Daddy's way to swaddle

Golf has tried and tried to swaddle his son in such a way so Aidan's arms don't escape and thrash around, waking him up. Well, last night, he found a solution that only husbands can come up with -- duct tape the baby! LOL! And I gotta say that for the most part, it works!

Baby took to a bottle

I tried pumping for the first time yesterday, in preparation for teaching on Saturdays from 9-12. I'd have to pump 3 ounces, one per hour that I'm away. I'd like to pump more if I can, just in case. Well, I managed to pump only 2 ounces yesterday because I guess my body's not used to it yet. It took me hours to get that amount. Golf gave the bottle to Aidan last night to see how he would react to a bottle. Aidan attacked that thing as soon as he knew milk came out of it and he drained that bottle in less than five minutes!!! That's my baby! WOo hoo! Now I know I can go to school and teach, I can get my hair done, I can go to the dentist, etc, etc, etc, that requires the baby to have a bottle. What a relief. :)

Monday Madness

I haven't played Monday Madness in weeks, so here goes!

1. If I could just figure out how to speak Thai like my husband, I'd be real happy.
2. I would be happy to hand over cleaning the apartment to someone else.
3. One thing I try to do every day is drink enough water.
4. Someone once told me that I was very brave to live in a foreign country.
5. Probably the one word/phrase I tend to overuse is 'there'.
6. I need to work on losing my pregnancy weight gain.
7. When I'm cleaning house I like to listen to talk radio.

Survived a suck-a-thon

I'm sitting here this morning, bleary-eyed and spaced out. Last night Aidan slept from 9-1 AM and from 1 AM to 7 AM he was awake every hour or hour and a half ready to nurse for a half hour at each session. He would sleep hard for about half an hour, then he'd fidget and make noises and keep me awake until he was ready to fully wake up and nurse. He's been on a growing spurt lately and he wants to feed constantly during the day. I hope this spurt ends soon because I'm rather sore and can't go out much!

Books, work and pumping

My mother ordered some books for me from Amazon before she left and yesterday afternoon they arrived! I've barely pulled my nose from them since they got here and I'm immensely enjoying some new reading material. I can hardly wait to go back to the States where there are LIBRARIES readily available and I can read something new all the time. The first book I got is Down Came the Rain by Brooke Shields which is her story of dealing with post partum depression. The next book I got is the opposite end of the spectrum called Baby Laughs by Jenny McCarthy. I got her Belly Laughs book dealing with pregnancy and childbirth, this book is about "The naked truth about the first year of motherhood."

I got an email from Aeid at work saying that I could have a tutoring job every Saturday from 9-12 and get paid 1,500 Baht per day if I wanted the job and could I start this coming Saturday? I called her back and said I'd be delighted to work but could start the week after rather than begin this Saturday because Aidan has not yet been introduced to the bottle and I haven't tried pumping yet. I need all of next week to get used to pumping and get Aidan used to taking a bottle. I really do hope that works out OK. All the baby books and websites suggest to begin at about five weeks old introducing a breastfed infant to the bottle so as to avoid the dreaded 'nipple confusion'.

Anyway, I look forward to working a few hours a week and what I earn can pay for the rent, and that will help our savings nest egg we've been living off of since the beginning of May when my income stopped.

Weight loss woes

I gave birth to Aidan just over a month ago and I immediately lost 20 pounds. It is said that breast feeding promotes weight loss and Aidan is being exclusively breast fed. Well, in the last month I have lost exactly 0 pounds! I have cut back on the amount of food I eat (but still more than I ate pre-pregnancy since I'm nursing) and I exercise every day. I take all 12 flights of stairs going down and take 5 flights going up. I powerwalk nearly every day for a minimum of 40 minutes. I also do a pilates post pregnancy exercise video every other day. The scale is not budging. Why why why?!?!? This is certainly not a weight my body is targeted for. I need lose 30 pounds. My natural weight falls at around 140 and I haven't budged from 170. It makes me depressed about my looks and when I'm already homesick and still waiting for my husband's visa to come through, it doesn't help my mood.

A few days of cooler weather

The last couple of days have been cool enough to turn the AC off all day long. The fresh air has felt great and I know I will appreciate it when the electricity bill comes again. It rains off and on.

I've been power walking nearly every day, increasing my time gradually. I read on a parenting forum that the weight doesn't really start coming off until six weeks post partum. I hope that's the case because my weight has plateaued since losing my initial 20 pounds right after birth. I haven't been eating any more, as a matter a fact, I'm cutting back a little bit, but not too much since nursing mothers need some extra calories.

Yesterday morning, to mark Aidan's one month birthday, Golf and I took offerings to the spirit house of the condo property. Thais believe that every property has residential spirits that must be kept happy with offerings and prayers and the spirits will then leave the living alone. So that's what we did, just to cover our bases! :)

One month today

Today Aidan's 4 weeks old! Last night we took him in his new baby carrier to the market for dinner and this is his usual fussy time. Well, he loves being carried around, of course, so he was very good during the whole time we were out. He also loves being outside and hearing the sounds from the street. Earlier, Golf carried him around the condo property while I did some power walking then that's when we went to dinner. It felt SO good to get out and about in the world of the living and we're going to try to make this a regular thing now.

Latest pictures

Golf has updated his website of baby pictures. Go here to see them and click on the thumbnails for the larger photo.

Thailand bottle feeds too

I think the US is beginning to move more toward breast feeding than it used to, but I think Thailand is still primarily a bottle feeding nation. I've yet to see any woman bfing in public -- I'm the only one whose done it lately that I know of...

This brings me to the point. Yesterday my former colleague who lives in the same condo unit as we do knocked on the door while I was nursing. I had to snap up real quick and luckily Aidan was already finished. Anne had brought me a BEAUTIFUL gift basket from one of the parents of my students from last year. It was so thoughtful and generous and I truly appreciate the kindess of this parent. What was in the gift basket? Lots and lots of bottles and bottle accessories. I have yet to use a bottle since Aidan was born. Fortunately I saw a teething ring, a pacifier and some bowls with suction cups good for training with solid foods for later. I just couldn't help but be disappointed that it will be likely that I won't be able to use most of what this parent gave me. We shall keep it though, just in case because you never know what the future may bring...

On our own

Well, early this morning, Golf took Mom to the airport and I won't see her til the end of August, if all goes as planned. We'll sure miss her and even with a baby here, the apartment seems very quiet. We've got the hang of being parents, and I think we'll be fine.

Yesterday I went to a nearby medical clinic about my wrist. Turns out I have an inflamed tendon and the doctor gave me a steroid shot and I need to take it easy on my hand for about a week. If the pain does not clear up within a week, I may need surgery on it. PLEASE no! I'd do it here in Thailand, though, because it's affordable. As a matter a fact, the doctor's visit, the shot and the gel to rub in for pain came to less than $9!

3 weeks old today

Aidan's hit his three week mark today. Wow, in one more week, he'll be a month old!
I have a breastfeeding book that says that if baby has an exceptional urge to suck then adding a pacifier at a minimum of 3 weeks old is OK, if you observe his behavior and make sure his feedings are the same etc. So yesterday, one day shy of three weeks, we let him use his bippy after nursing sessions when he was being fussy.

The night before that, he fussed from 1 PM to 10 PM straight, only napping when he was at the breast. That was a very trying day for all of us. Yesterday, Aidan was like a different baby. He didn't expend all his energy pumping his legs, flailing his arms and screamin' and squallin'. He was calm and had SUCH a cute little face. He got in more naps and was better rested for the evening, which he fell asleep before 10 PM. Whew! AND no latching or nursing problems either.

I'm so glad that we have discovered these little miracles before Mother leaves early tomorrow morning. After that, it's all on Golf and me til we move back to the States, but baby will be three months old by then.

Since I was into my 2nd week of my 9th month of pregnancy, I've had an awfully sore wrist. It's my right hand and it's just terrible beneath my thumb in that little indentation. We're going to go to a medical clinic tonight to see if the doctor can figure out what's wrong. It's so bad in the mornings, I can barely put a pony tail in and I sometimes fear I will drop the baby when lifting him. I hope it's not arthritis or something like that.

Many things

Yesterday we went to see the same monk who advised Golf and I of our wedding date, then after I got pregnant, we went to this monk again for blessings of a safe pregnancy and delivery. And yesterday he blessed Aidan and told his fortune. He said right off that this was a very intelligent boy because he has a very round forehead. He also said that he will be a very successful businessman because of ambition and smarts. It was good all around -- good health, happiness, etc.

Today Golf had his interview at the US Embassy. There is still a small glitch to work out, which our lawyer is going to help us out with. I'm thankful every day that we hired his services because dealing with a new baby on top of all this bureaucratic paperwork would be totally and completely overwhelming. Fortunately, our lawyer said that no one has ever been denied a visa on the grounds we were refused, they just need more paperwork.

I handled public breastfeeding OK -- and there was also an article in the SFGate about it too. I covered him with a blanket, and while that's fine where it's cool or in an a/c room, it's still very limiting. Read the article on more about it.

It's not all roses and happiness

I posted this on Babycenter today, to give you a good idea of what I'm going through as a mother of a newborn:

I'm so weary, frustrated, tired, frustrated, ready to cry and did I say frustrated? Our baby seems to cry ALL THE TIME. If he hasn't gotten in a nap, he's either eating or CRYING. I'm so tired of it and I can't take it anymore, so my poor DH is dealing with the crybaby.

My nipples are STILL in agony and I've been nursing for just over 2 weeks. Are anyone else's nipples who are exclusively breastfeeding still cracked and sore after this amount of time? I check EVERYTHING when Aidan latches on and it all looks textbook perfect, but I am in terrible pain, even in between feedings I can feel them throbbing.

Lastly, anybody else who are exclusively breastfeeding -- are you using a pacifier? I used one on Aidan last night when he was screaming for hours and he got some soothing relief, but later that night had some latching problems, so now I'm petrified of nipple confusion. I just don't know what to do with this baby and every bit of me wants to just skip this difficult newborn phase and get to the part where it's supposed to be fun and fulfilling to have a child. I feel so bad about saying this but it's true and it makes me weep as I write this. Sorry for the me only post, I just need a little support because I'm going through a real rough time.

Some news and a photo album

Yesterday I called the American Embassy to make an appointment to register Aidan as a US citizen born abroad so I could get his passport. It turns out that the next available appointment isn't til July 15th and it takes an additional three weeks for the passport to arrive! This means that we will be delayed in moving back for another couple of weeks.

At first I was pretty upset about this, but Mom pointed out that it's probably for the best because Aidan will be a little older by the time we move (mid to late August now?) and easier to care for. With the incredibly huge adjustment we will all be going through, having him a little more mature will make a big difference. So I'm OK with it.

Many of you want to see more pictures, especially family members, so I've set up a Snapfish online photo album that I will be adding to as we are still here in Bangkok. Hope you like his cuteness! It's now time to nurse him so Golf and I can go enjoy a dinner out while my dear mother cares for him. :)

Life is starting to get easier

Aidan is becoming more attentive the last couple of days. He's also not as squally at night, so we don't think he really has colic. Maybe just overstimulation during the day. He was up for seven straight hours from 5 til 11:30 last night and that was a little frustrating, but at least he wasn't screaming the whole time. His crying has actually lessened! I will try and get some new pictures of him up today. He's 11 days old today and the days are getting incrimentally easier although I still don't want to leave the apartment with him because he has to nurse and have diaper changes so often. I'm not confident about breastfeeding in public yet.