a couple hours before he takes a nap, then he'll usually be up for most of the day, taking a couple of afternoon naps as well.

He is growing new hair, a dark patch on the front center part of his head. I was commenting on how it's growing forward, and Chris said, "Oh, just like my hair!" "Great," I said. "He's going to look like you even more with your hair style too?!"

He loves his toy from my coworker Lori. He holds it with his hands and sucks on the colorful tubes. He always goes to town with the sucking! And, he loves sitting and playing in the rocker that Marissa and Nate gave us. He wasn't too into it when he was younger, but now, he loves playing with the hanging toys and grabbing on to them. In fact, he must have wore himself out, because for the first time, he actually fell asleep in it just now (though he keeps startling himself when his body twitches and he accidentally hits the rattles.)

This past week, I had fun making him laugh and giggle. He's so alert and curious about everything around him. He wants to check everything out when we're in a new surrounding (which makes it hard when I'm nursing him because he often gets distracted and wants to look at everything. (And if I use my nursing cover, he loves the design and pattern so much that he just stares; and if I look at him, he just smiles and laughs.) It's so fun to watch him grow!

Babies, Babies, and More Babies

Friday, 9 November 2007

This morning, I went to Kelli's house for a Honolulu Mommies Aloha Friday get-together. I discovered Honolulu Mommies about a month ago, and Kelli encouraged me to join. I got Miya and Taiga to come along too. It was fun to meet other SAHMs (Stay-At-Home-Moms), about a dozen all together. The kiddos were running wild, the couches were taken by moms nursing the babies, and moms were chatting away. About half of the moms were new to the group. It was fun to meet others from around town, while sharing thoughts on wet nurses, not getting your period yet, solids, and teething. Most of the moms in this East Honolulu group are not originally from here, some are moving back to the mainland soon, but all are very lucky to be able to afford to be SAHMs in Hawaii (which a few I talked to said that they had careers before, but it was so difficult to find daycare for their babies, that it just made more sense to be a SAHM).

The youngest baby there was 3 weeks old (and he was born 6 weeks premature, not even due until around Thanksgiving!). The oldest child was about 5. I stayed about 4 hours, and Chase was really good, tried his hardest to stay up so he wouldn't miss any of the action, but then fell asleep in my carrier for about an hour, and then when he woke up, was just calm and quiet, looking around and taking everything in.

We went home for a little bit to rest up, and then left again, once Chris came home from work, to go to Miya and Junji's to celebrate Taiga's 2nd birthday. Junji's parents had a teppanyaki grill going and made some other yummy Japanese foods. We hung out with more babies and kids and enjoyed cake and opening gifts (which Taiga got lots of Cars-themed furniture and toys, as well as books from Aunty Tanya - go figure, the teacher giving the kid books! Ha!). We stayed until about 10 pm, after the kids were wearing themselves out playing and the adults were just ready to call it a night.

It was a fun-filled day! Happy Belated Birthday, Taiga!

Dinner Dates

Thursday, 8 November 2007

Tonight, Chase and I went to meet a couple of my teacher friends for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. Although we had difficulty getting his car seat to fit in the booth (so we just plopped it on the table), Michelle was just so excited to hold him and cannot wait to babysit him. (She's trying to encourage her husband to start a family!) We enjoyed catching up (and limited the shop talk) about Emily's recent engagement to her new beau and all about being a mom, communicating in a relationship, and the joys and sleepless nights of first-time motherhood.

Chris got to go home with his bike friends tonight and eat Mexican food (since we never go eat Mexican anymore after watching what goes into my breastmilk). By the time I got home, I called him to come home and help with Chase, who was screaming at that point. I still had to cut up all this fruit for a potluck in the morning, and, well, it was time for Daddy Duty.

Throwing Up Fun

Monday, 5 November 2007

Today, it rained cats and dogs, so Chase and I stayed in most of the morning. I did laundry and had fun playing with Chase. I was flying Chase around by my ankles, doing the see saw like my dad used to do with us when we were kids, up and down up and down about ten times...He was smiling and having fun...

Then, about 5 minutes later, he threw up on me and all over the couch. Nice. Guess I learned my lesson...Do not do the see saw with the baby after you have fed him. You would throw up too.

A carpenter came over (referred by the last guy who said he wouldn't do it) to check out the lanai and the house and give me advice and take measurements on what could be done to repair and add on to the house. I'll have to make some calls to find a structural engineer or architect to see if the house can handle a wrap-around deck and if we are even allowed to add on column supports, since our house is on conservation land. Brant was really nice and gave me some ideas on what can be done and what should be done as far as repairs go. Interestingly enough, he said our flooring of the deck looks actually pretty solid. It may not have to be replaced right away, even if it is thirty years old. The wood these days wouldn't be as strong anyway. The weathered and rotting railing, on the other hand, definitely needs to be replaced.

After a quick lunch, Chase and I headed out in the pouring rain to my eye doctor so that I could have him check my pengeculum in my eyes again. He told me to keep taking my eye drops he prescribed for me a month ago. I'm tired of wearing my glasses, but as long as I have these bumps on my eyeballs, I cannot wear my contacts. It's been over a month already, and they were supposed to go away in a week! Guess I better be more diligent about putting those drops in my eyes 6 times a day!

Chase was really good at the doctor's and the nurses admired him while we waited and held him during my exam. It's a good thing that the traffic moved at a snail's pace on the freeway (and that I fed him prior to getting on the freeway) because he fell asleep on the drive home.

It's been a really wet day. It was almost like hail as I drove on the freeway. Everyone went really slow because it was so hard to see through the rain. We managed to walk down the stairs right before it downpoured again and had my homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner.

I tried to show Chris Chase's latest trick to make him laugh and giggle (Everytime I touch his nose with my nose, I go "Got your nose!" and my hair touches his face and tickles him....he just smiles and laughs and giggles.), but Chase was only interested in babbling and cooing tonight. Thank goodness I didn't make him throw up again! But, Chris gave us some laughs tonight when he showed us an email cartoon that his friend Jason edited and sent "just for Daddy!".

Trudging in the Rain

Sunday, 4 November 2007

I managed to get to 7 am yoga again this morning, and the second day in a row always feels better! It was a great workout, well worth the trudging up the 85 stairs in the pouring cold rain (I actually had to wipe mud off my feet and mat when I got to class it was coming down so hard.).

The weather forecast is wet, wet, wet this week. We actually had a flash flood watch today. And, tonight, boy did it pour. This afternoon, we decided that the only safe place out of the rain was the indoor Kahala Mall. We hung out there a little bit today and enjoyed a yummy Cinnabon. Then, we went to the Halsalls before going to dinner at Big City Diner. It took awhile for us to get out of the restaurant after dinner because it was pouring down rain and everyone had forgoten their umbrellas in the car. Chris was the only one with a jacket, so he was sent to get the car, and one by one we filed in the car. I should have been wearing galoshes because my feet and slippers got soaked splashing in the puddles, or should I say, river flowing down the parking lot. Such an ugly night.

We spent the rest of the evening at their house watching the thunderstorm, with tons of lightning. Chase was wide awake, and so the grandparents played with him while I napped on the couch, all cuddled up in a blanket. We debated staying overnight there so we wouldn't have to trudge back down the stairs in the rain, but in the end we decided to come home.

Chase is not happy now, of course, as we're all cleaned up and trying to head to bed. The rain has finally subsided, but I'm sure it will downpour again in the middle of the night. Many neighborhoods lost their electricity, and there is a lot of mud and rivers flowing down the street. We haven't had this much rain in awhile. It's wet out there!

Ward

Saturday, 3 November 2007

Chase had great timing this morning by feeding around 6 am, which allowed me to burp him, swaddle him back in bed, and let Chris know that I was heading to yoga. It's been a long time since I went to 7 am yoga. It was a very full class, about 50 people, but I so needed the stretching and workout. Plus, it's going to be a really wet, cool weekend (our sign that winter is here), so it felt good to be in the warmth of the yoga studio (amidst the sweat, yes, kinda gross, but call me crazy I guess.).

When I got home, Chris had already put Chase in the swing. Guess he had woken up, but apparently was not hungry and fell back asleep. But I had to feed him as soon as I was done washing up (engorgement will do that to ya). Chris was a cleaning machine and washed a lot of clothes.

In the afternoon, we decided to get out of the hot house and headed to Ward Centre. After I fed Chase in the car, he was great the whole time, smiling away at everyone as Chris carried him in the Baby Bjorn. We ate a late snack at Kua'aina Burgers. He even fell asleep in the Baby Bjorn for awhile, and everyone commented on how cute he was (as it looked like he was sleeping standing up, as he faced forward in the carrier).

We got home around dinner time, and I was so exhausted from all the walking. It was nice to get out and about though, checking out all the new boutiques at Ward.

Judah Max Director - Born November 3rd, 8 lbs. 14 oz.

Picasa Web Albums - Rustin - Judah Max Dir...

Congratulations to my friends Robin and Rustin in Seattle who just welcomed their baby son Judah Max into the world on November 3rd!

Feeling Punchy

Friday, 2 November 2007

Went out to dinner to Auntie Pasto's with Chris' friend Vince. Turned out to be an okay dinner, not as great as it used to be, especially with Vince's watery coke (which was supposed to be iced tea) and the label he found in his entree. The ride to Bubbies, and the ice cream afterwards turned out to be the best part of the evening!

Chase started crying once we started driving off, and I nonchalantly asked Vince if he could reach into the glove compartment for the siren. He asked, "What? Where?!" And, I kept saying, "Quickly, the siren!" Finally I told him I was just kidding. That's our little joke about taking the siren out when Chase starts crying in the car (our little hint to others to keep traffic moving!).

Then, Chris said something about Vince's shirt, and I took the opportunity to jump in with the lamest joke ever since I was on a roll.

Me: "Hey Vince, is that felt?"
Vince: "Uh, no."
Me: "It is now!!"

Lame, I know. But, I guess I was feeling punchy, and Vince was just an easy target.

"Kawaii!"

Friday, 2 November 2007

This morning, Chase and I left the house before Chris even got out of bed! Off we went to Kahala School, where I had to facilitate a parent orientation meeting for my ELL (English Language Learners) Program. My power point presentation went well, and Chase slept quietly in the stroller during the entire presentation. He woke up just in time for the parents to ooh and ahh over him as he gave all the women smiles. I told them he's definitely a Ladies Man, and they all said "Kawaii!", which means "cute" in Japanese.

We hung out for a bit handling other school business before heading to Miya's to visit her and Taiga. Then, when I got hungry, we took off for home. Tonight, since my plans with my coworkers got canceled, we're heading off with Uncle Vince and his friend for dinner. The weather seems to have cleared up today, but just in case, I'm sure we'll spend most of our time indoors anyway.

Screaming in the Rain

Thursday, 1 November 2007

Can't believe it's November already! One of my friends sent her coworker over to check out our deck. Immediately after walking down about the first third of our 85 stairs, he said "I tell you right now, no way for me. Just bringing the lumber down would be a hassle!" But, he was kind enought to check out the deck anyway, gave me advice on what needs to be fixed and told me we should definitely get it done for Chase's safety. He gave me the name of a friend of his who likes "challenging" and "interesting" projects.

Then, Chase and I headed to Ala Moana Shopping Center for some window shopping and a late snack at Makai Market, then we met Chris at Sam's Club so that I could get some refreshments for tomorrow's meeting. We got back on the road at the worst time, commute time, with the rain pounding down like Seattle rain, making it too reminiscent of driving down I-5 in bumper to bumper traffic with no end in sight. I remembered why I like working half-time (I don't have to deal with traffic around town!). We were almost on the freeway, when Chris frantically called me, saying he left his garage door opener for his work garage in my car, and asked if I could turn around. "TURN AROUND?!" Do you know how long it's taken me to get this far?! And, do you realize Chase is already screaming!?

Well, I guess I had to turn around. So, I head back to where I came from, with Chase visibly and audibly upset. Either he's hungry or his teeth hurt. I gotta pull over! I get as close as I can to where Chris is, and I'm trying to call him back to tell him that I'm going to park and feed Chase so he'll need to come to me. But, he's not answering his phone. WHY is he NOT answering his phone?! Forget it! I park in an illegal spot on the side of the street, hop out of the front seat into the back and get Chase out to nurse him. I've already tried calling Chris about ten times, but I keep getting his voice mail. Oh well! He better find me!

Within minutes, he walks up to the car. He must have seen the car. I ask him why he hasn't been answering his phone, but he said he didn't hear it. Chase is just inconsolable for the next 15 minutes, and he doesn't want to eat. We figure he probably was trying to get his hands into his mouth to self-soothe, but couldn't with his arms strapped in the car seat, so that's probably why he was so upset. He's all red and sweaty from crying so much.

After he calms down, I put him back in his seat, Chris leaves, and we take off, heading back into the rain and sea of traffic again. I'm thinking in my head, it's not quite like the song "Singin' in the Rain", but more like, "Screaming in the rain....Just screaming in the rain..." And all of a sudden, Chase starts screaming again, all the way home. I don't know what it was this time, but by the time we all got down the stairs, we were exhausted.

We got home by 7 pm. "What's for dinner?" I asked. Both of us were tired and hungry and wet.

And with no energy to cook. Thank goodness for microwaves and pot pies.