Milestones W

Motor

3.5mo: turn back to front left side.

4.9mo: turn front to back few times (rare)

4-5?mo: put things in mouth

5.25mo: tripod Ppl

6 mo: turn front to back. Turn back to front on right side. Sit without tripod

6.5mo: sitting with hands up, but still topple sometimes. Gets on knees and scoots backwards or shifts back and forth.

6.75mo: stand with hands on couch

7mo: few steps forward while crawling. And few days later: crawling!

7.25mo: pulled up to stand! (Very wobbly at first)

7.75mo: rudimentary pincer grasp first time. Took few steps while holding onto fence.

8mo: cruise, turn the page with his hand, bang blocks together

8.25mo: crawling up stairs. Transfer one hand to other.

10mo: standing 10 seconds, first steps! (More like falling) 

10.5mo: few steps

10.75mo: stand and walk! 

13mo: put shapes in shape box

15mo: stack 2 blocks, running

15.5mo: open/close oatmeal lids, climb up chair

18mo: eat with spoon pretty well, drink from open cup. 

3y 1mo: holding pencil correctly

3y 4mo: draw person with head, hair, legs, arms.

Speech: 

2mo: coo

3mo: "conversation"

4mo: deep belly laugh, blowing raspberries

5mo: tons of conversation and babbling. "Dadadada"

7mo: not talking as much. 🤷

9mo: randomly mamma, dadda

1yo: mamma when want me to pick him up

18mo: about 20+ words

22mo: gaining words rapidly

Social:

Born: smile in sleep

1mo: track faces. Smile when awake. 

Between 5-7mo: recognize "Baobao"

6mo: look for us when gone

7.25mo: shake his head when he doesn't like a food

12mo: wave

15-16mo: ask for things he wants like "tu" "baobao"

22-26mo: bad temper, tantrums

Baby 6mo

 2/26/22 (6mo)

This is such a cute age! He is sleeping longer (9-9:30 to 7:30-8), his interacting more, he has little laughing fits, and he is so adorable! 

We are a little worried that he seems to get angry really easily, I'm hoping it's just because he's still a little. Instead of crying sometimes he just makes angry grunts. 

We try some more foods like zucchini, carrots, strawberry. At one point he did have some diarrhea one day, and we thought maybe it was from old yogurt but then he also had eaten a whole tub of recalled formula. 🤷

2/27/22

Petted his first chicken..not amused. 😅

3/4/22 

He started turning to his right! Which makes for difficult sleep time because he would get stuck on his stomach and be upset and not sleep. Prior when he did that only to the left, we would put him close to the left and he wouldn't be able to turn..but now we can't do that since he is turning both sides. First day we had to flip him over. But second day he learned it was ok to sleep on his stomach. And then I saw he learned to turn back onto his back! Hopefully sleeping won't be an issue! 

Since he sleeps after being awake for 2.5 hours, we sometimes run into the night time issue where last nap ended at 4p and next nap starting at 6p. Do we let him keep sleeping and then risk him waking super early or do we wake him for another awake time? Fortunately recently when we've been waking him up around 7:30 to 8:00 p.m., he will go back to sleep around 9-9:30 p.m. Lately we've been feeding him right after waking, when he's a little bit more subdued, otherwise he gets super excited and doesn't want to eat very much. We are still doing some dream feedings around 11:00 p.m., and sometimes even during the day when we see him stirring from his nap. He can rotate 360 on his tummy (like if there is a toy on his left, he can turn there).

We've been trying to give him food after an hour or two hours of milk. We noticed that if he had too much milk before, he might vomit.

His eyes and cheeks have gotten bigger so many people comment on how cute he is, even strangers. Right now he seems like a very happy baby, and he gets so excited in the mornings and after he wakes up. He smiles so much and likes to laugh and kick and jump. He is always breathing hard from his excitement. His cheeks are getting big and jiggly!

I'm happy that I reached 6 months of pumping, so I'm trying to reduce it. I've been slowly moving to pump sessions closer together. At one point I think I went too fast and started having some tenderness, but it resolved after a day after I took some measures: heat, massage, lecithin, probiotics, hot shower, a little more frequent pumping. Now, pumping twice a day isn't too time consuming, and I feel more like a normal person. It's nice that I don't have to worry about it during the day, and I don't have to schedule around it. My supply has continued to drop consistently, which is good for not having engorgement and clogged ducts. 

3/7/22

Started getting on his knees and scooting backwards. 😂

He also has had a major drop in bottle/formula/milk during the day. Int he morning it seems like he is too excited and will drink max 4oz. Hoping he makes up for it in solids, but I'm not too sure. Sometimes we would offer bottle all the time seeing he is making sucking motion with his mouth, and he would refuse 10 times before he will take down 7oz when he is half asleep. So strange that he eats so much better half asleep. Talked to coworker and she says sometimes babies are like that. And maybe see how things go, but may need to wean him off the bad habit. But since his weight has always been low, AB is hesitant to stop dream feeding. 

We were at Teahouse and the waiter came by multiple times to look at him. At a Persian restaurant the waitress said he was "so cute!" And several other people at grocery stores and restaurants made comments too. 

3/21/22

He put one hand forward while on his knees! 

This is really a great time! He is interactive, smiles a lot, laughs, and doesn't move around yet so I don't have to chase him. 😂 Such a cute age! 

Funny quotes: 

Yw: Baobao why are you always breathing so hard?

After tummy time and kicking and Baobao puts his head down to rest: Ab: Baobao got tired. 

Baby 5mo

2/4/22 4.25mo: 

We have been feeding about some solid foods. So far we have tried baby oatmeal cereal, avocado, eggs, blueberry (juice), yogurt. He seems to have tolerated them okay. But it's hard to tell because we have only given him little tiny bits.

He has not been drinking milk or formula very well. It often takes 30 minutes or longer, and sometimes he only takes 4 oz every 4 hours. We've tried singing abc's, counting in chinese, playing the bible, and sometimes it works, but now we are getting tired and just want him to eat.

The good news is, he's been sleeping pretty much through the night. We put him to sleep around 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. Then we would dream feed him at around 11:00 p.m., and he sleeps until 6:30 a.m. sometimes he might cry a little in the middle, but he can go back to sleep on his own. We are thankful he hasn't been turning on his stomach and been stuck lately.

He has also started smacking his lips. We pretend he i trying to give us kisses. 

2/5/22: 

We went to a wedding! We dropped off baobao at grandparents and went to B&M wedding. It was so refreshing not having Baobao round. But then he didn't eat very well that day (only 23oz and usually eats 33oz). I was very concerned, but I guess he survived. Always have to coax him to eat, sighs...

The wedding itself was a lot of fun! Far, but beautiful, well organized, good food and fun dancing. It was an interesting mix of people, and hard to social distance or wear a mask while eating. We shall see... 

2/9/22 

Reduced pumping to 3 times a day around 8a, 4-5p, 11-11:30p. (except work days when I do 4 times a day bc of timing to pump at lunch break). 

2/20/22 (4.75mo):

We are so fortunate Baobao has been sleeping through the night since we came back from Seattle.

One of my favorite times is after dream feeding him at 11p-12 at night when I get to hold him upright a bit cheek to cheek with his warm body snug against mine and he is soundly asleep (no wiggling!). So sweet! 

It's also very fun to watch baobao's cheeks jiggle while we stroll him around on the grass. He's gaining weight! About 15.5lb!

We started a nanny! We were fortunate to be able to do nanny share and she's from church, but she is only available for 3 months, so will have to find someone else. We were worried he wouldn't eat as well since we have to coax him to eat sometimes or dream feed him during the day (well, used to, but now sometimes he falls asleep feeding and continues feeding), but overall even though he does eat a little less, he's doing ok. Some days he eats a majority of his ounces (16 of 30) after 5p. 

Recently he doesn't talk as much as before. Maybe a phase. He also hasn't been as excited to eat solids. Hopefully it'll change. It's been helpful to have bibado bib that covers everything because it's so messy! We give him a spoon to chew on and Alan might also have a spoon to catch "rebounds"of puree. 

2/26/22

Made it to 6mo!

Baby 4 mo

1/1/22: Can't believe it's the new year! We also just turned from front to back with the help of the mat. Still working on doing it without the mat. 

1/2/22 Met up again with AB's brother, wife, and almost 8mo kid. Very cute to watch them look at each other and sometimes reach for each other. He loves his Peter Rabbit that he got from grandma. And mom and dad were very happy he hugged the rabbit when he slept. 

1/4/22 Right when he turned 4 months (12/26/21), he started having sleep regression for the next 10 days. We couldn't take it so we started sleep training. He would need a pacifier reinserted multiple times throughout the night. 

So far sleep training has gone well. We have been doing the Farber methods of progressively longer times to check on him: 2min, 5min, 10min, 15min, 30min.  The first night, we check on him during the 10min and he was already asleep. He was very sad at first, and it was very difficult to listen to it. During the next day for naps he progressively took longer. One of the naps required the 15 minute session. I wonder if he was just not as tired during then. We moved him into the bathroom, and I had to turn off the monitor sometime so I couldn't hear his crying cuz it was too sad. But both nights he slept pretty well; he only woke up for our plan feed at around midnight or 1am.

I went back to work twice a week. I only pump once at work now, which makes it much more doable at work.

1/6/22 He said "dada"!

We are trying to feed him 7oz 5 times a day. Sometimes he doesn't take much, but sometimes he takes 7-8oz. Previously it was 6oz 6 times a day (about 2-3 weeks ago). He didn't usually drink 6oz every time, sometimes he only 3 ounces. 

I also switched pumping to 4 times a day and got rid of the night pump. Such a relief! But this first night my supply sent down from around 26-27oz to 22oz.

1/8/22

We were going through the year in review, and when we started talking about GameStop, Baobao started laughing so hard! And then from then on, every time AB said GameStop, he wouldn't stop laughing 😂.

Grandma and mom don't want us to try to visit China because covid situation is too crazy there. They will quarantine a person with no notice. And they are worried if we get covid, then grandma won't be able to get her treatment. Mom did get visa to go back, so we will try to visit her in Seattle before she goes. 

We noticed when he gets antsy with eating and isn't done with his 7oz, if we play the bible for him to listen, he will calm down and finish his 7oz. Also sing ABC's or count in Chinese while having him do bicep curls.

Baobao has been very interested in his left foot. Often found holding it with his left hand. 😂

1/15/22-1/24

We went to visit grandparents in Seattle! We were nervous traveling with baby. Going to Seattle was a bit messy. He didn't sleep or eat well, and needed to be carried up and down the aisle. Turbulence made it difficult. He ended up eating enough by the end of the day and making up the sleep the next day. 

Things we learned: 

-Aisle seat is valuable to walk baby around

-Baby must be carried through the metal detector.

-The stroller and car seat can be gate checked. 

-Ok to bring breast milk or ice packs. Diaper bag, pump bag all additional bags and dont count as carry on. 

-It's easier to buy diapers and formula at the destination. 

It was our first times being without baby! We got to go to MOPOP (museum of pop culture), and also Chihuly Glass Museum! 

The trip was a mixture. While we got additional help for feeding, using, sleeping, making meals...he was not in his usual environment and his schedule was a little messed up and needed more help eating/sleeping. We tried to stock with earlier bedtime and my mom was able to feed him overnight. 

Week before turning 5mo: he had been turning onto his stomach at night, gets stuck, and cry for a long time in the middle of the night. Terrible 3 nights! Annoying turning him over, and then he would turn back again! Bad 😴!!

Funny quotes:

YW: I feel tired just watching him. (Regarding baby jumping in the jumper). 

Grandpa: Better get movin' (when we told him he likes to be in motion). 

Ab: Let's put him in the mattress! (Referring to the thick sleep sack).

Memories of 2021

*Austin hill country state parks: Colorado Bend, Longhorn Cave, Enchanted rock (raining the entire time).

*San Antonio Sea World and 5 missions bike ride

*Valley of Fire state park and Death Valley National Park

*Houston freeze while we were gone to park, and pipe burst + flooding of our home (drywall, ceiling, wood floor damage). Thankful JL and RW and KL shut off water while we were gone. Hole in ceiling for a while. We found a good handyman who could fix everything rather quickly. Only spoke Chinese! 

*Pregnancy, gradually telling people

*Getting covid vaccines, signing up family/friends (AB signed up 20+ people!)

*As people got the vaccine, doing outdoor backyard birthdays. E.g. mine + RC/gender reveal. 

*Book clubs: this year: Confronting Christianity: 12 difficult questions for the world's largest religion. 

*Going back to in-person outdoor church service (first time Feb 6). Then indoor church service in June.

*First time eating indoors: Bao Shi Yi soup dumplings 2/5/21. 

*Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde trip with church friends in May

*Travel to Iceland and Greece on one trip:

https://eeex101.blogspot.com/2021/06/iceland-geldingadalir-volcano.html?m=0

https://eeex101.blogspot.com/2021/08/greece-days-1-4.html?m=0

*Going back to meeting in person bible study and having people over for dinner. 

*Finishing Pandemic Legacy Season 1 - so surreal. 

*First time feeling baby kick. 

*Went to first wedding in a while in Seattle with Game of Thrones Theme (TL and TT)

*Brother getting knee surgery for 3rd knee dislocation

*Continuing YouTube workouts twice weekly on Zoom, and playing tennis when weather is nice.

*Our baby's delivery!

*Going to a live bball rockets game Dec!

Baby 3 month old

Baobao made it to 3 month old! He is so cute now! But he is still very small (7-8 percentile by weight). 

*Since his weight is still low, we decided to do exclusive pumping and bottle feeding. Maybe nurse once very few days for fun. Since then, he has increased his daily intake a lot! Some days taking 33oz! (I pump avg 27oz). He will take 5oz every 3-4 hours, sometimes more frequently. Sometimes for no reason, he stops early. Sometimes we have to shake his hand while eats to coax him to eat. Strange kid! 

*He loves to lie on his playmat and hit his hanging toys! He will do a little tummy time, but then get frustrated. 

*(3.5mo) He has started to have "conversations" with us. In reality, it's just us gently screaming at each other. At one point, maybe got him to laugh. It was so adorable!

*He has started to turn from his side to facing upwards. One time he was even able to flip from front to back. But I never got him to do it again.

*Sleep: now he's able to sleep 6 to 7 hours at night time. It has helped us get more sleep for sure. But sometimes he still wakes up around 1:00 or 2:00 and requires the pacifier. And occasionally when he gets too much sleep in the later evening or for no reason, he wakes up a lot.

*We got his passport! He is so cute.

*I went back to work part-time. There was some miscommunication about when I can use my continuing medical education time, so now I end up with a bunch at the end to use up in december. Fortunately they let me use it, so it's like I got 4 months maternity leave. In the meantime, it's been a hassle trying to pump at work. I'm only allotted a 20 minute slot, in the morning and one at afternoon, which actually ends up only being 10 minutes each because of overbooking. I decided to use flex time, which means I have to make it up later. On the days that I'm working, Alan has been using up his PTO for the year, and he has been very happy to be at home. 

*We are hoping to have a nanny from February to May part time. We will be doing nanny sharing.

*We found out that my grandmother has gastric and intestinal cancer. We're still waiting on the prognosis, but I'm really hoping that she can see Baobao in person. It will be really hard because I think visa to China is almost impossible, and it will require a 3-week quarantine.

*We've managed to play tennis a few times. We've been lucky that both times baby fell asleep in the stroller so we could play uninterrupted.

*We've been able to go to several events now: Thanksgiving with friends and family, and a holiday musical. All with the help of the freemie pump which I can keep in my pocket. It's not as comfortable or as efficient as the spectrum pump, but it's discreet enough.

3.5mo:

*Still small. 12.5lb (8th percentile) and 24" (10-15 percentile). Eats anywhere from 26 to 35 ounces (that was a record). 5oz once at 4am and then about 5oz about 5 times during the day (q3hrs). 

*He can now turn lying back to his side. And one time he rotated 180 degrees so whole body facing left and then faced right where his feet were. He also started putting his hands together in the middle. So cute! He will also laugh a few times. 🥰

*12/15/21 3.75mo: he consistently turns from back to front now! Earlier in the week I had turned around, and when I turned back he had done it. Now he does it so effortlessly. Even when he's sleeping he spends most of his time on his side, and sometimes does 360s in the bed.

*12/20/21 Baobao is blowing raspberries! How funny! 

*Seems like he is always hyperactive. Really hope he doesn't have ADHD in the future. Especially during eating he kicks soooooo much. And subsequently he also breathes really fast. Another new annoying thing he is doing is he sticks his tongue out all the time now. Even when eating. 

Funny quotes: 

Yw: Baobao is a night owl and a morning person. 

Random kid on playground: "I want to see the baby's face!"

AB's friend's daughter: "I want to hold the baby!"

Baby's 3rd Month

 *After baby's vaccines, he got really sleepy and didn't eat very well. Unfortunately he lost a bit of weight. Took him 2 days to recover. 

*We managed to play tennis for the first time since his birth! We played with 2 other friends and fortunately baby went to sleep so we were able to play for an hour! 

*Baby went to his first Diwali  party! And I wore my saree for the first time. 

*Sleep has been varying. A good day he could sleep 5+hours in one stretch. But a had day he might wake up every 2-3 hours. His wake up time seems to be around 6:37 a.m. We're trying this new thing where we have him wake up from his nap by 6:30 p.m. and then go to sleep by 8:00 to 8:30 p.m. It seems to help a little bit.

* We dressed up as Wizard of Oz characters for Halloween.  We were given a small lion costume.  YW and AB made Dorothy and Tin Man costumes.

*We walked to the polling station for Baobao's first experience voting.

*Baobao went to church and to a Christmas musical.  We were worried he would fuss, so we always look for aisle seats near the exit.  But he has always been comforted by the pacifier or bottle feeding.

*YW has been trying to pump at least 7 times per day, for 20 minutes each.  YW has reduced down to pumping once at night.  YW can't wait to reduce more pumping sessions, and is worried about returning to work (twice/week).  She produces 24-27 ounces per day, so has been enough for Baobao this past month.

*On Thanksgiving, we had calls with AB's family and YW's family.  On this day, Baobao started verbally responding to our voices (having "conversations").  He has also started to smile more when we smile at him.  

*He enjoys looking at ceiling lights, but he has not learned that the sun is different.  If you stare at the sun, you will hurt your eyes. 

Funny quotes: 

*Yw: it's funny how he goes from very happy to very sad to very happy very quickly.

*(regarding baby): He laughed so much in his sleep he woke himself up! 

Baby's 2nd Month

 5 weeks:

Around 9-11pm I would breastfeed and then AB help supplement another 2-4 ounces with bottle. It has helped sleep well and wake up once overnight around 3am. And then after bottle feeding 4oz, he can sleep till the morning (6-9am). 

The challenge lately is knowing when to burp. He will not stop eating on his own. Occasionally he has vomited 0.5-1 ounce when we fed him too fast or too much or without burping enough. Sometimes when we try to burp him, he would be crying so hard for more food. But we know we have to burp him and not give up otherwise he may have a big spit up/vomit. 

Positives: gaining a bit of weight, alert during the day, good eye contact and tracking. A tiny bit of cooing (making noises other than crying).

Recently I had a day when I was my myself (my mom went back home and AB was at work before starting paternity leave), and it was rough! I felt like I was constantly multitasking and doing things. At one point I was trying to pump while bottle feeding baby and eating delayed breakfast at 11am. It definitely helps to have another person help! Even mundane tasks like turning on the fan was difficult while breastfeeding or pumping. Definitely helpful to have a cordless pump (thankful for friend who let me borrow hers). 

Now at the middle of the night pump I can get 4-4.5oz! Before I was only able to get 2-3, so a big improvement! But during the day, still ranges from 0.75 to 3oz, so still has ways to improve. And varies depending on how recently baby bf. 

Funny moments:

*YW: while baby breastfeeds and doesn't make eye contact with me: "typical male, he doesn't look at my eyes and only looks at my boobs."

*Alan: "look, I'm breastfeeding"

*Alan: "have you seen him with his shirt off? He's definitely gained weight! (Pointing out his man-boobs). He's definitely got a double chin!"

*Alan: calls baby "Mr. Bao Bao" because he looks like an old man when he scrunches his eyebrows.

6 weeks: 

*Smiled while awake for the first time! 

*Did a weighted feed and found he took less than 1 ounce after 40 minutes :(  So he isn't breastfeeding well. That's probably why even after breastfeeding for an hour he would still take 4 ounces! 

6.5 weeks:

*Now I pump less at night - maybe I'm not pumping enough? 

*Also when we weight him, sometimes he takes 1 ounce, sometimes he doesn't take any. We had a lactation person come visit us in house to give some advice. Sometimes he does latch, but then quickly reverts to a shallow latch where his lower lip is at the base of my nipple instead of covering the areola. And his lip is always turned in. When the LC was here, we also pushed on his head a lot to try to keep him latched on, and he got soooooo frustrated. The next day, it appears he won't even try breastfeeding anymore - not even a little bit for comfort. He would just cry, cry, cry until we give him a bottle. I suppose he's too used to the bottle now. Maybe it's too late. Seems like a catch 22 because if we don't give him his bottle, he won't gain weight, and if we do, he won't breastfeed. I suppose I just have to be okay with pumping and giving bottle. We have to give him bottle because he's only 7th percentile by weight! I wish had watched these latching videos earlier. But then again, maybe it wouldn't have helped because my nipple size is too big compared to his small mouth. 

7 weeks:

*I think my milk supply is finally increasing a bit. Or maybe the flow is slightly increasing. I even saw a squirt one time (previously just drops). We did a weighted feed and baby took in 1-2oz now. So it's possible that it's not the latch at all because his latch is still the same. We shall see. I was worried my supply was decreasing a few days because I was only pumping 6 times a day, so I'm trying to increase frequency and also do some power pumping along with messaging and expressing. But I've come to terms with pumping and bottle feeding. Prayers that all will be well. 

*Baby is definitely more alert during the day. Surprised he is actually staying awake during some breastfeeding sessions. Perhaps he's actually getting milk? However, recently he's been fussy every day at 8pm. 

*He's been pooping every 5-6 days. Initially kind of disconcerting, but now we are used to it. So many wet diapers though, so we think he's getting plenty - at least 24oz/day. 

*After my mom left, we finally gave him a bath...2.5 weeks later O_o

8 weeks:

*He was started to have a social smile and do some back and forth cooing. So cute! He also laughed in his sleep. I was so surprised by the sound when I first heard it!

*He is resisting going to sleep at night. He will stare off in the distance, but cry when we put him in the crib. We got a fancy mamaroo crib, but he doesn't seem to like it that much. Sometimes we can fool him into falling asleep in it by swinging him and imitating the mamaroo motion. 

*I've determined my supply is low and his tolerance for waiting for next letdown is low, so he often falls asleep at the breast or gets frustrated with lack of milk. We are still supplementing with bottle after breastfeeding to help him gain weight. Now almost 10 percentile. I'm coming to appreciate bottle feeding and it's convenience, and ability to see exactly how much he takes. Our goal is 24oz/day. Also he is still pooping every 5-6 days! 

*Now AB went back to work, so I'm at home alone with baby. It's been tough but manageable. I've had to really learn to multitask like pump while bottle feeding baby in the bouncer while myself eating using my left hand. Church friends have been so nice to start a meal train for us! It's also been hard having to pump and bottle feed in the middle of the night bc AB has to work now. He still tries to help at night...so sweet. It's also been hard to fall back asleep after getting up at night. 

*I've been trying out different pumps including spectra s1, s2, freemie. It's nice with s1 I can move around, although the S2 power seems better. Freemie is nice bc it can fit in my pocket, but still a lot of tubing and not as effective. Trying out larger 28mm flange. I tried pumping 15-20min, but I think to empty to have to pump 40min! Also when I decreased to 6 pumps a day, I think my supply went down. Also trying oatmeal, mother's milk tea. 

2 months:

*I was worried about being home by myself, but it's been okay. Taking it day by day. And Alan has a full week off for paternity leave next week, so looking forward to that. AB had been worried about getting sleep when he has to work the next day, but it's been ok. There have been some frustrating days, when he will wake up after 2 hours. But since we go to bed early, and I finish some of the night feeds, AB has been able to sleep a bit more.

*My milk supply has been increasing little by little and my breastfeeding has been improving slowly. Now I have enough milk for a full days supply!

*We finally made it to vaccine day! He got his 2 months vaccines, but afterwards he had been very sleepy and didn't want to eat very much. He even lost a little bit of weight! Fortunately, the third day he recovered. 

*We went to our small group costume party at someone else's house, which was our first outing seeing so many people indoors. I also took him by myself to the park (MOLO) one time. I was a little nervous taking him somewhere by myself, but we made it okay. Although we were very late because he wanted to eat right before we were about to leave and I realized I forgot to change his diaper after I put him in the car. 

Baby's first month

2wk:

So when things looked like they were improving...

1) Baby started eating very frequently again, seems like endless breastfeeding because he would feed, semi-fall asleep. But then when we tried to put him down, he would wake up after a few minutes needing to feed. So feeding sessions would be hour long (with burping between), and sometimes continue to other side and then other side and then other side endlessly. 

Because of these endless feeding sessions, we decided to do bottle + pumping at night time. Thank goodness for awesome hubby's help. 

Helpful to understand these cluster feedings.

http://www.mother-2-mother.com/normal.htm#BreastChanges

2) I started getting breastfeeding nausea. Kind of like first trimester pregnancy nausea. I hate nausea - it's one of the worst feelings. It was also associated with gas - both above and below. Looks like it won't go away till 6-8 weeks postpartum 😑. It's gonna be a long 4 weeks minimum...  Sounds like I need to drink more water and eat more before breastfeeding/pumping: https://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/nausea-bf/. However I still get nausea/gassy. 

3) After trial of stopping ibuprofen, I started getting breastfeeding cramps too. 

2.5 weeks:

*Seemed like baby was taking a long time to feed because he was falling asleep and not actually feeding. Helped to keep him awake by pinching or doing tear duct massage, also putting him on cold hard floor and diaper change. Then after feeding for 25 min on each side, he seemed satisfied and could sleep for at least 1-2 hours. 

Doing bottle feeding of pumped milk has been a life saver. Baby could sleep for 3-4 hours, which was a much needed break for me and I only needed to pump for 30min (I'd be up 1 hr  getting ready, pumping, putting things away, etc). I pumped about 2-3 ounces.

We started using pacifier and that's been super helpful too. AB can get him to suck on it for a bit and so we don't have to be nonstop feeding him. Sometimes he just wants something to suck on to go to sleep. 

3 week: 

He seemed not satisfied again with 1hr of feed. Not sure if it's because of growth spurt or if I haven't been diligent with keeping him awake, but decided to bottle feed (pumped or formula) him after 1 hr breastfeed. When he bottle-fed, I pumped. I think this keep me sane and allowed me time to rest. Sadly I could only pump about 1 ounce after I breastfed. Baby's weight gain is also not that great. Still at 5th percentile only!

Encouraging things for increasing supply: https://parentsrightsusa.com/breastfeeding-and-pumping-at-the-same-time/

I tried doing power pumping a few times to increase milk supply. Maybe too inconsistent with it. I think I got too complacent when there was a good day or when one time I got 3.5 oz at night. But then the next day I might only get 2 oz at night. The amount pumped varied so much! 

Also nausea and epigastric stomach pains may be related to constipation. Not moving or exercising much probably made my bowels stop. I would get 1-2 good days/evenings without nausea, and then it would return. 

3 weeks: 

YW's dad and brother came to visit for a week. We were worried how it would go, will we be so stressed out that there would be so much conflict? Will we be overly tired and unable to get along? What would be so tired from needing to entertain them? How are the trip went pretty well! It was really good to see them, and they really enjoyed seeing the baby. Since baby was sleeping in longer stretches, we were able to do some fun activities together. Like playing games, having a barbecue, taking walks outside and watching TV series. YW even drove her brother around some of the local neighborhoods.

3.5 weeks: 

Worthless, worthless, worthless. That's a lot of what's going through my mind as I think about how I can't even keep my child fed. Not enough breastmilk, and his weight gain isn't sufficient. Makes me think how worthless I am. Before he would sleep at the breast and cry shortly after we put him down to sleep. But now he won't even stay on the breast. He will suck a bit, and then cry and not latch/stay on the breast. I'm guessing it's because he's not getting much when he sucks. 

I was extra down on myself that evening, and certain things trigger it. But I feel much better after a few minutes. 

1 month! 

We've had better sleep by feeding him a lot via bottle (pumped or formula) before bedtime. And then feeding him a lot when he wakes up around 4:00 a.m. this way we only have to wake up once overnight usually... sometimes.

We visited paternal grandparents yesterday. It was our first big trip! Fortunately on the hour ride there and back he mostly slept. We packed more items then our two week trip to Europe. We brought breastfeeding/pumping equipment, diaper changing supplies, extra clothes, play area. Grandparents were very happy to see him and took many pictures. They prepared good food, and we talked about their experience raising us as children. It was a great trip overall, but we were pooped at the end.

We like watching him track our faces. We also like watching him sleep. Sometimes he smiles in his sleep. We've been able to go on longer and longer walks, since he's sleeping for longer stretches and eating bigger portions. We walked to a nearby park and watched a softball game and a high school football game. A couple weeks ago, we were nervous even to get him to the end of the block. But now he can stay out for more than an hour. 

Baby's First Week

Joys:

Simple actions like looking around, smiling, winking, yawning, sneezing, hiccups look very cute.  Watching him adopt new poses or make faces, like "Blue Steel".  

Telling family and friends the good news.  Hearing family's happiness and friends' comments about the baby's looks.

Studying and holding the sleeping baby.  Thinking about which of his features match which parent or grandparent.  We think eyes and nose are like YW.  Mouth and hair are like AB.    

Thinking about how amazing that a baby was created.  Always makes YW teary to think about.  A tangible human representing this connection between the parents. 

Umbilical stump feel off day 7. Phew! One less thing to worry about and take care of (not getting vasaline/poo/pee on it.  Also circumcision healed in about a week too! No more vasaline ice cream cone needed on the site! 

We like the app babytime to track all the poops, pees, breastfeeding, bottle feeding, etc. Ovia parenting has had some helpful articles and milestones. BabyG has some good milestones and activities too. Too many apps! 

 Challenges:
YW's physical recovery.  YW has always been in good shape, and had a pregnancy without complications.  So it was an unusual experience for her to stay in bed, and need assistance with day-to-day tasks, like getting to the bathroom and turning in bed.  These bathroom trips require peri bottle spray, frozen pads, hydrocortisone cream, tucks pad, dermoplast spray, vasaline on the wound. (Vasaline really helped tear healing, water based vaginal gel helped vaginal dryness/itching).  Pelvic floor pains even make sitting uncomfortable.  The donut pillow we brought to the hospital was a life saver. YW has never taken so much pain and other medications (Colace/Miralax stool softener, Tylenol/ibuprofen for pain, prenatal).  

YW's emotional rollercoaster because of hormones. YW is not typically very emotional, but since delivery, have cried or teared up daily whether from sad things, happy things, or unexpected things. Getting admitted for jaundice was particularly hard. 

Balancing the different approaches of parents and friends.  During pregnancy, we received much advice from friends.  YW's mom is staying with us for the first 6 weeks also.  While their advice and contributions have been very helpful, it is hard to balance all their different ideas with our own desires and research.

Feeding: when they say feed the baby every 2-3 hours, it may not seem THAT bad... But the problem is it takes 1 hour to feed the baby (20mim each side, unknown time to burp), another hour to change diaper, hold up to prevent spit up, put him to sleep, mom to go to the bathroom/eat...and by the time that's done, barely any time to nap before the 2-3 hours is up. And it's 2-3 hours from BEGINNING of one feed to the BEGINNING of next. NOT from end of one feed to beginning of next. Time is so precious! 

When to use formula.  Fear if baby is fed too much formula early on, the baby might reject breast milk later, or reject breastfeeding later, or YW's milk supply might be negatively affected (but if pump at same time, shouldn't be an issue).  We learned that women with longer deliveries and induced labor may have delayed milk, so we did use some formula early because he lost too much weight.  YW's milk came in at day 4-5, but demand exceeded supply during the early days, so YW started pumping to increase supply and AB supplemented with a half to 2 ounces of formula.

Baby's billirubin was high (20.2 at 4 day checkup; 19.8 in ER, LUL 20), so he spent one night getting phototherapy in the hospital.  Maybe if it was checked the day before or day after he would have been fine, but ultimately, probably didn't get enough to eat.  Since only 1 parent was allowed to stay with him, the night was very difficult, since YW had to take care of herself and the baby.  YW was not allowed to have visitors or leave the room, due to COVID protocols. YW couldn't even leave the room to get dinner, so didn't get to eat till midnight. Can't imagine being a single parent! It was a completely sleepless night. Also YW felt very guilty baby needed to be admitted to the hospital. She felt like a failure both as a new mom and as a pediatrician, even though she knew that's not true. 

Sleep.  AB was most worried about this.  It has been OK for him so far, since he has gotten adept at bottle feeding, burping and diaper changes.  However, it has been tough for YW due to breastfeeding demands.  Trying to use every last minute effectively, AB would feed YW while YW fed baby. 

Things I would have done differently:

-Ask for epidural earlier, not during shift change.

-Supplement with a little (half to 1 oz) formula earlier like day 2 before reaching 10% weight drop.

-given high rate of jaundice in Asians and family history, give formula and exposed to indirect Sun earlier.

-not be so worried about vaginal tearing, which seems inevitable in Asians.

-pump earlier to increase milk supply (I only got a few drops in the hospital so stopped until day 4-5, but I should have used the electric pump earlier and more persistently.)

It's pretty disheartening when you first pump, because you only get a few drops but with each subsequent pump you get more and more milk. See following website for different pumping settings for a different uses: https://pumpingmamas.com/spectra-pump-settings/

Labor / Delivery

Wednesday August 25 due date:

3:30 AM YW water broke, but just a stream
5:30 AM  more water discharge, like a gush.  YW called nursing line, and told to go to triage.
7:00 AM we go to the Texas Women's Pavilion hospital with YW mom after eating food and gathering supplies.
7:30 AM to 9:30 AM in triage (only 1 visitor allowed).  YW did not feel any contractions at this point, but contractions had started.  Resting and conserving energy for a long day. 
9:30 AM we are admitted to room.  It is large, with a private bathroom, recliner and couch.  2 visitors are allowed.  Since water is broken, YW has an IV lines in arm, and a fetal heartbeat monitor on her abdomen.  Inserting the IV was painful, since a vein broke on first attempt.  YW's going to the bathroom is difficult, since the monitoring machines must be unhooked and re-hooked each time.  Also amniotic fluid was leaking.  
11 AM cervix is only dilated 1 cm.  Doctor starts administering pitocin to dilate cervix.  Doctor says labor can continue up to 48 hours after water breaks, if fluids are administered.  And dilation from 6cm to 10cm is often fast.  YW is only allowed to eat clears, but was allowed jello and apple sauce.  AB and YW's mom eat food from hospital cafeteria.  
4 PM cervix is only dilated 2cm.  Nurse advises to start pain medication, but says it is too soon for an epidural, since effectiveness may weaken after 18-24 hours.  AB does back massages and encourages deep breathing, but pain worsening.  
6:30 PM YW asks for an epidural due to increasing pain.  
7 PM is shift change, so a new anesthesiologist must come.  Contractions have increased in severity and frequency (now every 1-3 min).
7:30 PM epidural is administered, and YW feels much better.  AB and YW's mom wait in a separate room during the procedure.  
8 PM cervix is only 3.5 cm dilated.  When YW changes positions, or pitocin is increased, the fetal heartbeat decreases.  All of us can see the fetal heartbeat declines on an overhead monitor, which increases our anxiety.  The night-shift OBGYN doctor suggests a C-section may be unavoidable, since the baby will not tolerate stronger contractions and pushing.
11 PM cervix is dilated 5 cm.  
1:20 AM cervix is dilated 7 cm.  While that is encouraging, the fetal heartbeat continues to decline during contractions.  YW is afraid to fall asleep, since her deep breathing and use of oxygen blow-by mask seem to increase fetal heartbeat during contractions (we could be imagining things).  AB sits in chair next to YW bed, encouraging deep breathing and resting to conserve strength for pushing later.
3:30 AM cervix is still 7 cm dilated, pitocin is restarted at a low level.  Nurse is optimistic that C-section can be avoided, but doctor suggests C-section is likely.  
6:50 AM cervix is 9-9.5 cm dilated.  Good news, since the resident and nurse say that YW will at least be given the chance to avoid C-section.  
8:00 AM next day's OBGYN doctor (Crabtree) assesses situation.  At 10 cm dilation, she says vaginal delivery is possible.  But fetal heartbeat decelerations are concerning, and baby will not tolerate pushing very long.  At this point, we do not know if a C-section is 10% likely or 90% likely.    
8:30 AM many staff enter room: delivery nurses, neonatologist.  Dr. Crabtree says vacuum will be used if possible, for extraction.  But after 3 failed attempts with vacuum, will do C-section.  Room is prepared on 4th floor for emergency c-section.  

Doctor moves to base of bed, 5 others prepare around bed.  Doctor says to push 3 times with each contractions, for a 10-second duration each.  Nurse and AB count aloud.    

1st contraction: Some nurses encourage YW pushing, others communicate need for tools or body positioning (legs/chin).  Doctor says good progress made.  All are worried when they hear the heart rate (beeping) fall after contraction.  Desperately hoping to hear the beeping go faster.
2nd contraction: Doctor said she liked the way baby turned.  Heartbeat falls again, and does not rebound as quickly.  We are worried that heartbeat won't recover: would a C-section be needed, or a birth complication result?  The heartbeat does slowly recover over an agonizing minute.  Doctor says do not push next contraction.  AB thinks this can not continue for much longer.
4th contraction: Doctor tells a nurse to prepare a table.  This is the first time we start to have hope: could everything be ok?  YW pushed, the doctor applied the vacuum.  The vacuum falls off, but the last push is enough. Tears of emotion from AB and YW seeing the baby, and knowing emergency C-section is not needed, and baby appears OK.  8:40 AM is official time of birth. 

9:00 AM Nurses say baby appears fine, and YW gets stitches.  Both eager to see what he looks like.  His measurements are taken, and APGAR is 8 & 9.  He is purple, but nurses say that is normal.   Doctor says baby would have been born without vacuum in 2 more pushes, but she didn't think baby would've tolerated 2 more pushes.  She says no obvious reason for previous heart decelerations, maybe old placenta (calcifications)?  Did not have nuchal cord (around neck).  

Pathology report came back for the placenta: the cord was hypercoiled (associated with non-reassuring fetal heart tones/decrease in heart rate). The placenta also had some calcifications and fibrin clots. The chorionic villi had increase syncytial knots and intervillous hematomas, also associated with older placenta. So in short, older placenta with some issues that may have contributed to the decrease in heart rates. 

Pregnancy

12/13/20:

Period late by 2 days, got pregnancy test: it's positive! According to pregnancy week by week app, I'm 4 weeks along. Poppyseed size, developing diff layers that will become the heart and skeleton, the internal organs, and the nervous system. Need time for info to settle. 

We found doing ovulation tests was much more accurate than calendar for me. We did ovulation test for 2 months, and now I'm pregnant. It had been about 1 year since I had stopped birth control, 4 months of not trying too hard, 3-4 months of using calendar, and maybe about 2-3 months of using ovulation testing. Turns out my ovulation date is 5-6 days later than what the calendar had been showing, so we hadn't been trying on the right days. In fact, we would try too much too early and by the time ovulation day rolled around, we were out of stamina. Also helped to track vaginal fluid. 

YW first impression: couldn't stop smiling, happy.

AB: mix of excitement and anxiety. Anxiety that everything is going to change like travel, seeing friends. 

AB: "When I heard you were smiling, then I was happy" 

YW: why? Because you thought I wasn't going to be happy? 

AB: Because all I care about is you being happy.

Other first thoughts: 
*Yay! (but also kind of expecting it because I was 2 days late for my period). 
*Good to know that we are able to get pregnant after a few months of uncertainty.
*Thinking about next year what to do for childcare. 
*Download pregnancy week by week app. Fetus is supposed to be size of poppy seed or sesame seed. 

12/14/20:
AB: Oh my gosh! Can't believe it's developing circulatory and digestive systems! Seems craaaazy!

12/18/20: week 5 sesame size. 

Tadpole with tail.

AB: it's crazy that something can develop a heart out of nothing. 

1/4/20: Week 7: 

AB: Oh my gosh it looks like an alien! 

First OB visit.  First ultrasound, we saw and heard the heartbeat (133 bps).  YW got teary seeing the heartbeat.  AB was very surprised it was already visible.  It's a confusing time, bc miscarriages are most frequent during this stage, but we are seeing the first signs of new life.   

 

YW has started feeling more nausea.  Usually, it is in the evenings, or when a passenger in a car.  Not sure if it is connected to hunger or meals.  

no baby bump yet

1/23/21

Yay week 10! Baby is size of a kumquat! Last week, blueberry. Oh man, this past week nausea has been it's worst! Nausea and feeling full every evening and vomited 2 nights! Seems like exercise helps. Hope this week is better! 

1/30/21

Told parents pregnant. Dad was way too excited and told my grandmother before I could tell him not to tell anyone yet because it was still early. They were all pretty excited :) 

2/9/21

Told AB's parents about pregnancy.  AB wanted to wait until after parents had gotten 2nd COVID vaccine.  Before this week, he thought Mom would be distracted or worried about getting a COVID vaccine appointment.  It has been a chaotic and stressful process getting appointments for everyone.  Now that process is finished, parents can relax and be happy, without distraction.  

AB talked to Dad about our vaccine appointment and side effect experiences.  Then AB asked to share some news with Mom also (who was upstairs).  Mom talked about her vaccine experience.  Then she considered telling a dark story (likely some misfortune of a neighbor or a friend's friend).  But Dad said that wasn't a good idea right then, and AB/YW had some news to share.  AB's parents were very happy about the news!  We talked about AB as a child, who did not sleep through the night until 2 years old.  AB was worried our child could be like this.  But YW thinks that sleep training methods could encourage better sleep patterns.  We asked AB's parents not to tell anyone yet, since genetic testing is next week. 

2/19/21 

First trimester nuchal scan and NIPT test. Strange to see a little head, body, arms and legs moving around. Glad we had good news on the NIPT test regarding no mutations. We decided not to read the gender and do a gender reveal video with help of our friends MC and TC. Idea is AB will hit a ball filled with the powder colored with the gender. Very creative idea from AB (and to make the balls from Easter eggs!). Hope to reveal pregnancy and gender to friends and family at birthday party. 🎉

 

159 bpm

3/8/21

We completed the gender reveal.  AB guessed we would have a girl, because many of our friends had boys.  YW thought we would have a boy.  MC and TC looked at the chromosome test results, and gave us an Easter egg filled with the correct color chalk.  (AB made chalk Easter eggs for both results).  YW was not nervous, but AB was anxious to visualize our family and parenting.  After YW tossed the egg in the air, AB thought time stood still.  In a few seconds, would he see pink chalk as he guessed?  After years of imagining having a family, the moment was here: would our first-born child be a older brother or sister?   

AB was shocked to see the blue chalk.  The chalk was lighter than expected, so YW was not sure.  AB thought about how a son might interact with our friends' kids and AB's brother's son.  We could also have more clarity in names and buying supplies.

Next day, we went to AB's parents, and AB's dad hit a chalk egg.  They had not heard of gender reveal games or videos.  The families of AB's parents had included many boys, so they were amused at the results.   

3/13/21 

Birthday party and gender reveal for community group and friends. Blue center cupcakes with blueberries and blue ice cream cake with blueberries. Too much effort to make! 

 

3/25/21

Deciding where to go for babymoon. Iceland opened to vaccinated people, so we are planning to go there. But not sure about Greece yet, who said maybe open May 14th. Fingers crossed! We would like to travel before the kid, because it might be more difficult afterwards, and it has been a while since we've gone international. 

Nausea has improved! But still need to make sure not to overeat at dinner. 

We've gotten some supplies from our friend MLC. Now that more people know, we've been asking people for advice Re taking time off work, parents visiting, etc. 

3/31/21
Notes from Pavillion tour:
3rd floor registration
11th floor for normal delivery, ask for jacuzzi tub. Bridge on 3rd floor to icu
5th floor planned C-section
9th surgery unplanned (induced)
Button down shirt for skin to skin
Bring pillows , car seat, 1 outfit, nail file, toothbrush etc
Floors 12/14 for mom/baby

What to take from hospital: https://www.thebump.com/a/what-to-take-home-from-the-hospital?utc_medium=sms

$750 for suite

4/7/21
Anatomy scan went smoothly! Got to see baby who is now 12oz big. Size of a belgian endive or ear of corn, 10 inches. 

Took a baby bump pic:

And felt first kick! 

4/24/21

Trying to think of names. Nothing seems perfect yet. Ab says I'm over compensating so that's why I keep on trying to find strange names. 😂

5/4/21

Feeling a lot more kicking and AB is able to feel it too. Went camping while pregnant, not too bad! A little trouble sleeping sometimes, but the maternity pillow helps. Belly is also getting bigger and noticeable for the casual observer. 

Talked to work and learned I can be part-time after maternity leave, which is a big benefit because with AB's paternity leave and PTO, we can be sure to have someone with baby for the first 6 month. 

5/11/21

24 weeks and 6 days: 

 25 week 5/16/21

Very thankful that my glucose tolerance test came back normal! 

Celebrated with eating cake and sweets (office birthday parties). But still gotta remember to be careful.

5/27/21 

Learned from lactation class:

6 months goal breastfeed 

Baby does not need feeding immediately. Wait 45 min

Don’t swaddle - they will be too hot to feed

Hold lower skull

Good latch produce more swallowing. If not latch, reposition tummy to tummy. Bring baby to breast (not vice verse). Offer both breasts. If cry and not eating, just hold. 

2nd day: 2 diapers. 5 days: 5 diapers

1st day: eat 1oz only.   3-5 days: 24 ozs

1st 2 weeks determines milk supply. More milk produced when more used. 

Learned from birth video:

Cold compress on face, hot compress back 

5-1-1 go to hospital

Bring massage devices and change positions often (video 2- times with contractions)

Usually water break at hospital, clear ok

Everyone gets iv , still move

Induce only medical reasons (41 weeks)

Episiotomy (incision) if necessary 

Bathroom shower before epidural (after 4cm) 15 min to take effect, 2 hrs to wear off after delivery 

Csection due to position

5/28-6/14: 

1 week  in Iceland

1 week in Greece. 

6/23/21:

Installed car seat! A little more difficult than expected. Finished packing hospital bag. Still so surreal. 

Made calendar of baby-care after delivery (who's gonna be with kid for first 6 months). We are fortunate due to my future part time schedule, my mom coming, and AB's paternity leave, we won't need daycare/nanny for the first 6 months. Thank God! 

Booked flight for mom to come for a month after delivery. 

Attended some more church informational zoom sessions on becoming parents. 

7/25/21:

Measured low fundal height at in-person appointment.  Doctor ordered ultrasound for 2 days later, and images showed normal growth.  Thank God for good news and smooth pregnancy so far.  

Friends threw baby shower with National Park theme.  We were not sure how large of an event to have, due to space and other considerations.  YW's friends did a great job doing creative decorations, organizing snacks and games.  The games were able to entertain both in-person attendees and online guests, which is hard to do.  We have been blessed with many supplies from church community and friends, and we have continued to accumulate supplies from Nextdoor as well.   

We narrowed our list of names to our favorite couple picks.  We want a name to be: not easy to make fun of, not too common, not too difficult to spell, and not identical to someone we know personally.  YW has always liked the name Wesley, so that is our current plan.  Our other final options are Atticus , August and Tobias.

7/27/21

36 week NP appointment went smoothly. Baby's pulse 135. Cervix 25 percent effaced and less than 1 cm dilated. GBS negative. 

8/1/21

Started to feel more full and burp more often. Definitely feeling those kicks. Also my feet started to swell if I let them hang too long. 

8/2/21

Doctor appointment went smoothly. Got my maternity band prescription. Cervical check still fingertip.  But afterwards I had some spotting for a day. 

8/8/21 37wk and 4 days.

We got the dresser for baby cloths, which also came with bed frame and night stands. Thankfully friends helped move it upstairs (since I wasn't able to help). 

Been trying to eat out while we can! 

Baby's been having a lot of hiccups. He has also been poking his butt or leg or arm out occasionally. I'm still having some pubic symphysis pain and also my left flank hurts when I sleep on my L side sometimes (goes away when I change position/stand up). I'm hoping the maternity band will help! 

We've been watching the Olympics as well - inspirational! 

Fellow pregnant friend delivered today! What an auspicious day! 

8/21/21

Went to play tennis few days ago, and maybe over did it because pelvic pain was worse the next day. Today we went to a community water park, and it was so nice to be in the water and not feel super heavy. 

Ab: Everytime my phone rang at work, or YW expressed discomfort, I would think that it might be time to go to the hospital.

8/25/21 Wed - Due date!!!

Yesterday had my 40w appointment (39w6d)! Baby's pulse 140. Cervix 50 percent effaced and 1cm dilated. No contractions or Braxton Hicks yet. Just waiting! Scheduled non stress test, ultrasound, covid test Friday. And induction likely Sunday evening. 

Baby moving a lot and a lot of people asking how I'm doing..baby still chilling! Now that mom made it in ok Monday evening, ready for baby to come. 

3am: some wetness on my pad...did my water break? Little bit, slight pink. A little cramping. Will watch and see...

5:30am: gush of fluid! Water definitely broke! No contractions yet though. Heading to the hospital...

Greece Days 5-8

Day 5: Meteora

Meteora: "suspended in air" because monasteries are high up on rock mountains. Initially these monks were fleeing from Ottoman raids. In the past there were 24 monasteries, but now only 6 remain. Monks literally carried rocks by hand to build these.

Monastery of St. Nicholas, lift for items.

View from the Monastery of St. Nicholas

Great Meteoron Monastery

Oldest and largest founded 14th century by Saint Athanasios:

 

Monastery of Varlaam: 

Ascended 373m in 1350 by Varlaam, the first hermit. It remained uninhabited after his death for about 200 years, until it was revived by 2 brother monks. It took about 100 years to build everything. Before modern day stairs were built in 1921, it was accessed through wooden rope ladders and a net lift. It currently has an interesting museum with treasures, manuscripts, and info about the monk life. 

Monastery of Varlaam

Courtyard at Monastary of Varlaam

Every monk makes 3 vows to God: obedience, chastity (unconditional love towards God), and poverty (no material possessions). 

Coenobatic monk lifestyle: 

Monks don't keep money but there is a common bursary for everyone. They have to ask the abbot for permission for each activity. 

Monastery of Rousanou: convent of 16 nuns. Much of the place is blocked off. 

Monastery of Rousanou

Panorama points on the drive to next monastery. So beautiful! 

Monastery of St Stephen: easiest access by walking right across a bridge, finally no stairs to climb! But alas Alan couldn't go in because no shorts allowed. It was weird all the other ones allowed him to go in. They had 1 euro pants for sale. 

Monastery dates back to 12th c. They ran an orphanage in 1970s. In 1961 it became a convent. 

Monastery of St Stephen

One Monastery is closed each day, so when we went, the Holy Trinity Monastery was closed (supposedly the hardest to get to): 

Day 6: Drive to Athens

Next day we got breakfast at Oct Cafe where some retirees were chatting and drinking coffee and police came by to get coffee to go. We happened across a busy Friday morning market. We got some fresh fruit and it was so cheap! (1 euro for bag of cherries, one guy gave us 2 apples to taste). 

Thermopylae: 

Battle of 300, where 300 Greeks tried to bravely fend of thousands of Persians (legend says 2 million). 

Athens: Rick Steves City walk: 

Parliament:

Changing of the guards at the Parlaiment

Cathedral, Archbishop Domiskenos statue in front:

Church of Agios Eleftherios: archbishop of Parthenon moved here when Ottoman empire turned it into mosque. 

Adrianou street, the Plaka: souvenir shops. 

Hadrian's Arch (Roman): used to be white, now pollution stains.  Corinthian columns. Area designated as Hadrianopolis (his neighborhood). 

Hadrian's Arch

Temple Olympian Zeus remains: largest temple in ancient Greece (2x Parthenon). Started building in 600 BC, took 700 years. left unfinished many centuries until Hadrian finished it. 56' high. 104 Corinthian columns, only 15 columns remain. Had 2 large statues in the past: Zeus and Hadrian. 

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Lysicrates monument: Dionysus turn pirates into dolphins. Held trophies of ancient "Oscars." Honors theatrical performances at nearby theater. 

Anafiotika: village of white washed homes of previous Islanders.

Roman Forum: 

150BC, stayed for centuries. Columns supported a covered porch. Open air piazza, where Romans hung out. 

Roman Forum

Tower of the winds: Clock (sun and water clock), weather station, and guide to the planets. Relief of 8 winds of the world (bring weather). 

Library of Hadrian (Greek loving emperor): culture center, lecture hall, art gallery, library. 

Monistaraki square: used to be part of a big monestary, now torn down to small portion, giving square its. name. 

Watched changing of the guards at the Tomb of the unknown soldier in front of the Greek Parliament. 

Monistaraki Square

Day 7: Athens Acropolis

Acropolis museum: 

Underground ancient homes found during building of the museum

Slopes of acropolis: Sanctuary of the Nymphs: many ceremonial nuptial bath aka "bridal shower."

Sanctuary of Asklepios, god of medicine: brought over statue of him from Epidaurus. 

Sanctuaries if other deities: Aphrodite, Apollo, Pan, Artemis Brauronia (expectant mothers), Athena Nike (victory), etc. 

Pediment of old Temple of Athena: 

Hercules fights Triton and the 3-bodied demon. 2 lions devour a bull. 

Athena won territory of Attica over Poseidon because she gave the people the olive tree. 

Caryatids (tomb), part of the Erechtheion (replacement temple to Athena).

Caryatids

Parthenon: 

White marble

Columns slight curve, side columns a little wider than middle ones. 

Pediments: 

East: Birth if goddess Athena

East Pediment of the Parthenon

West: Birth of Athena and Olympian Gods.  (Above is Olympians fighting Giants metrope.)

Metopes:

East: Gigantomacy (Olympians fight against the giants). 

West: Athenians + Theseus king fight against Amazon's. 

South: Thesaly men struggle with Centaurs who are stealing the women. 

North: Fall of Troy

Frieze: procession of Great Panathenaia festival (q4 yrs), celebrate birth of Athena. 

The Parthenon underwent many forms of destruction: arson, Christians destroyed statues of deities, turned into mosque (added minaret), explosion during war (Venetian war), looting (Lord Elgin). 

We then went to the Acropolis....

Odeon Herodes Attica built 161 AD 5k seat: used today. 1950's reconstructed:

Propylaea: covered entrance to Acropolis. 

Beautiful marble steps and columns. Previously colorful with statues. 

Left side: art. Triangular Pediment. 

Right high up: temple of Athena Nike 425 BC. Ionic scroll top columns. Celebrate victory. Wingless Athena so she has to stay in Athens. 

Temple of Athena Nike

Left pedestal: Monument of Aggripa. On top stood many different statues at different times: Olympic winner, ruler of Athens, Mark Anthony/Cleopatra

Bruele Gate: entrance. Made from rubble of barbarians. 

Looking back at the entrance to the Acropolis

Acropolis: 

Left side: large 30' statue of Athena (taken to Constantinople, destroyed there). 

Parthenon:

It was very cleverly designed to make it look better: 

* Columns lean inwards a bit (so doesn't look leaning outward if completely straight). 

* Corner columns thicker than others

* Bulge in columns half way up

*Steps curve up slightly in the middle so it doesn't look like it's sagging in the middle. 

In the past it contained a 40' statue of Athena

Erechtheion:

3 entrances: porch of Caryatids (6 lady).

View of Athens from the Acropolis

The Ancient Agora: "downtown"

Stoa of Attalos: reconstructed building of red roof, ancient shopping mall. Middle stoa with Corinthian column displayed

Stoa of Attalos

Museum in the Stoa: commode from 6 century BC (left). Early voting, bronze ballots (right)

Tholos: official weights and measures. Temple to democratic rule. Always burning flame. Democracy governed here. All laws had to be approved by entire assembly (males).

Temple of Hephaistos:

Odeon of Aggripa: ancient theater. Had 6 colossal statue columns built by Romans. 1k spectators. 

Alter of Twelve gods. 

Church of Holy Apostles: 1000 AD during Byzantine rule. Commemorate st Paul. 

Panathenaic Stadium: where first Olympics was held, also where a soldier ran 26 miles (first marathon) to declare that Greece had won at the Battle of Marathon:

Day 8: Athens

Archeological Museum: 

Cycladic figurines (3200-2800 BC): from Greek islands. Crude, stiff marble figures. 

Mycenaean treasures (1600-1200BC): 

"Mask of Agamemnon": not real, fictional character, 1550 BC:

Fall of Troy (actual event that was embellished). 

Vapheio cups: Minoin cups (peace loving before Mycenaean). 

Both cultures disappeared mysteriously. 

750BC: geometric period, Dypilon vase. 

Archaic: Kore and Kourous: female and male figures. Increasingly more natural and realistic statues. Geometric ideal (7 heads tall, placid smile, almond eyes, braided hair, oversized muscle), Egyptian influence. Idealized young version of dead man/woman. 

500-450 BC Severe period (serious bc during Persian Wars). 

Bronze statue of Zeus or Poseidon: not sure who this is a statue of because don't know which weapon was held. . Perfectly poised and symmetric (1 foot head, 1 fathom tall). 

450-400 BC: Golden Age, Parthenon and Athena statue. Also time of philosophers (Socrates, Sophocles, Pericles, Plato, Aristophanes, Pheidias). 

More emotion, capture reality, but still idealistic. 

Bronze statue of Paris. Contropostal stance. Different directions of arms/legs, but perfect balance:

323 BC Hellenistic Era (Alexander the Great time): philosopher with untamed hair, personality of distinct person with their eccentricities and realism (baldness, saggy boobs, wrinkles, etc). Motion, unbalanced, 3D. Cynic philosophers (Diogenese). 

Fighting Gaul. 

Aphrodite, Pan, and Eros: sexually harassed by Pan, raised sandal to strike him. 

The Roman Era. Romans loved realism of Greek sculptures, copied many sculptures. 

Statue of Emperor Augustus. 

Emperor Augustus          Asklepios (god of medicine)          Emperor Hadrian

Horse and Jockey Bronze 140 BC

Mars Hill: crowded hill where Paul preached to early Greeks:

Surprising things: can't throw tp in toilet, so many cats, so many olives and oranges on the ground. 

Greek Food: 

Souvlaki: meat on stick

Glatobuliko galatopita: philo dough, cream, soaked in syrup. Plus ice cream. 

Meat with eggplant potato

Olives

Yogurt with honey and nuts

Taverna Simos: grilled tuna (a bit salty but till very yummy and tender), lamb in the oven: so tender and yummy! Fries were perfect. The Greek salad was also super fresh. "Havon" (don't know real spelling), complementary dessert! Made of simolena (sp?) And cinnamon.

PitoGyros: traditional grill house in Oia. So yummy! We had the pork gyro and chicken souvlaki pita wrap. 

Falafeland: vegetarian. Had the special (slightly sweet/sour spicy sauce, eggplant) and Greek falafel wraps (feta and olives and eggplant). They were 4.5 euros each! So cheap for a really yummy meal! 

Svoronos bakery: open 24 hrs! Yummy pastries, baclava ice cream, galatopita

baklava ice cream

Jim Tavern in Nafpaktos: exohiko: pork wrapped with lamb, Tzatziki sauce

Fortounis Tsipouradiko near Meteora: Spetzofai (tradition stew with sausage, tomato, pepper), grilled mushrooms, kebab "politico" (pork, lamb, cream cheese). 

Moussaka: one of our favorites! Essentially lasagna but with eggplant instead of pasta:

Oct cafe: feta omelet and chocolate biscuit praline pancakes. So sweet but yummy! Crunchy bits made for good texture. 

Maiandros (Athens): grilled octopus, house special pork, eggplant spread:

Aspro alogo (Athens): whole grilled fish, calamari, cheese spread, fried zucchini. And complementary havla dessert with mango juice and shot of mastika.

Stou Mamma: Stou Mamma salad (phylo, lettuce, parsley, spinach, feta), pork stew (really good), and really delicious freshly cooked moustaka. Also complementary mastika liquor at the end. Nextdoor restaurant had live music so we got to enjoy that too. 

Greek History:

11th c BC: Decline of Mycenaean Empire

1200-800c BC: Dark Ages

7c BC: Establish Olympic games, increase religious significance. Prospering and colonizing surrounding Italy, Turkey. 

5c BC: Athenian Hegemony

5c BC: Persian Wars (burned Acropolis). 

450 BC: Golden age

447 BC: Parthenon

431-404 BC: Peloponnesian War (Athens vs Sparta). 

405 BC: Sparta defeats Athenians at Aegospotami

338 BC: Athens lost to Macedonians (Alexander the Great)

86 BC: Roman rule, end of democracy

150 AD: Hadrian: loved Greek culture so kept many features but did bigger). 

267 AD: Invasion of barbarians (Herulians), destroyed all of Athens but Acropolis. 

Byzantine empire

1393 to 1881: Ottoman rule

1500: Renaissance revival of Greek culture.

1700: Venice control some parts

1821: Start of Greek revolution

1881: Modern Greek state. 

1945: Nazi occupation.