This was posted on a baby forum I check frequently. Very cute.
Newborn letter
Dear Mommy and Daddy,
Please keep this letter from me in a place where you can read it and re-read it when things are rough and you are feeling down.
1. Please don't expect too much from me as a newborn baby, or too much from yourselves as parents. Give us both six weeks as a birthday present, six weeks for me to grow, develop, mature, and become more stable and predictable - six weeks for you to rest and relax and allow your body to get back to normal.
2. Please feed me when I am hungry, I never knew hunger in your womb and clocks and time mean little to me.
3. Please hold, cuddle, kiss, touch, stroke, and croon to me. I was always held closely in your womb and have never been alone before.
4. Please forgive me if I cry a lot. I am not a tyrant who was sent to make your life miserable, the only way I can tell you I am not happy is with my cry, bear with me and in a short time, as I mature, I will spend less time crying and more time socializing.
5. Please take the time to find out who I am, how I differ from you and how much I can bring you. Watch me carefully and I'll tell things which sooth, console and please me.
6. Please remember that I am resilient and can withstand the many natural mistakes you'll make with me. As long as you make them with love, I cannot be harmed.
7. Please don't be disappointed when I am not the perfect baby you expected nor be disappointed with yourselves when you are not the perfect parents.
8. Please take care yourself; eat a balanced diet, rest, and exercise so that when we are together you have the patience and energy to take care of me. The cure for a fussy baby is more rest for Mom.
9. Please take care of your relationship with each other. What good is family bonding if there is no family left for me to bond with.
10. Keep the "big picture" in mind. I'll be like this for a very short time, though is seems like forever to you now. Although I may have turned your life upside down, please remind yourselves that things will be back to normal before long .
Enjoy me - I'll never be this little again!
Love, Baby
Monday, January 30, 2012
First Week
I'm slowly recovering day by day. Being a new mom is exhausting. I have good hours and bad hours. I get happy, then sad, then happy again. There's so much change happening all at once. I have to remember to take it day by day. The advice I get the most from moms is to sleep when the baby sleeps. It's hard to sleep during the day and I haven't been able to fall into deep sleep because I'm still uncomfortable with the idea that I won't hear Emily cry when she needs us. Hubby is amazing and has taken his role as daddy head on. My mom has been helping out a lot and I'm eating miyuk gook non stop.
Emily pretty much sleeps and eats all day long. She isn't too fussy but as a new parent, I can't help but break a sweat and go into panic mode when I don't know what is bothering her. She already had her first pediatrician visit and everything is great. She is in the 75% for height and 80% for weight. Since my milk didn't come in while at the hospital, she was very hungry and lost a pound which made her a little jaundiced. We supplemented with formula and now she is perfect.
Mirae and Minnie are very curious about Emily and cry when we are in our room with her. We are going to wait until Emily gets older to see how they react. I'm very hormonal so I tear up just thinking about how sad Mirae and Minnie might feel at times when they feel we aren't giving them attention (I tear up about EVERYTHING these days because I'm so hormonal). I'm sure they'll all get along great when Emily is older.
Emily pretty much sleeps and eats all day long. She isn't too fussy but as a new parent, I can't help but break a sweat and go into panic mode when I don't know what is bothering her. She already had her first pediatrician visit and everything is great. She is in the 75% for height and 80% for weight. Since my milk didn't come in while at the hospital, she was very hungry and lost a pound which made her a little jaundiced. We supplemented with formula and now she is perfect.
Mirae and Minnie are very curious about Emily and cry when we are in our room with her. We are going to wait until Emily gets older to see how they react. I'm very hormonal so I tear up just thinking about how sad Mirae and Minnie might feel at times when they feel we aren't giving them attention (I tear up about EVERYTHING these days because I'm so hormonal). I'm sure they'll all get along great when Emily is older.
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| My loves |
She's here! Emily's birth story
I can't believe she is finally here. I'm still in awe.
On the morning of my due date I woke up very anxious and nervous. The thought that I could go into labor at any moment consumed me all day. The day came and went and nothing happened. Hubby and I spent the entire day at home and all I could do was pace and clean. The following day was the same except I felt some minor BH contractions in the morning and I thought I was leaking fluid. They started to pick up at night so I started timing them and they were ten minutes apart. They were getting more intense and I couldn't sleep through them. At 2AM exactly I woke up hubby and told him I needed to go to the hospital. The contractions were five minutes apart, one minute in length and I was getting them consistently for an hour. This was it!! We packed things up, said goodbye to the girls (fur babies) and headed to the hospital to have our baby girl!
We got to the hospital around 3AM and they checked my progress in triage. I was still 1.5 cm dilated and 60% effaced but my contractions were pretty strong. It was hard getting through the pain. The nurse had me walk for an hour to speed up the progress so we paced the halls while I stopped every five minutes to grab the railings for dear life to get through the pain. After an hour the nurse checked me again but I hadn't dilated so she helped "stir the pot" during my next contraction and OH MY GOD it hurt so bad I almost blacked out and saw stars. Then more walking and more monitoring. At 7:30 AM there was a shift change and my new nurse checked my progress again and it was still the same so she gave me the bad news that I was being sent home. I was devasted. How could they send me home when I'm in this much pain telling me I wasn't in labor yet? She advised I go home, take Tylenol for the pain and do some walking. We got home around 8:30AM and I pretty much labored at home with the same painful contractions until the next morning. False alarm!!!
I had a doctors appointment the following morning at 11:00AM. I was up all night in pain and even though I wanted to go back to the hospital, I was too scared they were going to send me home again. Hubby and I went to my appointment and after the doctor did an exam, I was dilated to 3cm and obviously in labor so she sent me to the hospital to be admitted. She also gave me the option of writing me a prescription for Ambien if I wanted to sleep and labor at home for awhile before I went to the hospital but I wanted to go to the hospital right away to have this baby! YAY! Since we had the green light we decided to get some lunch, eat at home and say goodbye to our girls once again before we headed to the hospital again for the real deal.
I was admitted at 1:00PM and settled into my labor & delivery suite. By this point I felt relieved, excited and scared at the same time. I was really anxious about getting my IV started and had been throughout my entire pregnancy. I know the actual pain and pushing are what people think about but it's the little things that scare me such as the IV, catheter, episiotomy, etc. Well, I was right about my IV. I was poked six times total before they finaly got it.
The nurses checked my progress every hour and things were going smoothly. At 5PM I got my epidural before they started my pitocin. The doctor wanted to help me dilate since I wasn't dilating fast enough. The epidural was THE BEST. It didn't hurt at all and it made everything so much better but I was SO itchy all over. Then they broke my water around 6PM and discovered it had miconium in it. Baby had done a little pooping. By 8:30PM they had increased my pitocin but I wasn't progressing enough during my active labor phase. At 8:55PM my doctor said a c-section was necessary because I was still only 4cm dilated, 80% effaced, -1 station, baby's heart rate was dropping, there was miconium and she was slightly transversed. Hubby and I had already discussed the option of a c-section and we were both ok with it. I gave the OK and then it was like a scene from ER. Given the circumstances they had to move fast. All of a sudden there was a staff of ten that rushed in from out of nowhere. They rolled me in at 9PM and they literally had Emily out by 9:15PM. They moved so fast that Hubby didn't get in the room until after Emily was already on the table getting cleaned. It was a nerve wrecking experience but as soon as I heard her cry, I cried. The only sucky part was that I was sent straight to recovery afterwards and couldn't really hold/see Emily for three hours. Recovery was scary. My entire body was numb and I couldn't stop shivering.
The recovery from a c-section is rough. ROUGH. Breastfeeding is really difficult for me. I've lost all sense of time. It's just numbers to me now that dictate when Emily has to eat or be changed. An hour nap feels like I've slept for years after being up for two days straight. It's all very overwhelming and crazy but it's also amazing. I'm still in awe.
Emily Han
1/24/12
8lbs, 11oz 22in
On the morning of my due date I woke up very anxious and nervous. The thought that I could go into labor at any moment consumed me all day. The day came and went and nothing happened. Hubby and I spent the entire day at home and all I could do was pace and clean. The following day was the same except I felt some minor BH contractions in the morning and I thought I was leaking fluid. They started to pick up at night so I started timing them and they were ten minutes apart. They were getting more intense and I couldn't sleep through them. At 2AM exactly I woke up hubby and told him I needed to go to the hospital. The contractions were five minutes apart, one minute in length and I was getting them consistently for an hour. This was it!! We packed things up, said goodbye to the girls (fur babies) and headed to the hospital to have our baby girl!
We got to the hospital around 3AM and they checked my progress in triage. I was still 1.5 cm dilated and 60% effaced but my contractions were pretty strong. It was hard getting through the pain. The nurse had me walk for an hour to speed up the progress so we paced the halls while I stopped every five minutes to grab the railings for dear life to get through the pain. After an hour the nurse checked me again but I hadn't dilated so she helped "stir the pot" during my next contraction and OH MY GOD it hurt so bad I almost blacked out and saw stars. Then more walking and more monitoring. At 7:30 AM there was a shift change and my new nurse checked my progress again and it was still the same so she gave me the bad news that I was being sent home. I was devasted. How could they send me home when I'm in this much pain telling me I wasn't in labor yet? She advised I go home, take Tylenol for the pain and do some walking. We got home around 8:30AM and I pretty much labored at home with the same painful contractions until the next morning. False alarm!!!
I had a doctors appointment the following morning at 11:00AM. I was up all night in pain and even though I wanted to go back to the hospital, I was too scared they were going to send me home again. Hubby and I went to my appointment and after the doctor did an exam, I was dilated to 3cm and obviously in labor so she sent me to the hospital to be admitted. She also gave me the option of writing me a prescription for Ambien if I wanted to sleep and labor at home for awhile before I went to the hospital but I wanted to go to the hospital right away to have this baby! YAY! Since we had the green light we decided to get some lunch, eat at home and say goodbye to our girls once again before we headed to the hospital again for the real deal.
I was admitted at 1:00PM and settled into my labor & delivery suite. By this point I felt relieved, excited and scared at the same time. I was really anxious about getting my IV started and had been throughout my entire pregnancy. I know the actual pain and pushing are what people think about but it's the little things that scare me such as the IV, catheter, episiotomy, etc. Well, I was right about my IV. I was poked six times total before they finaly got it.
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| Crazy bruising! |
The recovery from a c-section is rough. ROUGH. Breastfeeding is really difficult for me. I've lost all sense of time. It's just numbers to me now that dictate when Emily has to eat or be changed. An hour nap feels like I've slept for years after being up for two days straight. It's all very overwhelming and crazy but it's also amazing. I'm still in awe.
Emily Han
1/24/12
8lbs, 11oz 22in
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Due Date!
It's my official due date! I woke up this morning at 8 with mild contractions and tried to sleep through it. At 9 I got out of bed and felt a trickle and water was running down my leg. It wasn't a big gush but I thought, "this is it!" I woke up hubby and jumped in the shower. I felt a few more contractions but not strong enough to get going to the hospital. Now I'm not sure if my water started to break because if I was leaking, I would've felt a gush within an hour or so. I'm timing my contractions but they're still too far apart and not strong enough to stop me in my tracks completely.
I'm getting more and more anxious and I hope today is the day because now I really have my hopes up!
I'm getting more and more anxious and I hope today is the day because now I really have my hopes up!
Friday, January 20, 2012
2 Days until Due Date
Will she come on time or take her time? I had my doctor appointment yesterday and I'm still 1-1.5 cm dilated and 60% effaced. I will be going back twice next week, once to check my fluid levels and monitor baby for 20 minutes and again for my weekly OB appointment. If she still doesn't come by end of next week, they will see me again on the 30th for any progress and then induce me at week 41.
I really thought Emily was coming early but now I've almost accepted the fact that I will be induced at week 41. Either way, I just want her to be healthy and happy. I've waited 10 months now so what's another week?
Until then...more walking!
I really thought Emily was coming early but now I've almost accepted the fact that I will be induced at week 41. Either way, I just want her to be healthy and happy. I've waited 10 months now so what's another week?
Until then...more walking!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
38 Weeks 6 Days
Update from my doctor appointment this morning: dilated 1.5-2 cms. Not much progress so I'm a little disappointed but I will look on the bright side and make the most of the free time I have lately. We'll finish Emily's room this weekend and maybe I'll decorate a bit? It is really nice to have free days with "take a walk" as the only thing on the agenda.
Now I wonder if Emily will wait until as long as she can. My doctor said I'll most likely be induced if I go 7-10 days past my due date. Still playing the waiting game.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Post Partum Care
My mom has been so concerned about my post partum care and that I recover properly according to Korean tradition. Since she works and can't be with me 24/7 for the first few months, she even offered to hire help for us which I declined. Hubby will be home with me and I want to care for our newborn together without hired help. My mom will be able to visit frequently but I guess she's still concerned since she can't be here full time.
It's very important in Korean tradition that the new mom keeps her body warm at all times after baby. My mom insists that my entire body must be covered and kept warm day and night and I must only drink warm or room temperature liquids. I have a problem with this since my body is always naturally warm and I hate being hot and love drinking cold water. I must also avoid touching cold water which is not a big deal but it takes so long for the water to warm up at home. Am I supposed to leave it running and wait to wash my hands? What a waste! I guess the consequences of not keeping warm post partum are a lifetime of aches and pains as I age. I will try to follow this tradition and mom's orders as best I can because it's true: mom is always right (most of the time).
Another tradition is eating a lot of seaweed soup. This I don't have a problem with because I love seaweed soup and don't mind eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm sure I'll get sick of it after four consecutive days of eating the same thing all day long but if it's good for me and the baby then I won't mind too much.
I think when our mothers had to care for us as newborns, our fathers weren't as hands on as modern day dads. Maybe it's a Korean male thing but I never hear about how helpful our dads were in caring for us and our moms post partum. I always hear about how my mom and aunts went off to their mothers for the first few months to recover and care for us as newborns. I assume that our dads were too busy working and making money because I'm sure there wasn't paternity leave back in their day. I hear that in Korea, there are post partum centers where new moms and their babies live for the first month or so to receive around the clock care without the help of their husbands. Paternity leave probably isn't as established in Korea as it is here. My mom is so worried that I'll be too overwhelmed trying to do everything on my own but Hubby is amazing and I know he will be very hands on with Emily. We live in a great age where dads are much more involved and paternity leave is a norm now.
Hubby and I took the girls out for a long walk again today and my contractions have intensified a little more. Ten days left until due date!
It's very important in Korean tradition that the new mom keeps her body warm at all times after baby. My mom insists that my entire body must be covered and kept warm day and night and I must only drink warm or room temperature liquids. I have a problem with this since my body is always naturally warm and I hate being hot and love drinking cold water. I must also avoid touching cold water which is not a big deal but it takes so long for the water to warm up at home. Am I supposed to leave it running and wait to wash my hands? What a waste! I guess the consequences of not keeping warm post partum are a lifetime of aches and pains as I age. I will try to follow this tradition and mom's orders as best I can because it's true: mom is always right (most of the time).
Another tradition is eating a lot of seaweed soup. This I don't have a problem with because I love seaweed soup and don't mind eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm sure I'll get sick of it after four consecutive days of eating the same thing all day long but if it's good for me and the baby then I won't mind too much.
I think when our mothers had to care for us as newborns, our fathers weren't as hands on as modern day dads. Maybe it's a Korean male thing but I never hear about how helpful our dads were in caring for us and our moms post partum. I always hear about how my mom and aunts went off to their mothers for the first few months to recover and care for us as newborns. I assume that our dads were too busy working and making money because I'm sure there wasn't paternity leave back in their day. I hear that in Korea, there are post partum centers where new moms and their babies live for the first month or so to receive around the clock care without the help of their husbands. Paternity leave probably isn't as established in Korea as it is here. My mom is so worried that I'll be too overwhelmed trying to do everything on my own but Hubby is amazing and I know he will be very hands on with Emily. We live in a great age where dads are much more involved and paternity leave is a norm now.
Hubby and I took the girls out for a long walk again today and my contractions have intensified a little more. Ten days left until due date!
Who will Emily look like?
I'm so curious about who Emily will look like. Personally, I think it's adorable when daughters look just like their daddy. I look like my mom's twin so I never heard that I resemble my dad. I hope Emily looks like Hubby! Maybe she will be a perfect combination of us both.
Maternity Leave
I've been on maternity leave for almost three weeks now. I must admit that it's been great to sleep in, stay in pjs until whenever I feel like changing and spending time with Hubby. I don't really crave anything specific anymore and eating sometimes feels like a chore because I feel so huge with every meal I consume.
I've been getting irregular BH contractions throughout the day and am trying to walk as much as possible to help things along. I really thought Emily was going to be impatient and make her entrance into the world early but I guess she is comfortable and wants to stay put.
I have my weekly doctor appointment on Friday and I hope I've made some progress. I am going to bed tonight hoping once again like a child excited for Christmas morning, except my Santa is the labor fairy with her labor dust!
I've been getting irregular BH contractions throughout the day and am trying to walk as much as possible to help things along. I really thought Emily was going to be impatient and make her entrance into the world early but I guess she is comfortable and wants to stay put.
I have my weekly doctor appointment on Friday and I hope I've made some progress. I am going to bed tonight hoping once again like a child excited for Christmas morning, except my Santa is the labor fairy with her labor dust!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Waiting...
Today we spent the day out with the Kongs and had wings for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, got a foot massage and then enjoyed some shaved snow (Jackie brought this wonderful dessert into our lives).
I'm cherishing the time with Hubby while it's still just us two.
I'm cherishing the time with Hubby while it's still just us two.
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| Mine's a virgin lemonade :) |
Monday, January 9, 2012
38 Weeks 2 Days
I was hoping the full moon would've done it's magic and I would've gone into labor but nope, I am still pregnant. I know I sound super impatient given my due date is still two weeks away but I am THAT uncomfortable. Also, I'm super scared for my next internal exam on Friday so I would much rather just go into labor and get it done!
Hubby and I went for a long walk today and it was tough. My belly tightened up and I had some contractions during the walk but I made it, huffing and puffing.
More walking tomorrow at the mall and buffalo wild wings for lunch. I'm totally craving hot wings!
I'm considering this time the "calm before the storm." C'mon Emily....we're waiting for you!!
Hubby and I went for a long walk today and it was tough. My belly tightened up and I had some contractions during the walk but I made it, huffing and puffing.
More walking tomorrow at the mall and buffalo wild wings for lunch. I'm totally craving hot wings!
I'm considering this time the "calm before the storm." C'mon Emily....we're waiting for you!!
Friday, January 6, 2012
37 Weeks 6 Days
I had my second internal exam today to see if I've progressed since the last check and HOLY COW, it hurt! On a scale of 1-10 it was a 7. I can't imagine what labor will feel like if an internal exam hurt this much. Probably a 100 on a 1-10 scale. The exam triggered some stronger contractions and the bloody show. My doctor continues to tell me it could be any day now.
Everyone has been telling me to walk alot and often if I want Emily to come out faster. Starting tomorrow, Hubby and I will be walking regularly to help speed up the progress.
When will she come? I'm so tired...
Everyone has been telling me to walk alot and often if I want Emily to come out faster. Starting tomorrow, Hubby and I will be walking regularly to help speed up the progress.
When will she come? I'm so tired...
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Full Term! 37 Weeks & Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!!!! Emily is now full term. At my doctor appointment on Friday I measured at 37 weeks and Emily is 6-7 pounds. My doctor will do another internal exam at my next appointment this Friday to check my cervix and how much I've dilated. She could come any day now!
Throughout my pregnancy there were many things to look forward to: my 30th birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. As I counted down the days to each occassion I kept thinking how slowly time was moving. Now that it's finally 2012, the only thing left is to await the arrival of Emily.
My due date is still 21 days away but with my frequent braxton hicks contractions and the feeling that Emily is going to literally drop out sometimes, I really think (and hope) she's going to come early. Ofcourse if she needs more time then she will stay in until she's ready but it's getting harder and harder on my body so maybe we can make a compromise? :)
I have this weird feeling she's going to come next weekend during the next full moon. I've heard that the labor & delivery units are always busy when there is a full moon because women start going into labor. We'll see!
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| Your baby's the size of a watermelon! Yay! Baby has reached full term. She likely measures around 18.9 to 20.9 inches and weighs about 6.2 to 9.2 pounds. She's gaining about 1/2 ounce each day. |
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your baby at 37 weeks
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My due date is still 21 days away but with my frequent braxton hicks contractions and the feeling that Emily is going to literally drop out sometimes, I really think (and hope) she's going to come early. Ofcourse if she needs more time then she will stay in until she's ready but it's getting harder and harder on my body so maybe we can make a compromise? :)
I have this weird feeling she's going to come next weekend during the next full moon. I've heard that the labor & delivery units are always busy when there is a full moon because women start going into labor. We'll see!
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