Merry Christmas: 5 months!

You probably noticed that Isaac's fourth month update is absent. As you may know, the Number 4 is bad luck in Chinese culture because 4 sounds very similar to "die". Often when people go to a restaurant with a party of 4 they will tell the maitre'd that they have "3 plus 1" instead of "4".

That would be a great reason if I were superstitious. But the truth is, I just got busy and the blog kept getting postponed. So now we have a 4 and 5 month update.

Here's the quick summary for those of you who want to skip the details: Isaac is bigger and more mobile.

Isaac loves bathtime! Here's a pic after the reverie- see contentment written all over his face?


He can lift his head pretty well now and actually plays with toys now! He's a busy boy now with his hands, with a penchant for swiping at our plates during dinner.




Speaking of dinner, below is a picture of Isaac joining us for a dinner one night when he wouldn't let us put him down. This is a BUMBO seat that he is sitting in. It was recently recalled for new safety instructions (i.e., do not use unattended, on a bed or a chair) because kids had been injured through falls off it. As one friend said, "They should recall the parents." NOTE: Isaac was continually supervised while sitting on our table.




Since I started back at work 3 days in November, Isaac has a nanny that comes to watch him those days. Bo is great at getting him to take naps and she sings a lot to him in Chinese.


Over Thanksgiving we went back to Arlington, VA so we could see family/friends and introduce Isaac to them. He did great on the trip down since we drove during his bedtime, but was not so pleased with the very slow 7 hour trip back to NYC which started Sunday afternoon.

Here are pics of the visit with friends- a few are pics not from the visit (including one of a "blowout" for those of you who have never witnessed one)



Here are pics of Thanksgiving day with Dan's family. Isaac got to meet his second cousin, Samantha, from whom he has inherited A LOT of great stuff.


Unfortunately, Isaac got a cold early December which developed into bronchiolitis which was quite scary for us. He was wheezing, coughing and having a hard time breathing. Thankfully, our pediatrician saw us after hours and loaned us a nebulizer to use overnight, saving us a trip to the ER. Here's a pic of him wearing the nebulizer mask.


My parents and sister came in December and we celebrated my mom's 60th birthday. Of course, everyone was really here to see Isaac.




Isaac continues to explore NYC, including one really late night in the subway where we waited and waited for the train. At least I got a few good shots.




Finally, Isaac still hangs out with his buds, Mathias and Hudson (though from the pics they really dislike sharing a seat with each other).


And amidst all the boys in our baby group, there's also this cute girl named Riley. See the boys looking at her already, could be trouble ahead...

Baby Snowflake!

Three Months

I know some of you are expecting an announcement that Isaac has 3 chins now. Sorry to disappoint. Actually, the picture of the double chin really exagerated the extra chin. Some folks were surprised when they actually saw Isaac in person; they said he was much bigger in pictures. Yes, he's larger than life in the blog.

Highlights from this month:
Trip
We took a weekend trip away- our first overnighter with Isaac. We went to the Hudson River Valley to see the leaves changing colors. Isaac was really great in the car (it has the effect of instant snooze on him). Having a baby makes you travel at a different pace. We found ourselves just absorbing the scenery while parked in various places so he could nurse.



Halloween!
Isaac had three outfits for Halloween. A few of them I got in Taiwan at a nightmarket when I was 24 weeks pregnant. I couldn't help it, they were so cute.
He was a bunny, dragon and a Milch Cow. (Milch is the result of bad Taiwanese spelling)





I Spy....
He really likes to look at objects now. This is a pic of him looking at his wall while getting changed.


3 Amigos
He's had many a play date with Hudson and Matthias now. They have a ball being together in their own little worlds.



Going to work with Mom
Here are pics from one of our visits to Mom's clinic. He was chatty the whole time. He loved all the attention from the ladies.


Tummy Time
My neck is getting stronger!!



Car trunk changing table:
He may consider this a low point but we thought it was quite smart. The car trunk is great because it's a flat surface for changing.




Daddy Dinosaur reading to baby dinosaur

Two Months, Two Chins

On September 28th, Isaac celebrated his 2 month birthday while his Auntie May celebrated her 30th birthday.

Isaac's acquired a handsome double chin which requires extra special cleaning to prevent any smelly surprises. Yes, I know, this picture makes my son look like Buddha and he won't like me when he's older for posting it. But it highlights the chins which I'm sure can represent good fortune in the Chinese culture, as everything else seems to.


Here is one of his favorite positions, especially when he's gassy. Dan likes being able to lift weights while surfing the web.


I like the color orange and hence, Isaac gets to wear orange. Dan thinks it makes him look like a highway prison worker. But here you see, it actally makes him look like a pumpkin.


Our friend Meekers has a dog named Bear. Somehow we came up with the rule that Bear could come over once Isaac matched her weight of 9 pounds. Isaac has done so and now they're great friends. You can decide from the pictures of the faceoff whether he's as long as Bear.




This is Dad's idea of swaddling when it's 2 am and all our swaddling blankets are in the wash. (If you can't tell what's happening here; his pajama arms are tied up-- this lasted a whole 5 minutes before he wriggled free)


And here is Isaac with an older woman, Koryn. Koryn and Isaac's parents are currently in negotiations for an arranged marriage. Renata and I decided it make our lives so much easier in the future.


So maybe he's not ready for marriage yet. Especially not when I see this picture of him in the pouch. He loves his pouch. He's just happy sitting in it watching the world go by, and when he gets sleepy, we just tuck him in for a nap. I love this picture. I think we'll hold onto him for a while.


Here is the slideshow from the past few weeks. Enjoy.

(You can manually scroll to go faster. And here's the link if you don't have flash: http://picasaweb.google.com/suwang8/910Weeks)

6 + 1 Weeks

Yes, this was supposed to be a 6 week update, but we are more than a week late now; hence the title.

Over the past few weeks Isaac has:

1) discovered that his hands and arms are great for sucking (he doesn't have the dexterity to stick his thumb in his mouth yet)


2) met his Auntie May and Uncle Stuart and many other relatives




3) occasionally smiled socially (in response to us making faces)- this of course, is a major highlight


4) survived the NYC subway several times now--with help of course. I'm learning how interesting it is to get a stroller down 3 flights of stairs when the elevator is out- it is crucial to have an entourage of 3 adults.


5) oh, and how could I forget, he's learned how to scream and shriek when he's really upset. it's a piercing sound and really quite pleasant.


6) First photo sitting- since Su's folks are still in town, we decided to do family photos. Isaac was great and actually smiled while he was being photographed. He looks far cuter than any of us.


7) Isaac has made a friend on Roosevelt Island! (Okay, maybe it's his mom that's met a friend on Roosevelt Island). Mathias is 4 days older than Isaac.



First Birthday as a Mom
Since I've been feeling like a planet that revolves around Isaac, I'd forgotten my birthday was coming up. Dan was so wonderful and planned a day for us in the city and arranged for my folks to watch Isaac. I got my haircut, we walked to Central Park, I successfully pumped in the park (made possible by my battery operated pump and the lovely Hooter Hider or Bebe Au Lait cover), and we had lunch at Jean George's Nougatine. That's my favorite restaurant, and we had planned to go there on July 28th, but Isaac decided to enter the world then).

Then, on top of it, he (along with mastermind Meekers) planned a surprise birthday party upon our return. I was so shocked when I opened the door to our place and saw the floor strewn with balloons and all these people squeezed into our little apartment! He's getting better and better at lying with each subsequent surprise birthday. Here are me and my two cakes:


Isaac's birthday gift to me
On my actual birthday, September 2nd, we went to church, then to the South Street Seaport for lunch, drove to Brooklyn to visit a family friend AND went out to dinner with the Unseths ALL WITH ISAAC IN TOW! It was amazing. It was a record 12 hours out of the house with him. Of course, we went through all of our 6 diapers and had to restock at Eckerds. He also went through all of his 2 extra outfits and was down to wearing just a shirt by the time we got home. We felt quite liberated that day.


Isaac's First Wedding
No, we haven't arranged his marriage yet. My cousin Edgar got married September 8th ,and we had a family reunion. Of course, we didn't get to see the actual wedding since Isaac decided to start crying right after the bride walked down the aisle, and we had to leave the area. I guess he was sad to see her off the market. Anyway, as soon as we finished soothing and feeding him, we heard the clapping as the newlyweds were announced. Sigh. We were with other parents who also had to extricate their noisemaking children- guess we should get used to this.




Other miscellaneous photos

Boy Meets Moon (Happy 1 Month Birthday!)

Isaac's one month birthday gift was a lunar eclipse-- that's going to be a hard one to top.

It's easier to catch such astronomical wonders when you're up at odd hours of the night. When we were up feeding him at 5 am on August 28th, Dan noticed a sliver of a moon above the Empire State building. We saw the full moon earlier that night, so thought that it was just shrouded by clouds.

We found out later it was a total lunar eclipse which we just happened to witness.



Anyway, as we look back at the pictures of the past few weeks, we observe:
1) our boy is filling out- look at those cheeks!
2) he looks less like an alien, though he was a cute alien
3) we can't help but stare at him
4) we obsesssively take pictures of him

Check out his faces:


Since the last post, Isaac has:
1) taken his first tub bath (see slide show below)
2) started lifting his neck more (have video, will try to insert)
3) started taking breast milk from a bottle (yeah, Dan can help with feeding!)
4) successfully peed on both his parents and his pediatrician
5) gained almost 2 pounds (that's like Su gaining 30 pounds)
6) started vocalizing (we catch his voice once in a while amidst the chirps and grunts)

Below is the slide show of Isaac in action, places he's been, people he's seen....enjoy!

Two weeks!

Isaac's first two weeks have passed by in a blur of feeds, diaper changes, and naps. We've enjoyed watching him adjust to life out of the womb. Over the two weeks, he's lost his umbilical cord, gotten his first bath, learned the power of his lungs, and has basically been a constant source of marvel for his parents. It will be interesting what memories stand out to us when we think back at these first days with our son. We hope these slideshows will provide a glimpse into our life with Isaac.
-To see captions to the pictures, click on the slideshow above; you will also get a larger pic.
-If you don't have Flash player, you can find the pics at: http://picasaweb.google.com/suwang8/IsaacSSecondWeek




Here are some other cute photos:

The naming of Isaac Xavier Dean Chen

Isaac means "he laughs" in Hebrew. Isaac was promised by God to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. Abraham laughed when God told him this would happen. His name is a reminder for us to live by faith and God's promises, and not just by the things that we understand. Abraham also was willing to sacrifice Isaac when God asked him to, though in the end God provided a ram for him to sacrifice. P.S. During our first visit to church on Roosevelt Island with Isaac on August 12th, the message was all about faith and the story of Abraham and Isaac (Hebrews 11)!

Xavier was Dan's godfather's name. His godfather was a French diplomat to the UN. He lived in New York City, but had extended "family" all over the world. When Dan was little, Xavier brought the Chen family to Haiti, a memory Dan holds dear. Dan loves this name, and Su has come to love it as well. In Basque, Xavier means "new house" as in a "new home" for the Lord. St. Francis Xavier was one of the first missionaries to East Asia.

(Contrary to what some of you have surmised, "Xavier" was not inspired by the professor in X-Men, though Dan does love X-Men.)

Dean represents Isaac's Chinese name, 定安 or "dìng ān". "Dìng" is part of "ān dìng" means "stable" "settled" or "calm and orderly." "An" is the word for "peace." We condensed the name into an Americanized version (and to prevent our son from having 5 words in his name).

Isaac's First Week

Photo Album from Isaac's First Week


This is Isaac's first pediatrician visit, by Dr Katherine Grimm, who paid us a home visit. Dr Grimm is the pediatrician for Roosevelt Island.

The Arrival of Isaac

A week ago today, our son Isaac arrived into the world. This is our blog celebrating him and the friends and family that have been so loving and supportive.

This was the morning before we went to the hospital... Su is hard at work on Isaac's scrapbook, even after beginning contractions for several hours. Production of the scrapbook is definitely on hold!

Last minute packing of supplies. Note yellow Nalgene bottle that was used 24/7 through the hospital stay for keeping nice cold ice water, as well as Starbucks straws, some reading materials (not actually read), and lots of vitamin water (mostly consumed)

Driving to the hospital. The car service came pretty quickly and traffic was nice and quick at 9am on a Saturday morning.

At the hospital, our doula, Deb, met with us. She was great and so attentive and helpful throughout everything. From helping to make sure that Su was laboring effectively to helping to watch health monitors while we napped to even working as part of our self-service hospital care (during the early/mid parts of labor), she made everything much easier.

These are the monitors that they have in the hospital. The top line represents Isaac's heart rate and the bottom represents Su's contractions. About 50 minutes into the pushing, during the final phase of labor, the doctors noticed that Isaac's heartrate was dropping more than they were comfortable with, and we were presented with the options of either going for a C-section or a forceps delivery. Not a very hard choice.

Su was hurried into the operating room, and just about when Dan arrived, this little guy was held up for all to see!

First family picture

After 3 hours, we were admitted into our patient room in the maternity ward. Dad spending some time with Isaac, with Roosevelt Island in the background. We spent 5 days and 4 nights here.




Our recovery was definitely made easier by great people like the nurses and friends who stopped on by to encourage us.

Grandpa and Grandma Chen at the hospital to bring the family home

Su and Isaac as we get ready to leave.

Buckled in and ready for the adventure to begin