What is she staring at...?

It's cold in the house this morning again. I made her blanket yesterday, well I just sewed around the super soft material I found at a store, but anyway she loves it(yep, I am into crafting lately... It's just that time of season;)).




Anyway, she looks comfy in her new blanket, n staring at something... actually somebody.









Michele was singing and dancing for her sister cuz the baby was crying... that's what she said.lol

Michele has been very helpful. Yea, sometimes too much, but she's never even been jealous of her. When Ilah is crying, she sings for her, talks to her, dances for her, n she's very patient. Ilah loves Michele too. When Michele keeps singing for her, she really stops crying. I guess it won't be long until they start to sleep in the same room.:))


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

"I heart ?a?a"

At our favorite store, Jusco, they sell this series of baby clothes that me n my hubby like. "I heart" series, just like "I heart N.Y.", but this one is MaMa, PaPa n Family instead of N.Y., of course.

In Japan, most of lil kids call their mom n dad "mama" n "papa". No, it's not Japanese(obviously!), as you know we use a lot of mix language, which I call Japanglish. So this "papa" means daddy.

Anyway, when we buy these kind stuff, there's always a silence battle between me n my hubby. Yes, which one we will buy "I heart MaMa" or "I heart PaPa" is what we battle for. First we grab same thing, except the word after the heart. When we can buy both, then we get both, like the pacifiers n baby bottles we bought. But if we wanna buy only one... Yea, we wouldn't fight or argue at store, especially it's about baby clothes, but there sure is a cold war going on between us.lmao

So we wanted to buy only one clothes for Baby Ilah. Of course our eyes were on "I heart ...". Let's see, which one we got...?



I let him have it for this one.lol Actually I thought, obviously I am always with her, I am the one who's gonna take her around everywhere. So, i think it's cute of her to show her love to her daddy. When I picked this one, he said "Are you sure?"lol

N I put this one on her today, so I took pics n sent it to him. I thought that picture would make him smile when he's working hard. But he didn't think so. Later he called me n said "I'm a lil pissed because you put the clothes on her when I am not around!"lmao I guess he wants it all.lol So I said "well, it's just a clothes, why don't you wash it n put it on her again when you take her somewhere?"lol Haha, he's not really mad, of course. But maybe he wanted her to wear that when she's with him! Don't worry, PaPa. She heart you always!;))

- Posted from my iPad;))

Sleeping with the Baby

I hadn't slept more than 3 hours continuously for a while, n obviously I was exhausted. So my hubby offered me a night off so I can get a good sleep last night. Of course I took it, I slept good last night, but... I gotta admit I missed her(so did my boobs!lol).



Tonight, my hubby offered me again, he said he would do it as long as he's off next day(what a nice hubby, huh?). Did I take it? No. I really missed her last night, I guess.



She's sleeping right next by me now... She's so precious! I probably ask my hubby for a night off again(or not, if she will start to sleep all night soon), but not so often nor like 2 days in a row. I can sleep with her like this only now, I gotta enjoy this!




- Posted from my iPad;))

The Baby Moment

I take pictures of Ilah everyday. It's fun because she makes a lot of faces n poses. I enjoy my new camera too. But I think, I want to keep every single moment of her as much as possible.



I was kinda same way with both of the other two. This baby time is so special, who wouldn't go crazy taking pictures? When John was a baby, because he was our first one, I couldn't wait for him to grow up. Everyday was a full of surprises, n I just wanted to see what's next. When we found that I got pregnant with Michele, I was happy because we definitely wanted at least 2 kids, but the same time, I felt a lil guilty to John. Because I was always with him, I was all "his mommy". So I was wondering how the thing would be changed? Can I share my love equally to our both children? Will John be still my first favorite? Or will I be busy with the baby? Will I be excited each moment with this baby too?



Then Michele was born. There was joy. Even the second baby, still everyday was a full of surprises, took pictures of her everyday, n John was great with her n made me proud. So I realized that there was nothing to worry about. I could naturally enjoy that new situation, our new born girl n her big brother, n watching their growth was very exciting.



Then I got pregnant with Ilah. Again, I knew I would fall in love with her once she's born, but I was already too happy with John n Michele so I couldn't really imagine how it will be with another baby. N Ilah was born. We know she'll be the last baby of ours. Then I realized that this will be the last time I can enjoy the precious time with the newborn. I feel that I don't want to miss anything, any moment with her. I mean, not just being with her enjoying n let the time past, but I feel that I want to keep something, leave something, every single day.



So I take pictures of her everyday. Make sure that I am not missing any of this baby moment. Not just take pictures, but find something very special each day, n keep everything in my camera. Haha, thanks to this technology n my new camera, it's very exciting n fun!

- Posted from my iPad;))

Wide Awake!

Not me, the baby... I guess she doesn't like the bed time. She sleeps too good in daytime, yep I've already tried to keep her awake, but no matter what I do, once she's out, she's out!

That is only in daytime though... At night, make sure she's sleepy, bring her upstairs, then feed her... That would make her fall asleep, if it's in daytime, or in the living room, or in the car... Pretty much anywhere but in her crib. If I do that at night, n make sure she's asleep, then put her in the crib... Somehow, she wakes up within a couple of minutes. Not like, she would cry n scream suddenly, but first she opens her eyes very wide, then move around in the crib. Give another minute n she would start to cry, like she's saying "Not yet! Get me outta here!"

So, probably just like most of mothers of newborns, here I am, sleepless in Sasebo, Japan...lol

Baby Geek

That sounds just right for me.lol It's actually the name of iPad App I just found n downloaded. It lets me keep all record of the baby.

Like daily event such as feeding, diaper n sleep, I can keep track real time. Like, what she is doing now, which side of breast I am feeding now n it tells me next I need to start which side. When I put her weight n length, it will make a chart automatically. It's easy to use, I just wish I knew about this app before she was born so I could use this from her day one, n keep everything in here. I have been keeping her daily event on the booklet I got from the hospital, I tried to put all record I kept on this app, I am not sure how... But still, it's pretty cool. I cannot live without iPad, really!

Update; I just found out that I can synchronize with iPhone! Now, that's super convenient!

- Posted from my iPad;))

Official Boom Squad Member

Our Baby Ilah is now, an official Boom Squad Member! Probably most of you(unless you are a WWE fan) don't even know what that means...lol Boom Squad, that is what WWE superstar Kofi Kingston calls his fans. Why is our Baby Ilah one of them? The reason is this picture.



This pose is actually exactly same as Kofi does. So I tweeted @TrueKofi(Kofi Kingston) on Twitter(yes, I follow most of WWE superstars on Twitter...lol). N guess what? He replied to that tweet!! (My tweet is third one from the bottom, n Kofi's reply is two above that.)



These celebrities, since anybody can send messages to them on Twitter, they don't always reply to your message. But this picture of Ilah, probably he liked it too! I was so happy that he actually saw the picture n replied to me!

So now Ilah is an official, Kofi Kingston's Boom Squad! You bet I'm proud of her!!

- Posted from my iPad;))

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;))

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;))

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

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

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;))

39wks 2d n yet...

Next Wednesday is the due date. Since I had Michele in 38wks, I was told that I should have had this baby by 38wks. N we went to another appt. today. 39wks 2days... No sign yet. Her estimate weight is almost 8pounds. Hmmm....

When I go see the doctor, not only this case but any check-ups or visits, somehow I would feel great after that. So I have been feeling tired, heavy, uncomfortable all this week, but then today after the appt. I just felt great. Well, of course I still feel anxious n all, but my body feel better. So guess what we did today? We went for a lil drive.lol

This Kyuushuu Area, there are a lot of places to see. Again I am not from this area, so I really don't know anywhere. Thanks to my adventurous husband, we get to enjoy for a lil discovering when we have time. Like today, we didn't really plan to go that far, but we end up going to this kinda historic area, Hirado, which is about 90mins way from where we live. It was actually a great trip. He had his camera with him so he took some great pics n uploaded on FB, we wished if we had a better camera tho. My hubby n John caught a big beetle n brought it home too.

Then all of sudden I thought... "geez... What am I doing here in 39wks pregnant body..."lol

Then again, here I am. I can't sleep...

P.S. My next guess is, having her on this Sunday. August 1st was my dog Achi's birthday. He was always jumping around, which makes sense, cuz this baby girl never rest! While I was blogging right now, she keeps moving... So let's see...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Sasebo City,Japan

A Week Younger

I had another Ultrasound appt yesterday. It was for cervix length checking. But before starting internal ultrasound, she also checked the baby’s measuring.

March 8, 2010 -18w5d-

"A week younger..."

Everything looked fine. Actually she is a week younger size, but it’s not a big difference to change the due date. So, it’s good.lol Her heart beat is fine too!
Cervix length was fine as well. Good… I’m still nervous about that. Especially we are going to the Big Island for our vacation next week.
Lately, my everyday feeling routine is same… Morning, I’m fine, but not hungry so most likely skip breakfast or eat just fruit. After take John to school, I play or blog on my computer a lil bit(?).lol Around 10:00am to 10:30am, I get hungry, so I have early lunch with Michele(usually leftover from the night before dinner). Then around noon, I get extremely tired n sleepy, followed by headache… I close my eyes for 30mins to an hour, but cannot really sleep.
I definitely eat less than before I got pregnant this time. I know I supposed to eat for 2, but my stomach got smaller, seriously… It’s not like me! I’m the person who LOVE to eat! Well, I eat healthier too though. But I gotta eat some more to help the baby to grow…

A Boy or A Girl?

I went to my second ultrasound appointment yesterday. It supposed to be the ultrasound for checking my cervix length, which is internal ultrasound, but the Sonographer was VERY nice n she did regular ultrasound so we could see how's the baby doing. She also told as we might be able to see the gender of the baby.

My guess was... definitely a GIRL! Why? Because I had bad morning sickness(or should I say all day sickness...), craving for veggies n fruits, didn't care about meat at all(usually I am a meat lover!)... Well besides all those myth, I just compared myself in my experience with the pregnancy with John n Michele. Then I felt it's a definitely a girl!

So... what the Sonographer said... "It's 80% a GIRL!"

Ha! I knew it!lol I know it's not for sure yet, but that's what I felt!

February 18, 2010 -16w1d-

"It's 80% a GIRL!"

She actually moves a lot! It took some time to capture this pic...lol

Is that her brain?? Wow...

The Sonographer calls this "Alien picture"....lol

Aww... Look at her little foot!!! It's about 1/4 inch now.

Actually I was very nervous about my cervix because of my last miscarriage. But she said it looks great for now! I will have another internal ultrasound in 2wks, then a regular ultrasound in 4wks. I get nervous everytime, but it's good to see how's the baby doing!

First Ultra Sound

Alright... I am gonna start Baby Blog, I guess...lol It's always exciting to see these ultrasound pics! So since I am in "over 35yrs old" category(well, I just turned 35 though...), hey look at the bright side! I can get more ultrasound appointments! Yay! These are my 13wks ultrasound pics.:))

January 29, 2010 -13w2d-

"The baby looks GREAT!"

The baby's still little, but we can see his/her face n tammy!

He/she is rubbing his/her face with his/her arm! Like a kitty!lol

Now he/she's rubbing his/her eye with his/her right(?) hand! So cute!

This first ultrasound is to see if there's either a high risk or a low risk for the baby to have down syndrome, because the pregnancy in "over 35yrs old" category have more risk for down syndrome. What they see is that they measure the back of neck size of the baby, if the size is bigger then more risk for down syndrome. Fortunately, our baby looks GREAT!!

I also had the blood exam n all, it all came back with "low risk"! Now I gotta take GOOD care of this baby!