BAM

Age: 2 months
Weight: 12 pounds

Baby and Me group (BAM) met again on Wednesday. Christian and I were late after losing track of time at Target (imagine that), but the thought of skipping a class and therefore another weighing didn't even cross our minds. It's the highlight of our week, these weigh-ins!

12 pounds, 4 ounces (with clothes)

So we all sit around in a circle and play with our babies, nurse, change diapers, let them scream, etc. as well as share thoughts, good ideas, and tips. I couldn't even imagine this being fun before having a baby, but I thoroughly enjoy it and have met some really nice people.

On Tuesday, Ev and I took the kids and tested out an experiment: Would they or would they not fit, 3-wide, in the backseat of the Lexus (which was purchased, by the way, after Dae announced "he was not quite ready for a minivan"). A resounding yes...gargantuan carseats and all! It was another 80 degree, sunny day in Portland, so our sweaty kids were pretty cozy back there, but we made do and were able to get all our errands done in a timely fashion.

Packed in like hot little sardines

After our errands, it was back to Ev's, where Didi and Mal lounged on the lawn while Christian snoozed in the car:

The shoeless Robertson Clan

Christian and I have been diligently attending Baby Boot Camp for 3 weeks now (thanks for the tip, Minah!). And still, somehow, I managed to gain 7 pounds since starting class. I do have a feeling that can be attributed more to the Fruit Roll-Ups that were on sale at Safeway (5 boxes for 5 dollars, heaven forbid I pass that up!) than to attending an exercise class every day. Slowly but surely I will hopefully whittle away at those pesky pounds. I snapped some photos today since it was gorgeous outside. It is a lot of fun!


On Thursday, Dae got done early at St. Vincent's (how much do I love his current rotation?) so we drove up to Alberta Street for what is called "Last Thursday". It is a variation on the Pearl District's "First Thursday" where different street vendors and artists showcase their items along the sidewalk, running about 20 blocks. Alberta Street is filled with an eccentric crowd, so Christian got his fair share of a new kind of sensory stimulation: incense sticks, blaring music, tattoos galore, you name it, it was there! We stopped into Bernie's Southern Bistro for Happy Hour and gobbled down some hush puppies, meatloaf sandwiches and fried green tomatoes. Washed down with mojitos, our grand total was only $19! Here's dad trying to protect Stinky's eyes while he's having none of it.

No Ray-Bans, please. I prefer Oakleys.

And finally, we purchased our tickets to Maui yesterday for September! Alaska Airlines is having a special and we have a $50 companion fare, so we are thinking (hoping, praying!) that we might get away with this trip on the cheap. Now, Stinks just needs swim trunks...

What's next...the parking lot?

Our baby has been demoted to sleeping on the floor, as seen below. He wasn't exactly living the high life in his stroller, but we have now reached a new low (no pun intended!). It all started when I began Baby Boot Camp, which necessitated a stroller with sturdier wheels. Enter the Bugaboo stroller, formerly known as Christian's bed. So without his old stroller, Dad managed to fashion a little nest on the floor that Christian has taken to quite well! (usually there are pillows surrounding him on all sides, fyi) As of last night, he slept for 3 hours straight, possibly a record, and then another 2, then 1, another 1, etc etc. until waking up for good this morning at 6am.


As you might be able to tell from the red backdrop on a majority (ok, all) of our photos, Christian spends a large portion of his life on our couches. Here he is in his new 'gentleman' outfit. I think he looks like a proper little gentleman! (Collared onesie $2 sale at Baby Gap, pants $5 sale at Gymboree, Robeez from our fun realtor Cary. Dae says the true Chinese comes out in me with my heavy bargain shopping!) He has recently begun to blow-through outfits, especially after a big meal. We were hoping he would not blow through his gentleman outfit and he managed to do fairly well (just a little leakage).

I don't look particularly cute or wear fancy clothing these days, so I thought I would document the rare occasion that I am looking 'fancy'. This shirt I purchased at Ross for $18 and it is a new favorite (in other words, be prepared to see a lot of it!). I took this this past weekend when Leelee and I were lounging in the rocking chair and dad was napping out on the couch. You can catch a glimpse of the necklace that Lisa got me...I love it. It has Christian's name and birthdate on a silver disk.

Look at those cheeks!

Speaking of this past weekend, it was Memorial Day weekend and Dae got the entire 3-day weekend off! We celebrated by hitting up Costco, Gymboree, Baby Boot Camp (dads came free on Monday - Dae was game and came with me but is definitely not in the prime of his fitness!) and went walking about in the Pearl District. Dae also babysat on Saturday as Ev and I got Pedis and went to Minah's Barbecue. All in all a fun-filled weekend!

Below is a photo of Christian wearing his new wrist-finders, and after that, his golf socks from Auntie Ev. He has them in assorted colors for a variety of outfits!

9 Months

Some women are said to have a pregnancy glow about them. I was not one of those women! There is a Chinese belief that if you are having a boy your skin shows it (and not in a good way) and I believe I was direct proof of that theorem.

Obviously this post is out of sequence in the blog, but I wanted to keep record of the pregnancy photos in seqential order before I forgot (although how could I forget what I looked and felt like). So away we go!

4 months. I thought I was big. Now I know those were the good ol' days...not to be found again for a very long time! (keep in mind when viewing the subsequent photos and wondering why I look so bad so quickly, I also had a tan here from Honduras!)

5 months. (Why in the world did I wear those shorts for a photo?)

6 months. I lived in these maternity cargo pants, on loan kindly from Lisa.

7 months. Wearing one of my favorite Costco shirts that Ev strongly dislikes.

8 months. Baaaad skin (pale, red around eyes and nose)


8 1/2 months. 1 week before birth (little did I know)


Day of Birth! March 28, 2009 (same Costco shirt, different color)


3 days old. Boy do I look gorgeous in this photo. (same Costco shirt)

All 9 months worth it and then some for the final product!!!

SMILES!!!

Age: 8 weeks
Weight: Approximately 11.5 pounds

Leelee is smiling (yet another nickname, more on that later)!!! Auntie Ev caught this photo on Thursday right after he had been fed and changed...a happy camper.

Wearing his outfit from Sweden!

I am, obviously, beyond excited by this very new development. There really is nothing like a smile...

This past week was another beautiful spring weekend. Friday I went for a walk with a few new friends from my baby group and found that Christian is surprisingly not the chubbiest one of the bunch. All 3 babies (Ronan, Quinn and Olivia) have Christian beat by a longshot, at 16.5 pounds, 14.5 pounds and 12.5 pounds each. And they were all born within a week of each other! (There must be something in this Portland breastmilk.)

Today we trekked over to the Hollywood district for the Saturday Farmer's Market. Fresh strawberries are finally here, and not a moment too soon! Here is Christian enjoying his pints (of strawberries, that is).


So, back to Leelee. This was his original nickname before he had actually made an appearance (short for little Lee). My mom and Dae deemed it 'feminine' so it fell out of favor for a few weeks but has since made a strong comeback. We still alternate between Stinks and Leelee but I have a feeling if Christian had any say, Leelee it would be!

A couple more photos:

If only he were this zonked at night

Future Volunteer? Hmmm...negotiable, perhaps

Big Head

Christian has a big head, on display in the photo below. Check out the head to body ratio!

Looks like he takes after both mom and dad in the head size department - the guy never had a chance!

I've been trying tummy-time periodically to strengthen his neck muscles, as recommended. However, I can't help but think he is at a slight disadvantage in that department, as his head seems abnormally large!

My friend Trena was in town this weekend and we got to visit with her and her 1 1/2 year old son, Evan. Evan is so smart and looks like a little angel! So, back to the big head, comparing the size of our 7 week old's head to her 1 1/2 year old boy's head, there is a striking similarity. I hope this means Christian will be as smart as Evan!

New Buds

The weather in Portland has been gorgeous: 80+ degrees and sunny, just in time for Mal's 3rd birthday party on Saturday. Ev and Jeff rented out an art space in the Pearl District, a really cool place and a painting free-for-all for the kids (and adults). In between mimosas, Dae and I being the complete non-artists that we are went ahead and copied a bicycle design we saw on another shirt and then painted a jersey for Stinky.

Mal prepping for feet painting on the mattress!

I've been desperately trying to get Christian to smile at me (as an actual response to my smile, as opposed to gas-related, etc.). This was especially urgent after I saw a lady and her 6-week old having a full smiling exchange at Baby and Me group last week; I felt like we had some major catching up to do. So far, unsuccessful. This morning, I did, however catch Christian smiling at his new fish friends...(Tree and Elephant are old news). It was so cute. I wasn't able to capture it on film, but I did catch him entranced (and seemingly perplexed) at his fish.



I thought he looked so cozy and cute in this photo below, but it also demonstrates his tightly clenched fists and one other funny phenomenon: Everytime I try to pry open his fists, he puts up some major resistance. When I actually win in this "fist fight" (haha!) and manage to wrangle open a fist I always find a prize: a ball of lint! Without fail, every single time I open up his fist there is some lint in there (and it's usually blue for some unknown reason).


We also reached our first major milestone: hiring an official babysitter for a night out! We borrowed Ev's back-up nanny and headed to the Oregon symphony Sunday night to see Joshua Bell play a piece by Mendelssohn. It was absolutely spectacular! (Shamefully, we left at intermission once we were relatively sure Joshua Bell's appearance was over) Dae and I had told the babysitter we would be home by 10 and still had about an hour left, so we decided to really party it up...at Safeway. How sad: a trip to Safeway without child has become as exciting (and rare) as Christmas morning! So now we should be all stocked up on groceries for the week...

Re-emerging into Society

Age: 7 weeks
Weight: 11 pounds (!)

You may wonder how I can write his weight with such confidence. Well, weighing Christian on an actual baby scale was just one of the byproducts of his and my re-emergence into society this week! We had slid into a habit of some major TV watching (the exact number of hours eludes me, but somewhere in the double digits of hours/day) and I was starting to think that 4 hours of the Today show was more than enough. Thus, the turning over of the new leaf!

So, Wednesday was our first Baby & Me class at Emanuel Hospital. They had a guest speaker who was talking about Lead Poisoning, but the minute I saw the baby scale lying on the table it was tunnel vision. The speaker had barely uttered the words "Any questions?" before I had Christian horizontal on that pan! I held my breath for the final reading and could barely believe my eyes when 11 pounds 6 ounces flashed in front of me! So after some sophisticated math (subtraction of clothing), I figure 11-ish pounds is probably accurate. Wow!!! I mean, I wrote about his mammoth eating, but I really didn't think he was more than 9 pounds. I had also seen some flesh rolls sneaking up on him, but again, didn't really think anything of it. Dae and I are having a good chuckle over his weight gain and enjoy having a chubby, robust little guy on our hands! (We have confirmed it must be a Bian gene - note Ev's kids versus Sung's kids). So now I can't wait to go back to class just to get a weekly weigh-in (in and of itself worth the $2.50 fee!).

On Monday and again this morning, we attended a class called Baby Boot Camp, held outdoors at Laurelhurst Park. My friend Minah had cautioned me that it was a lot harder than it sounds (really, how hard can it be to push a stroller around a paved park path?) and she was right. I had vague intentions of returning 2 days later but was derailed by some serious lactic acid build-up. Anyway, it was great to actually get out and exercise again, and really fun that the stroller is built in to the exercise program. I think Christian enjoyed all the jostling!

Today, Dawn & Elisa dropped by with another little gem: this wonderful coffee table photo book that she had designed herself. It is so cool!!!




A visit to Kelly's house rounded out our social calendar today. Adrienne, Josephine and Danielle were hilarious. I think Christian enjoyed being around all those girls, he barely made a peep all afternoon!

The Ladies' Man

A few more photos from this week:

Howdy!

I really love my monkey outfit from Auntie Ev (I wear it nearly every day!)

Future Dawg

Side note: Please forgive the many poorly lit, unfocused photos. As an excuse, a portion of them are taken on the iPhone, but in all reality, it's just total lack of operator skill!

A Night in the Life

Last night, Stinks woke up at the following times for a feeding:

9:00pm
10:30pm
12:00 midnight
2:00am
4:00am
5:00am
7:00am

Now it's just the waiting game for his next awakening. I hope this growth spurt/phase/whatever it may be ends soon, for all our sanity's sake!

Picture Post

For some reading relief, following are some of the photos we've snapped in the past couple of days...

I can't not laugh when I see this one. Such an adult pose!

So funny, that guy. And here I am with my lifeline, aka the laptop computer.

His black-and-white flashcards.

Taking his studies very seriously.

Everybody always makes fun of my hitchhiker thumbs. Unfortunately for Christian, he inherited at least one of them from me! (I don't know if the photo properly illustrates the hitchhiker-ness of his right thumb, but it's there!)

Dae purchased these shoulder pads from BabiesRUs a few weeks ago. We call them his new friends, Tree and Elephant (He even shows his affection towards Tree by eating his leaves every now and then).

On one of our daily walks (well, not daily, but I try)

Ok, I lied. This post won't be just photos, I had a few things I wanted to write about before I forget:

I rented the Curious Case of Benjamin Button 3 days ago but there has not been a whisper of a chance of 3 hours of uninterrupted time since then. What was I thinking...there's $4.79 down the drain!

Christian has been Ratty Gonzales the past couple of nights (we use a variation of Speedy Gonzales and insert whatever adjective suits the occasion - Fuzzy Gonzales after he's had a bath and his hair is fuzzy, Ratty Gonzales when he's particularly ratty, and so on - not sure where this derived from...Ev?). He now thinks 45 minutes stretches of sleep is sufficient, therefore we are in a walking coma.

His baby acne has gotten mildly out of control. Somehow it doesn't show up very well on photos, but his days of golden (jaundiced, albeit) skin are definitely over!

His breath is so dreamy and sweet! You'd think there would be at least a hint of sour, what with all that milk, but no!

He has gotten hiccups almost every day. We're not worried but I think hiccups are a bad thing in Asian cultures. I could be wrong.

Heavy panting always precedes a crying breakdown. It's our telltale sign and we've become trained like Pavlov's dogs, heartrate up, pupils dilated when we hear it. And it's not a subtle, quiet pant - the other day I could hear it coming from the next room over!

I have become addicted, and I mean addicted, to dried mangoes from Trader Joe's. I am up to about a pack-a-day habit...it's gotta stop!

Mother's Day tomorrow, wonder what Dae has in store...if anything (haha!)

Tears!

They appeared! His lacrimal glands are up and running!

Apartment Hopper

Stinks went apartment-hopping in Richland this past weekend and slept and cried his way through the tour. First stop: the LaVerde apartments, where Great grandma Ni-ni, honest as ever, commented on my physique within about 10 minutes of arrival, saying "Well, your face has gotten thinner, but your body has definitely gotten bigger!". (Coming from her this is a compliment, seeing as how 6 days after birth she mentioned I looked chubby) Second stop: Washington Square apartments, new home to Grandpa Gong-Gong. Both were warm (uncomfortably so) and cozy, so Stinky was a happy clam. Speaking of warmth, I'm not sure what the cause is, but ever since he was born, my internal temperature has been wildly out of control. I used to have what we termed poor internal climate control, where I was very easily warm or cold and could not adjust very quickly. Now, it is just constant hotness and sweating. I think I prefer the former me!

Great-grandma's trusty chocolate supply in background, near-at-hand

Another alarming trend, this time regarding Stinks: crying. His periods of calm, sedate awareness or peaceful dreaming are becoming a rarity. These days he prefers attention and lots of it! He has wisened up to our old calming tricks (the swing, swaddling, laying on his back on the boppy). His latest preference is lounging on his side or stomach.

(notice new outfit)

And now an admission: I had up until this point been (blissfully) unaware that the one-piece jumpers Christian had spent his first month living in were not truly 'outfits'. I assumed they were a one-size-fits-any-occasion type of getup. He slept in them, played in them, ate in them, visited friends and family in them. In fact, I had been given a few newborn 3-piece suits and secretly wondered "Who actually puts forth the effort to dress their baby in these as a newborn?". Well, apparently, everyone besides me (what a novelty, people actually putting pants, socks and jackets on their kids!). So this weekend marked the inaugural debut of Christian's brand new wardrobe. So long, beloved Turtle jumper! (well, maybe not a complete farewell!)

One of his "real" outfits (minus jacket)

This weekend we also got to visit Christian's old Hypnobirthing classmates at our reunion. We met their new babies, Mona and Charlie, and heard about Mona's mom's 42-hour natural labor! Aye carumba! Thank goodness Christian took it easy on me...I will now think twice before complaining about my 12-hour experience!