Windy Today!

It's so windy today. Thomas and I could hear the wind blowing hard outside. I think Thomas was scared because he wouldn't let me out of his sight. He had a hard time taking his naps and he was awake at the slightest movement that I made to leave him. He was really cranky all day, so I had to stay by his side. We sat and listen to the wind blowing hard outside. It had knocked over 2 of my plants. Since it was so windy, we didn't get to go outside. The only excitement that happened was when I decided to take some pictures of Thomas. Look at how messy he gets when he's eating his rice cereal!

Thomas goes to the doctor

Thomas has eczema. I took Thomas to the doctor yesterday morning because the rashes on his elbows were getting worse. She suggested that I take him to the dermatologist this afternoon, but his skin had gotten better after rubbing some cream on him so I didn't take him. I hope the rash won't come back again.

I also asked the doctor whether he could have his 6 months shot, but she said we had to wait until at least the 17th, when he turns 6 months. She also suggested that we give him the flu shot. She said that since Thomas has eczema, he is prone to allergies and will have a higher risk of having asthma. I hope that this is not true.

Thomas Fell

I was placing Thomas on his hammock the other day to let him sleep. He doesn't sleep on the hammock unless I'm lying there with him. He fell asleep and I left him on the hammock while I went to clean his bottles. I had just left him there for 2 minutes when he sneezed and woke himself up. He looked around and saw me standing in the kitchen. He then moved his head and I saw that his head was at the edge of the hammock. I quickly ran over to him, which was less than 10 steps away, but it was not quick enough. Luckily Tony had put the hammock about an inch away from the floor when someone is lying in it. Thomas had flipped over and fell! Also, lucky that Thomas was a smart boy. When he fell face down, he held out his 2 arms to support himself so that his face did not hit the floor yet. I had caught him in time. I was so glad that he did not fall with his head down first. I know for sure now that I will not leave Thomas alone in the hammock for even one second. He is a very quick boy!

Thomas at the Christmas Tree

Here's the pictures of Thomas at my brother's (Trung) house the other day with Kelly, Alex, his dad, and me.

Thanksgiving Weekend

It's been a very long weekend. Tony had both Thursday and Friday off. We went over to my mom's house for Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday. It was an extra big event because 3 of my mom's high school friends from San Jose joined us, along with a couple who lives nearby my parents' house. We had turkey, kobe beef, mashed potatoes, salad, swan soup, cornbread, corn, buscuits, bacon cheddar deviled eggs, cranberry fruit salad, salsa and chips, and ice cream. There was tons of food, and everyone was so stuffed.

Afterwards, we went to Tony's mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner. There was turkey, ham, stuffings, cranberry sauce, biscuits, mashed potatoes, corn, bacon cheddar deviled eggs, cornbread, cranberry fruit salad, and pies. Tony and I were so stuffed by the end of the day.

On Friday morning, Tony, Thomas, and I went shopping. Tony ran into Circuit City and Comp USA to see if there was any GPS available, but they were all sold out. Next, we went to Macy's, where Thomas and I went shopping around while Tony slept out in the car. There was lots of customers shopping so Thomas and I had a hard time moving around the clothes with his stroller. There didn't seem to be much of a sale this year, though.

We spent our Saturday at home resting. We were thinking about going for an outing around the LA area, but we were both too tired. On Sunday, we went to Tony's oldest sister's house (Annie) so that she can cut Tony's hair. Tim, Tony's brother, is getting married this coming up Saturday. I am taking care of the party favors for him, so I spent Sunday night doing it when Thomas was asleep. He had a very long weekend and had spent lots of quality time with his dad on Saturday and Sunday morning when I got to sleep in. It was a very fun weekend holiday for all of us.

Flipping at Night

Last night, Thomas was turning from back to stomach several times. Every time he was on his stomach, he would be half-awake and cry. I had to flip him over several times. However, during the day time, he didn't flip over to his stomach. So far, this is something he is doing only at night while sleeping. I guess I just have to keep waking up to flip him whenever he cries out.

The Weekend

It's been a long busy weekend. On Friday, Thomas and I went to my mom's house again. On Saturday morning, Tony had to go to work, so I decided to put up our Christmas tree for Thomas. It's a 7-foot prelit artificial tree that we bought. Thomas was still asleep, so I wanted to have everything up by the time he woke up. However, since the tree is new, all the branches were stuck together and I had to fan them out. Thomas was awake before I could finish, so I couldn't do much after that. When Tony got home, I hadn't put up the ornaments yet. I finally finished it later on, and Thomas was staring at the lights.

Later, we went shopping around and we went to my brother's (Trung) house. His wife Vivian and their 2 kids, Alex and Kelly, had put up their Christmas tree on Friday night. It's a big spinning tree with lots of colorful ornaments. Thomas was staring at the colorful lights for a long time.

On Sunday, we went to Tony's sister's (Mindi) house. It's her daughter Thao's 4 year old birthday. Thomas had given her a fairy playset. He only took a 10-minute nap and then he woke up because there was a lot of new faces there for Thomas to stare at.

Afterwards, we went to my sister's (Connie) house so that Tony could fix her husband's (Tom) computer. Their 2 sons, Alan and Andrew, played with Thomas for a while. I also went out to the jacuzzi and the pool for a while to swim. Even though it was 5 p.m. and a little cold, the water felt warm because the pool is heated. At 8:30, Thomas was getting really sleepy, so we tossed him in the car and headed back home. He fell asleep by the time we reached home. He will have 3 days to rest up and then we will have a really long weekend holiday.

Falling in Love

How can anything so little occupy my every thought? That's how I feel about my baby Thomas. I am always fascinated by his every little move. Sometimes, he would lie on my bed and stare up the ceiling for quite a while, staring off into space and smiling and cooing to himself. I can never figure what he is staring and smiling at. I tried staring at whatever space he is staring at and find myself wondering how this can be entertaining to him.

Simply feeding and getting Thomas to sleep captivates me too. I especially love it when he stops drinking, looks at me, and suddenly smiles. He'd also grab my finger in his little hands and hold on tight. He would also do this when he's sleeping. He'd take both his hands and hold tight onto one finger on each of my hands. He would fall asleep this way so that he would know if I left him. As soon as I move my fingers, his eyes would flutter half-way open and tighten his grip again. I would stare at his sleepy angelic face and fall in love.

American Baby November 2006

In November 2006 issue of American Baby, the article "Let the Fun Begin" on page 62 talks about babies from 4 to 6 months. According to the article, by 4 months, most babies may start 'talking' by babbling open vowel sounds like 'aah' and 'ooh'. Thomas currently babbles the 'aah' sound.

The article goes on talking about how the first consonants are generally p, b, and m, so it might sound like babies are calling out 'ma-ma'. It's not a sign of whom babies love more - it's just that the 'm' sound is easier to form. The 'd' sound requires the tongue and muscles deeper in the mouth that will come later.

Also, according to researchers, infants of 4 to 6 months who have people speaking to them frequently are apt to learn language faster than those who don't. You should talk to your baby often, and when he/she is talking, listen to him/her.

Hawaiian Outfit

I wrote yesterday about how we went to our friends' house. Well, they had given Thomas a hawaiian outfit, and I wore it on him today. How does it look??? I let him lay in the hammock that we bought yesterday. Doesn't he look like he's relaxing in Hawaii?

Later on in the evening, my sister Xuan, brother-in-law Hung, and 2 kids, Kevin and Sarah, came over to our house for a BBQ. Afterwards, Sarah sat playing with Thomas and read a book to him while Tony and Kevin played Starcraft against each other on the computer.

Phuoc Loc Tho (Asian Mall)

This morning Tony, Thomas, and I went to our friends' house, Sean and Karen. They have a little 2 months old baby girl named Leslie. We're hoping that Thomas and Leslie will become good friends. Sean bought a hammock for Leslie to sleep on, and Tony and I liked it. Sean said he bought it next to Phuoc Loc Tho, so Tony and I decided to go out there and get one for Thomas. Here are some pictures I took of Thomas at Phuoc Loc Tho.

After going to Phuoc Loc Tho, we went to Tony's parents house. We usually spend our Saturday evenings there; however, no one was home today. We spent some time with Thomas there until Tony's mother called and said she was at his oldest sister's house. So we went there and spent the rest of our evening there with Thomas' cousin, Amy. Here is a picture of Thomas at his grandmother's house. He can sort of sit unassited for a little while. There is also a picture of his cousin Amy.

TGIF!

It's Friday today! Yay! Thomas and I spend our Fridays visiting my parents. Tony would drop us off in the morning before he'd leave for work and pick us up afterwards. My parents live with my eldest brother, his wife, and 4 sons. The 4 kids (Phong, Eric, Steve, and Brian) were off from school today because of Veteran's Day tomorrow, and so they spent time playing with Thomas. Phong is in the picture with his cello here on the left. Eric (the one with his mouth open) and Brian (wearing blue power ranger outfit) are in the picture above and Steve is at the piano in the picture below.

Last night I was having trouble putting Thomas to sleep. He was sleepy, but was crying when I put him to sleep, and so Tony said just let him stay up for awhile. Thomas stayed up about 1-1/2 hours past his normal sleeping time. When he finally fell asleep, it was very fitful. He tossed and cried out all night long. From now on, I'm going to listen to the advices from books, magazines, and online - when babies are sleepy, get them to sleep right away or else their sleep won't be a soundful one.

Sleepless Nights

I feel as if I'm not getting enough rest every day. No matter what I do, I can't get rid of the "I'm feeling so tired right now" feeling.

According to a survey of 500 moms, 54% say they don't get enough sleep. According to the survey, many moms are up late worrying about the next day's "to do" lists and things such as family finances.

Maybe that's the case for those women, but not for me. I'm staying up late trying to get a few precious moments of 'me time'. Thomas takes up most of my time during the day...he doesn't let me alone for even a few minutes. Is it so wrong of me to stay up a little later to do things that I want to do without him crying for me, and then complain that I don't get enough sleep?

Thomas will be 5 months next week, and yet he still hasn't slept through the night yet. He wakes up every 2-3 hours and wants to eat. I'd wake up, feed him, change his diapers, and he would then lay awake for at least 30-45 minutes before he'd fall back to sleep. I'd only turn on a small night light to feed him, and turn it off immediately after his feeding to help him fall back asleep easier, but he still doesn't.

Also, when he's sleeping, he doesn't sleep soundly. He'd be awaken by any noises, even really soft ones, such as cars driving by outside our house. During his sleep, he'd kick his legs, and move his arms. This always keeps me awake at night. I usually get my 'deep sleep' about at 4 in the morning; however, this has changed lately. Thomas has been waking up around this time, and he stays awake until around 7. The two of us would then go back to sleep, but I feel like I'd just closed my eyes when it's time for Tony to get ready for work at 7:30, which wakes Thomas and me up again.

I think I get about 2-3 hours of sleep every day. I'm hoping this will change soon. I can't wait until the day Thomas is able to sleep through the night. As for the 'me time' at night, I need this time to relax a little even if it lessens my sleep time. Actually this 'me time' helps me sleep a little better at night because it helps relaxes me.

Thomas' Blinky

It's very funny watching Thomas with his blinky (pacifer) sometimes. I would put it into his mouth, and he would grab it with one of his hands and yank it out of his mouth. He would then look at it as if it's a strange object. He'd move his blinky to his other hand, and continue to stare at it. Then he would try to put it back in his mouth. However, he doesn't know how to put it back in correctly. He'd try and try again, placing it backwards, or upside down. He would then become frastruated and cry out. I would place it back in his mouth, and he would yank it back out. He wants his blinky, but he wants to get it out and replace it back in his mouth by himself. I guess this is a learning process, and it's so funny watching him repeat this over and over again until he gets frastruated.

Thomas and his Daddy

Thomas is taking his first morning nap for today. He has been very cranky lately when it's time for nap and sleep time. His daddy had been working a lot the last few weeks, and didn't get a chance to spend much time with Thomas. When Thomas is sleepy, he only wants me now, since he's used to me feeding and soothing him. Babies are so smart! Tony had a chance to spend a lot of quality time with Thomas over this weekend because I wasn't feeling well. Our baby finally got to spend a lot of time with his daddy and had gotten used to him. Last night, when Thomas cried out in his sleep, and his daddy went for him, he didn't cry out looking for me. It takes a little burden off my shoulders knowing this.

It's very funny how Tony is usually the talkative one, and I'm the quiet one; however, this changes when it concerns our baby. I do all the talking, reading, cooing, and singing to Thomas. Tony likes to talk a lot, but he doesn't talk much to Thomas because Thomas doesn't know how to talk yet, only baby talk. I'd tell Tony that this is a language itself too, but Tony feels weird talking, saying it feels like talking to himself. Thomas does understand when I'm saying repetitive things though. He loves the 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', and knows it whenever I sing it to him. Tony has been getting better lately with talking to Thomas. Tony's own father didn't have a special bond with him when he was a child, but I hope that Tony and Thomas will have a special bond. Oooppps...Thomas is awake, have to go now.

Parents November 2006 Issue

Food-Allergy News

According to Parents November 2006 Issue (pg 49), parents are getting conflicting advice on when to feed solids to their baby or whether waiting might reduce the risk of food allergies. According to a new study, the results were that babies who don't eat cereals other than rice until after 6 months actually have an increased risk of wheat allergy, as compared with babies who begin eating them between 4 and 6 months.

Pg 76 of Parents talks about some hidden food allergens. Even though manufacturers must include common allergens, such as wheat and dairy, on food labels, parents sometimes do not consider checking some products that actually do have allergens.

Some surprising allergen sources are:
(1) wheat can be found in hot dogs, imitation crab meat, and ice cream
(2) milk can be found in luncheon meat, hot dogs, and bread
(3) tree nuts can be found in barbecue sauce, cereal, and crackers

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Touch Me, Babe!
Here are some simple techniques to soothe your baby's aches and pains (pg 74):

(1) For a Stuffy Nose: Put your index fingers in the corners of your baby's eyes, along his nose. (Rest your thumbs by his chin). Gently press in and up, then glide your fingers bit by bit down the sides of his nose and then across his cheeks. Repeat this 3 times.

(2) For Colic: Rub a small amount of baby lotion on your hands. Imagine your baby's tummy as a clock, and put the fingertips of your right hand at 9 o'clock. Stroke from 9 to 12 to 3 in one smooth, slow movement. Repeat 3 to 5 times. Next, place the palm of your right hand on your baby's navel, and put your left hand next to it. Rub your hands firmly over his tummy 5 times in a clockwise motion.

(3) For Constipation: Take your baby's diaper off and lay him on his belly. Put your right index and middle fingers on his right buttock (just below the small of his back). Gently, but firmly, move your fingers in a small, clockwise motion 25 times. At the same time, put your left index and middle fingers on the same spot on his left buttock, and move them counterclockwise 25 times.

Thomas' First Halloween

This is Thomas' first Halloween. I dressed him up as a pumkin. I threw some candy on the bed next to him, and he was looking at it.

We didn't take him trick-or-treating though, because he was still too little. I will definitely take him next year!

Thomas Flipping Over

Thomas did his first flip on Wednesday morning at 4 am on October 18th. I had just finished feeding him, and placed him down on his back. He suddenly flipped to his side, and then to his back. He did it so quick and it surprised us both! I turned him back, and it was so funny to see his expression. His eyes were opened so wide with surprised. I had to stay awake with him after that because he couldn't go back to sleep again. He hasn't flipped over again after that, but I never leave him alone on the bed or couch in fear that he will flip over again.

Eating Rice Cereal

The doctor said Thomas could eat the baby rice cereal at 4 months old. She said to try feeding him 1 or 2 spoons at first. I tried feeding him, but he kept sticking his tongue out. At 4-1/2 months, he finally is eating it a little, but the rice cereal keeps dripping out of his mouth afterwards. At least some of it is going in though. I read some articles saying that we should wait until at least 6 months to feed rice cereal to babies, and some saying it's ok to feed at 4 months. I'm not sure which is correct, but I'm hearing more people saying at 4 months. Since my doctor said it's ok to feed Thomas, I listened to her. She also said to start feeding him the baby food at 5 months, which is in 2 more weeks. She said if I try out new food, I should wait between at least 3 days to try feeding Thomas each new food, just in case he's allergic to one of the food.

Thomas' First Trip

We took Thomas on his first trip to Las Vegas on October 21-22. He was 4 months old at that time. We stayed at New York, New York. It took us almost 5 hours to get there, and he had slept most of the way. I'm so glad that he usually sleeps on car rides, because if I'm driving him somewhere by myself, I won't have to worry about him crying much.

Tony (my husband) and I took him walking down the strip, and he had enjoyed looking at everything. He had a fun time, that is, until he did number 2 in his diaper. We were rushing back to the hotel to change his diaper, but he was crying so much that we dashed into a corner at MGM and changed his diaper there. All in all, we had a great time. I can't wait until our next trip.

Thomas' First Month

When Thomas was just born, I hated having to stay in bed all the time. This is the custom for Asians. We're supposed to stay home and rest for at least one whole month. My mom came over to help my husband and me out the first month. She was always yelling at me for getting out of bed and not sleeping and eating enough. I couldn't help it though. I was always moving about.

During Thomas' first month, he was always sleeping. If I had known that I wouldn't be getting much sleep later on, I would have slept more at that time. I read a lot of baby websites where the mothers are saying how their babies are sleeping through the night by 3 months, and I am often jealous of them. How are they doing it? My co-worker and I were pregnant and gave birth 2 weeks apart, and her baby girl was sleeping through the night within the first month! I can't wait until the day that Thomas does that!

Below is a picture of me when I was still pregnant with Thomas. This was at his baby shower, on April 22, 2006.

Thomas' Birth

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'd given birth on Saturday evening, June 17, 2006 at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital to a healthy baby boy. His name is Thomas Ha Nguyen, weighs 6 lbs, 7 ounces, and 19-1/2 inches at birth.

My water had broke at 10:15 pm on Friday evening, 6/16/06. We arrived at the hospital at 10:45 pm. There I was placed in a room where I chose to be given some pain medications at first, but later on given epidural because of the pain. Thomas did not pop out until Saturday evening. Thomas was crying when he was born, and I cried when I looked at him. Both he and I were well after a very long labor of 19 hours. I had to stay in the hospital for 3 days, and was glad to finally go home with my new baby. Thomas is 2 days old in the this picture taken at the hospital.