Look what the stork brought in!

Welcome to the world baby Gavin!  One of my besties had a handsome baby boy!
Congrats Carmela and Randy!!! You guys are going to be fantastic parents.

Gavin Steven Miguels

11/10/10 @ 1530


7 lbs. 6.3 oz.

20 inches long

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Here's me visiting my nephew. :D

Pump & Dump :(

I went to the dentist today to get my severely broken/chipped crown fixed and was shot up with Novocaine to ease the pain. The ped recommended that I stop breastfeeding cami and to pump+dump my milk for 24hrs!!!  I was seriously contemplating putting off my appointment until next year or until I stop breastfeeding.  I never thought I'd be sad, but I am seriously heart broken the fact that I'm unable to breastfeed her.  Will I become one of those mothers who can't/will not wean her child off of the breast milk???  Will I be that weird mom that will breastfeed her child until she's 48months old?! jk (just saw 'Grown Ups' the movie--which btw, is hilarious).  But seriously, I'm a little sad and I imagine when it comes to actually weaning her off of the boob... I'll prob. me a complete mess.  :(

my fix: i rocked her to sleep today.

@ 4 months

Mama is back at work and missing my cheeky cheeky like crazy. Cami is doing really well at the sitters (aka Nana)! Nana is very good with her-- keeping Cami's eating/sleeping schedule.  She's now sleeping 7-8 hours straight at night. :D  I thank God everyday for providing and watching over our little family. :)

Camilla is now 15.5 lbs and 25.5 inches long.

She's grown sooo much!

Here she is w/daddy as a red hot chili pepper- her first Halloween:

She's holding up her head a lot better these days... so feeding and burping her has gotten so much easier.
She hasn't learned how to flip over yet, but she's almost there.

Her favorite thing to do right now is pulling her foot up to her mouth to suck on her little toes.

*sigh* I can't wait to see what new thing she does next!!!

@ 3 Months and a Baek-il

Our cheeky cheeky has grown so much!  She's moved onto size 2 diapers now!
Speaking of diapers, why are they so expensive?!  I realized that I should have just registered for diapers and diapers only.  hmmph.  I don't know if it's just me, but Pampers swaddlers sensitives are the best and everything else pretty much is crap.  Pampers dry max?! Huggies?! sorry, but they do not compare to the swaddlers sensitives.  But, others love dry max and/or Huggies... I guess it all depends on the baby mama.

We are practicing more tummy time these days.  :)

Camilla turned 100 days (aka Baek-il) on Oct. 1st. :) 
http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/cel/birthday_celebrations.htm

Here are pictures from the festivities:

I'll be heading back to the daily grind (work) in a couple of weeks.  I'm really not looking forward to it, but it must be done.  :(  Cami will be with a sitter for 5 days out of the 7.  I hope she'll be okay...eats well, sleeps well and plays well. I pray that Cami waits until she gets home to hit all of her milestones so papa & mama can witness it first!

@ 2 months

Can we hear a hurray?!  Cami is now sleeping 5-6 hours straight during the night, giving the husband and I a huge break!  She's graduated to her cute crib sleeping w/her arms up at all times. :P

We tried the velcro wrap, but she would squirm for half an hour and not sleep... eventually waking up an hour later wailing to have her arms free. 

She's cooing and smiling a lot. :)  It's such an amazing feeling to have the little bundle look at you and smile.  I'm loving every moment of it, and any chance I get I sing and talk to her as much as I can.  Since I speak both English and Korean, I noticed I default to Korean when speaking to Cami.  The hubby speaks English, Korean, and Spanish and he too chooses Korean over the three languages when speaking to her. :)  We definitely want to incorporate all three languages + sign language.

I'm starting to take Cami out more often these days.  The mall, visiting friends and family, but mostly the mall. :)  I never noticed but there are tons of babies and mothers at the mall during the day.  We all look for the biggest parking spaces with shade and give each other supporting smiles as our strollers pass each other. 

11 lbs. 9 ounces  23.5 inches long

And the hair still on fire...

@ 1 Month

Woohoo! We've survived the first month!

It's been a month filled with days of ups and downs.  Mostly at the end of the day, it's an "up" because Cami sleeps great at night. :)  The days are a bit harder, as she's wide awake and very alert.  It's been quite a task to put her down for her afternoon naps these days. 
Since I get little to no sleep during the day, the husband helps me out by giving Cami the bottle, once right before midnight so I can get in my zzZzzz's.

Cami has been doing very well with her weight and growth.  She's a little over 10 lbs now and 23 inches long.  Her weight is in the 69% and height in the 98% (the height part she takes after the husband...and the weight, maybe her momma  :p).  In a another month she'll be visiting the ped for her first set of shots.  :(  Not looking forward to that day.

The days go by super fast and I barely have time to catch up to all the little changes she's gone through.
Aside from her weight and height changes, her hair is getting/growing out of control.  Her hair grows upward- just like daddy.  Her aunt said the other day to her that her hair is on 'fire.' 

Hair on fire

And Dad

We are so grateful for such loving and generous people in our lives.  Here are some of our friends and family who came to support us with lots of love and food. :)

Diane eemo and Jimmy samchoon

Grandma and Grandpa Shin

Auntie chev

Hanna and Susan eemo

Jiyun eemo

Cami is getting a long swimmingly with our furry first Sophie.  Here they are as BFF's.

hanging out before nap time

Camilla (Soh-Young) Lee

She is here!  We are overjoyed to introduce to you our little creation:

Camilla (Soh-Young) Lee

@ 8lbs. 4 oz. and  20 inches

Birthdate:  6/24/2010

Time:  6:03pm

(background: Sophie la-la Shin)

The Labor:  18 hours...and pushed for 1 hour...It really wasn't all that bad.  I was never really scared of labor because I knew I was going for the epidural all the way.  The contractions were no joke.  For me, it felt as if someone was slowly breaking my back/spine.  Once the epidural kicked in, it was heaven.   

The husband and my sister were in the labor room with me.  They were superstars!  The hubby who thought would just take pictures and video, actually ended up acting as one of the labor nurses.  The hospital was short on nurses that day and he stepped right in, held my leg up and helped me push as my sister held my head up. I honestly think it helped that they were really involved.  I pushed for one hour and little Cami was out! I wouldn't have changed a thing.  It was perfect.

The baby is finally home and healthy.  She's eating well and so the diaper changing escapades begin. 

The husband is pretty good at it and has got it down.  I on the other hand dread the changes and have opted to cheer the husband on instead. :) 

So far motherhood is bitter sweet.  I love watching her grow everyday and the subtle changes I see are so rewarding...and plus She's mine! Well...ours!  And then there's the lack of sleep (which I'm already immune to) and getting used to the demanding cycle that never ever ever ever ends.   It starts with feeding, burping, changing, pumping and putting her to sleep.  Then I get to do it all over again in 2 hours! yay. :T 

I thrive on reading emails from friends and co-workers as that is the closest human contact I get everyday. 

Since Cami is on a 3 hour feeding cycle, I get to go as far as the market to keep my sanity. :)  Last night, I spent $40.00 on magazines and a book of stamps and then came home feeling more refreshed than ever.

Tummy time :)

Must-Haves when expecting

Below are some things I could not live without: 

• Ginger ale:  Canada Dry's helped me through the first 3 months of constant nausea
• Crackers/Bread:  saltines and/or any kind of bread (heavy starch) also help with nausea and lack of appetite
• Tonic water:  helped me with RLS (restless leg syndrome) that crept up on me right before I fell asleep.  Maybe it was all in my head, but after a glass of drinking tonic water the rls went away w/in 10 min.
• Pregnancy pillow:  My Leachco pillow aided my restless nights of tossing and turning.  I think I got the most out of it during my second trimester
• Movie nights:  Since going out dancing and Vegas trips were out of the question, watching movies with the husband and friends became a ritual.  WELL WORTH it!  Oh how I miss the movies!
• Dining out:  Eat out at your favorite restaurants as much as you can!  Once the little one arrives, it's dining in for as long as a month or who knows...even longer! 
• Leggings:  Gap maternity has great leggings! They are so comfy and soft, they were the only things I wanted to wear. 
• Balance Bars:  Yogurt Honey Peanut is my favorite.  I would have one of these a day on the way to work. 
• Water!:  TONS! is a must.
• Bella Bands:  When your pants fit everywhere else except the waist
• Sleep:  Getting as much rest when possible

The Past 7 months and counting...

Exhaustion (Months 1-3):
Fatigued, fatigued, starved and fatigued.
The first 3 months for me was all about how much sleep I could get, and how much food I could keep down. I remember driving to work completely drained at 8:30am and frequently contemplating if I should call in late just to grab a couple more hours of Zzz's. Sleep was my number 1 priority. I couldn't wait to get home to be filled with euphoria as my head hit the pillow oh so gently..well, sometimes not so gently. Still it's one of the greatest feelings on earth to this day.
Eating is one of my favorite things to do. I LOVE trying new eateries and going back to the same old ones over and over again. I love food. The first 3 months... not so much.  I lived off of bread, crackers, ginger ale, water and more ginger ale. One thing I absolutely could not stand was chicken (any kind- fried, roasted, broiled, in salads, on t.v.) gave me the chills. I loathed chicken and even to this day I never ask for it.

A Week of Bed Rest & the Return of My Taste Buds (Months 4-6):
It's a girl! So so SO overjoyed that we are having a baby girl!  The husband was happy, but kept asking my doctor to double check. :p

Well into my fourth month of being preggers, my perinatologist confirmed I had two uterine fibroids.
One was growing and the other was stagnant. I felt fine at first, but about a week after my visit, I had severe lower abdominal pain and could not even walk properly. ER visits in the middle of the night was routine and my OB finally put me on bed rest for a week. Bed rest is no fun at all, but I have a very supportive husband, great friends and family who frequently came to visit with food. :) The one thing I did enjoy about being home for a week was that I was able to watch I LOVE LUCY with my favorite companion in the world- Sophie la-la Shin (my Maltese). I thank God everyday for his continuous love and faithfulness.


Hurray! By month 5 my appetite came back, and I jumped from restaurant to restaurant to fill my deprived taste buds. Steak houses, pasta factories, and grab 'n go chains were my second best friends. My first will always be the pillow. I was happy and I'm sure babyLee was happy too!

The Home Stretch (Months 7-9):
Preparing the babies room and shopping for all the necessary items is quite the challenge when your stomach feels and looks like the size of an 8lb. bowling ball. Slowly but surely the tasks are being completed, and the husband and I are getting more and more excited!


PILLOWS, pillows, pillows: I sleep with at least 4 pillows every night. One to go under my head, the other between my thighs, the pillow for my back and then the pillow for my arms-- so I have something to hug. I take up more than half the bed and poor husband has to sleep on the edge. I purchased a pregnancy pillow that stretches about mile long. It helped during the cold nights as it's very warm, but once the weather started to heat up it wasn't cutting it.


SLEEP DEPRIVATION: I am an individual who loves to sleep and SLEEP IN! I love taking long naps and waking up puffy faced. Now, I wake up about every 1.5-2 hours during the night to use the restroom or to change my sleep position. It's something I got slightly used to, but cripples me throughout the day. Get this, I wake up at 7-7:30am everyday (even on the weekends) and have an urge to clean. I have work during the week so, all I can do is a quick swifter here and there and organize my counter the morning. Sat. and Sundays are all about dusting and cleaning the floors--  "NESTING." :)


NO TOE POINTING!: This can cause severe pain to your legs in the middle of the night. I am almost always screaming and waking the husband as if a bomb just went off. Every time this happened, the husband had the same freeze frame expression/position. His eyes wide with one hand reaching out for my leg, as I scream in panic, "Don't touch me!" *sigh* stretch before you sleep ladies...stretch.


to be continued...