12.31.03
Posted in Maddy's First at 3:16 pm by tina
For the first time in Maddy’s life, she started to “prefer” her mommy and daddy. Once she stopped crying when she saw Joe going towards her; other times she stopped crying when I took her into my arms.
A little part of both Joe and I felt bad for the grandparents. Maddy is not used to them. I do want her to love her grandpa and grandma and be close to them. But for the moment, my heart rejoices for the fact that she actually picks me first. I’m not just an ‘any body’ to her any more.
Well, I do want her to be independent… eventually…
For now, her clingy has made my day!
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Posted in Parenting at 10:12 am by tina
My sister-in-law MaryBeth is the supermom of the supermoms. Not only because she raises four kids well (mostly on her own while my brother-in-law travels for work extensively), she possesses every quality I envision a ‘perfect’ mom has: gentle in spirit, never loses temper, always has time for each kid, and wise in her methods of raising them.
We took her advice on using BabyWise and we are enjoying the fruits of that: we know exactly when Maddy is hungry, when she is tired, and we are able to plan our adult activities without surprises or delays because of the baby.
So I treasured the short time I was able to chat with her during the break and received more wise words from her:
Time to encourage Maddy for self-feed: around 9 months.
Time to encourage Maddy to dress by herself: around 2 years old.
Time to be potty trained: around 2 1/2 years old
It’s so much easier if we do these things for her. If I feed her, it’ll be much quicker and much less ‘messier’. If I dress her, I can get everyone ready in 5 mins instead of probably 30 mins. If I don’t potty train her, there are always diapers. By my responsibilities as a parent is not always ‘doing’ things for her; it’s far more beneficial for her in a long run if she learns the skills and values of independence.
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Posted in Maddy at 9:20 am by tina
Compare to my family which everyone is softspoken and we enjoy being with each other in the comfortable silence, it’s quite a contrast when we hang out with Joe’s family.
We had the honor to be the hosts for all 15 relatives who came from Chico, Colorado, Rochester, and Germany. It was wonderful to have Maddy meet all of them. Maddy did quite well with the crowd. She was happy and content to be in the big group as a true Chen, and auntie Teresa kept saying that we are lucky to have a good baby….sigh.. she never saw how Maddy is when she’s at home. Her four cousins (Ryan, Sean, Colleen and Matthew) showered her with lots of gifts and love.
We strolled around SF one day and Maddy was totally awake the whole time (except during our lunch time); We went to Monterey Aquarium the next day but Maddy felt asleep while looking at big fishes.
All in all, Maddy had a great Xmas holiday… well, except that her doggie Brownie got very very sick (puking for two days now) after she ate some bad things (mommy and daddy suspect that she found some chocolate) That’s the big bummer for our Xmas this year 
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12.24.03
Posted in Maddy's First at 8:14 am by tina
What do you do when your child poops in the middle of her bath?
Should we take her out immediately? Where should we put her when she’s all wet on top and things coming out on the butt?
Should we just leave her in the tub so at least she is still warm?
That’s what we did… we waited until she was done… then daddy said that we can just pick out the poops with tissue paper from the tub. Lesson number one: poops do not stay together when you try to pick them up. Now we had a child in really gross pooping water… Daddy had to wrap his now-really-gross daughter in a towel while mommy frankly tried to wash the baby bathtub. With her luck, more poops got stuck between the edges and she had to ‘dig’ the poops out. Finally, we were able to give Maddy another bath and everything was back to normal.
During all these time, Maddy just stared at us and wondering what was the big deal with all the fuss.
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12.22.03
Posted in Parenting at 3:34 pm by tina
Joe and I attended Maddy’s homebase 7&8 potluck last Friday.
It’s our first ‘parental gathering’ with other parents. All the parents are really friendly and it’s nice to be able to match up the parents with the toddlers from homebase 8 (We already know all the parents/kids in homebase 7, which is Maddy’s baby room)
I love the diversity in Maddy’s environment. It’s not like ‘my’ world where there are only Asians and Indians, with maybe one or two token Caucasians friends. Maddy’s has friends of all colors: Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Indians. I hope it’ll continue to be that way when she grows up. She can learn and experience so much more if she’s surrounded by people with different cultures.
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12.19.03
Posted in Maddy's First at 11:29 am by tina
My chubby munchkin has graduated from size one diapers to size two diapers. The size one diapers were getting tighter and tighter around her waist and thighs and they look like they can explode any time. Part of me is so sad that my ‘little’ baby is gone. She is getting so heavy that sometimes I think my arms just might go limp and I’ll drop her on the ground. And she is showing her independent side of liking to straighten herself up instead of leaning on me when I hold her.
Next thing you know, she’ll probably start dating and doesn’t want mommy and daddy any more… wa wa wa.
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12.17.03
Posted in Maddy at 7:49 pm by tina
I started to loss hair recently… found some articles which say that it’s normal. I don’t think having some patches of bald spots on your head is normal, but I suppose I can proudly wear them as a sign of motherhood… yea right. Hope my hair grows back soon.
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Posted in Maddy at 7:40 pm by tina
Maddy’s growth report:
8/18/03 6 pounds 1/2 oz; 19 inches
9/03/03 6 pounds 14 oz; 19 3/4 inches
10/15/03 10 pounds 9 oz; 22 1/2 inches
12/17/03 14 pounds 7 oz; 23 3/4 inches
She is in 50% for both weight and height. We are a little relieved…
We thought that she is a little fatty than needs to be, but doctor said she’s right in the middle of the curve. He also said that we can start giving her baby cereals if we like. I think I’ll wait a little longer though, but I must say that I’m excited about trying out different baby food with her. It’ll be so much fun figuring out what she likes and what she doesn’t like. If it’s anything like her behavior with milk, she’ll probably like everything.
She is very sleepy after we came home. Not sure if it’s from the infant drops or from the shots. The good thing is that she doesn’t seem to have any fever. We’ll see how it goes. Maddy has been very kind to us and hasn’t gotten sick so far.
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12.15.03
Posted in Maddy at 5:38 pm by tina
Joe said that I’ve turned into a snob mom. I came home on Sunday after church complaining to Joe about the nursery at church. I was really annoyed at the parents of a boy with a running nose: don’t they know that the kid is coming down with a cold or something? or do they think the ‘please do not drop off a sick child’ rule does apply to them?
And why don’t they put the disposable layer on the changing table when they use it?
Come to think about it… having so many naked butts on the same cloth is kind of gross.
Oh well, like Joe said “Maddy will survive”… still, I think all moms have the right to be snobs when it comes to the wellfare of their child.
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12.11.03
Posted in Parenting at 4:11 pm by tina
Santa visited Maddy’s daycare today and gave everyone a book as Xmas gift! I wish I could be there to take some pictures and see her reaction… hopefully we’ll receive some photos later.
With all these gift exchanges and buying gifts for friends/ friends’ kids, family members, it’s so easy to forget the reason for the season.
If I could give Maddy one everlasting gift, I would give her the childlike faith. She could take it with her no matter where she goes. She would not lose hope when her loved ones fail her; she would continue to do the right things when the society is showing her that the good people always get the short end of things; and she would love God with all she is when the whole world ridicule her and deny the absolute truth.
If only I could give it to her…
But she will have to figure out for herself. She will have to struggle, and hopefully be able to take the leap of faith, and invite Jesus into her heart one day.. all on her own account.
I can’t give her that, and it hurts me that I can’t give her the best thing I know in my life. I can only live by example; I can only teach her what I know; I can only pray for her.
I will rejoice one day… when my daughter celebrates Xmas for what it’s meant to be!
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12.10.03
Posted in Parenting at 7:48 am by tina
Joe and I have been talking about what gifts to give to Maddy’s caretakers at the Daycare. Both my parents are teachers, and I remember us getting so many gifts in every holidays. Now that I’m on the other side of the fence, it feels different, but exciting.
I would like to show them, especially Rocio, how much we appreciate her care for Maddy. I don’t want to buy her an expensive gift where it seems like we are ‘buying’ her love for Maddy. Yet, there seems no gift big enough to really tell her that she has been a true blessing to our family. Before we left the daycare yesterday, Maddy gave Rocio one of her biggest smiles (the kind that she only gives mommy and daddy).. How babies/kids don’t lie, and they express their feelings with no hidden agendas or motives…. When I saw that, I was very comforted that Maddy loves Rocio… (although part of me is a little bit jealous) My dad had emailed me about that. He told me it’s all part of the lesson for love… letting go… still sometimes I want to keep Maddy to myself. But I have learned that love has no limit. Just when I think that I’ve done the best I can to love her, something bigger, better, unknown to me before comes along and empowers me to shower her with more.
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12.09.03
Posted in Maddy's First at 8:03 am by tina
Except one night where Maddy got up at three and cried for 2 mins, she had slept through the night this past week. It’s so nice now I can have some contineous sleep at night time.
It still amazes me how much babies learn at their tender age. From a tiny and helpless baby when born, Maddy has adjusted so many things that her mommy and daddy asked her to:
She eats at set times: 6:30am, 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm, and 11:30pm. You see how there is a five hour gap between 6:30 and 11:30am instead of other 4 hour gaps… it’s for mommy’s convenience so that mommy can go to the daycare to feed her at mommy’s lunch time.
She has adjusted to the daycare pretty well. Her caretaker said that she cried a couple of times the first day and had hard time taking long naps, now she can nap for one hour at the daycare. She really loves the buggy ride with other babies there. Rocio told me a few times how she enjoyed the day and guaranteed me that Maddy would sleep through the night.
Maddy knows when she is about to take a bath. She has this intense “anticipation” look before we put her in the tub… because sometimes mommy makes the water a little too hot.
She has learned to suck on her hand, grab the hanging toys (although she hasn’t perfected the skill yet); She has learned to laugh and knows that her smiles bring her mommy and daddy much joy.
I love her so much!
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