Category: baby

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Surprise, Surprise #2

Well this weekend I’ve had quite a number of surprises.  Yvonne for Father’s Day has been doing a multi-part father’s day gift.  For part one of four, on Thursday Yvonne gave me a great shirt.  No, it’s not a Bucks shirt.  It was a “Proud Daddy” t-shirt.  And yes, I’m a proud daddy.

Part two was our “Date #2” on Friday.  Part four was a game day with some guys.  We wound up just playing Wii Fit and watching Eric and John make fools of themselves.  I just make a fool of myself in front of my wife, not other people.

What happened to part three, you ask?  Some of you might have noticed the title of this post.  It alludes to an earlier post by Sloof Lirpa on April 1 of this year.  The contents of that post talked about us having another kid.  Well it’s no longer April Fools and the next April Fools is a long way from now.  Yes, we are expecting child #2.

It is very early in the pregnancy right now.  Saturday afternoon, she gives me part three in an envelope with the pregnancy test.  This part wasn’t her original gift to me, but she changed it on the fly cause she’s slick like that.  Positive pregnancy test.  Our response was much different this time around.

Even though we’ve had such difficult problems with Caleb’s sleeping, we knew we never wanted just one kid.  It’s made us have second (and third and fourth and so on) thoughts about having another child, but it just never seemed right to give Caleb the sole pleasure of torturing us alone.  We weren’t explicitly trying to have another child, but we weren’t not trying to have a child like we were before when we got pregnant with Caleb.  We just knew we didn’t want to have them far apart in age.

So yes.  We’re happy to be expecting.  Of course we’d like a girl this time around, but it’s all in God’s hands.

Prayer Requests:

  1. Since Caleb is still not sleeping well, he has 9 months to get his sleep in gear.  PLEASE PRAY for this not just to happen in a few months, but to happen now.  The toll of not sleeping is not comprehensible to a lot of you, but lack of sleep does no good to anyone.  (Caleb did sleep extremely well yesterday.  Keep praying!)
  2. Pray for a healthy, sleepy baby. It is VERY EARLY in the pregnancy.  Yvonne is only 5 weeks along, so anything can happen at this point.  That’s why we covet your prayers.  Yvonne will be seeing the OB shortly, so we can’t confirm until then that the baby is good to go.
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Date #2

We went out on our second date since Caleb has been born…  Well, our 2nd date without the baby.  It was part of Chris’ Father’s Day celebration.  We went to Ruth Chris… compliments of a gift card given to us by a friend. 

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It was nice going out, but I felt completely out of place.  Me dressed up when I’m normally in sweats and a tank top nowadays.  I feel strange without a baby clinging to my legs or attached to my left hip. 

Caleb’s been sleeping so poorly for a while now, but even worse for this past  couple of weeks.  (We’ll blog more on this later).  Grandma was babysitting Caleb so that we could go on our date.  I warned her before we left that Caleb has been waking up multiple times in the night even at the very beginning…. and he cries hard.  Whatever you do, don’t turn on the lights or talk to him.  It’s an invitation to play.  And he gets much harder to put to sleep.  Haha.  As I was walking up the stairs after we got home from our date at 9:30PM, I saw Caleb’s bedroom lights on and I could hear chatting (grandpa had come over to eat dinner with grandma).  What?!!!  Lights, talking?!  What’s going on?  I walk into the room to find Caleb bouncing up and down on his air filter, with a couple toys strewn around the room.  Grandma and grandpa are chilling in his room like it’s their new living room.  Hee-hee.  Caleb cried hard, grandma couldn’t handle it.  On came the lights.  And naturally, the talking and playing came next.

Chris took a short video clip of Caleb playing.  He was soooo hyper.  The video clip really doesn’t do justice to how hyper he was. 

Chris commented, “I’ve never seen this boy so hyper before.”  And believe me, we’ve seen him very active.  As I was trying to calm him back down into a slumber, he was jumping from my arms, crawling/walking from one piece of furniture to another.  Finally, I got him to nurse (cuz he hit his head hard on the crib edge).  In my arms, he reminded me of this crack drug baby I once held in the hospital.  He was so jumpy & shaky.  Yes, this is our son when he doesn’t get enough sleep.  My goodness.  We were surprised that it only took us 30 or so minutes to get him back to sleep.  Good thing he was so tired.  God, You’re merciful.  Thank you for not making us stay up for hours with this boy.

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Food Allergies

Little Caleb has had multiple sudden reactions to food he’s eaten.  We finally figured out what he’s allergic to… MILK!  oh my.  I love milk.  I love ice cream.  I love yogurt.  Caleb can’t have any, for now at least.  His first reaction at the end of March was to Beechnut rice cereal.  We knew he wasn’t allergic to rice since he’s had it before from another brand.  But this rice cereal has “whey” in it… a milk product.  Then at the beginning of May, Caleb had banana yogurt.  He’s had teaspoons of yogurt in the past, but this time, he ate a whole cup of it. 

We still weren’t completely convinced.  Maybe it was some other ingredient?  We offered Caleb some cottage cheese with mango a couple weeks ago.  He got hives all over his face and neck.  Poor Caleb! 

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Chris tried this fish dish (the fish was poaches in milk, but that was it).  He turned red around his mouth.  This Monday, I fed him a small piece of whole-grain chip.  I noticed that familiar itchy redness start around his mouth too.  The chips were sour cream and chives.  No more milk products for you, baby boy.

 

So, Caleb had blood drawn 3 weeks ago for the pediatric allergist.  We got the results yesterday.  Caleb’s allergic to milk, casein, egg whites, peanuts, and oats.  Well, all of them are borderline allergies on his labwork, and may not be true allergies.  But, for now, the allergist says no milk or eggs until Caleb’s at least 2 (after he gets his blood tests repeated).  And no nuts at all including peanut butter until he’s at least 3 (if his blood test then is clear).  Caleb can have oats in moderation since he doesn’t seem to have had any reactions to his oatmeal. 

And, Caleb showed a slight increase in his IgE’s to cat dander.  Oh no!!!  It’s not very high.  But, the doctor warned that Caleb may develop a worse allergy to cats… or it just might disappear as he gets older.

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More Caleb Adventures

I forgot to mention that Caleb has discovered the fun water in our toilets.  If you’ve been to our place recently, we have to keep all the bathroom doors closed.  His bathroom has a toilet lock.  Otherwise, Caleb likes to lift up the toilet lid and throw his head and hands in the water to have some splashing fun.  No pictures of this.  Sorry.  When I see my son in the toilet, my first instinct is not to run and get the camera.

He also loves to unwind all our toilet paper.  He’s discovered that if he keeps turning the roll, the paper keeps falling down next to him.  This is pure joy for him.  No picture of this either. 

Our son has gotten quite a bit taller. He thinned out a lot.  But, he’s learned that he can reach even more things, not just by growing, but by standing on his tippy-toes.

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Last week, I left Caleb in our childproof bedroom to go use the bathroom.  When i came out 1-2 minutes later, our son was smiling/clapping at me from the top of our dresser.  Yes, from the top.  He had systematically pulled out the drawers and climbed up.  And, yes, our son was clapping and obviously proud of himself.  No picture of this either.  I wasn’t about to leave my son 4 feet up on a dresser to run downstairs to get our camera.

I’m sure there’s more.  I have to remember to blog this stuff when it happens.

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11 Months Old

Caleb turned 11 months old on Tuesday.  We can’t believe Caleb’s almost one year old!

Over a week ago (last Thursday), Caleb took his first steps.  Well, he’s taken 1 or 2 steps on his own before this… but on Thursday, he walked to me in 5-6 steps.  He tried walking again today outside.  He still prefers to hold onto somebody’s hand or another object.  He also favors clinging to mommy’s legs as she walks around trying to get stuff done, making her do what she now calls the Caleb shuffle.

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He’s been trying to feed himself more often.  Most of the time, he won’t eat unless he gets to try himself.  Yes, our son is determined.  And, yes, Caleb is messy.

Yummy hummus & a giant pretzel stick:

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Caleb’s spinach fun:

 

Also, our son has started throwing infant tantrums.  I knew that we could expect them in the toddler years… close to 2 years old or so.  Did you know there are a few babies who throw tantrums?  Ours is one of them.  It used to be where we would take something away and he would just scream or cry.  A few days ago, I closed his bedroom door since it was time for him to get ready for his nap.  Caleb wanted to go out to keep playing (as always).  He took one look at the door, one look at me, and then flung himself on the floor on his back and starting hitting the floor with his legs/feet and arms/hands while screaming and crying.  Quite a sight. 

Here’s a short video of Caleb with Ellie’s (our kitty) collar.  He pulled it off her neck.  Each time Chris tries to touch it, Caleb yanks it away from him out of fear that it might get taken away.  This is just Caleb’s infant way of saying, “mine!!!!”  Did I mention we have a strong-willed child?

Also, on occasion, Caleb makes it very known that he doesn’t want to be put in his car seat.  He arches his back, yells/screams/cries… grabs at the mirror, at the window, at mommy’s hair.  This almost always seems to draw a slew of onlookers since Caleb rarely does his protests quietly.  No, Mommy is not abusing this child.  And, yes, Mommy is strict and still makes her child get into the car seat. 

 

Besides the tantrums, Caleb’s learning to do lots of fun stuff too.

Caleb is still a little scared of the vacuum cleaner sound, but he loves to play with the vacuum.  I can’t wait until he can help me clean.  Yay! (I know, I know… please just let me dream!)

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Caleb likes to make himself comfy in his stroller. 

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Caleb loves to clap.  Here’s a 1-second video of it.  We have another better one that we’ll put up once we download it.

 

Caleb loves to sort things.  Give him measuring cups.  Give him regular plastic cups.  Give him things to put into cups.  Give him rings.  Give him blocks.  Sorting things is fun, fun, fun. 

He even likes to put things where they don’t quite fit or belong.  Caleb, that block doesn’t fit into daddy’s xbox!

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Caleb loves to go through cabinets, especially the ones we’ve chosen to not childlock.  He loves to pull things out of the cabinets/drawers.  And we always find unexpected gifts in cabinets too.  Mommy says to daddy, “Have you seen where Caleb’s green ring is?  He was just playing with it, but it’s missing now.  (10 minutes later) …Oh nevermind, I found it behind the extra diaper wipes, inside the closed cabinet that’s inside his closed bedroom closet.” 

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I’m sure there’s lots more Caleb is learning to do, but this post is getting long.  So, bye for now!

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The Bully

You can stereotype Chinese/Asian people all day and all night long.  You can talk about their slanted eyes.  And for the most part (at least the older generation) their short stature.  You can even talk about Chinese people being passive.

That’s fine and all.  But Caleb will have none of that passive side of him.  Oh no.  Yvonne went to a play date this afternoon with Caleb.  This son of ours, as many of you know, is quite active and is strong-willed.  So he’s playing on his ride-on toy.  Another kid 2 and a half years old decides he wants to ride on it.  Well Caleb does not approve of this action.  He crawls around to the back and starts screaming at this child and hitting him.  Not only does this other child not get off, he decides to give Caleb another toy for him to play with.  Well Caleb accepts this toy, only to use it as a weapon and starts hitting him with it.  The rest of the afternoon, he’s eyeing his toy making sure no kid gets on HIS toy.

So that’s the story I was told.

Another funny story:

A couple of weeks ago I was trying to feed Caleb his snack.  I was feeding him avocados which he loves.  But avocados by themselves tend to be pretty thick and require breast milk so Caleb can swallow it better.  Well this day at that time, we were out of pumped breast milk.  So I turn to Yvonne and tell her, "I need you to squeeze some milk in the bowl."

Now stop and imagine this for a little bit…  Imagine me and Yvonne sitting on the ground, Caleb right next to us, and a plastic bowl with avocado in it that’s way too thick.  Maybe just the moms and dads will know about this, but breast milk just doesn’t come out of the boob on command.  It takes the fine skill of a baby’s mouth or a breast pumping machine to get milk out (and the machine doesn’t work that well).  But this boy needs some milk in his avocado.

Although hesitant at first, Yvonne is convinced to do it.  She pulls out her breast and attempts to squeeze some milk in the bowl.  It takes a while to get going, but not too long, a drop of milk comes out.  And then another drop.  And then yet another drop.  She starts feeling the let down coming, and they are no longer drops, but streams of milk coming out of her boob.  She was spraying everywhere.  In the bowl.  On my hand.  I guess it’s hard to aim when you’re laughing so hard.  But we did it.

Caleb ate some avocados.

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Happy 10-Month Birthday!

Caleb turned 10 months today.  Caleb’s got the cruising thing down.  Give him a piece of furniture, a wall, a knee, a hand… and he’ll show you his cruising stuff.  He also tries to stand and walk on his own.  He doesn’t quite have the coordination down yet, but he’s trying.  He loves his little push toy walker. 

When he finally starts to walk well, we’re going to have to buy him his first pair of shoes.  He received some pass-me-downs from friends at church, but our son has big 5.5W feet and has outgrown all the shoes passed down to him already. 

It seems like he hasn’t stopped teething since the last 6 came in.  Animal-like gnawing and puddles of drool are commonplace, but Caleb still only has his 8 teeth.  No canines or molars yet.

 

This made me laugh.

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Sick Again

Poor Caleb has had his share of sickness & discomforts since being welcomed into this world.  His eczema started when he was only a few months old.  He has chronic nasal allergies (he’ll be seeing a pediatric allergist next month).  He caught croup when he was 5.5 months old.  He was sick for 3 weeks before going to Hawaii, finally needing to take antibiotics for a sinus & ear infection.  Then he caught a cold when he got back from Hawaii.  Then he had an unexpected allergic reaction to Beechnut rice cereal. 

A few days ago, he had a very unhappy tummy.  That was my first time seeing Caleb puke so much stuff at one time.  It looked like he threw up much more than he ate.  Poor thing.  Green avocado and stomach acid was dripping out of his nose and mouth.  It sprayed a 3-foot radius all over the carpet where he was sitting, hitting his dresser.  Then later in the afternoon, he puked blueberry oatmeal liquid all over the dining area tile.  This time I was more prepared.  I felt Caleb’s spasmic stomach while holding him and moved him quickly to the much more easy to clean tile.  He’s much better now.  Caleb’s just a little apprehensive of eating now, especially anything green.  Who can blame him?

Chris was sick too yesterday.  Really sick.  I haven’t seen him that miserable since before we were married when he got food poisoning from a smoothie he drank at work.  Hmm, stomach flu or food poisoning this time around?  I’m certainly hoping it was just food poisoning.  I’ve been feeling nauseous too, but I have such bad sympathy nausea that I think it’s just from seeing both of my cuties so sick.

Oh, I have a picture of Caleb’s second round of impressive puking.  But I figured there are many who would prefer not to see it.  so here’s a picture of caleb on one of his happier days.  yes, caleb loves to climb everything in his path, including me if i’m in his way.

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The End of Our Hawaii Trip

Yes, yes… I know… we really are behind in our blogging.  We still haven’t finished blogging about our Hawaii trip. 

Our Hawaii Alarm Clock
I forgot to blog about one story while we on the Big Island with Stan, Bel, & baby Noah.  It’s memorable.  While we were in Hawaii, Caleb was our 6:30AM alarm clock.  No matter how late we put him to bed, no matter how many times he would wake up at night, he ALWAYS woke up at 6:30.  On our last Big Island day, Caleb woke up at 7:30AM.  When we saw the clock, Chris & I cheerfully got out of bed and praised our boy for sleeping in.  The pool opens at 7:30AM, so we decided to go swimming.  On our way to the pool, I pointed out to Chris that it’s a gloomy/cloudy day since it was still a bit dark for 7:30.  We get to the pool.  It’s locked, but somebody’s inside cleaning.  He tells us to come back when the pool is open.  We tell him that the pool is supposed to open at 7:30.  He looks at us and says something like, “It’s 7:30 already?  Oh no!!  I’m running late.”  Then he looks at a pool clock and tells us that it’s only 6:45.  What?!!!  We still have no idea how our bedside clock got changed.  It was right when we put Caleb to bed.  Oh well. 

Our Flight Home
We were running really late to the airport, so Stan & Bel came to help us return our rental car and get checked in quickly.  Our flight was with ATA.  Stan knew one of the ATA worker guys.  He was one of Stan’s high school friends.  Stan tried pulling some strings to get us ahead in this long, long slow line (since we were already late).  He found out from his friend that our flight was canceled (though nobody else in the line knew that yet as the flight was only announced as being delayed).  We got pulled out of the line with our luggage.  His friend got us onto the next American Airlines flight back to LAX.  Yay!  Go Stan.  It’s nice to have our Hawaiian connection.  Only a few were given tickets onto this AA flight.  Most had to wait until the next departing ATA flight (I think that was in the middle of the night or the next day).  And out of the ones who received AA tickets, we were the only ones who had our luggage.  You know why?  Because the Wong family was running really late and hadn’t checked in to our original flight like everyone else already had. 

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Yes, Caleb and I got chosen to be personally security checked.  I guess we just look that dangerous. 

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Caleb slept for only 30 minutes on this plane ride home.  He really had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.  We tried to make him as comfy as we could, but it was one fussy plane ride home.

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Daddy even tried to help Caleb with his ear pressure by enticing him with a pacifier. 

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We got back from Hawaii on Friday, 3/14/08.  We needed that whole weekend to unpack and decompress from our vacation before Chris went back to work on Monday.  Here’s Caleb helping us unpack.

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Yesterday, I discovered that ATA filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 3rd and ended all of their passenger services to Hawaii.  Good thing this happened after our trip to Hawaii.  We probably couldn’t have afforded to pay for another set of airline tickets.