12 Weeks

This week Ryo's personality is really coming out. He loves to converse and sing a long to just about any song someone sings to him. Yesterday Ryo and Mommy went to a group play date in Beaumont. It was really fun hanging out with other mom's and their babies who are the same age as Ryo. In the 3 hours we were there, the babies played (not really with each other though), nursed..although Ryo only wanted the bottle :-( and slept. Ryo was a little fussy at times, but it was still great! Next time, we are going to host it at our house.

One of the mom's, Lisa, told me a bout a cool site where you can get baby stuff for at least half off. They post one item a day and you can purchase until sold out: Mamma Bargains Yesterday there was an Easy Walker stroller for two hundred something, retail is $499! I haven't bought anything yet, but this is one site I will check back often. I think the idea came from Steap and Cheap which is an outdoor gear and clothing site.

Another site I just found today focuses on eco-friendly baby products: Green Baby Bargains

11 Weeks - The Working Mom

Well, today actually marks Ryo's 12th week, but I'm calling this post 11 weeks, since I want to post how this past week has been. Ryo is more talkative and responsive. It's like we have conversations!

Another full work week. I decided to try to work from home on Wednesday since it breaks up the week a bit (last week, it was hard going in to work everyday until Friday). I still miss Ryo all the time, especially when I pump during work in my office. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to pump on a regular schedule. My goal is to pump at least 2x a day, but this past week there were 2 days I only pumped once. Ugh! I feel so guilty about not being able to produce enough milk that would last Ryo the entire day without me. I've had to supplement my milk from the start, but now that I am back to work, nursing is more like supplementing.

How do other working mothers do it all? I guess they just don't...things just gotta give. For me, Ryo is central once I step foot in the door coming home from work. A typical day goes like this:

6:30 am Ryo wakes up and I nurse him for as long as he wants, then play with him.
7:00 am wake up Aaron to play with Ryo (this is Ryo's most happy and alert time of the day) while I get ready for work in 15 minutes flat.
7:15 am this is when I should leave for work, but Ryo's cooing leads me right back in bed beside him.
7:25 am leave for work and race down the freeway(s) to get to work by 8:00. Oh those days of me working early in the morning are gone!
FAST FORWARD
5:00 pm leave work (okay, not exactly at 5:00, but it is no longer 6:00) and race home
6:00 pm come home, wash hands and quickly change clothes, then take Ryo in my arms and nurse him, then play, sing/read one of his books 3 times to him.
7:00 pm give Ryo a bath or a sponge bath and infant massage (not everyday)
7:30 pm put Ryo to sleep, mommy takes a quick shower
8:30 pm dinner for mommy and daddy (daddy gets take-out)
10:30 pm Ryo wakes up - change diaper, nurse/bottle feed, then put Ryo to sleep
11:30 pm mommy takes a "nap"
12:30-1:30 Ryo wakes up - change diaper, nurse/bottle feed, then put Ryo to sleep
3:30-4:30 Ryo wakes up - change diaper, nurse/bottle feed, then put Ryo to sleep

Sometimes I can wash a few dishes and pick up some burp cloths lying around, and read a how-to take care of a baby book, but that's it. To unwind, I watch a little TV with Aaron.

The weekends are much better because I can nurse more, take a walk with Ryo to the park, do some housework, and relax a little. This is the time also when Aaron can do some house projects. In fact, tis weekend he tiled the top of our fireplace and did some yard work.

10 Weeks

Some milestones this week:

Ryo took his first overnight trip to the Bay Area to meet the Pedroni side. We think he likes the Bay Area. We visited Oakland (we even got to see our good friends Angela and Malik!), Alameda, Santa Barbara and Solvang.

He started to eat more too...4 ounces a feeding!

Ryo can hold his head up longer on his own.

Started to do raspberries...likes playing with his saliva!

Sleeps a little longer at night, sometimes a 4-5 hour stretch!

Wearing 3-6 month clothes. He is getting big!

Seems like he wants to start walking before he can crawl...he is constantly pushing himself up using his legs while we carry him.

Loves to coo to anyone who talks to him...and he is a talker!

First time we left Ryo (only 2 hours while we walked around Solvang and did some wine tasting)...we left him with my parents and Aaron's mom. So he was in good hands x 6!

He was such a good boy even though mommy had to go back to work. Fortunately, Obasan (Aaron's mom), stayed with us the whole week.

9 Weeks

Wow, Ryo is already 9 weeks old! We had his two month appointment this past Friday. I feel guilty for not doing more research on vaccinations. I just learned that in the 80s, children under 5 had 10 vaccinations, presently it's 36! There are some theories out there that all these shots cause autism. I think I read somewhere that the US has the highest number of vaccinations and highest number of autism affecting children. I don't want to freak out, but I do recognize I need to be more informed. Tomorrow, I'm going to go to Barnes to purchase Dr. Sears' Vaccination Book. A couple of my friends from the Moms joining Moms class recommended this.

Ryo had two shots; one per thigh consisting of: Hep B, DTaP, HIB, Pneumococcal, and Polio. He also got the Rotavirus via drops in his mouth. The experience was heart wrenching for me. Those needles were soooo long; I thought it would pierce through Ryo's little thigh. Once he received his first shot, he looked like he was in such pain...turned bright red and tried to cry out...the kind where you can't even make a sound...which is so much worse. I felt his pain too and could not watch...just put my hand to his heart and nestled my face to his face. It was horrible!

We watched him really closely the rest of the day. He had soreness in his legs, no fever, but was fussy. I didn't want to take him anywhere over the weekend. It's 3 days later and he seem back to normal.