You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October 2009.
Day 11, Calvin has slowed down his drinking a bit and we are back to 3oz to 3.5oz a feeding. We are still adding breastfeeding so that he keeps healthy with all the antibodies and such. He is still waking up once a night, which we still haven’t gotten used to. As long as he is full and has a clean set of pampers, he is happy but he can get cranky for no reason. I just let him claw my face cause for some strange reason, it makes him smile. lol
Methuse jumps on his diaper changes when I don’t get up as fast as I should. My mind is moving but not my body… and it hasn’t even been two weeks yet. This is not all the time of course. His face is changing everyday from what we have noticed. His nose seems to be getting bigger or maybe his face is getting smaller? He had some rashes today, not sure if it was from his clothes but we are watching it very closely. Here is Calvin and his sleepy mom.
Since I photograph for a living, it only makes sense that Calvin will grow up around the camera and lights. Today was the first day that I busted out the lights and he wasn’t liking it very much. Granted, it was 2am but he wakes up at that time, so I figured why not right now? I made sure to power the lights down to their lowest settings to keep his anger down. lol
Since he is a ninja in training, he was able to block out the lights with his hands. I can’t be more proud of him, he is showing excellent technique and it won’t be long before he has the light under control.
So we have been giving Calvin 20ml of Enfamil every 2 hours with breastmilk which was recommended by the nurses. However, since yesterday, he has been cranky once he was done and he still looked hungry. So to test how much he could take, I bumped it up to 60ml and he freaking killed it. I mean, he was literally devouring it in less than 4 minutes but we knew he was tapping out at 60ml as some of the Enfamil was coming back up. He had 4 servings at 60ml and I must say, I enjoy it since he goes longer between feedings. He can sleep longer, so that we can sleep longer. This is a great strategy especially if you can feed around midnight as there is a possibility that he won’t wake up in the early morning for a feeding. The zombie hours. He is still touching his face before he hits the R.E.M. sleep. I guess this one is the Vogue. lol
Once again, this morning was a mess as we had to get to Kaiser so that Methuse can remove the staples from her C-section. As soon as we woke up, grabbed Calvin and headed to the bathroom for his bath. Since I warmed it prior, it wasn’t such a big deal when we got him into the water as it was nice and warm. That is how he likes it so that is how I’ll do it. This guy already has me in check! Dayam!
Then it was a mad rush to pack the diaper bag, powder, water, bottles, bibs, etc and run off. We normally don’t run late to appointments, but today we were a good 20 mins late. Luckily, it wasn’t a big deal and it only took 15 mins to remove the staples. Then we headed off to Babies R Us to exchange duplicate items from the baby shower and buy some milk bottles and misc things that helped in breastfeeding and such. Then it was back home to eat and sleep. I mean that is our life for the time being.
Later in the evening, I got a call from my mom. She was missing Calvin so much, I told her to come over for dinner so she can watch him. Alice got home from her business trip and she was tired and hungry as well. So I decided to cook some Japanese Curry with pork, beef and chunks of potato. This will fill any hunger! I think because I have been sleep and food deprived, I was noticing that my heart was skipping beats or something to that effect. My breathing was off and I felt exhausted. I knew I needed to eat more. So I asked Methuse to make me some cupcakes which was a red velvet and butter pecan mix. Yum yum!
As we watched the Angels game, there was really one person who stole the show. Calvin, the little boy who turned one week old today, all eyes were on him the whole night. The little things, they bring such joy. It is so strange, the love people can have for someone they just met. I have been feeling it since last week and now everyone else is feeling it. My mom tells me that my grandma and aunt have been having a hard time sleeping cause all they think about is Calvin. I know how much that sucks because when I am more than 5 minutes away, I miss him so much.
Thanks to Methuse’s long time friend Sandy, I was able to learn a lot about keeping a baby from crying by following the five S’s. Sandy is an avid follower of Oprah and whatever Oprah recommends, well Sandy gets it. Last week, when in Santa Clarita, she lent me a cd and dvd by a Dr. Harvey Karp titled “The Happiest Baby on the Block”. Dr Karp was able to come up with the five S’s to help a baby in what he calls the “fourth trimester”, which is the baby’s first 3 months outside the womb. This is the transition state from mom to the real world. Off the top of my head, the 5 S’s are in no particular order, Swaddle, Shush, Suck, Swing, and Side. You do not have to apply all of the S’s at one time. The S’s basically try to mimic the elements that a baby has come to know inside the womb. It is an incredible piece of information for any new parent and even some advanced ones.
The swaddle is one of the main S’s that you should do properly. That is keep their arms to the side and wrap them so that their arms can’t get out but Calvin has this thing where he won’t sleep until he is resting his hand on his chin/cheek. It is so freaking cute and everything I go to grab the camera, he moves. However with persistence, I was able to get him just as he was falling sleep.
Last night, Calvin woke up at 2am and 4am to feed and it really messed us up. We are already trying to recover from the lack of sleep we have been having the last few days. Then we had to wake up early for a doctor’s appointment which we were late to because it was our first time rushing out of the house and trying to get Calvin’s stuff together.
At Kaiser, they drew his blood to test his Jondis levels and then we spoke with the Pediatrician to get an idea of how he was developing. Healthy as can be and the best new yet was he no longer need to wear the Billi blanket, which is an indiglo light that went on his back to lower the yellow levels. He was originally suppose to wear it for a week but after one day with it, Calvin defeated the yellow-ness. Although, I say being yellow is in the heart… lol
When we got back, we fed him the usual 15ml but he was drinking it so fast, we upped it to 20ml. Then it was nap time. As they say, “When baby sleeps, you sleep”. Although it is hard for me to sleep during the day cause I have a million things to do, I was so beat, I just knocked out. Thanks to my wife, now I have this photo to make me laugh whenever I am in a bad mood! Like father, like son!
This boy loves to sleep! I know newborns are suppose to sleep but I think he loves it more than the average baby. One of my favorite moments is skin on skin bonding. The amazing nurses at Kaiser Fontana recommended it and I must admit, it is so calming having your own child fall asleep on your chest. The beat of my heart, the expanding of my lungs, well it puts him at ease and that puts me at ease. We must have napped for 3 hours. I wish I could sleep like that everyday… sigh LOL
So after 4 days at Kaiser, it was still a possibility that we would have to stay another day. The main problem was Methuse was recovering from the pain and wasn’t ready to give up the assistance she was receiving from the nurses. On top of that, unlimited Vicodin FTW! LOL
There was still another issue, Jondis. This is a condition where babies excrete bile matter from the liver causing yellowing in the skin and eyes. They say almost all babies get some levels of it but Asians are higher than others. (For obvious and non-obvious reasons, lol). Just past 2pm, we got word that his 2nd blood test showed his Jondis falling from 15 to 11. One of the key ways to get the Jondis out is feeding your baby so that he/she can poop it out. So I guess that is what we will be doing for the next week. Feeding and feeding. When we got home, everyone wants to be apart of the “fun”.
For now, we are working the 15ml of Enfamil and following that up with breast milk. Have you ever seen the prices of Enfamil? WTF! They should call it $$$ Milk and the thing is, the babies love this stuff. It smells horrid but they eat it like it is Kool-Aid. So I will make it my new hustle to score Enfamil for my boy Calvin.
BTW, yes that is a scratch mark on his cheek. Newborn fingernails are like razors…! (Uncle Billy’s first time feeding)
I couldn’t freaking sleep last night! I laid there thinking and thinking about names upon names. I mean, what is in a name? A name is everything. It is what people remember you by and a name always finds a way to become who you are. It is strange but that is the way God made it, so I guess in other words, a name is a gift.
Even up to the week before, Methuse, Duy, Denny and Sandy just threw names at each other. We got inspiration from everywhere. Road signs, backward words, numbers, name mixing, movies, actors, etc. I wanted a unique name but I was very careful not to choose a “MMA name”. What is a MMA name? You know mixed martial arts right? Well when Duy and I started thinking about names that got out of control, we coined the phrase, “MMA name” meaning that a child must know how to defend themselves by the time they start school otherwise they would be bullied to no end. Of course examples of this would be Methuselah and Andrew mixed together… Anselah, Methdrew, Manselah, Andreselah, etc… with names like that, I guess only a sign that said “kick my ass” would be more appropriate for an ass beating. LOL
This morning, I woke up and decided that I wanted a name that is some what traditional but not common. After about 30 minutes, I spotted Calvin (which I have gone through a few times as well) and thought, “That could work”. I mean who doesn’t remember Calvin and Hobbes? Freaking love Calvin and Hobbes! but I thought about them after I realized it was perfect for my son. Once I got the green light from the wife, Alice, and Duy (who were also very picky) I knew it was the one. Grey is a name that Duy and I thought of on our way home from Santa Clarita. It would have been Calvin’s first name but we couldn’t get a middle name to match nicely with my very ORIENTAL last name. LOL
CALVIN GREY CHOI
For me, it works and I am happy with the end result. We feel that Calvin being a Libra, he will be very balanced, unbiased and neutral from his standpoint, which is why we felt Grey (which is the international spelling of the neutral color) was so fitting for him. We all know that I can be a loud ass MOFO, so let’s hope that he gets his characteristics from his mom with my drive to lead.
When it was all over, a fun and loving woman came in to get his paperwork filed, just a few minutes after we got his name. With the big monkey off my back, we sat down for our first candid family portrait.
Less than 18 hours later, I got a big problem. I can’t do anything but stare at my boy all day. I am still tripping over how God works his magic. Looking at your first born is probably one of the biggest trip that anyone can experience. To see parts of you, parts of her all in one package… truly is a work of art. This photo is how I remember the first few days of my son’s life. He totally looks Korean when he sleeps and the few times I was able to get a glimpse of his eyes, well he definitely looks like a mix blood.
So if you guys haven’t seen him yet, his eyes, eyebrows and forehead is totally me and his nose, mouth and hairline is Methuse’s. He has Methuse’s wrinkly soles but my long toes. He can make so many different faces and you know who he gets that from. I thought I would get a name to pop in my head once I saw my son’s face but yet I am still debating. Yesterday, I was thinking since he was a Libra, we could go with Leo but then Leo is a Leo… I know, it is confusing. So today all I did was stare at him and think of names… on top of the 2000 other names, words, numbers, word combination… I am still not any closer to his name. I will have to get a name before we are discharged tomorrow. This is not easy, this is not fun.
