First week back at work

The first week back at work was full of up and downs. Things at work changed around a lot-- my team almost doubled and I have a new boss. But I was surprised how good it felt to be there. I'm really thankful for what a great job I have and I felt really appreciated by the way my team welcomed me back.

At home, things were a bit challenging. Our new part time nanny started on Monday. I was quite worried about how Max would do because he'd been having a tough time with the bottle. Little did I know, he took the bottle just fine. But he was fussy and didn't nap well. The nanny was reluctant to let him cry so she ended up holding him all day. Not only he wanted to be held by her, he would only settle down if she moved and walk around. When I got home, the first thing the nanny told me was that Max is one difficult baby. I was completely distraught. I had such a hard time arranging for Max's child care so the last thing I wanted was for the nanny to quit on me. I tried to tell her and myself that it's because Max is unfamiliar with her. I spent about an hour that night on the phone with my parents asking for advice.

So for the rest of the week, I was so anxious when I got home everyday because I was worried about finding out how Max did. On Wednesday, after another fussy day without good naps, the nanny said that if this Max keeps this up she doesn't think she could continue. That made me beyond stressed and helpless.

Then on Thursday, I came home and the nanny told me Max was very good. He took 3 naps and wasn't fussy. I was so relieved I nearly broke down and thanked Buddha, Baby Jesus and Allah! On Friday the nanny went on her 1.5 week vacation so grandma and Auntie Betsy took care of Max. Max did great again and I hope he will be able to have an easy time away from me from now on.

Jalen's 3 year check up

On June 8, I took Jalen for his belated 3-year check up. He was really good with the doctor. She asked him what he did for his birthday and I was surprised that he remembered that we did the Tumble Bus! Jalen was 35.4lb and 40". His weight is at 75th percentile and his height is at 95th percentile. So I guess he is pretty tall for his age!

Here's Jalen at Easton's 3 year old birthday party at the bouncy house. This was his first party for a classmate and he had a ton of fun.

Back to work and new kitchen

Friday, June 18th was my first day back at work. I had been dreading that day because I knew that it'll take quite an adjustment to get into a new routine. At the same time, I was looking forward to it because I was getting lonely being at home all the time. We started out kitchen remodel on June 1st and I was praying that the remodel would finish before I get back to work. Luckily, it wasn't too much behind schedule and finished on the day that I went back to work.

This last whole week, I was worried sick about Max because he had been refusing to take a bottle! At times, he would cry for 30 minutes and not drink. As soon as you take the bottle away, he would stop crying. I couldn't believe that he stopped taking a bottle because he didn't have any problems with it before. It seems like he changed his mind just as I was about to go back. So last week, I'd try to give him a bottle twice a day and I would be so happy if he would drink from it. On Friday, Max spent half the day at Rick's mom's house and half the day at Auntie Betsy's house. He cried a little bit at one of his feedings but otherwise he did OK. I was so relieved to hear that. Next Monday, it'll be Max's first day with our part time nanny. I really, really hope it goes well.

Here's a cute picture of Jalen holding Max. It's been so sweet seeing these two start to interact. Max really reacts to Jalen's voice I think because it's at a higher pitch. Sometimes, Jalen talks to Max and makes him laugh out loud. So Jalen keeps doing it and Max just goes gah gah with giggles.

Our kitchen is almost done. We're still waiting for 2 special ordered cabinets to arrive in a few weeks. It's been so much work moving everything out and now re-organizing. I hope soon, I'll finally get to relax and enjoy cooking in my new kitchen.

Max is 4 months old!

I took Max to his check-up on his 4-months birthday last Monday. He was 14lb 12oz and 24 3/4 inches. Both his weight and height are in the 50th percentile. So Max is just an average, healthy boy. I don't know whether it's because I'm an experienced mommy now, or if Max is just more laid back but I find Max is an easier baby than Jalen was at the same age. I've already stopped swaddling Max whereas Jalen was swaddled until about 10 months! I can just put Max down in his crib and he will fall alseep on his own. We always held Jalen until he fell asleep then we'd very, very carefully put him down. If he happened to wake up, we'd immediately pick him up again and rocked him to sleep.

One thing that I'm still working on with Max is getting him to sleep longer at night. Nowadays, Max eats about 6 - 8 times a day, about every 3 - 4 hours. His last feeding of the day is around 8:30pm and he goes to asleep at 9pm. He can sleep until 3am and somethings even 5am! After his 3am feeding, he often wakes up around 5am so I bring him in bed with us. The challenging part nowadays is that daylight starts around 5am. Sometimes Max wakes up Jalen and Jalen hops into bed with us. But since it's so bright, Jalen can't fall alseep. All I can do is hope that Jalen sleeps until a reasonable hour, like 7:30am. I'm going back to work in less than 2 weeks so I'm pretty nervous about how the lack of sleep will affect me at work!

Here's Max in his exercisaucer. He tries to reaches for the buttons but a lot of the time he just ends up chewing on the cloth covering on the harness.


Max smiles all the time now. He loves looking a faces, even strangers. He is the happiest when I take him out for a walk or shopping.

Here's Andy and Aimi's son Rylan, who is about 2 weeks older than Max. Rylan is a big boy, he's already 17lbs!

Here's Auntie Betsy making Max laughing out loud! Max has a laugh that almost sounds like a cough sometimes. I love tickling him to make him laugh!