The First 3 Weeks

Welcome to the Lee family blog! As computer un-savvy as I am, I decided to blog mostly as a diary to chronicle events in our family's life, but also as a way to keep family and friends in the loop with photos and updates. So while this website is unlikely to win the Most Sophisticated Blog award, hopefully it will keep you posted on our comings and goings!

We welcomed Christian Bian Lee into our lives on Saturday, March 28, 2009, a good 12 days before his due date. He weighed in at 6 pounds, 9.5 ounces and 19.5 inches long, with a full head of jet-black hair (complete with side-burns). As we Lee's are not likely to arrive early for anything, we were surprised that our little one decided to make an early appearance. I, for one, was certainly not complaining...dentistry takes on a whole new spin when there's a large protuberance threatening to hit a patient's head at any given moment!

Since his arrival, the last 3 weeks have been a wonderful, sleep-deprived, house-bound blur. My mom was kind and generous enough to spend 3 weeks with us, making sure I conformed to the traditional Chinese one-month "house arrest", including no hair-washing, no cold food or beverage, no leaving the house (exceptions were made for doctor's visits) and a bevy of Chinese foods and concoctions to ensure adequate milk production and fend off evil health risks! As picky an eater as I am, I tried my best to grin and bear it, but had to put my foot down after a run-in with some chicken liver. All in all, I was extremely grateful to have my mom here...thanks so much, mom!!!


Dae continues to work 80 hour weeks but still manages to pull his weight in the evenings when Christian gets a little fussier than usual. For his part, we of course think Christian is quite the fun little guy. A few of his quirks we have picked up:


1) Rigor Mortis: He loves playing Rigor Mortis on the changing table, especially when Dae changes him. All limbs reach full extension...maybe he's trying to impress us with his muscle tone.

2) Stink-Eye: This habit was noted straight out of the womb, where he showcases his uncanny ability to open one eye (preferably his right), check out the scene, and deem it worthy/unworthy of both eyes' attention. Usually he deems it unworthy and proceeds to close his stink-eye.
3) Chicklet hair: His head is chock-full of hair and is especially fun right after a bath, when it's fuzzy, soft, and rivals that of a newly-hatched chick!

Chicklet Hair and Stink-eye

4) The I-Refuse-Food Mouth: He makes it very clear when enough is enough (milk-wise) by tightly pursing his little lips into an "O" shape. We get a big kick out of trying, and failing, to open his mouth!

5) Fast and Furious Eating: He is definitely of Lee-Bian stock! His eating is fast and furious, complete with major panting and gasping. Dae and I used to time ourselves at one of the local conveyor-belt Sushi Restaurants and I think our record was 15 minutes, start to finish....I'm pretty sure Christian has our record beat with some of his feedings.

6) Mammoth Eater: Along with velocity comes enormous volume...we read about these supposed 'growth spurts' but is it possible to have sustained, no-end-in-sight hourly feedings? This guy is amazing! We haven't had him weighed in a week, but at his 2-week appt. he had gained back his weight and then some, up to a grand total of 7 pounds, 8 ounces! Dae tried a poor-man's version of weighing Christian by getting on the scale sans baby (I won't divulge Dae's starting weight to spare him any comments from family members! haha) and then again with baby - it registered 9 pounds!

7) Mad Face: There are no warning signs for his full-bore cry: furrowed forehead, bulgy eyes, red explosive face and the shrill, piercing, high-decibel level that announces (in no uncertain terms) that he is unhappy.



There are so many more, but all in all we feel extremely fortunate to have a healthy and seemingly happy baby! He manages to sleep in 2-3 hour increments (when not in above-mentioned growth spurt phase) and has showcased his tendency toward the finer things in life by turning up his nose at the notion of sleeping in a traditional bassinet...he instead opts for the significantly more plush Bugaboo stroller (hand-me-down courtesy of Ev)! Yes, he is sleeping in a stroller, but in all fairness, it is the bassinet component of said stroller! Speaking of hand-me-downs, we have become experts at receiving them, especially from Ev. There are very few things she has not brought over and supplied us with...big thanks!

Christian's Deluxe Sleeping Quarters

One of the big highlights of the past month was Christian's photo shoot at Day 5. My friend Dawn, who happens to be an amazing photographer (and an even more amazing person), very generously offered her services and came over to our house - bean bag, fabrics, books for Christian and camera in tow. She patiently photographed Christian for the better part of 3 hours. Here are a few of our favorites below. She did a gorgeous job, is immensely talented and truly gave us a lifelong gift. (As a side, she also sent us prints, made our announcements, and put together a coffee table book...can words describe our gratitude?) Thank you, thank you, thank you Dawn!





A few family and friends photos below:

Cousin Wade (aka Didi) and Christian hangin' at the hospital - look at the size of that Didi!

Cousin Mallory, Cousin Wade, Dae and Christian

Grandma Ni-Ni emulating Christian's facial expression

Dad and Christian

Minoo and Ann from work

Auntie Kelly, Danielle

Auntie Lisa

the Little Bug

Bootylicious

We're having an amazing time with him and can't wait to see what he does next!