Our 2nd Month Doctor's Check-Up

Yesterday we had Caleb's 2 month check-up at the doctors office. The good news,... he's now 11lbs exactly and he's 23 inches long. The bad news, he has Thrush (oropharyngeal candidiasis, or OPC) in his mouth and needs to take this medication 4 times a day for 1-2 weeks until it's gone. Apparently this is something that he would have gotten during the birth process and is easily curable and common in newborns.

Caleb also had something in his belly button burned off by the doctor since it looked like he still had a part of the umbilical stump still attached and it was looking a little red. The result? Now the belly button area is darker than his other skin and the doctor has assured us that this will fade in time.

He also had 3 shots. The first was a combo Polio, Hepatitis B & Deptheria Tetanus & Pertussis Vaccine. The 2nd was the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine and the 3rd was the Haemophilus Influenzae Type b (Hib) Vaccine. The poor little guy had 3 needles stuck in his legs before he could get over the shock and start wailing like a mad man.

Overall, he's growing well and he's now in the 50th percentile in height and weight and he's developing normally. He's cooing and he's smiling (the doctor says that it's because he has gas and not because he's happy but I disagree) and he's following us with his eyes (slowly) when we move from one side to another.

Being a "Worry-Mom"

I now have a little more than one month left before I have to go back to work and I am getting very worried and sad about having to leave Caleb with a caregiver. Currently, we spent all our time together and I get to learn about him every day and I'm going to miss him terribly. My mom reassures me that every baby (except those with stay-at-home moms of course) goes through the same thing and that I myself was given to a caregiver shortly after I was born so that my mother could go back to work.

I'm worried that he'll feel lonely and that he won't be conforted when he's unhappy. We currently have one of Jay's co-worker's wives (who's due to give birth in March) scheduled to take care of Caleb since she'll also have a new born to take care of. I'm worried that I'll miss big milestones and seeing him develop, grow and learn every day and that I won't be there to guide him and teach him.

If I won the lottery, I would stay at home and take care of him until he's older and can go into daycare without me worrying that he won't be able to tell me that there's something wrong. Right now, I think that he will benefit most from a home environment. No matter how good the caregiver is, I'll be worrying since I'll be at work at least half the day.

I wish my mom was here so that I know that Caleb would be getting the best care possible (second to myself of course! :) ), but alas, she's in Vancouver and we can't afford to bring Caleb up in such an expensive city. Again, if I won the lottery, we could move back and have his grandparents take care of him while I'm away at work. Even then, I would worry, but it would be the best thing for Caleb. Plus, then, he could grow up to learn how to speak Cantonese fluently.

I've been trying to convince my parents to come down here more often, but that's not fair to them either since all their friends and ties are in Vancouver.

Thinking about this has kept me up at nights and has rendered me unable to put him down since I keep thinking that in a short while, I won't be able to be at home and spend all my time with the one person that means the most to us in the world.

I guess that I'm just being a "Worry-Mom".

Just More Lazy Days At Home

We've just been hanging out at home with nothing much to report.

Caleb's gotten into a habit of fussing at night right before he goes to sleep. Although, because he IS still sleeping through the night, we'll put up with whatever we need to do to keep that going.

He's smiling more now, especially in the morning but we've been unsuccessful in capturing them on film. We're only managing a faintly amused look at what we're doing with the camera.

Mookie & Gung Hei Fat Choy

Last week, Caleb's godmother (my sister Michelle) was here in Raleigh with us and along with Heather, we went to "Build-A-Bear Workshop" and came home with "Mookie, the Monkey".

Mookie is currently slightly bigger than Caleb and could probably trade clothes with him. His feet are definately bigger than Caleb's at the moment.

Meanwhile, Auntie Michelle flew home on Sunday and we're left with just the 3 of us again. We're attempting to settle into a routine and enjoy our time together before I have to go back to work.

Caleb's growing and changing every day. He's getting heavier and more solid every morning and he's now learning how to grab onto things (like my hair when he doesn't want to be put down).

We also want to wish everybody a belated "Gung Hei Fat Choy" (Happy Chinese New Year) and may everybody enjoy good health and happiness in the Year of the Dog. This is my sister's year, so to Michelle, may this year be extra special with blessings of luck, love, & prosperity.

Being Spoiled

Caleb spent the last 2 weeks being spoiled by his Grandparents. He had dozens of pictures taken and all the attention he could ask for. The day after they left, he cried all day long. Luckily for me, babies have short term memories.

Tonight, his godmother, (my sister) is flying in from Vancouver to spoil him for another week.

Last week, Caleb had his 1 month checkup. He's now up to 8lbs 8oz. and he's now 21 3/4 inches long. He's feeling much more solid and a little less fragile. He's still having some problems filling in those 0-3 month clothes. Not many things fit him right now but once he gains a few more pounds, he has a whole closet full of cute clothes that I'm just itching to get him into.
Most of his days are still spent sleeping but I'm slowly getting more and more alert moments.

Caleb's One Month Birthday

It's Caleb's One Month Birthday today and we're all going out to eat in celebration. According to my parents (the now very old sounding 'Grandparents'), it's important to go out to eat in celebration preferably in a restaurant that's on the 2nd floor. Here in Raleigh, our selection of a 2nd story restaurant is very limited so we're forgoing that custom.

He's becoming more alert now and actually focusing on things. There have also been some sporadic (and presumably accidental) smiles that have come and gone without any chance for a Kodak moment.

Another thing that Caleb has been known for (which doesn't come from either Jay or myself) is some explosive sounding gas erruptions. These events are preceded by some frustrating sounding grunts and then followed by a very serene sleeping expression as if nothing much had happened. Now, when we say 'explosive', I mean that they have the ability to wake one from slumber to look accusatorily (is that a word?) at the other spouse until we look down and hear for ourselves that it is actually emitting from this little soul.

Most of his days are still slept in slumber and in increasingly more moments of alertness. Please believe that I am not complaining about being able to sleep now.

I'm already dreading the moment when I will have to return to work. I'm still trying to figure out the day care/care giver situation. If anybody has any recommendations (here in Raleigh), please let me know!

Caleb's First Bath

Caleb had his first bath the other day. We put him in the warm water and the first thing he did was pee. We figure since he didn't cry or scream during the course of his bath that he must not hate it. We're attempting to make it part of his routine but it's hard since his grandparents are here and he's getting so spoiled.

He's still just a bitty baby. I can't wait until he puts some weight on his cheeks :)

The "One Eyed Bandit" & the Diaper Genie

So here's the one-eyed bandit so far. He likes to look out with his one eye and now you can see that he's turned a few shades darker than I am.

He's a good baby. He sleeps for 3-4 hours at a time during the night and doesn't cry much unless he's wet or hungry. My mom says that I was not a good baby and Jay's mom says the same about him....so apparently, 2 "bad" babies make one "good" baby!


And below here, is a picture of our first diaper genie attempt. It's amazing how many diapers a baby will go through! This is a BIG learning experience for ALL of us so far....and I have to say, I'm not as tired now as I was when I was working at Tyco. :)

Pre-Caleb Pictures

As you had read below, I went into labor after we had our pictures taken at Celebrity Kids studio in North Hills. I'm so excited about how they turned out that I wanted to share them with everybody!

A Quick Note to All Who Have Been So Generous

I just wanted to write a quick note to all who have been so generous. We have received so many unexpected presents for baby Caleb and we are so touched that people are thinking of us during the holiday season. We have have been kept busy with Caleb and it's hard to believe that it's already Christmas Eve!

We are expecting Caleb's first visit from Grandma Annie today. She is braving holiday air traffic and coming to visit us armed with Jay's baby sweater and pictures of Jay when he was a baby.

Caleb's also seeing the doctor again today. It's going to be a busy day.

Introducing... Caleb Edward Sennet!!!!

HELLOO!!!!


As some of you may already know,...our son was born on Sunday December 18th, 2005 at Rex Hospital at 7:03pm.

My contractions started (mildly) during our photo session on Saturday when Jay & I went to Celebrity Kids Photo Studio to take pictures of my pregnant belly around noon on Saturday.

At first I thought that I had drank some bad milk in the morning and I felt like I had tummy gas. As I was driving home, I had my first recognizable contraction. I know now why they say that pregnant laboring women should not drive themselves to the hospital.

Jay came home from work at 4:30pm Saturday evening and I told him about the contractions. We started timing even though I said that they weren't that bad yet. Nicki (Luis' wife) had said that if I didn't think that I was dying yet, then it probably wasn't the real thing yet.

The contractions were spaced 8 minutes apart right from the beginning. Around midnight, Jay went to sleep and I woke him at 3am screaming for sympathy. Time from then until the hospital admission was a blur. I remembered begging for my mommy (what girl wouldn't at that point?) and I remember asking Jay to call the doctor and tell them that even though I was 8 minutes since they had said that once I was 5 minutes, then I could go to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital at noon on Sunday and there were 4 other pregnant people in the waiting room. (counting 12 hours since the first signs of pain) Two women had their waters break and that's why there were there. They were laughing and gossiping and having way too much fun. The other woman was in pain like me. There's nothing that annoys a laboring woman than to hear 2 other women say that they were in no pain and laughing in the hospital birthing admission room. My bittersweet consolation is that one of the laughing women had a problem with her blood pressure so she had to deliver without an epidural. I would not have wanted to switch places with her.

The epidural (YAY THE EPIDURAL!!) came at 3pm and Caleb Edward Sennet arrived at 7:02pm weighing 6lbs 3oz. He measured 19 1/2 inches and his head was 32 cm.

We had a bevy of visitors who came and brought flowers, clothes & stuffed animals. What amazed me was that Queenie (in NYC) sent flowers even before I had gotten a chance to talk to my mom!! Queenie, when you read this, tell me how you found out so fast!!

We were released the next day and the first thing I ate was a Chirashi sushi bowl at Waraji! (To all those at Tyco, I had told you what my first meal was going to be!) Sushi, and a large Coke. Susan, I was thinking of you the whole time since I used to watch enviously as you ate everything I wanted to eat when were in New Jersey. :)

Another thing....Caleb's birthday is the same day as my sister's birthday!! What were the chances of that? For those of you that read my blog regularly, she's "Roadie".

My parents are coming to visit in the first week of January and my sister is coming at the end of January. We are still awaiting news of when Jay's family will be coming to town.

As much as I have to write about Caleb and all the news I'll have to leave that to another blog posting. He's fussing now to be fed and this little booger has already amazed me with how often he likes to eat.

Fresh from the Doctor's Office

Just got back from the doctor's office this morning. They are predicting that my baby will come late. They said that the baby's 'sitting on the fence' regarding whether he'll come before or after new years. Apparently if I set my mind on him delivering sometime around or after the 7th of January, then I'll be happier during the holidays since I then won't be worrying about going into labor at any moment.

They also mentioned that I should take my belly ring out. :( Boo. I had anticipated keeping it in for as long as I could but they said that the stress of labor combined with the uterine wall pressing up against my belly button during these last few weeks may result in scarring that I won't like anyways. So after we take pictures this Saturday, I guess I have to pack my belly ring away....Hopefully temporarily.

The doctor said that if I deliver on time, that I can expect the baby to weigh around 7lbs - 7 1/4lbs. I just want to note that to see if they can actually make an accurate prediction or not.

My blood pressure was elevated but they said that since my maternity leave starts on Monday that it should be back to normal by the next visit, which is in a week. So....I actually took a sick day today seeing as I'm having trouble sleeping and I'm very tired today. I had intended on going into work but changed my mind as I was driving from the doctors office to downtown.

I have some Hospital Pre-Registration forms to fill out today and see about these free tours that they give to familiarize myself with the Birth Center. Hopefully Jay and I can check that out next week sometime. It would be cool too if we could see some other couples and their babies.

So this baby may not come until January(ish). That will give me time at home to relax and sleep before the big day since I heard that sleep is a valuable commodity once the baby arrives.

One More Week of Work before Maternity Leave

One more week of work before my maternity leave!! I'm pretty excited about that even though that would imply that birth/labour/pain would be imminent.

Jay and I are scheduled have pictures taken this Saturday.....so as long as the baby comes after this weekend, we'll be all ready.

Other than appearing ungainly, there's not much to report on the pregnancy department. It appears now that we're just waiting for this baby to be fully cooked and ready to come out.

Getting a Little Anxious

It's getting close to that time now......I'm 36 weeks this week and according to general consesus, the baby is considered to be full term as of 37 weeks. Now that we have the hospital bag packed just in case, it feels a little scary.

The thing is, it could be early, or it could be late. Therefore, it could be any day now,.....it also could be more than a month away. The not knowing is a little nerve racking.

I've also been having strangely vivid dreams. In some, I've already had the baby....in others, I'm not pregnant at all. I don't know how to interpret that other than I know that the end is near, so I really won't be pregnant for much longer.

The last month is UNCOMFORTABLE! I've had very little complaints up until now, but walking to the bathroom makes me huff and puff and just the mere act of rolling over in bed will give me a cramp if I do it too fast.

It's hard to reconcile being pregnant to having a baby. It's one thing to know that you have a baby incubating inside. It's quite another to assoicate that with all the little babies one sees other people carrying around.

Jay and I can't wait to see what our little one looks like. As long as he's healthy with 10 fingers and 10 toes, we'll be happy.

5 More Weeks to Go!

I'm back at work in the Raleigh office and Jay and I have been busy getting everything ready for the baby. The nursery is all set up, we've washed and cleaned all the hand-me-down clothes that people have given us and they're all hanging up in the closet. We've installed the car seat and Jay finished putting together the bassinet/bed side sleeper last night.

We've purchased (in bulk) some diapers, diaper wipes and a the Johnson & Johnson bath set which includes baby powder, baby oil, baby shampoo, baby moisterizer cream.....you get the idea.

So short of a few miscellaenous items, all we have to do now is pack the hospital overnight bag (in case this little one comes earlier than expected) and we'll be all set for baby.

It's hard for Jay and I to believe that we've only got 5 weeks to go! People say that this last month flies by and with the Holidays coming up, I can believe that. Jay and I have the Christmas tree and stockings up and hopefully this baby will be come early to celebrate with us since Jay LOVES Christmas.

A Raleigh Baby Shower

This past weekend, my friend Heather organized a baby shower for me! She enlisted our caterer Nicki, sent out invitations, decorated my living room with balloons and roses, and even drummed up some baby shower party games! One of the games was really cute, Heather had the girls decorate onesies for the baby.

So I got a chance to see many of my Raleigh friends that I haven't seen in a LONG time as a result of Tyco and I got to eat cake too! (and of course, presents are always a nice part of the shower).

Here's a picture of the girls that were at the shower.

It also gave me a chance to show my new house off to people. That was the first time that anybody has been in my house.....so it was a good thing that I actually painted some of the rooms and semi-decorated!

A month from now, I'll be going out on my maternity leave unless things progress faster than anticipated. The countdown begins.

I'm now a US Permanent Resident

After what seemed like an eternity, Jay and I finally had our greencard interview yesterday where upon were were supposed to convince the Homeland Security officer that we were indeed married to each other and that we were not married merely for myself to procure a greencard and enter the US.

In spite of the fact that we forgot to bring any photos of each other together and that we also forgot to bring anything like Life Insurance policies to show that we had each other on our policies, the officer deemed us married enough.

I am now a US Permanent Resident! The officer told us that the US does not recognize dual citizenships but then he also mentioned that the US can only make you renounce your Canadian citizenship but they cannot make you give up your Canadian passport. Also, in Canada, since I was born there, I will always have citizenship. I would just have 2 passports and use each one depending on where I am. In the US, I would use the US passport. If I were to visit Canada, I would use the Canadian passport. Neat little loophole.

I'm can apply for my US citizenship 3 years from yesterday. Right now, my greencard is good for 10 years so I've got some time to decide what I want to do. The only downside to not applying for the US citizenship is that I cannot vote and I cannot be out of the country for more than a year.

So long story short, I now have my greencard. It took a long time, but not as long as I've heard for other people from other countries. The officer was telling us crazy stories of people in the Philippines waiting 22 years for their greencards.

Greencard Speculations

I have been working out of town since May and I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I should be flying home to Raleigh tomorrow. Next week, I'll be working in New York for 3 days and then I'll be flying to Charlotte, NC for my greencard interview. After that, I will be in Raleigh and there shouldn't be anymore business flying back and forth unless it's for training.

I think next week's interview is where they determine whether Jay and I are actually married and I'm not just using him for my permanent residence status. This reminds me of the movie "Greencard" with Gerard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell. I wonder if they'll ask us what kind of toothpaste we use and what side of the bed we sleep on.

Anybody have any speculations of what kind of questions they'll be asking us? Has anybody else ever gone through this process?

Another Ultrasound Picture - It's Still a Boy!

Last Friday, I had another ultrasound and got to see another picture of our little baby boy. He's not much of a kicker, more of a squirmer. During the ultrasound, when the ultrasound tech was poking and prodding my belly to get him to move on the screen, he just squirmed around and didn't really kick in response. He looks much bigger than the last time and they have indeed confirmed once again that it is still a boy.

I went to visit Nicki and Luis' baby who was born a week ago last Thursday and she looked so big! It's was hard to imagine that just a week prior to me seeing her, she was still in her mother's womb. I'm guessing that's where my fear of pain is stemming from. I'm not scared per se, but I am feeling a little aprehensive. There seems to be so much to do before this little one comes!

I've also been making the mistake of watching the TLC channel's Babies - Special Delivery. This show focuses on babies with high risk pregnancy mothers. I really don't think that I should be watching this show anymore, but it's like seeing a traffic accident. You're not sure you want to see what they're going to show you but you can't take your eyes away.

A Painted Nursery

Jay and I have spent all yesterday decorating and painting our nursery for our future baby boy. We're very happy with the results and of course, thanks to everybody who pitched in to get us the baby furniture, it now looks like a real nursery. All it appears to be missing is a dresser drawer, but that can come later.

We chose a blue color scheme with hints of green. The pattern on the walls are stars and here you can see all the furniture that we have so far. The changing table, the nursing chair and the crib with all the matching crib sheets and blankets and such.
Tell us what you think!