Luca's birth story - Post Script

This is a P.S. to Luca's Birth Story. It's hyper detail that you probably don't need to know. But I want to publish it for myself and this feels like I'm tying up all the little ends from the birth story.

My Worst Period Cramps Ever
In Luca's birth story, I referenced my worst period cramps ever as a benchmark for labor pain. Probably about 8 years ago. My coworker looked up at me and asked if I was ok. My face was pale and turning green. I was literally holding onto my cubicle desk as the waves hit me. I was breaking out into sweats. I rarely take painkillers and hadn't thought to go buy some from the corner store. I also rarely had period cramps at all so this was a surprise. She asked if I wanted her to go find a pill for me and I nodded weakly. She came back with a giant pill wrapped in a tissue. She began to explain what the pill was, in an effort to convince me it would be a good idea to take it. I didn't care. I took that pill and thank god. I don't even know what it was. But it muted the pain significantly. I think I would have passed out if I hadn't.

Things They Don't Tell You

Oh, right, you need a catheter
The thing no one tells you about getting an epidural is that you also need to get a catheter. This may seem obvious to some but I didn't know. I just never thought about it. Of course you would need a catheter if you can't feel your lower body. Now I know.

The thing about a catheter...
The other thing no one tells you is that if you get a catheter, the time immediately following its removal is (to me) one of the most traumatic and scary parts of the entire experience. For some reason, the body "forgets" how to relax enough to pee naturally. Not being able to go when you really have to go is really scary. In fact, they put a measurement cup in the toilet to see how much pee you're able to get out and if you don't meet certain levels, they will reinsert a catheter to relieve your bladder for you. They had to do that to me once. I think I might have cried. Could have been the hormones I guess. But damn it was scary.

Ice is nice. So, so, so nice.
And another thing they don't tell you (thank god our doula prepped us), you basically wear a giant ice pack stuffed into hospital issued bandage/gauze underpants while in recovery to help soothe the pain. In fact, you are incredibly thankful there is such a thing as ice.

BEEP BEEP BEEP
Also, last thing I'll gripe about: sleeping in the hospital after a new baby = not sleeping at all. And it's not really the baby who keeps you up (although, he certainly did his fair share of that). It's all the machines and alarms beeping and then the nurses coming in to turn off the alarms and then to check whatever thing that alarm was set to remind them to do. And of course, NONE of the alarms are synched so when the alarm goes off for my BP to be checked, the baby wakes up. And then, 30 mins later, the alarm goes off for the baby's BP to be checked. And then some other alarm. Oh, and then the IV drip is empty so, you know, the alarm goes off. And then somehow the IV needle slipped out of my arm and is dripping all over me and the floor. And gosh, can they turn on the light just for a second, they can't read the machine in the dark? Oh, did that light wake the baby up who we just got to fall asleep? Gosh darned. This goes on ALL NIGHT. And it's like some sort of sweet, polite torture that every nurse who comes in inevitably tells us we need to get some sleep.

Our Doula: Carmen Bornn
Her life's work has been and continues to be helping families bring lives into the world. She is a truly incredible person who lives her life with such gratitude. And I could not have done it without Carmen, at least not on my terms. I'm fairly certain I would have had the baby more quickly if I didn't have her because I would have gotten the epidural earlier. BUT, my heart was set on experiencing the birth naturally. This is a highly personal choice for every mom-to-be and I'm lucky that I have a choice at all. She helped me try my absolute best and made sure I felt safe. And, she did say that if we were to have another baby, I wouldn't need the epidural. That "lip" is now gone, torn forever. In fact, she joked that if we decide for a second child, we better get on our roller skates the moment I start having contractions and get to the hospital because I would progress even quicker than the first time.

Our Doctor: Dr. Wu
This guy is the rockstar OB at Glendale Adventist. I can honestly say that part of my consideration for another child is if we do want another, we better decide soon before Dr. Wu retires. We would not want to be in anyone else's care. I wanted a doctor who held similar philosophical beliefs we did regarding childbirth. Honestly, I was really considering home birth at one point. But we found Dr. Wu and trusted him completely. This story from Los Angeles Magazine pretty much sums up why we think he's the bees knees. I fully support necessary Cesarean section births. I do also think there are many performed unnecessarily. I didn't want to become a statistic in the latter and I felt he was the right doctor for us.

Luca - Month 12

Our year with Luca has been so whimsical and filled with magic. There have been rough moments too - how else are we do recognize the good if we didn't have bad, right? But right now, as I type, I'm hard-pressed to remember those. It's some sort of mommy amnesia I'm sure. Wait, let me think. Yep, I can think of a few. I'll save those for another post. Right now it's all about how wonderfully our baby is thriving.



On his first birthday, he still had no teeth. But about a week later, my mom spotted a little white nub poking through the front of his bottom jaw. He's not a fan of opening his mouth for us to peer inside but I can feel that sharp little point with my finger.

He is cruising around the furniture now, holding on while "walking" around the room on his feet. He is extremely fast while crawling. I need to basically jog to keep up if I'm not paying attention. I think he waits for me to look away for a second and then he revs up his engine to get as far away as possible before I notice. It's funny. He makes a long wheezy noise with a sharp intake of breath as he scuttles away, gaping wide drooly smile. Sometimes he'll actually try to be quiet as he crawls so slowly away but as soon as he notices I see him, he makes that funny noise and goes faster. He'll crawl over and hold up his arms to be picked up now too. That's kind of new-ish. He might have been doing that the previous month. I can't remember!





He kisses us on the cheek if we ask for a one. His kisses are really just him touching our face with his open mouth and making a "mwah!" sound. They're really slimy. But I love them. For a while there, he thought kisses were head butts. I think he was confusing the head movement with the more nuanced lips part of a kiss. He still does a head butt when he likes something in particular or is really happy. In fact, when he first saw the big Mickey Mouse doll that Alps and Tesh gave him for his 1st birthday, he touched his forehead to Mickey's forehead. The sweetest thing to see. But it can get him into trouble too because he can't really control the force of the head touch. For example yesterday, at Din Tai Fung, he was in the high chair and so excited to be be sitting up at the table with us, he did a head butt right into the table. He was NOT happy after that.







He loves the porridge my parents make for him. They call it baby food because they blend it up into a mush. It's filled with wholesome, fresh ingredients. Meat, veggies, rice, broth. My dad makes the broth from scratch using bones. Sometimes they'll use fish. In fact, Luca hates the store bought baby-food that has meat in it but he yells for more of the porridge. I've tasted it and it's really quite delicious.

His hair is long and I don't want to cut it.

He says dada and mama consistently. He is babbling up a storm now. He makes inflections like he is asking questions, like "da da da daaa?" He'll flip through his books and just spout gibberish. Well, gibberish to us. I'm sure it totally make sense to him.

He loves to watch other kids but doesn't really have a chance to interact with them. We have to be better about booking playdates!

He LOVES books. So much that he eats them. That part is probably because he's teething. His current favorites:

The Pout-Pout fish - he kisses his favorite pages! so cute.
Io Sono Piccola? (Italian/English)
Five Little Monkeys
Brown Bear Brown Bear - was the prime favorite for a long time but has fallen lower on the spectrum
If I were an Owl
Vroom Vroom Cars

I try showing him television sometimes but he's not that into it. Though, I did show him Sesame Street for the first time last week - when he saw Big Bird for the first time he let out a gleeful laugh.

He's all about tossing things. He takes each one of the nesting buckets and tosses them. Sometimes he'll put things back into the container. Then take it right back out and toss it. And he loves to hand items to us. In fact, he'll hand us something only to immediately reach out to ask for it back, and then hand it right back to us less than 2 seconds later.

Impossibly, he still loves peek-a-boo.

He loves it when I sing two specific songs to him: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Itsy Bitsy Spider. I always incorporate the hand gestures I learned in grade school. I marvel that I still remember them. My mom asked the other day how I knew those songs and to make the hand movements. I told her I learned them in grade school. "And now you're singing them to your child," she said. Seems like a simple statement to you but my mom never says things like this. She is not outwardly nostalgic or sentimental in any way. It was a brief but nice moment.



Here's a bit of insight into these monthly sessions. We need to be so quick and it takes quite a few shutter clicks to get one I'm happy with. It takes quite a bit of time to edit through the photos in the end as well. Which is why I'm not sure whether I'll be continuing this monthly tradition. Maybe I'll switch it up - a portrait every 3 months? Do we use the same chair?



Here's a link to the entire set of photos.

Luca's birth story

I wrote this nearly a year ago, not long after Luca was born. I didn't want to forget. But I wasn't ready to publish it yet either. Now that there has been some space, I'm ready. After all, it's the one year anniversary of my becoming a mother.

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This is the story of Luca's birth. Giving birth to Luca is the most incredible and beautiful thing I've ever done. The process itself is not pretty though. I've tried to include every detail I could remember because it's important to me. This means I will be talking about highly personal things like mucus plug, bloody show, cervix and pain, in a highly personal way. So please don't read any further if you don't want to think about these things.

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Still with me? Alrighty. Here we go.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, my Dr. was on vacation for a week, two weeks before my due date of April 6. Before he left, he said that my cervix was soft but not open at all. He felt I still had plenty of time but I should take it easy while he was gone, just in case. Specifically, he told me no heavy lifting, no squatting, no jumping up and down -- not even stairs! I had been taking the stairs every day at work throughout the day - 3 flights - and walking a lot up until that Dr. visit. In fact, I think I even opted for the stairs on that specific Dr. visit.

He had me make the first available appointment on the Monday he was back in the office, which turned out to be April 1, 10:00 am. I was on maternity leave and we spent the time getting the house ready. Well, Sergio did all the heavy lifting. I was pretty much just trying to stay comfortable. The morning of my appointment, I woke up early at around 5:15 am to go pee (per usual) and I was pretty sure my mucus plug had come out. There was some blood/spotting. I told Sergio there was a good chance it was my "bloody show." At 5:22 am I began to experience what felt like very mild period cramps. Really mild. The kind you can usually forget about if you're watching TV or just keeping busy. Could these be contractions? I was pretty sure they were. I hopped online real quick to see how much time we had from bloody show until full labor and I guess it could be up to a week. I was excited and a bit nervous but knowing it could be a week helped me keep calm. Sergio started the contraction tracking app on his phone. I continued to experience the mild "cramps" for about 4 hours. They were never consistent in length or regularity and by around 8:50 am, they had subsided.

Note on my phone from that day:

Dated April 1, 2013, 8:55 AM Maybe today's the day. Bloody show at around 515am. Menstrual cramps at 522 Continuous short mild "contractions" for about 4 hrs. Symptoms subsided at around 850am

We arrived at the Dr. office on time and I told the front desk that I had been feeling what I thought were contractions. They asked about regularity and didn't seem especially concerned. We were so excited to ask the Dr. when he thought the baby would arrive. Well, he checked me and I was already at 3 centimeters! Wow! That was unexpected and exciting! He didn't say much more in the exam room - just told me to get dressed and meet him out in the office.

He took us into his private office where we had been for the first time just a little over a week prior when he told us he was going on vacation. He began talking about what to expect when I went into labor and was very reassuring and calm. He said some women are already screaming from pain when they are at 3 so I was doing really well. He said, come back at 7:00 and check in. Sergio and I looked at each other and I think I actually said, we're going to check in tomorrow! The Dr. said he didn't want us to go through the stress of being in labor and in the car, rushing to the hospital. It's better to be a little early... We quickly realized he meant 7:00 pm that night! What?!? Wow! Whoa! I think I actually said, "Wait, you mean 7:00 TONIGHT?" Yes. He said, go home, rest, have a good dinner and come back - exactly what we overheard him tell another patient the last time we were there. He would be walking my charts down to the maternity ward around lunch time. They would be ready for me when we came in. I asked specifically if he wanted to induce me. He said "No, your body is naturally inducing itself."

Ohmygod.Ohmygod.This is going to happen.

We walked out of the office and I was in a bit of a daze. While waiting for the elevator, I turned to Sergio, "We could have our baby tonight!" It was so exciting and scary for me.

We called our doula when we got home to relay all the information from our visit. She seemed concerned that the Dr. wanted us to check in so early if it wasn't for induction. But, she had worked with this Dr. in the past and respects and trusts him 100%. If he wants us to go in at 7:00 then he has a reason. But she told us that I needed to take it easy and take a nap. We needed to slow or stop these contractions - which I had begun feeling again when we got home.

Sergio went to Blue Hen to pick up four meals, lunch and then dinner for later. We had banh mi for lunch with spring rolls. Which, I think we ate in bed! I took a nap that managed to stop the contractions. But they began again right around when I had my pho for dinner at around 545?

I experienced a few contractions in the car. They were not that bad but being strapped in with the seatbelt definitely made it worse.

When we arrived at the hospital, Carmen was waiting for us, birthing ball in tow. We went through the big double doors, the nurses asked how they could help us. I said we were checking in. Dr. Wu told us to check in and he said he was going to bring my charts down. They found my name on the list and we had pre-registered so there was no paperwork to fill out. They said they were expecting us and had a room ready.

As we were walking to the room, the nurse began talking about induction and starting my IV etc. I quickly said no, I'm not being induced. Dr. Wu specifically said I wasn't going to be. In fact, I as going to try this naturally. She looked confused. She said that usually, when a Dr. has someone come in early, it's to be induced. Carmen asked me to repeat exactly what Dr. Wu said during the visit that morning. I said that I was already at 3 centimeters and that he wanted us checked in at 7:00. The nurse didn't seem convinced and said well, I don't want to get you all checked in and an IV started for no reason if you're not going to be induced. He might come check you and tell you to go home for the night. She asked what I wanted to do. I said I wanted to speak to Dr. Wu before we did anything. She asked, "Are you even having contractions?" This perplexed me. But I guess I was not outwardly exhibiting any pain so she couldn't be sure. "Yes. I think I am. They feel like period cramps right?" She still looked unconvinced. She gave me a gown and a bag for my clothes. While I was changing, Sergio and Carmen were discussing how to proceed while we waited for Dr. Wu. My goal was to experience the birth naturally. No chemical intervention at all if possible. I was not completely closed to the idea of an epidural but I was going to do my best to try without. They hooked me up to the monitoring machine. "Well, I can see you really are having contractions." It was the oddest thing to watch the little needle jump up and down as it marked each contraction on a long scroll of paper. Like a machine drawn receipt for the labor progression paid for in pain. But you know, the pain wasn't that bad just yet. Carmen kept asking me to compare it to the worst period cramps I ever had in my life. If that was a 7, what was this contraction? "Um. A 2? Maybe a 3?" Her eyes widened incredulously each time. Honestly, they were not that bad in the beginning.

She began the work to help me progress. I did various exercises involving the birthing ball, pacing, hip rocking, gyrating, and even going to pee. She and Sergio were a team and I felt safe and secure with them by my side. She said, "Let's hope we're at 5 when Dr. Wu comes to check you. He'll probably strip your membranes." The entire time she was telling us stories, making the time pass. She's been a doula/midwife for 22 years. That woman has some incredible birth stories.

We can't remember clearly but we think Dr. Wu finally showed up around 9. He checked me and said I was at 7. Wow. Carmen was impressed. Well, at this rate, I could have the baby before midnight!

That's why the Dr. asked us to check in at 7. Carmen said that's the reason -- he knew I would progress quickly. Thank goodness he had us come in early!

He left and Carmen continued the work to help the labor along. The pain was still not excruciating and Carmen was impressed again. If I could get to 7 and still consider the pain to be less than my worst period cramps, then I should be able to have the baby without epidural with no problem. My pain threshold is apparently very high. And that I must've had the "mother of all period cramps."

Hours passed, my water broke. The pain increased significantly. As the clock ticked past midnight, I seemed to be stuck at about 8 almost 9 centimeters. There was a "lip" on my cervix that was not softening. And they needed that lip gone for me to start pushing. They didn't understand why the lip wouldn't soften.

Time seemed to ebb and flow like tide with each contraction. I was propelled into what was for me, uncharted pain territory. We had blown past the worst period cramps mark. They kept checking me and trying to manually soften the lip. This meant they were putting their hands inside of me to measure and push at the lip. This was the worst. Most awful thing ever. Ever. Especially if they were in there during a contraction. I lost all track of time. I was nearly screaming during the contractions. Carmen and Sergio were doing all they could to keep me focused. I was trying so hard to focus. I was trying so hard to breathe. Sergio was holding my hand, so loving and supportive. Carmen was doing all she could to get that lip to soften. I think maybe at the early morning hours they checked and I was all the way at 9.5! But the lip was still there. And they could feel the baby starting to turn the wrong direction, facing outward to the right instead of down. They would have to manually turn the baby back, maybe use the suction. I was so tired. There were whispers of c-section. The pain rocked my body like it was going to split in half. I finally asked for the epidural.

Thankfully the anesthesiologist was right down the hall. They prepped me and she came in quickly to give me the shot. The instant the needle touched my skin my back involuntarily reversed arched deeply. "She can't do that! She can't do that!" she nearly yelled. Carmen held me and told me I needed to be still. "I know, I know. I couldn't help it!" I tried not to think of the needle going into my spine and what could happen if it went wrong. Carmen told me to arch my back like a cat and she held my face. She looked right at me and breathed with me. I could feel a contraction swelling and I was absolutely terrified. Carmen held onto me tight though, both physically and with her eyes. I think that might have been the worst moment. I can't really remember if the needle hurt. I'm sure it did, but the pain from not being able to move through a contraction was everything in my world at that moment.

Then, so quickly the pain just stopped. I couldn't feel my legs or feet. I touched my thigh and it was funny. My fingers felt my leg but my leg didn't feel my fingers. It was like how your cheek or lip feels when the dentist numbs it. I couldn't move my legs either. They still needed to get that lip on my cervix to disappear and kept putting me in various positions to help it along. The nurse or Carmen would have to move my legs for me. Now, it didn't matter how many times they checked me or manually worked on me inside. I didn't feel a thing. They also had to give me pitocin at this point to induce contractions. My uterus was so tired it just wasn't contracting very much anymore through the epidural. Pitocin induced contractions are typically more painful than natural contractions. Thankfully they made sure the epidural had taken effect before I received the pitocin. They told me to get a couple hours rest and try to sleep so I could be ready to push when the sun came up and the Dr. was back in the office. I tried to sleep but I was shivering so hard from the hormones. It's a natural reaction apparently. The shivering was so severe, I could feel the muscles in my neck getting sore from tensing.

I think at around 9:00 am, they began prepping the room for birth. They wheeled a table over that had been waiting, covered, at the edge of the room. It held various instruments the Dr. would need. They opened the secondary curtain wide. The bed was adjusted. At around 9:30 am the nurse came to check me again. The lip was still there. I was so disappointed. She set about working on it. She was chatting with Carmen while she did it when she suddenly stopped and said, "I got it. I can honestly say she's fully dilated at 10!" She was able to push the lip back somehow and I was ready.

It was time to have the baby! With Sergio on my left and Carmen on my right, I began to push. The nurse was in front of me, guiding the baby. It was the oddest thing. I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't see what was happening so Carmen and Sergio kept me updated. I guess I was doing well because the baby was coming quickly. After maybe three big pushes, they said the head was there! I asked Sergio if he could see the head and he said yes. They told me to reach down to feel my baby's head. I felt a soft head, full of hair. I began to get emotional. Carmen saw this and quickly shut it down. I couldn't lose it at that point. I needed to keep focused. I still had work to do. It was happening so quickly that they told me to stop pushing because they had to go get the Dr. I guess these days, the nurses do a lot of the work with you and the Dr. steps in to "catch the baby." Despite me no longer pushing, the baby continued to ease out on his own, naturally. The Dr. needed to be there ASAP. From what I could gather on the nurse's end of the phone conversation, I think the Dr. told her that he would be a few minutes. The nurses almost yelled there's no time, the baby's head is crowning right now! Moments later the Dr. was rushing in, pulling on his gown and gloves. He sat down and it was time to push again. Carmen told me to do exactly as the Dr. said. After a couple pushes he told me to stop. He wanted to slow it down to prevent tearing. I waited.

When Dr. Wu told me to start pushing again I didn't hear him. Carmen repeated the instruction. So I did. After just a few pushes, I heard a great big gush of liquid and the baby was born! They immediately put him on my chest and it was like my life came into sharp focus on the little wriggling human. That moment was indescribable. He was so small and so perfect. Carmen told us to start talking to him immediately - he would recognize us and I suppose to enhance the bonding process. I vaguely remember the Dr. telling Sergio to cut the umbilical cord. I vaguely recall noting the Dr. working on stitches - Carmen said it was a very tiny, tiny minor tear. I only had eyes and ears for Luca. I really didn't care what else was happening around me or to me at the moment. My entire world had contracted yet again, not from pain this time but into that small magical space around me and our baby. It took me a few moments before I even looked up at Sergio. When I did, I felt it. And I know he felt it too -- even though I haven't talked about it with him. That second when we looked at each other, our just born baby cradled in my arms, we were one. I kept saying, "My baby, my baby!" We laugh now that I switched to "our baby" after I looked up at Sergio.

Luca - Month 11

Impossible. How does time speed up when all I want is more of it? Look at our boy. He is certainly looking the part. Where did the baby go?



I just wanted to get these photos posted. I may or may not come back and try to remember things. It all depends on that precious, precious, elusive thing: time. Right? But the main thing is that our baby is thriving and I'm so grateful.















See more photos from this session here.

Luca - Month 10

Luca is full on crawling now. So quick! In fact, he feet are always moving. It's impossible to get a non-blurry photo of him. And he's so fidgety like his dad.

Note from 1/22/14: Luca crawled for real today! He might have done it earlier in the day at mom's house but tonight was the first time we saw it.

Sometimes he tries to sneak off to where he knows we don't want him to go. He is so quietly creeping along while we're not looking. When he sees us catch him, he throws one backwards glance, breaks into a giant smile and then SPEEDS UP before we've even said anything! He's trying to reach his destination before we stop him! Oh boy. A bit of insight into the mischief we'll be dealing with in the future...



He reaches out his hand for things he sees and wants.

Note from 1/24/13: Luca saw the stars for the first time. When he did he stretched his arms up and reach out to them with his little hands. This was last week, maybe Monday?

He waves back! And if he's real excited, he'll wave both hands.



Not sure why but he hates having his diaper changed. Like nearly red-faced screaming hate. We're perplexed and not really sure what to do about it.



He's having the beginnings of separation anxiety and stranger aversion. He used to go with just about anyone. But just recently he has begun to pout and cry if we hand him off to someone he hasn't immediately connected with. He'll usually warm up but it takes a little bit now. Of course, it's the worst if he is tired. I SO get the whole nap schedule thing. It's like this tenuous dance between almost tired and too tired. He just isn't quite his jolly self if he misses a nap or hasn't napped enough.

of course this means he's finally a napper! Unfortunately his naps are fairly short and he needs all sorts of assistance to stay asleep (bouncing). I really didn't want to fall into the trap where our baby needs to be bounced in order to fall asleep but it just sort of happened.



I think we will start weaning him when he turns one. My milk may dry up before then but that is the current goal. He is eating a lot of food now so I don't think the transition will be too difficult. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. No teeth yet but he's doing fine gumming all sorts of food. He still loves oranges! And congee. And...anything savory. I've relented on the no salt rule. He still doesn't get a lot of it but it just didn't seem right to keep him on super bland stuff. I'm trying to share our food as much as possible right now so his palate opens up before he starts getting picky. I'm still strict about no processed sugar though.

He loves his Po Po (my mom)! It's so cute to see him watch her when she gets up to leave the room or reach out to her from across the room to be picked up. Of course, when he's at her house, he is always held. But I guess that's what grandmas do right? His Gong Gong (my dad) have a sweet reporte as well. My dad isn't really strong enough to pick Luca up or hold him a long time, but he does interact with him. My dad puts his hand out for Luca who will reach out to touch it.



See the other few photos that are part of this set here. I'm definitely unable to blog as much as before but Instagram has become my creative outlet. I post a lot on there. So follow me if you want. That is where most of my Luca photos end up! @elauinc

Luca - Month 8 + 9

Again, impossible to remember details any more. But right now, right this moment, Luca is just days from crawling. He gets on all fours and kind of wobbles back and forth and scoots one knee forward, but then drops onto his tummy to slide himself forward via an army crawl of sorts. He can get around the house like that. But maybe he never will properly crawl because he's pulled himself up onto his feet in front of the couch and in his crib. So maybe he will walk before crawling? We hold his hands and he can pull himself onto his feet, and we walk him around while holding his hands - he goes really quickly actually. His little legs move in a quick march.

Note from 12/31/13: Luca almost climbed out of his crib today. He also learned how to fling food with his spoon and get to a sitting position from his tummy. It was a big day! We dropped his mattress lower to nearly the last position. Oh my. His crib looks so big and cavernous now.

Still no teeth but oh so close! It's like he goes through bouts of teething and then the angst subsides but still no teeth. That's ok though. For now, I'm quite loving that gaping gummy smile. Also, he bites when he nurses and it already hurts so much!

I'm giving him all kinds of food to taste now. He really likes tangerines and blackberries. And LOVES water.

Note from 12/26/13: Luca learned how to use a straw today!

He's learned how to suck out of the baby food packets which makes it so much easier. Though, it is quite messy the second he's done eating but there's still some left in the pouch. Basically he sucks it into his mouth and then squirts it out of his mouth. Sometimes he'll spit it out via making raspberries. I'm still pumping at work but my supply is way down. I'm trying to get it back up using fenugreek and Mother's Milk tea. It's kind of stressful because I want to avoid formula. We'll see. We're thinking of weaning by the time he turns 1 - only 3 more months!



He experienced his first cold while on our trip in Las Vegas. Which of course made it not really a vacation after all.

Sometimes, when he's really happy about something, he does this cute little wiggle and smile. It's so good. And his squeal! eeeeek! So loud! When he does it in public, I think it must annoy people. But I LOVE it so much. It's the sound of joy emitting from that little person and I kind of egg him on instead of shushing him. Also, he's been making the bub-bub-bub sound using this fingers and hand on this mouth. And he likes to put his open mouth on our arms and then lift his head up real quick while making a noise with his mouth. mmmmmm...bah!

We removed the little stopper in his whale tub since he's sitting up now. I think we'll try bubble-bath soap this Sunday.

He's really strong. And he's scratching a lot with his razor sharp nails. And slapping our faces. He just doesn't get that what he's doing hurts. Or maybe he does?

He has developed quite the flirty side to the ladies and we've caught him watching as a young girl walks by.





His little mustache is fading.

Luca - Month 6 + 7

It's been a bit of a blur the last couple of months. Work has been so busy and Luca has been developing so quickly. My brain and body are both a bit spent. But my heart. How is it possible to fall in love every single day? I'm feeling very guilty for not documenting how Luca has been changing but at the same time, I just can't seem to get to it. I've been feeling like I have so few minutes to "waste," experiencing the time as it passes becomes preeminent to using any for blogging. I'm sure this will change as I become less obsessed with everything Luca. Right? Right?

But, I will try to recount some of what has happened. And totally out of order because I'm too tired to sift through the foggy brain to be exact. I did manage to take a few notes on my cell so I have those dates at least.





First night in his crib (October 5)

Note from that night:

We put Luca in bed in his crib for the first time just now. It's way past his bedtime but we had gone out for dinner with Jenny and Chi to celebrate Sergio's birthday and got home late. Then Luca just wasn't happy in the crib. Sergio bounced him to sleep in his bouncy chair. So many feelings. It had been a long time since I had nursed in the nursery. Doing that earlier tonight while knowing we were going to try the crib made me a little weepy. So many feelings and memories. Our room feels so empty.

First food: Avocado (October 10)

We had been holding back on giving him his first non-milk food until well into his 6th month. I was set on organic avocado and I never got around to the grocery store until maybe his 2nd week into his 6th month. We were so excited to try the baby-led method too. Sooooo, he wasn't a fan of food at the start. He made this funny grimace face and kind of gummed it and kind of squished it in his fingers (big fan of the squishing) and kind of smeared it all over his head. There might have been a few tears. Or more than few. Sigh.



Following in quick succession:

Sweet potato (tried twice and hated it twice. there might have been some screaming on this one. maybe.)
Rice cereal (yes. yum. especially if really watered down with milk. he's a carby dude after his mother.)
Banana (um. maybe? kinda? no?)
Zucchini (ugh)
Homemade veggie soup broth mixed with rice cereal (yes!)

So the key has been rice cereal (and being spoon fed). We've tried a couple types. We think he likes the more expensive brand (of course). It dissolves disarmingly quick and becomes this gummy consistency after too long. But it's supposed to be probiotic dha etc fortified etc. So that makes me glad. We put it into his bottle sometimes and he sucks it down. My mom has made the Chinese babyfood staple, jook or Congee. I guess he liked it when she made it a little thicker but refused when it was diluted. I also gave a bit to him during Dim Sum with his godparents and he seemed to enjoy it. I stopped after a few sips because of the salt and MSG. I'm sure once we introduce more flavor to the foods he'll be totally into it. For now, I guess he'll have to tolerate natural flavors for a bit. In fact, I'm hoping his first real sugar will be his first birthday cake. He'll get plenty of sodium and sugar the rest of his life. No need to start it off that way.



First word: Mama (September 14)

Note from that night:

Mama. Luca looked right at me and said mama.

He was sitting in his bouncy chair in front of the couch, facing us on Sergio's side, per usual. I was sitting in my usual spot. He turned to me and said it clear as day. Let me tell you - not sure there is a more special feeling than when your baby's eyes light up when he looks at you and calls out to you for the first time. We are trying to teach him "Papa" but I think "Dada" is easier for him - which he has said a few times. He has also said "Luca," of course. Probably half the words he hears is "Luca" in various inflections.



We celebrated Sergio's birthday without Luca - so grateful to my sis and Chi!

First sip of water (October 20)

Note from that day:

Luca's first drink of water! He sipped from my glass. He held the glass exactly like he should. He put his mouth to the rim like he should. I tipped the glass up so the water washed over his lower lip and he hungrily slurped at it. He did bit the rim. He doesn't have teeth yet but it still made me nervous. H was so disappointed when I took it away. It was like he wanted to quench 6 months of thirst.

Luca is now fortunate enough to have loving Godparents. We kicked off the hopefully lifelong relationship with dim sum!

Luca is now a regular fixture at the local artwalk. He's been to nearly all of them during his entire life so far.

Luca was a monkey for his first Halloween. The cutest monkey in all the land. But he hated it. The costume was just not comfortable. It was way too hot and kind of big for my little guy. The hood kept falling in front of his face. All the kids dressed up for a group photo at Jennie's birthday party. It was pretty darned adorable.



Sergio and I went to a proper pumpkin patch for the first time on October 12. Well, proper by L.A. standards. I suppose we could have driven out to a farm where we cut our own. This was way more fun. All the beautiful pumpkins were lined up by size and there were so many kinds of squash. We also had some fun navigating the corn maze. Luca fell asleep while we strolled around the field. Next year, I think he will be big enough to play a bit in the kiddie area. More photos later...



I brought him to work on the company potluck day. He was so popular. :) In general, most of our friends who hang out with him really do seem to love him.



He's sitting up so well now we can't have him in his chair without being strapped in. We now avoid the bumbo too because he's gotten kind of good at getting out of it.





He isn't crawling yet but is pretty mobile - spinning around on his belly. Also, rolling back and forth from belly to back to belly again somehow propels him forward. He's grabbing, pinching, scratching (our fault for not keeping his nails trimmed/filed), open-hand patting. He's also hit us in the face a few times - he just doesn't have control of his hands just yet. His chubby little fingers open and close when he tries to reach something and often inadvertently flicks the item further away. He gets frustrated sometimes and keeps reverting to his little airplane/superman trick, which doesn't get him anywhere. But then he'll put his face down, scoot his bottom up like an inchworm and suddenly he's moved a little further forward than before and can grab it!



His laugh!! Hearing that laugh as it evolves makes my heart melt. At first it was single little coughs as he pushed the laugh out. He would close his eyes, smile wide open and make a little cough. And then the excited squealing happened. Now he's connected the sounds and is laughing for real. I've recorded some of it. Also, looking at the cats makes him laugh.





He has been blowing raspberries so much lately. And he has this cute little owl hoot too. They both come an go almost daily. It's so cute. I know he's growing out of these little sounds so I try to capture them on audio at least.





Well. It's a pretty far into his 7th month - today is November 19. Hopefully my next post wont be so late. But then again, it probably will. He's already grown and changed so much just in the past 17 days.