Jeanne or Robby?
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Lucky us, we've got ourselves a sleeper!
Today, Atticus is 18 days old.
Occasionally, he sleeps 5 hours during the night. Last night, my grandmother & some family friends came over for dinner, & Atticus was awake for most of the evening. He just refused to go to bed. My grandmother insisted that he was hungry, so we kept feeding him. He fed from me three times and took a bottle twice. In total, he probably ate at least 4 ounces. So last night, he slept for SEVEN hours! I had to get up in the middle of the night to pump, but sleep for us was a dream last night. I'm glad Robby got some rest. He is usually more tired from interrupted sleep, & today he had to go to campus to teach his sections. When Atticus woke up at 5am, he ate another 30 minutes & slept for another 3 hours.
This boy is so pleasant & mellow. When he has a dirty diaper, he doesn't cry at all. He silently looks around & waits for us to smell his poopy diaper from afar. When he can't sleep, he lies back and looks around without complaint. He doesn't crave the pacifier, though it does soothe him to sleep. & when he wakes up, he whines & squirms for a good 10 minutes before letting out his first cry.
Lucky us.
Occasionally, he sleeps 5 hours during the night. Last night, my grandmother & some family friends came over for dinner, & Atticus was awake for most of the evening. He just refused to go to bed. My grandmother insisted that he was hungry, so we kept feeding him. He fed from me three times and took a bottle twice. In total, he probably ate at least 4 ounces. So last night, he slept for SEVEN hours! I had to get up in the middle of the night to pump, but sleep for us was a dream last night. I'm glad Robby got some rest. He is usually more tired from interrupted sleep, & today he had to go to campus to teach his sections. When Atticus woke up at 5am, he ate another 30 minutes & slept for another 3 hours.
This boy is so pleasant & mellow. When he has a dirty diaper, he doesn't cry at all. He silently looks around & waits for us to smell his poopy diaper from afar. When he can't sleep, he lies back and looks around without complaint. He doesn't crave the pacifier, though it does soothe him to sleep. & when he wakes up, he whines & squirms for a good 10 minutes before letting out his first cry.
Lucky us.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Atticus: The Eating Machine
I'm relieved that breastfeeding is working out, but I have to say that the whole breastfeeding issue is misleading. When the baby suckles & it hurts, the lactation nurse says, "Don't worry, he's latching incorrectly. It should hurt. You should feel a pull instead of a pinch. & you shouldn't hear the clicking sound."
Atticus latches well & he has a powerful suck (the nurses' words, not mine), but breastfeeding still hurts! It's hard to bond with him when I'm cringing in pain. Some mothers tell me that I'll get used to it. One mother said it took her several months to get accustomed to breastfeeding. Now I understand why, though 70% of new mothers breastfeed in the hospital, only 30% continue after 3 months. Don't quote me on that, but I think I read that somewhere.
So, I've concluded that nurses downplay the pain of breastfeeding in order to emphasize the importance of it. Granted, every woman has a different experience with breastfeeding. It doesn't hurt for every woman. But I just can't get over that they don't WARN you how much it hurts.
Early motherhood is not all roses & daisies.
Atticus latches well & he has a powerful suck (the nurses' words, not mine), but breastfeeding still hurts! It's hard to bond with him when I'm cringing in pain. Some mothers tell me that I'll get used to it. One mother said it took her several months to get accustomed to breastfeeding. Now I understand why, though 70% of new mothers breastfeed in the hospital, only 30% continue after 3 months. Don't quote me on that, but I think I read that somewhere.
So, I've concluded that nurses downplay the pain of breastfeeding in order to emphasize the importance of it. Granted, every woman has a different experience with breastfeeding. It doesn't hurt for every woman. But I just can't get over that they don't WARN you how much it hurts.
Early motherhood is not all roses & daisies.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The Visitors Arrive
Now begins the onslaught of aunties and uncles who come bearing red envelopes and parenting advice.
"Why is his head drooping? You're not supporting his neck!"
"Don't go to him when he cries. Just let him cry. It's good for his health!"
"Oh, he's a naughty one. He knows when he's being carried. See how quiet he is now that I'm holding him?"
"Put him in the bouncy here (in the kitchen). He should be around noise and activity."
"He's too cold. He needs a blanket."
"He's too warm. He doesn't need all those blankets."
"Feed him water if you don't have enough milk."
"His name is so complicated! I'm going to call him 'bao bao' (precious)."
My aunties kept exclaiming how "clean" his face was (in Chinese). I guess they meant that his face was clear of blemishes & marks.
Auntie Helena discovered that he has two swirls on the back of his head. Just like his mother! She says that it means that he will be good to his parents (filial piety & all that). When my grandpa found that the part in my hair was shaped like a "Y", he predicted that I would turn out to be naughty. My mom said that Atticus's large nostrils meant that he would be a big spender. I don't know how much stock they put into these Chinese superstitions, but they're fun to listen to.
They all remarked how much Atticus looks like Robby. My mom noted that "Atticus" is misspelled because it gets the red squigly line in Microsoft Word.
More relatives arriving tonight. & I am ready to eat my pigs' feet stew with ginger - a traditional Chinese stew for recovering new mothers.
"Why is his head drooping? You're not supporting his neck!"
"Don't go to him when he cries. Just let him cry. It's good for his health!"
"Oh, he's a naughty one. He knows when he's being carried. See how quiet he is now that I'm holding him?"
"Put him in the bouncy here (in the kitchen). He should be around noise and activity."
"He's too cold. He needs a blanket."
"He's too warm. He doesn't need all those blankets."
"Feed him water if you don't have enough milk."
"His name is so complicated! I'm going to call him 'bao bao' (precious)."
My aunties kept exclaiming how "clean" his face was (in Chinese). I guess they meant that his face was clear of blemishes & marks.
Auntie Helena discovered that he has two swirls on the back of his head. Just like his mother! She says that it means that he will be good to his parents (filial piety & all that). When my grandpa found that the part in my hair was shaped like a "Y", he predicted that I would turn out to be naughty. My mom said that Atticus's large nostrils meant that he would be a big spender. I don't know how much stock they put into these Chinese superstitions, but they're fun to listen to.
They all remarked how much Atticus looks like Robby. My mom noted that "Atticus" is misspelled because it gets the red squigly line in Microsoft Word.
More relatives arriving tonight. & I am ready to eat my pigs' feet stew with ginger - a traditional Chinese stew for recovering new mothers.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Hello, World!
Atticus Halcyon Loh-Ratan
Born: February 22, 2010, at 2pm.
Where: Cedar-Sinai Hospital, Beverly Hills (but we'd rather tell him he was born in Los Angeles)
Weight: 6lbs, 14oz
Length: 20.7 inches
Appearance: East Asian in the face, but South Asian in the hair (on the forehead, back, arms, & ears)
Social security number: ###-##-####(just kidding!)
Honestly, Robby & I have had numerous discussions about the extent to which we share Atticus's life on the Internet. We have no qualms about sharing our own lives through this blog & through Facebook. But I think my caution is warranted. Robby likes to argue that nothing is private anymore, but I disagree. We can oftentimes choose what we make public. I ask myself if I would have liked my parents to maintain an public blog about my babyhood and childhood, & I'd have to say NO. All I think of is vulnerable exposure of Truman in The Truman Show.
I have had one bad experience with blogs before, one in which I've vowed never to maintain one. Ironically, Robby, who prides himself in his knowledge of human behavior & computers, has convinced me that tools such as blogs are not inherently evil. We began this blog to offer pre-wedding information to friends & family. Then it turned into a travel blog when we spent a 5-week honeymoon in Turkey. Now, this blog serves mainly to inform our friends & family who live abroad (particularly Oma & Opa in Germany) & out of town. Nonetheless, information that emitted into cyberspace can be accessed by anyone, so I am constantly conscious of what I share (nothing too personal that I may regret later). Writing can be a catharsis, but writing for a public audience on the Internet should not be, I think.
Now that I've stepped off my soap box, let me introduce Atticus.
There isn't much to say except that he is currently one week old. We are so fortunate that he is not a colicky baby. He is very well-tempered and so cute. We are fascinated by him. He recognized my voice from Day One, and he knows when I am carrying him (because he wakes up or cries when Robby carries him). He loves to sleep on my chest at night, though I try not to keep him there for long. There something strangely uncanny to our intangible connection. I think that my body is too exhausted, stretched, and pulled to acknowledge this connection, but Atticus has shown time & time again that he knows me more than he knows anyone else. What a way to feel special!
More to come...
The bun is fully baked & out of the oven
We give a big, warm hello to the long-awaited addition to our family: Atticus Halcyon Loh-Ratan.
Yes, his name is a mouthful - maybe typical of the ambitious names that new parents give their first babies. Atticus was my idea. I've always wanted to name my child after a literary character, & Atticus is as noble as they come. As cheesy as it sounds, I have taught To Kill a Mockingbird for 8 years, & I still learn something new every time I reread it. I tell this to my tenth graders, and they roll their eyes with sarcasm.
Yes, his name is a mouthful - maybe typical of the ambitious names that new parents give their first babies. Atticus was my idea. I've always wanted to name my child after a literary character, & Atticus is as noble as they come. As cheesy as it sounds, I have taught To Kill a Mockingbird for 8 years, & I still learn something new every time I reread it. I tell this to my tenth graders, and they roll their eyes with sarcasm.
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