It's a Boy!!!

I probably should have waited for Michelle to post this, but this way I get to come in with a bang.


BANG! It's a BOY. I dub thee "scratch!"

Here is his cute little profile as seen through the miracle of modern science.



Life is full of precious moments. I'm not talking about those little collectables of a little boy and girl innocently kissing. I'm talking of the small moments in life when you appreciate the little changes and people in your life.

My wife is going to be a wonderful mom. How do I know? It's the little things.

Last night, when coming home a little later than normal, I found my wife sound asleep in bed. She was curled up hugging her body pillow as I kissed her cheek and hugged her. As I stood back up to leave the room , I realized that she was sleeping on her left side. I know, "...the mom is supposed to sleep on her left side," which is true. But Michelle doesn't sleep on her left side...ever. On her back or on her right side, but not on her left. I know because I sleep on her left and the only time she faces me is to kiss me good night or poke me because I'm snoring. In both cases she's awake.

So now she sleeps on her left side. Not because that what she does or it's more comfortable, but because she "supposed to," and the health of the baby is more important.

Of course this may not be news worthy or blog worthy, but it was a moment ...a moment when I looked at my wife and thought we can do this. It's a small thing to change, but many changes are small. Many, many small changes make big changes in life.

Baby Somersault

Okay, I definitely feel the baby moving now. It started out subtly that I couldn't quite tell. Then last night after dinner, the movement was much more pronounced. I felt like the baby was doing somersaults in my tummy. It's a very strange sensation.

Now I can feel every time the baby moves...Usually after I eat something. I feel bad that Paul can't experience this with me just quite yet.

Tomorrow is our Ultrasound appointment. Hopefully we can finally find out if we're having a boy or girl.

The Happiest Baby on the Block

On Tuesday, Paul and I went to a class that I signed up for called The Happiest Baby on the Block. The class is based on the book written by Dr. Harvey Karp. It was a pretty full class with about 10 couples there - 4 of them brought their new born along.

One of the babies was not a happy camper at the beginning of the class and you can see how stressed out his parents were. The instructor who is also a full-time douler offered to help them with the crying baby. She swaddled the baby and turned him on his side and held him on her forearm. Almost immediately the baby stopped crying. It was amazing to watch. She then told us that she actually just demonstrated 2 of the 5 steps she'll be introducing at the class. She held the baby for the rest of the class and he eventually fell asleep. She was also able to demonstrate step 3 (shushing) when he started to fuss again.

What I find interesting is the research that Dr. Harp did, he found that in other countries they either do not have or have very low rates of postpardum depression, colic babies and child abuse. I believe that in most other cultures, new moms tend to have more support from their families to help relief some of the stress. Also, in most other cultures, they do not have fancy baby carriers or beddings or equipments like we do in the U.S. In recent studies, swaddling has proven to help colic babies. Interestingly swaddling babies is a very common practice in other countries such as Asia, Africa and parts of Europe. It provides the baby with a sense of security and comfort that they are use to when they are still in the uterus.

We learned a LOT at the class. After her live demo, I am convinced that the steps really works and plan to follow the DVD which we'll be getting. I highly recommend the class to any new parents. The Happiest Baby on the Block book is available on www.amazon.com

~ Mina

Summer Solstice Parade 2007

On Saturday, we went to the Annual Summer Solstice Parade at Gaswork Park in Seattle. We went a few years ago in Fremont where the parade starts. So we decided to check it out this year at the end of the parade line in Gaswork Park. The parade itself was quite entertaining but I was a little disappointed by the food vendors - there was only 3.

Our friends were highly amused by the naked cyclists. To me, after awhile I forget they were naked since they were quite creative with their body paint and costumes. We thought this year's parade was quite fun. We were surprised by how many families were there with their children. Our friend commented about whether this was an appropriate event to bring kids to when nudity in movies are usually R rated. I don't see anything wrong with it...the cyclist were creative and artistic about their nudity. It didn't come off crude although there were a few who didn't really bother to do much. I don't know...sometimes I think we as a society can be really uptight about too many things that's trivial when there are worse things to worry about like global warming , war and poverty. Sometimes I wonder if our ideals and philosophy would change when we become parents.

Photos from the Solstice Parade

Is the baby kicking?

I've been asked that a LOT this past week. Sometimes I feel like I should say yes but the fact is I have no idea if I feel the baby moving. How do you tell the difference between the baby moving around or it's just your bowel movement? Should I be concern that I'm not feeling the baby? According to what I've read on the baby sites, it's actually quite normal. Some women can feel the baby move as early as 20 weeks and some much later. My cousin who recently had a beautiful baby boy said she didn't feel her baby move until close to 7 month.

Another thing I keep hearing from people is that the first year is going to be tough and that I'll be really busy with the baby. Reality probably hasn't set in yet but I keep wondering what in the world will I be busy with? All the baby does is eat, poop and sleep for the first few months. From what I've researched, baby sleeps like 80% of the time. Maybe I'll be busy with doing loads of laundry and cleaning?? Good thing we don't live in a big house.

Week 19

Went maternity shopping on Wednesday with my friend, Kerry. I didn’t realize how uncomfortable my clothes have been until I wore pants that actually fit me right! I love the pants and skirts we got...much more comfortable as my tummy gets bigger. They have this pillow tummy you put can put on to see how the clothes will fit as you get bigger. That totally freaked me out! It’s hard to believe I can get that huge. Yikes! This last week I’ve been feeling really stretched out and more pressure.

Just today I noticed that my tummy is sitting higher and my belly button is more shallow. hmmm...it’s weird to see how your body change day to day.