A Swing, TV n' the Baby

So, just like other 2, Baby Ilah loves being in the swing. I swear that we wouldn't be able to survive with John n Michele without swings!lol When I had John, I was totally a new mom, I knew nothing about baby stuff. Sometimes he just didn't wanna stop crying! I was like "OMG, what am I gonna do now???" then my aunt in law gave us a swing. To be honest, I was not sure about that first. I mean, a swing for a baby? C'mon.lol Yea, I was really a zero-baby-knowridge-mom. Anyway we tried... Then John stopped crying n fell asleep right away! This must be a gift from God!

Anyway, Ilah likes it too. We put the swing right next by the TV, n I guess she's kinda watching TV...lol



I thought all babies love swings, but I heard opposite too. I feel sorry for their moms. For us, this is our baby's first nanny!

- Posted from my iPad;))

Back 2 School!

Today is John's first day of school. This summer, because of our transferring, he had a long off. N he was so excited to go to his new school. We got him a new backpack, a new pair of sneakers, a new lunchbox...



Chris took him to school this morning, but this afternoon he will come home on a school bus. That's another his new experience.lol

- Posted from my iPad;))

2 Weeks Old

Baby Ilah is 2 weeks old now! Wow... It was long until she was born, then it's been so fast after that. She's so precious...



I know that I should enjoy this time, this moment. This is my third time( obviously), n I never thought I was gonna get to experience again after 2 children.

The whole pregnancy with her was not pleasant. It was so hard for me, I didn't even think about how happy I would be after the baby's born. Then the labor was so painful, I thought she changed her mind n decided to stay inside of me forever.lol To be honest, when I heard her crying for the first time, the first thing I thought was "Thank god it's over!". Then the nurse brought her to me n I held her in my arm... Everything was changed.

This might be my third time, but every time is a full of happiness. Everyday is something new. If somebody asks that if I would like to do that again, I don't think the answer would be "yes"(my theory, it gets harder with age... N if I do it again, I need to do in the states for sure!), but I'm definitely glad that I got pregnant with this girl, my baby Ilah.

- Posted from my iPad;))

Her Favorite Bottles n Binkies

First, we found these pacifiers at the store. We loved these right away, because of it looks. I grabbed the one says "I (heart) mama" n Chris grabbed the one says "Papa is the best!", n we had to get both...lol

She's been very good with pacifiers, so we knew she would take those new ones no problem. Then she tried... She loved it! She doesn't even spit it out!

Meanwhile she was having some problems with bottles. I did both breastfeeding n bottle feeding, about 50/50 to both John n Michele, n I am planning same way to Ilah. But it seems I'm making more breast milk this time, I would say I breastfeed her over 80% of time now. But still, sometimes it's not enough, so I have to use bottles. The thing is, she's getting picky about "nipple". Well, not just "nipple" for us. Milk leaks from some bottles, or she spills milk right out from her mouth... With some bottles, milk doesn't come out n she suck so hard she gets tired without getting any milk...

Then we remembered that they sell the same brand bottles as that pacifiers at the same store. We went to the store n we got the bottles(with same kind...lol). Guess what, she loves it too! Or should I say we love it?lol Anyway, she drinks milk so smooth with this bottle, n no spills from her mouth! We found the right bottle for her!



I found their website, didn't know that is Swiss brand...lol Not only its' looks, but its' quality is great as well. Their product is 100% Bisphenol A free, Phtalate, PVC. Visit bibi at http://www.bibi-uk.com/ for more information.

- Posted from my iPad;))

Baby Acne

Poor Baby Ilah... Now she has some... few... kinda many pimples on her cheeks! Yep, it's known as "baby acne". John n Michele had same thing. I know it will disappear in a couple of weeks, n there's nothing to worry about, but it looks not so great.



Since I am using iPad(which means I don't have to get up n go to the computer to check something), I googled "baby acne".

"Baby acne is very common. It can be present at birth, but more often it shows up after a couple of weeks, usually on the cheeks and sometimes on the forehead, chin, and even the back."

"On the contrary, baby acne is believed to be caused by hormones released by the mother during pregnancy. Absorbed through the placenta, these hormones play an important role in the development of the fetus during the later stages of the pregnancy. These hormones stimulate the oil glands present in the baby's skin and are thought to cause baby acne."

Hmmm... So I knew that it's not serious thing, but I didn't know that it's caused by hormones released by me during pregnancy. Well, there's nothing we can do about it other than keep the area clean n dry. Since she loves taking bath, I think that helps a lil. But I hope it will disappear soon...

- Posted from my iPad;))

Can you see it?

So there is a interesting museum called "Super Trick Art" in Huis Ten Bosch, which is a full of trick arts. I love this kinda arts! We took picture of most of it, n it'a all on my photo blog, MAMA's Photos http://mamajohnjohn.wordpress.com/ but I'll show you some of it here.:))



Yep, this big beautiful butterfly is a drawing on the wall, not an object!



That's a drawing on the wall too, even a hoop!



Haha, another one! Yep, a drawing on the wall, n Chris was behind the wall.



This is my favorite. It looks like there is a mirror, right? There's nothing between them!



These three men, actually are exactly same size.

There are more of these trick arts on MAMA's Photos, so if you like these arts, please check it out!

- Posted from my iPad;))

Huis Ten Bosch

Huis Ten Bosch is a huge Dutch theme park in Sasebo. Inside park is really like Holland... well, I've never been to Holland, but all buildings n streets are Dutch style, there's even rivers n bridges, a lot of flowers, n many window mills. So once you get in the park, you would feel like you came to Holland. Yep, it's in Sasebo, Japan.











It's about 20mins from our house, n we always wanted to go to this park. Now, they sell evening tickets, so we finally tried yesterday.







It was soooooo beautiful inside! I wish I could live in there!lol They also have some attractions n rides, some of them are kids friendly too. Like Miffy world.(I guess Miffy is from Holland.)







We went there only evening time, but we definitely wanna go back there when it gets a little cooler.

- Posted from my iPad;))

MAMA's Photos

I've been trying to find a good way to post all the pictures here, but using my iPad(again, just being lazy... iPad is easier to blog, especially I can do it in my bed!). I mean I could post just as I do now, but the picture size is not what I want to show. N it seems that there's no other options... Just gotta wait till somebody make Blogger iPad App? I don't think so.

So I decided to create another blog just for photos...



MAMA's Photos
http://mamajohnjohn.wordpress.com/

As the title says, this is totally a simple photo blog. It works well, I think... So anyway, please visit this blog as well!

- Posted from my iPad;))

The Last Night at the Hospital

Finally, it's the last night at this hospital. It was a long week for us... I had a lot of pain here, but I gotta admit, this was a nice stay. All nurses are very nice, the meals were very good, I was so spoiled...

Most of all, nothing but spending time with Baby Ilah made this stay so wonderful. Tonight, I decided to let her sleep by me n enjoy "two of us time".(Chris is sleeping on the couch. He was up all night last night, baby duty/catching up "24" on the computer... So he's completely out tonight.) She's still, kinda awake. She's 5days old but she already makes a lot of faces. Her eyes are wide open, so when she stares at me, it feels like we are having a conversation. Just looking at her, n I never get bored.



Same time I miss John n Michele, even though they always drive me crazy.lol So I am very happy that we can finally go home!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Sasebo City,Japan

A Binky Girl!

Wow... It's her second night n she's already taking a pacifier so good! I could see that she would like it, but that was quick...lol




John was a thumb sucker, so sometimes he used a pacifier but he preferred his thumb. Michele was just not good at it, even though I bought those cute ones every time I found, she didn't like it.

But it seems that Ilah likes it! Yay! N she just falls asleep... It definitely helps to give me some time when I need to make a bottle. She dropped it a few times so far, but she also holds it with her hand too! Again, it's still her second night! She's a binky girl!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Feel like a Princess

OK, they didn't give me epidural n I had the worst pain... But they sure treat me like a princess!

This morning, they offered me facial massage n all. Actually I never experienced those spa thing. I don't know I always felt that it's just wasting money cuz there won't be anything I can keep after that. Same amount of money for it, I could buy something good, that's how I felt. But since it's free for me(thx to Tricare!), of course I accepted it. It was not only a facial massage, but neck n shoulder, legs n feet... Even my face, I never had somebody to massage my face like that.lol I sure felt like a princess!

Then, today's lunch was SPECIAL. It supposed to be a group lunch with other moms, but since my body don't really work with me, I had it in my room. So please take a look...




I am not sure what kind of soup, but it was good with rolls!



All kind of seafood on spinach. Mmmm... Gooood!



Green salad, loved it.



Steak n vegetable... Yummy!



N desert! Can you believe that?

Man, am I spoiled or what?lol Well, I'm still in a lot of pain though.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Sasebo City,Japan

The Best Daddy

Yep, I am talking about my hubby, Chris. He's been so helpful, n a very very very good daddy to Baby Ilah. Some might say, most of fathers are just in love with their newborns, so they would do same. If so, that's good for them too. But I am very impressed with Chris this time.



As I said, because of the painful n long labor, n also probably my age too, my body is now very useless. Today, Day2, my muscle hurts even more... We were trying to sleep with her in our room last night, but every time she started cry, I had to ask him to take care of her. N he did a tremendous job every time! She was crying cuz she was hungry, then he held her in one arm, made a bottle with the other. I know it's not a super difficult thing, but looking at him doing that at very first night made me proud of him.:))

I wonder how many fathers actually do "baby duty" without wives asking? I know most of my friends' husbands do that, but I've heard some don't do at all. Like here in Japan, especially in old traditional style couples, fathers don't really take care of babies, that I've heard. Of course not all of them, but I wonder, those fathers who don't do "baby duty", I understand that they have to go to work as usual n all(good thing for me that Chris gets 10days off from work), but don't they feel joy from feeding baby or changing diapers? I know they love their babies, but just want to look at them smiling? Baby crying is annoying for them?

Mothers. We feel n find happiness from each moments with our babies, even with stinky diaper or loud crying. But how about fathers? How many fathers feel same way as mothers? Well, of course not probably exactly same, but close feeling. Is that too much to ask?

Back to my hubby. He was not this good with our first one(well he was not home with us when John was born, he came home from the deployment a month later), with our second child he was doing better but not as this time. I mean, he's been helpful with those two n I was very satisfied, but this time, I am like more impressed. He's that good now maybe because she's our third child, maybe now he's more "daddy" than anything. I just feel happier having him as my hubby.:))

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:１丁目,Sasebo City,Japan

Welcome to the World!(Finally!)

Sunday, August 15th, 2010. 8:01a.m.
Ilah Natsu Hagan
3582g(almost 8lbs.), 52cm(20.47in.)



She's FINALLY here!!! It was a very very long road... Yep, 41wks 4days.

My water broke at 4am on Friday, so we went to the clinic. The contraction was still mild, so obviously we knew it would be a long day. But we didn't expect this long... It took 24 hours to get the "real" contractions!

But the worst part was not that... I had the worst, horrible pain for next 4 hours, until she came out!!! I mean, it's not just because they don't give me epidural, but the position she was facing was not easy way(that's I was told by the midwife later). So she didn't come low easily, n also it was very hard to push her out. The doctor was actually surprised that I could push her out after all. Again, I was in the worst pain though. I'm glad that's over...lol But now... ALL, I really mean ALL of my body hurts! I cannot even pick up my newborn baby, I can't even hold a bottle drink. It takes 5mins to get out of bed, a couple of mins to turn my side on the bed. I walk like a zombie, you know, legs are opened n limping, plus ultra slow. Basically all I can do is this on my iPhone!lol The good thing, I will have to stay in his clinic for another 5days, n nurses will take care of the baby unless we don't want them to do, plus Chris will stay here with me so he can be my arms n legs(more like a walker). Sad part, I couldn't even hold my new camera to take pictures of Ilah... Only on iPhone for now.:(( Oh well, I have tons of time!

Anyway, enough about my crap, I am... we are so happy to see our newborn baby, finally. She's super duper cute, n she seems a very good girl(not much crying!). I just wish I could pick her up so I could spend more time with her... More about Baby Ilah will be up!

Location:１丁目,Sasebo City,Japan

Water Play!

It's been super duper hot... Because of me n this huge belly, we cannot take kids to the real pool, so we put the lil one in the back of the house. It's nice to play in the water... n daddy joined them too...lol

Sasebo Seaside Festival

After the OB appt... We found out that the baby is not ready to say hi to us... So we decided to go to see the firework last night. We drove up there n there were so many people. Lucky us, the firework was right by the base, so we parked on base n could watch from there.

Kids n daddy dressed up Japanese style.









I couldn't take a good picture of firework, but it was HUGE! N it was an hour long! We all enjoyed.:))

- Posted from my iPad;))

While we are waiting...

While we are waiting for this baby girl to be born... Hehehe... I got a new camera! A good good camera! It's for the baby, of course, but also for taking nice pictures of this beautiful place. In this South area of Japan, Kyuushuu, we can drive to many great places in few hours. Now I could go in labor anytime so we didn't try too far, but we've already seen some great views within 2hours driving. So... We need a good camera, I thought.lol

Then I had been figuring out how to transfer pictures from PC to iPad using WiFi(just being lazy to connect n all...), since I am not a Mac user, it was confusing... Then again, I am a geek mom!lol

OK, these are the pics I took last week...





We were at the SA(Service Area - Rest Stop on Expressway), SA in Japan usually has a little park with a nice view. They also sell yummy food.:)) Chris loves to stop at these places.lol

So... We are still waiting n waiting for our baby to be born, n I will try to upload a lot of pics here!

- Posted from my iPad;))

August 3rd...

Yep, tomorrow is the due date, n yet I don't feel anything! Wait, it's still August 2nd in Hawaii time, huh?lol Anyway I have an appt. tomorrow, I might have to stay at the hospital then, if so I won't be able to come home over a week... Here in Japan, they keep us at hospital for about a week after the birth. If this was my first, that would be good, but i've done this twice already, I know the drill! I would be more comfortable at home... Oh well.

Anyway, all of us really can't wait for this baby girl to decide to come out. We never expected not to see her till this far. I bought many newborn size clothes for her, which is, up to 8lbs. it said... This baby girl probably be over 8lbs. N this is the longest pregnant for me obviously, n tell you what, this only a couple of weeks difference make it really really harder... Now I forgot what's labor like, n feel like that she just wanna stay inside of me forever!lol Haha. I hope not. I hope I'll see her very very soon!


- Posted from my iPad;))