Thursday, October 17, 2013

Lina's baby sister is here!

Oh my goodness, I am a proud Mama of two beautiful girls. I am still hospital, so once I get the chance I will update with pictures, the birth story, and how Lina<3 reacts to her little sister.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Monday’s Art Project

WP_20131014_015



Sunday, October 13, 2013

The longest week...

It had been the longest week since last Friday (October 4, 2013), for us. Mama is extremely exhausted from taking care of my baby who had a fever for almost 72hours, then a rash for 3-4 days, and now still not quite a 100% better yet. This was our first real experience of  Lina<3 being sick like that.  Besides having a fever between 101-104 F, there were no other symptoms - no coughing, breathing hard or unusual, no diarrhea, no constipation, and no constant crying. The first fever came when she was five months old, which  was due to immunization shots. And it lasted a day so, and with constant nursing, she was better in no time.

Friday-->
My little Lina<3 vomited all her breakfast and her appetite, after that, was decreasing. All morning, she was very warm to me (not so much to  Daddy or PorPor, so I thought it was just my pregnancy hormones), and her temperature was fine. After seeing the doctor on Friday afternoon, the doctor stated that she had a fever, and the fever will probably last 2-3 days, just watch her closely, and give children's acetaminophen 1tsp. As long as the fever goes down with medicine, she should be okay. The doctor said that as long as she does not seemed sick that I shouldn't worry too much about the temperature number itself. At doctor's office, the staff measured her height and weight on the big scale (where she was able to stand up on it), but it terrified her, and was not a good experience - I could not even take a picture of you being on there.  She will get use to it later on. I would try to explain to her that it was a big girl scale, and I even got on it to show her how it works while holding her. She was still fussy so Mama changed the topic, and tried to make her laughed. Doc gave her some children's acetaminophen, and home we go. Fever was still there but you were still playful, and appetite seemed okay. Friday night was not okay, you were fussy, and did not sleep well. Mama continued to  test her body temperature with a rectum thermometer, and gave more medicine every few hours. Her temperature went up to 104 F and did not displayed any other symptoms. After coming to Mama's bed, and sleeping with me; it was much better for me since I was able to watch, and monitor more closely.

Saturday --->
The fever continued to fluctuate between 102-103 F. Her body felt so hot, and her mood was okay. Mama stayed home from work to monitor her, and she also had Daddy's attention as well. The body temperature was monitor and medicine was given within the time limits; food and liquids were given but unfortunately you did not want to eat much, and only want to drink orange juice - even said "orange juice" for first time; and playtime was okay - ran around, laugh, but mostly want to watch her favorite show. There was some fussiness throughout the day especially when it is to take her temperature and medicine - at first she liked taking the medicine but after the first 24 hours, she realized that she did not like it which made  it harder to administer it. We called the doctor to double check the status of her temperature, and the doctor stated to keep an eye on her, as long as her temperature goes down with the medicine, she should be okay in a 2-3 days especially since she is not displaying any other symptoms. She slept about a couple hours throughout the day, always with Mama next to you. Her diapers were still full even though you did not drink enough liquids, which was good and she was not dehydrated. There was no poop for the day. Overnight was scary because she felt so hot to the touch and her temperature was rising a little. With some more medicine given within the time limits, her body temperature seemed to be getting a tad bit better.

Sunday-->
All she wanted to do was sleep, wake up, drink some orange juice, eat crackers and back into Mama bed for sleepy time.  She was tired looking today, lack of energy. Her temperature went up and down between 102-103 F still no other symptoms relating to high fever. Mama did not always sleep with her little baby in the afternoon because Mama moves around a lot in the bed, and that disturbs her. With that, she had slept longer. Mama made soup and congee but she did not eat more than a two spoonful. Her afternoon was was from 5-11:30pm, LOL, such a big change in her sleeping routines.
The night was okay, tested temperature every few hours. It was a good thing that you slept the night with Mama again.

Monday and Tuesday-->
Mama's days off from work and got to spent a lot of time with you. On Monday, her body temperature dropped below 100 F, which was great news, and it stayed that way for the rest of the day. She was very clingy, wanted to be held all the time (which was hard being 8+ months pregnant and having to carry you most of the day), was very whiny, cried a lot, and fussed a lot. Mama felt so helpless because I just did not know what she wanted from me. She points, cried, whined, fussed, and got frustrated trying to tell me what she wanted. Finally made poop after three days. After the fever, I noticed some red bumps that were raised on her forehead, the side of her cheeks, and behind her ears, which I though was heat rashes but she did not scratch (usually heat rashes are itchy). I gave her some antihistamine and used a tiny bit of hydrocortizone cream, (just in case she was itchy). Still was not eating well. Mama did not realized how exhausting Monday was until it was time for Mama's doctor's apportionment which I ended up going to alone, while Daddy took care of you. Last night sleeping Mama's bed.
On Tuesday, continue to monitored the rash, which now is all over her body, back, arms, and thighs. It looked terrible. The more she cried and fussed, the more inflamed it looked. Tuesday, she was even harder to please. There was a lot of crying when she did not get what she wanted. She did not eat much during the day but for dinner she had congee and eat it well. She had a tough night, and did not want to sleep in her own crib after waking up in the middle of the night, so into Mama's bed you went, and slept for the rest of night.

Wednesday-->
Mama went back to work, and she went to PorPor. I fell uneasy leaving her because I just want to be with her since she is not 100% better yet. She was still not eating well during the day, and still fussy. The redness bumps on her body, face, arms, and back seemed to have lessen. Mama called the doctor to ask her about it but the doctor was unavailable so I made an appointment for the next day. Daddy had asked around about the red bumps, and one of your cousins had the same thing after having a fever with no symptoms and their doctor told them it was roseola. She ate well at dinner.

Thursday-->
PorPor said that she was less clingy, more playful, and energetic. The rash seemed to have lessen a lot. The doctor confirmed it, it was roseola. She was also back to herself. I am so glad. You are eating better. Slept through the night :) in her own bed.

Friday-->
Ate well, played well, and slept well. Almost 100% better.

Saturday and Sunday-->
She was in the capable hands of Daddy. Daddy said she was much better - playful, eating well, slept well, laughing, smiling and giggling.

Friday, October 4, 2013

my baby is sick :(

My little Lina<3 had not been feeling good all day. She has been warm all morning with no fever, tired, a little fussy, clingy (more than usual) and vomited her breakfast (hoping that it was just from being too full, and nothing else). Mama left you for 2hrs with PorPor to go to work after I put you to sleep. Around noon, Mama came back to check on you, and felt uneasy that she is still feeling warmer (but no fever), not eating well, nor drinking too much fluid, so I made an doctor's appointment. At the doctor's, there was a fever, was given some children's Tylenol fever reducer. The instructions from doctor are to monitor the fever, take children's fever reducer if needed; used a damp rag to cool off body; lightly - no greasy food, just crackers, some rice, soup, drink liquids; and watch out for diarrhea/vomitting. The good thing was that Lina<3 was not sluggish, or losing energy, and actually wants to play. By bedtime, the fever went down but went to check on you two hours later, body temperature rises, fever ...not good. Mama is so concerned about her little baby. Given some medicine so hope that it will go away soon. Feel better my baby!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Mega Blocks

Mama brought the Mega Blocks from Babies R Us/ Toys R Us for a great deal with their red hot deal last week. It cost $10 for 100 counts. Great deal!! 
Lina<3 enjoyed the Mega Blocks very much. It may not seem such an educational toy, but it can be. With the variety of colors of the blocks, the colors are being learnt. Lina<3 repeats after me whenever I say which color the block is. She is getting better at stacking the blocks on top of each other, and putting her stuff animals inside of what she built with some help. As soon as we started to played with the blocks, you wanted them to be “choo choo” (for train), and for a while, it was “choo choo”. Her imagination is increasing every day, and getting more creative.
The size of these blocks are perfect for her little hands to grasp, hold, stack, and pull apart, which helps with the hands and eye coordination. The blocks are also appropriate for her age group. Overall, I am happy with the purchase and so is Lina<3 – which is the most important.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Sensitive Skin...

As the weather gets colder, clothing is going to be important. The type of fabric on the clothing is going to be important as well. The ScratchMeNot Blog had a interesting post about this. And I agree with the post that cotton is the best choice for the cold weather. It may not be the cheapest choice, but the wisest choice for my little Lina<3 this winter, and my baby Bunny (my unborn daughter).  Lina<3 has sensitive skin, and the last thing her skin needs to do is sweat. I hope that my Bunny will not have any skin problems because Lina<3 went through too much as a baby. I am glad that the skin problems for Lina<3 has gotten better.

In The News : Breast-Feeding Services Lag the Law

"Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are required to pay for breast pumps and counseling for new mothers to address breast-feeding problems. The aim is to encourage more women to breast-feed so their infants can reap the health benefits, including reduced risks of asthma, leukemia and Type 2 diabetes."

I have never had a problem with my insurance, and having a lactation consultant at the hospital where I gave birth. Breast-feeding was always my number one priority for my little Lina<3, and will be for my baby Bunny (my unborn daughter). But I shake my head to this article

"New mothers face a number of obstacles in breast-feeding, including insufficient milk or a painful infection. Problems must be resolved quickly: when a baby is hungry, there is little time to wrangle with an insurer over payment for a breast pump or a lactation consultant. A delay can mean that mothers turn to formula, don’t establish an adequate supply, or quit."

In The News : Naps May Aid Young Children’s Learning

"A preschooler’s nap may be an important tool for learning, a new study of 3- to 5-year-olds suggests."
"When children napped, they scored higher on tests of recall afterward than when they stayed awake for the same time period. Nappers also did better on tests the next day."

The article and findings are located here.

Summer Look-back

It has been so cold lately that Autumn seemed to have come so fast. But today was very warm, that we are wearing t-shirts and shorts at home. The weather seemed to be changing again. It is going to be warmer in the next few days. So let’s take a look-back at the summer of 2013 with pictures. We had a pretty good summer.





The Many Faces of Lina<3

This picture was made by Omaya jie jie, a gift for Lina<3. Thank you so much, Omaya jie jie.