Big Brother Caleb turns 21 months old
Caleb is still adjusting to his new baby sister. He really is trying. He’s watching and learning…. maybe a bit too much. Caleb sees Mommy burping Caris. Caleb tries too… only Caleb can be a little rough with his burping technique. Caleb sees Mommy wiping Caris’ mouth after being nursed. Caleb goes up to Caris and tries to do this too. Oh dear. Caleb, your sister doesn’t want her whole face covered with the spit cloth. Caleb sees Mommy rocking the car seat back and forth to settle Caris. Caleb tries to… You can already picture it, right? So, yes… my helpful big boy scares this Mommy when he’s around baby Caris.
We bought Caleb a baby doll. Someone gave us the idea that, if we could teach Caleb to be gentle with the doll, then he could be gentle with Caris. Not so. Then, we thought… maybe Mommy could hand Caleb the doll when he gets jealous that Caris is nursing. So, instead of trying to pull Caris out of Mommy’s arms, Caleb could hold a “baby" of his own. That didn’t work either. Well, I guess Caris now has her first doll.
Caris, enjoy those rare moments when your brother leaves you alone.
This may be a tough transition time for Caleb, but he’s still going strong with learning & playing. He’s still our innovative boy.
(Caleb knows his colors and shapes… lots of them at least.)
(Caleb loves playing in the sand.)
(Yes, Caleb put those chairs together himself, climbed up, smiled at me, and said, “Oo, ooâ€â€¦ aka Choo-choo as in a choo-choo train.)
(Caleb got up onto the chair all by himself, pulled the laptop to the edge of the table, and figured out how to open it.)
And with age, Caleb has become even more of a risk-taker. He loves to jump off of things like the couch. He still likes to climb everything. And his falls seem to be getting bigger as he gets older.
Here are some pictures after he fell right after his Gymboree class this past Tuesday. Caleb’s first “fat lip.†He split his lip open and was bleeding everywhere. It looked far worse than what it really was.
But as always, our son recovers quickly.
Soon, we’ll be celebrating Caleb’s 2nd birthday. Can you believe it?
Platelets
My platelet count came back last week the same value as before. So, it’s still slightly on the low side, but not getting any lower. The doctors expected it to get much lower in the 3rd trimester, but it hasn’t… praise God! They’ve warned me that there’s always a chance that my platelet count will lower more right before delivery, so they’ll do a quick blood test in the hospital when I arrive. If any emergency arises during delivery (like an emergency C-section or postpartum hemorrhage), I’ll need a platelet transfusion. Chris & I are praying that no such emergency arises and that my platelet count will be within normal range, so that I won’t need platelets. But we’ve also begun to plan a little… we’ve set up a directed donor platelet account with the Red Cross. Essentially, friends/family can donate platelets, which would be held on reserve for me at Arcadia Methodist just in case I need them.
If you’re interested in donating platelets, all you have to do is call the American Red Cross Patient Services Dept at 1800-696-1757. You have to setup an appointment at one of their plateletpheresis centers (they’re all over LA and Orange County). Plateletpheresis is a much longer process than donating whole blood and usually takes anywhere from 1 to 2.5 hours. You can learn more about plateletpheresis at:
http://www.lifeshare.org/donating/plateletpheresis.htm
http://www.givelife2.org/donor/apheresis.asp
Here are some eligibility guidelines in the link below. You need to also have not taken any aspirin-containing products for at least 36 hours. They also recommend that you are either a regular blood donor already or you know that you’re not scared of needles since the process takes much longer than a normal blood donation.
http://www.redcross.org/en/eligibility
Some other stuff to know is:
- Platelet donors do NOT have to match the same blood type as me. They look at other factors within the blood to give me the best match, but there is no platelet donation that would be life-threatening for me (like with a whole blood donation).
- Platelets only last for 5 days. It takes 2 days to process the platelets, so they’re only good for 3 days in the hospital. Thus, if I haven’t gone into labor or I simply don’t need them, your platelets will be used for another patient at Arcadia Methodist (e.g., a chemotherapy patient or a trauma victim).
- Since we have no idea when Caris will make her way into the world, we’ll need multiple staggered donations throughout February. Her due date is 2/14/09, so she’s considered “term” from 1/24 until 2/28. We’re hoping to get donations starting at least on 2/1/09 (meaning that your platelets would be ready at the hospital from 2/3-2/5 – since they only last for 5 days).
If you have any questions, you can ask Chris since he’s donated platelets before! 🙂
Hiccupping Caris
So I’m back to having to see the OBGYN twice a week since I’m getting close to my due date. I get a non-stress test each time… so I get to hear Caris’ heartbeat on the monitor. She’s doing very well. Today, I was giggling uncontrollably because Caris discovered the monitor on my belly and decided to kick away at it. It looked like a scene from Aliens. She also then started to hiccup for at least 5 minutes. I’m going to bring our camera and video record the monitor sounds at my next appointment on Thursday.
Tonight, Chris was reading a book to Caleb and asked where’s the baby, expecting Caleb to point at the baby in the book. He pointed at my belly, walked over, and kissed it.
Our 30-Week Ultrasound Today
And the gender is…
…we don’t know. still. awh, the baby doesn’t want us to know. so, i guess we’re going with neutral colors for this baby.
we do get one more ultrasound. the baby was breech, so in the last month, they want to check again. if the baby stays breech, i’ll need a c-section. the baby has one more chance to show its genitals.
we have so many updates to do. i haven’t had time/energy to blog, but i’ll try to later.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. Baby #2 turns around so i don’t need a c-section
2. I’m now “high risk” since my AFP screening showed slightly elevated hCg hormone levels. The risks are poor growth of the baby and preterm labor.
3. I have carpal tunnel… and unfun numbness/tingling/pain of my arms. Hurts to use my arms and fingers. Wakes me up at night.
4. Caleb is sick again! Not sleeping the best, so mommy’s not sleeping her best.
Thanks for thinking of our growing family. Time for me to nap.
Hope Klutziness Isn’t an Inherited Trait!
Caleb has heaps of bumps and bruises. He’s discovered this amazing ability to be able to walk one direction while turning his head and looking another direction. Of course, this leads to trouble. He’s run into so many walls and tables. And he likes to try to walk really fast. His knees and shins look like mommy beats him.
So, last week, Chris tells me his head hurts. Why? He closes my trunk SUV door on his head. What?! How did you do that? I’ve never heard of anybody closing a trunk door on their head. I laughed at him. I’ve had this SUV for 7 years, and I’ve NEVER closed the trunk door on my head. Caleb must have gotten his klutziness from his daddy.
Today, we went to the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey circus in Anaheim. It was Chris’ and Caleb’s first time. Caleb had so much fun, but he didn’t nap long on the way to the circus. And, it lasted much longer than we expected. Caleb was ready for a long afternoon nap. So, we were hurrying at the end to get him home. We removed the stroller from the SUV trunk to make room for a quick diaper change. Chris goes to put Caleb in his car seat. I put the stroller back in the trunk and close the door. I had to lean in cuz the stroller was starting to fall out. Whack (really hard)! Whoa. That’s right. I hit myself. No, not just a little hit. I whacked my face hard. My vision went black for a couple of seconds, but not to worry… I didn’t pass out. I made it back to the passenger front seat. Tears were rolling down my face. It was like some uncontrolled reflex since I hit the bridge of my nose so hard. My forehead, nose, & eyes were throbbing. Chris tells me I’m bleeding across my nose and it’s getting swollen. Then, he says, “See, I’m not the only one who can hit my head.” It hurt my nose so bad to laugh. 6 hours later after lots of ice, it feels much better. Just a dull ache. The cut really isn’t bad at all. I wonder if I’ll get a bad bruise across my face. Poopers, we have a wedding next Sunday. And, we’re supposed to have Caleb’s 1 year old family pictures taken. Oh well. It’s pretty funny now. Watch out for those dangerous SUV trunk doors! I guess Caleb may get my klutziness too. Poor Caleb.
Baby Caleb Sleeps Thru the Night!!!
Yes, you read right. Caleb slept through the night last night. It’s a miracle.
It all started when he turned 1 on 6/27/08. We were at youth camp. He slept 9 hours straight, but woke up at 4 something in the morning. Despite the early morning wake up, we were ecstatic. Then the next 2-3 weeks, Caleb just teased us… sometimes waking multiple times in the night, sometimes having trouble even falling asleep, sometimes staying awake for long periods of time in the middle of the night… or sometimes only waking up once or doing long stretches of sleep. Then this past week, he started stretching out his sleep more consistently. 8 hours one night. 9 hours another night. 9.5 hours another night. But he would struggle with going back to sleep after these long stretches of sleep, keeping mommy up with him from 4 or 5 in the morning.
Caleb’s been occasionally resisting his morning nap… or taking shorter morning naps. He started consistently dropping a nap this past week, which may be why he’s sleeping longer at night. I think Caleb’s in the process of transitioning from 2 to 1 nap.
Anyhow, 2 nights ago, Caleb slept 10 hours straight, from 8PM to 6AM. we thought that was a miracle. Then 1 night ago, he woke up once at 11:50PM. He had a huge stinky poop. I changed him, put him down immediately, and back to sleep he went in less than a minute or two! He slept until 6am-ish. Then last night… the momentous night that calls for major partying… Caleb slept from 7:35PM to 6:40AM. 11 hours! He did wake up right before 5AM, but put himself back to sleep after 10 minutes of crying. This is utterly amazing. And now for the last 2 days, he’s back to taking his 2 naps again… 3 hours of naps per day, 11 hours at night…. it’s textbook. My goodness… we have a textbook angel baby.
For those of you who have not been on this sleep deprivation saga with us, you have no idea what joy it brings us to see our son sleeping. We know this may not be the end of all the sleepless nights for Caleb. But pray with us that it is! Meanwhile, we’re praising God for what He’s given us so far.
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.
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.
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.
Yes, Caleb and I got chosen to be personally security checked. I guess we just look that dangerous.
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.
Daddy even tried to help Caleb with his ear pressure by enticing him with a pacifier.
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.
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.