Holiday Travel

Jaime and I have been spoiled by the efficiency of the HK Airport and had to learn our hard lesson when we were told we couldn't make our flight when we arrived at the counter one hour before our flight was scheduled to depart. We were on the 6.45am flight going to Miami with a connecting flight to Panama yesterday. We were up all night packing and actually got done around 3 am. Being the "super efficient" travelers, we only left around 430am for the airport. That usually would have allowed us more time than we want at the HK airport but such is not the case when it comes to LAX. We missed the flight since the flight time somehow was changed from the time we booked to now departing at 6.20am so we had only 50 minutes at check-in. The staff thought with two luggages and a baby we wouldn't be able to make it to the gate on time. Afterall, it is the day before Christmas eve and LAX was a madhouse. So after one hour at the counter, we managed to get on the 12pm flight to MIA and had to spend overnight at Miami before catching the flight today to Panama. We were super conservative and arrived today at the MIA 3 hours before our flight departed (but still ended spending almost 40 minutes checking in somehow-- no wonder the line is always so long at the US airports). Two days and five airport meals later, we finally landed in Panama, and all three of us were exhausted (and Chamu and Mamu passed out and missed half of the Christmas Party).
Now we know why our parents always told us that we needed to be at the airport at least two hours before departure... Chamu couldn't disagree more with the super-uncool advice from his parents and made the same expression we always did before...One day, he will need to learn his own hard lesson when it comes to holiday travel, just you wait...

Joaquin's New Buddy

One of the best Christmas surprises this year is that little Liam decided to arrive early. I got the wonderful news the same day that I was running around between a wedding and a college reunion. Little Liam has arrived almost one week early! We went to the hospital to visit the happy family. Growing up together as teenagers, we (Jenny, Lisa and I) shared a lot in common but never have we dreamed that we would be giving birth to a boy all in the same year. First little Ian, then Joaquin and now Liam. Lisa looks so great after a natural delivery (I am so proud of her!). Even though it's only been 7 months, I had already forgotten how tiny they are when they are newborns...

My Berkeley Pals

Berkeley Friends at Vivian's - 10, originally uploaded by Joyce and Jaime.

I didn't exactly had the wild college life at Berkeley that everyone thought we Bears do and that I now regret sometimes why I didn't try. I did have a very close group of friends whom we shared a lot of joys and laughters with. I can't believe it's been more than 10 years since we graduated. Fortunately, we have kept our friendships and have all made an effort to stay close despite the fact we got people scattered from the East Coast to the West, from S.F., L.A., to Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taipei. This time in LA, Vivian helped host a gathering even though I only had a 2-hour window (in between attending a wedding ceremony to attending the wedding banquet). Just in time for more holiday cheers: we have two expectant mothers who will soon be giving birth to our already enlarged family.

Happy Holidays!

Chamu the Stuffy Nose Reindeer

Chamu had his first Christmas party this afternoon. He had a lot fun (according to Dadu since Mamu couldn't join) with his friends who together were all dressed in outfits that for sure will embarrass them when shown at their weddings some 20 years later (but they are too innocent to care or resist now). Little did Chamu know he had a doctor appointment waiting for him after the party.


He has had a stuffy nose since Sunday. He cannot breathe well and he has been refusing to eat and been waking up frequently in the evenings (somehow he always has excuses to wake up at night). At the doctor's office, they had to suck his nose with this machine and that freaked the heck out of him (and also Mamu who couldn't even bring herself to be in the same room when the nurse did it). He was a trooper though and stopped shrieking the minute the procedure was over. Chamu still has a running nose after we get home and we desperately want him to get better before our flight this Friday evening (would be quite painful if he cannot equalize at takeoff and landing). We had to give him his medicine tonight, hoping he can sleep better (it makes him drowsy) and get better. Hopefully Mamu can also sleep better and not to have to worry about Chamu.

Going meta

Ever since he was very little I've always played with him and this bee toy, having it buzz around him by flying it around by this little green strap. First he learned how to track it as it flew left and right. Then he started to reach for it and grab it. I would have it fly away at the last minute and he would always have a big laugh at that. Today I tried that and after a few rounds, he stopped grabbed my hand, took the strap from me and started happily flying the bee himself!

-- Jaime

Busy Mamu

Mamu has been so busy and have been coming home well after Chamu goes to bed. I usually only get to see him for 30 minutes before I have to go to work. He is so alert now and smiles a lot... Really wish that I could spend more time with him...

Good news is that his skin is getting better since we cut him off from the rice cereal and moved to rice porridge. Weekend is around the corner so I will get to see him more...

Chamu tests out the legroom in Business Class

Hanging out at KHH

Sleep Training

November is usually a busy month for me and this year was the same. Joaquin happened to have the skin eczema and was waking up every other hour at night. Not being able to get a full night sleep (or even a continuous 4-hour sleep) was starting to affect my coherence during the day. Last week, I finally decided to that it was time to adopt the CIT ("cry-it-out") method. But it was not that easy (since Jaime and I are both softies). I decided to give Chamu and ourselves another shot. I designed a new schedule for him (after checking with my good friend Karen) and started implementation last Saturday.
The main difference is putting him to bed at 7pm in the evening regardless of what state he is in. We used to wait until he was tired and sleepy before bringing him to his room which could be as late as 11pm (sometimes I would fall asleep before Chamu goes to bed and he would still wake up several time during the night). Since we put him on the new schedule, he has been sleeping from 7pm to 7am (well, he still wakes up at 11pm, 3am and 6am but it's already a big improvement...). We are now trying to train him off the 3am wakening (by feeding him diluted formula) and then hopefully the 11pm wakening too.
For the last few days, I had to come home late because of work and that means I didn't even get to see Chamu at all before he went to bed. I am really bummed but I think it's better that he gets enough sleep and I get enough sleep (and Dadu gets sleep and does not need to be yelled at by very sleep-deprived Mamu)...

P.S. We have moved to soy-based formula hoping that his eczema gets better. He now also wears socks on his hands to sleep. His skin is getting a bit better but still not fully recovered yet...

Getting Better

Baby Eczema

Joaquin has been having very bad skin lately. First we thought it was due to change of weather and his skin is not used to dry air but soon the condition spread to his body. Last week, he kept scratching himself awake at night every hour. No one was getting any sleep under our roof. During the day, he then goes into this perpetual grouchy mode. When we had our 6 months check up yesterday, the doctor was also concerned. He told us to carefully watch the types of solids he is having and to also switch his formula to soy-based formula. He also gave us moisturizers to alleviate his skin, which had started to peel. We cut out formula from his diet and also stick to only rice cereal and pear to make sure his skin does not get any worse. Thankfully, his skin is already a lot better today!
Sadly, I had to leave for the airport right after his afternoon nap and will be away for the next 5 days. Cannot wait to kiss his plushy, soft cheeks again.

P.S. 6-month stats:
Weight: 21 lbs (above 100th percentile)
Height: 70 cm (95th percentile)
Head Circumference: 47.5 cm (off the chart again!)

What Kind of Animal am I?

So yesterday I had to bring back almost 2 liters of breast milk from Beijing after a two-day business trip. I was sure that the security x-ray would not catch me but I was wrong. The security guy asked me what was inside my cooler and I said "breast milk". I had to explain to him how as a working mother I needed to make sure my baby at home gets fresh breast milk and how I'm scared of any types of formula.
He seemed moved by my plead but reiterated that the amount of liquid exceeds the set limit. He then took me to his supervisor. He said to the supervisor "we've got breast milk here" and she looked passed me and asked "from what kind of animal?" I answered with dignity. Luckily, my kind of animal was apparently on the pre-approved list...

First Solids

Joaquin has been sitting with us every evening when we have dinner and has been showing keen interest in food. I have been giving him some fruits to lick on and he gets really excited when he gets to do that. We wanted to hold off giving him solids until after he is 6 months old. He now eats 210-230ml each meal and eats 6-7 meals a day. However, lately he has been waking up at night every two hours since I guess breast milk alone can no longer support his 22-lb body. Yesterday we decided to give him rice cereal and see how well he can swallow. As expected, being able to eat is never an issue for him!

Public Transportation

For the past few days I have been trying to be a good citizen by attempting to take public transportation to go to work. First day I took the bus which dropped me off four big blocks away from work so it took me 40 minutes (vs. 15 minutes by taxi). On the way home, I took a taxi who took me to opposite direction and cost me twice as much taxi fare to go home. Today I took another bus which dropped me off two block away but I needed to walk 10 minutes to catch the bus. Total journey time is again 30 minutes. I had to take the taxi home again since Joaquin is hungry and I was running late. Luckily, this time I walked for 15 minutes first so my taxi ride will be short. Tomorrow I'm going to try out another bus to see if I can get to work faster. It's not easy but it saves money and reduces carbon emission. I'm not the only good citizen as I notice taxi queues are visibly shorter these days. Obviously the melting stock market is far more powerful than Al Gore's cry to save our melting planet.

Embrace the Financial Ice Age

When it began 6 weeks ago, it was called a financial storm. The general public were in shock but they were somewhat happy to see the Wall Street bankers punished for their greed. Then the storm became tsunami, swallowing up the other side of the Atlantic. Currencies fell in a record speed against the Dollar. Overnight, people see their wealth evaporate and purchasing power decrease. Fundamentals are thrown out of window. This week the tsunami turned into ice storm, freezing up emerging markets which in less than six months ago were over heating to now colder than your freezer. Many now are reported to be on the brink of bankruptcy. Much like Fuld of Lehman who didn't see it coming, we also didn't see it coming (even Mr. Greenspan was blind sighted). I now feel like I'm a character in "The Day after Tomorrow" standing cold in a frozen world and wondering why we were not given warning signs.

But warning signs were there, many can now point back to them with a perfect hindsight. I knew Yen was going to go up and bought into Yen more than one year ago but only to lose my patience and sold it 3 months too early. I should have sold my stock which six months ago were valued at 2 or 3 times their value today. Too many I should haves but the most important thing at the end of the day is to say 'thank you': thank you for keeping my friends and family being healthy; thank you for keeping me in good health; thank you for not having to worry about where to sleep and what to eat; thank you for having enough so I can afford to have all these "I should haves" laments; and thank you for giving me a happy and healthy baby and a loving husband so together as a family we can keep each other warm and be ready to embrace this ice age.

Who are you calling a gordito?

Ceci Jr.

Small, Medium & Large

Aging Minds...

No body told us that parenting is the cause of deteriorating memory. Last month, Jaime forgot to bring his passport to the airport for the first time in his life (only to find out later that I forgot about putting it in my purse earlier). Last Thursday, we realized that neither Jaime nor Joaquin had China visa required to attend my brother's wedding in Guangzhou on Saturday. Jaime remembered that he needed a haircut for the wedding and I remembered to ask for a crib at the hotel. The need to apply for the visa however never entered our mind...

We had to smuggle Jaime into Guangzhou since he was able to get a landing visa into Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on the day of. Technically, he was not allowed outside of SZSEZ but practically such monitoring system is not in place so we were able to attend the wedding.


Joaquin on the other hand was not as lucky. We actually brought him all the way to the border, hoping we can get him visa but the Chinese government decided that a 5-month-old can potentially pose threat since he has never applied for a formal visa before. We had to part with him at the border and had our helper bring him home. His stroller and diapers attended the wedding with us instead.

台灣行之阿祖莞爾篇

上次沒來得及寫寫阿祖的搞笑對話:

我跟她您是不是真有福氣
她說 什麼福去(台語為"福氣")
我是有很多福來才對啦...

她耳力不是很好
她自嘲地說我老了
身體全部都漏(台語同"老")掉了 都沒接著...

她拿著台幣兩千 直說我要包兩百元紅包給秉鑫
跟她說 但您手裡拿的是兩千呀
她說 蛋清(台語同"兩千")? 我還蛋黃呢...

她可以上節目跟吳宗憲一起耍寶搞笑了
一點兒都不會冷場呢

台灣行之阿祖篇

這次到台灣的主要目的之一
是帶秉鑫到斗六去看他阿祖(台語的太祖母)
我們一進門口 就看到阿嬤精神奕奕的坐在客廳看電視
很久沒看到她這麼精神了 往往都是見她令人心酸的躺在床上
哀怨的說她一輩子又沒做錯事 為何上天要罰她顧眠床(台語:睡床)
她一看到我 就叫出我堂姑的名字
跟她爭論了半天 她還是固執的說我是美國來的堂姑
這會兒 她的記憶停留在70年代
看著我 像是看到了我堂姑
我問她 懿尹有沒有來看她 她說都好久沒見了
問她 懿尹結了婚沒有 她也說不知道
陪著她說話 看電視 唱唱歌
又哄著她去睡午覺 (她硬是辯說她一向沒有睡午覺的習慣）
她睡了一覺起來　竟然認出我來了
沉睡的記憶又跳回２１世紀
看著我抱著秉鑫　問我是誰的小孩
一聽到是我的　（這一次她不再追問我結婚了沒）
她急忙掏出兩千塊　包了個大紅包給秉鑫
秉鑫也挺幫忙的從她老人家手中接下了紅包
（我把兩千塊又偷偷地塞入她口袋　怕她忘了包這紅包的事　找錢找不著）
她很開心　說說笑笑　問我住在那裡
看著秉鑫慈愛的眼神　就像她一貫看我的樣子
回台北的時間永遠來得太早　我親親她的臉頰　
告訴她我過兩個月再回來看她
人生是一個循環　現在的阿嬤如一個嬰兒般的無助
要人哄　要人逗　要人寵
我要把阿嬤當成秉鑫一樣來寵愛
但遺憾的是我卻不能像守在秉鑫身旁一樣守著她

Kate vs. Pamela

Almost every woman at some point wishes her boobies can be larger than the given size. I thought about how much more attractive I would be if I had bigger boobies to flaunt. Now my wish had come true, I have to say: big boobies suck!!!
The last couple of weeks I thought jojomami's wardrobe needs some updating with the most in-season styles (now that I can fit in most of my pre-pregnancy clothes again). I looked around and the latest fashion is all about doll/empire waist tops or Bohemian outfits. And let me tell you, there is a reason it's called doll dresses because they look completely unflattering on me (well have you seen dolls that come with boobs? have you seen barbie dressed in a doll dress?). Bohemian outfits? no way, they make me look like a bag lady! I guess that's why Kate Moss is a runway model and Pamela Andersen is not.
Have you ever seen Pamela in anything other than tight swimsuits or tight tops? I will need to stay out of fashion for a while until I return to Kate size... (but I may lose the love from Joaquin judging from his strong attraction to Victoria Secrets' models... hahaha)

Chamu at the pool in Tianmu

Chamu at Sogo Taipei

In our defense, we were just checking out the Macs when he started laughing...

台湾行之阿公篇

周三早上 一阵手忙脚乱之后 我们总算到了台湾
以前我俩出门 灵活性机动性极高
现在有了个小秉鑫 什么都要慢慢来 我们可得好好适应

到了爸爸那 第一次当阿公的他
迫不及待的想尝尝含饴弄孙的乐趣
但偏偏秉鑫因过度兴奋 午觉没睡
搞得自己又想玩又爱悃
一下笑一下哭
阿公平时只看到他满是笑容的相片
看到他哭相 可一点儿心理准备都没有 失落感特大
（秉鑫的阿公啊 那些相片都是秉鑫他爸快门都按出茧来的成果
小秉鑫可是固执的小祖宗呀）

隔天秉鑫他阿公陪我们坐火车去斗六
可是见识到了这小祖宗难缠的一面
他爸在来回车上 都得抱着他来回走动
（这小东西 不喜欢对着同样的东西不动）
在斗六他爸又推着婴儿车一个多小时
秉鑫才肯睡午觉
他妈我（这不是脏话 是正确名词）
可绝对没有这种好耐性

秉鑫他阿公： 要乖乖地戒烟 好好地锻炼身体
下次再见到 也许秉鑫就不会这样又哭又笑 黄狗撒尿了

台灣行

這幾天大陸放假 股市不好 但我心情沒有受太多的影響
明天就要帶秉鑫回台灣了 心中某名奇妙的興奮
等了四個多月 總算盼到了這一天
還好颱風都走了
他第一次到台北 跟他阿公見面
第一次去斗六 跟他阿祖見面
第一次去台灣 他媽媽土生土長的地方
心中默默地希望他會對這土地有些認同
(好啦 我知道他還不會表達認不認同
但至少不要他討厭)
雖然台灣有它不好的地方
但畢竟是我心中的寶島
我希望秉鑫能有我愛台灣的一半心 就夠了
希望他會說台語太奢侈
每天我對他嘰哩呱啦的說國語
希望他的中文 可以至少好到可以念金庸的武俠小說就夠了
(呵呵 不能與老公討論金庸小說的情節 一直是我的遺憾
現在只能把這希望放在小寶寶身上嘍)
希望 有太多的希望
比較現實的希望是
他明天坐飛機至少可以比前次有進步

The Apple & The Tree part 2

Chamu Rolls Over, The Movie

20080923163745 - Chamu Rolls Over, The Movie, originally uploaded by Joyce and Jaime.

Floating around

20080921164848, originally uploaded by Joyce and Jaime.

Joaquin goes swimmin'!

20080921164139 - Joaquin goes swimmin', originally uploaded by Joyce and Jaime.

Dairy Scare - Part 2

So it turns out all of my colleagues' babies have been drinking milk contaminated with melamine. They are all worried to death since they have been drinking problem formula/milk for years. I myself have also been drinking some instant coffee that contains melamine and many other dairy products during my years of extensive travel in China. It's scary isn't it? Who'd thought products made by Nestle cannot be trusted. What kind of world is it when people care more about making money than other people's lives?
I always thought Jaime was overly paranoid when it comes to "Made in China" goods and the series of events unfolding seems to only prove him right. It makes me want to reconsider the prospect of having Chamu grow up in Hong Kong.

Dairy Scare

The dairy scandal in China has turned into many mommies' biggest nightmare. Each day there is more babies being diagnosed with kidney stones or kidney problem resulting from questionable formula powder. The more I read about it the more I'm scared about weaning Chamu. Even though it would be a very liberating act for me (especially after he woke up to nurse 3 times last night), maybe I can wait... In the meantime, I will need to continue to chow down a lot of rice each meal like I'm doing now (rumor has it that rice encourages milk production so I have been eating portions similar to that of construction workers)...

JoJomami in LKF

Jaime took me to LKF after having dinner with family friends. It felt so strange that I was in LKF without makeup, high heels, and tank tops. It felt as if I were walking naked. The place looked so foreign to me even though just seven years ago this is where I spent almost every evening (to dawn) partying. Most of my girlfriends are now mommies or mom to be yet the same boys we partied with still party the same. Just as I was starting to get comfortable with the loud music, spot lights and smoky air, I looked at the time and realized it was the time to go home. Cinderella's cut off time is 12 midnight, mine is 11pm when all the glitz and glamour disappears and I turn back to a breast feeding mom who needs to rush home to her sweet child...

Chamu Rolls Over

Four days before Chamu turns 4 months old (young?), he rolls over on his own. He has been trying this new found technique since last week but always got stuck when his heavy big head kept him from rolling over. We'd come to rescue when he started to fuss. Last night we decided to let him try. After being stuck for a couple of minutes, he rolled over and slowly moved his arm from underneath to front to prop his head up! He also accidentally rolled back to face up (we called it an accident since we suspect it was more of gravity pulling his head than his strength). Ever since then he has been rolling everywhere: on our bed, on his play mat, any chance he got!

Joaquin at Toys R Us 1

Joaquin at Toys R Us 1, originally uploaded by Joyce and Jaime.

First time at a toy store, first time on an activity saucer. Loved it so much, threw his first toy related tantrum when we took him off of it.

Jetlagged Boobs

I accidentally left my boobs in NYC after a whirlwind tour (not literally speaking so relax your tilted eyebrows and widened eyes).
I was only able to pump 75ml this morning and 100 ml this afternoon,which was less than half of what I can normally do each pump. This sudden dwindled milk supply got me worried. Could it be that my boobs forgot how to produce milk? or is there something I ate or did wrong? My boobs seemed to have return to their pre-pregnancy size overnight.
When I came home at 7pm and nursed Chamu, he somehow got satisfied (and he eats at least 200ml each meal now). So I guess my boobs were just jetlagged and hopefully tomorrow they will be back on Hong Kong time! Need to keep Chamu's development at above the 98th percentile!

Dai Tou Tsai!

Yesterday we went to his 4 month checkup. The nurse took his measurements and went away. Then she came back and said "I need to remeasure his head, that can't be right". She measured his head circumference again and said "ok, I guess that was right...". Off the charts!

Weight: 17 lbs (95th percentile)
Height: 66 cm (93rd percentile)
Head Circumference: 44.5 cm (98th percentile)

PS. He is only 3 months and 21 days so he would've been definitely off the charts had we done the check up at 4 months!

20080908224702 - Chamu's first game of Peekaboo

20080908224702 - Chamu's first game of Peekaboo, originally uploaded by Joyce and Jaime.

归心似箭

终于了解什么叫做归心似箭 从离开纽约 飞了将近20个小时 总算盼到了香港 一下机 我以跑百米的速度 从机场的最尾端 跑到了出口 满身大汗的上了的士 只希望我到家时 小秉鑫仍在睡梦中

I Miss Chamu

The most unbearable feeling is when you miss someone and you cannot see him. All day I have been suffering from Chamu withdrawal syndrome. I would pull out his picture on my blackberry and look at it every hour.
I just want to kiss his little lips and cute nose, hold his tiny hands, and give him a gentle squeeze.
One more day, then I will be on the plane back to Hong Kong. Still, it's hard to know that I'm still 48 hours from my cutie boy.

First Trip without Chamu

Today I leave Joaquin to go to NYC for 4 days. What used to be an very easy trip is now very complicated. I want to continue breast feeding even after the trip so that means pumping for 4 days straight (and I really hate pumping). I pumped twice on the plane. I slept for 7 hours in between, probably the best sleep I have had for the last 6 months. But in my awake hours, I just can't stop missing Chamu.
We landed at 10pm and it was past 11pm when we got to the hotel when they told us that they have no room for us and needed us to move to another hotel. It's the fashion week in NYC! The hotel we got moved to is a boutique hotel right at the park so we feel hip as we walked in. But breast feeding mothers don't stay at hip hotels so I had to beg them to find some room in their freezer to store the breast milk.
My pump then went out of battery so I had to go to the drugstore to pick up some batteries. On the way out, some dude decided to pick me up even though I was still wearing glasses carrying the airplane scent. I hurried away when he asked if I had a boyfriend (my son is older than your brain dude!)
I still miss Chamu and Dadu dearly as I lie inside the bathtub, taking the first bath in the last 12 months... Can't wait to go back to them...

Chamu's First Trip to the Peak

Chamu visited the Peak today with Tia Lauri and Tio Tim, who are visiting from the U.S. Since he can't seem to see very far yet, he enjoyed the view of the shops a lot better. He was his usual charming and cool self, getting a lot of attention from strangers!

Chamu Sleeps thru the Night - AGAIN

Chamu was a good boy, being able to sleep through the night at Month Two. Jaime and I were so happy to regain some lost sleep from Month One. Month Three, we took him to Vancouver/LA, and it marked the beginning of our sleep-deprived life, again. One week after we are back in Hong Kong, Chamu finally sleeps through the night again. He slept from 9.30pm last night to now (6.15 am) and still sleeping. I have been up since 4am since I was exhausted after the last few nights and went to sleep at 9pm last night while Jaime and our helper so graciously took over Chamu from me. The Sleeping-thru was done at a price. We wanted to put him back on schedule so didn't let Chamu nap much during the day. What Jaime had to deal with was a very grouchy groucy boy... But thankfully it worked! Let's hope we have our little contented angel back today... and let's cross our fingers and hope he continues to sleep through the night.

Bad Habits Die Hard

Joaquin has been spoiled in the last month when we were traveling: being picked up all the time, sleeping next to us and waking up at night. Despite our effort of getting him to sleep in his crib overnight (again) since our return, he keeps getting up in the middle of night. Since we had been too lazy to comfort him to go back to sleep when we were traveling, I made the mistakes of nursing him back to sleep. He now is used to sleeping with me and nurses whenever he wants. This morning, he woke up at 230am and had been sleeping with us until 7am which means all three of ended up not getting enough sleep. We need to put him back on schedule and wean his bad habits (even though I like the fact he likes to sleep next to me). Otherwise I won't be able to function at work...

First Day of Work

Today is my first back at work. Much like first day of school after a long summer vacation, I started to panic and had fatigue for the last three days but the day nevertheless creeped up on me.
Even though Joaquin can't seem to comprehend what's going on yet, I tried to tell him that Mamu is going to work while nursing him. I told him to be a good boy and not to cause trouble for Dadu and Auntie Mary Ann. He looked at me with a big smile as if he understood what I was saying.
Saying goodbye to Chamu in the morning was hard. Having to pump at work was even harder. I had to sneak out of the board meeting to pump inside the ladies room (not the most ideal place but it is the most private place). My boobs started to hurt since the milk ducts got blocked again (that's why I hate pumping).
After the meeting I rushed home, only to find that Dadu took Chamu for a walk since he had been fussy since noon.
So here I am sitting by myself, exhausted from an all-day meeting, hurting from engorged boobs and wishing I didn't have to start work so soon.
I'm thankful that I had chosen the first of work to be a Friday... otherwise I don't think I could make it to the second day of work.

JJ Cool J

Homecoming Chamu

It still feels weird every time my plane lands in Hong Kong when I feel like I am going home but then it is a place I don't quite recognize as my home (even after living here for almost ten years). But I guess it is where I call home now because Hong Kong is where Jaime, Joaquin and I live.
We cheaped out on air tickets so had to fly back to Vancouver to connect to our flight going back to HK (instead of flying directly back to HK from LA). The flight to Vancouver had upgrades available and I just got them without any hesitation, knowing that we needed to make oursevles as comfy as possible prior to the long layover in the Vancouver airport.
The plane going back to HK was 3 hours late due to a massive delay related to typhoon in HK. Six-hour layover with a baby just seemed like eternity (someone please slap me if I ever want to cheap out on air tickets again). Luckily, we got a new airplane so we had a bigger baby bassinet, more leg rooms and much better entertainment system (where you can rewind and pause the vidoe in case Joaquin deceds to interrupt!). Even though the flight going back was longer than the one coming to Vancouver, overall I thought Joaquin did much better. He snacks, he fusses, he poos and can't quite figure out what he wants where where he is. He still didn't like the bassinet so I had to hold him on my laps for a few naps. He fits perfectly with his head resting on my chest and his legs on my thighs. I didn't want to put him back to the bassinet because I know with his rate of growth, I won't be able to hold him like this much longer. I just wanted to enjoy having my son sleeping so soundly and peacefully in my arms.
After two outfits, 8 feedings, 10 diapers, and 24 hours, we were finally home.

Lisa's Baby Shower

It's quite special to have stayed close to your high school best friends. It is even more special for three of us to have babies (all boys) in the same year. Jenny had her second boy in January, me my first in May, and then Lisa's will be due in December. We were able to make it to Lisa's baby shower before we leave to see many of our friends and also to pass on some of the newly acquired knowledge to my best friend. She is looking her best and is a happy expecting mother. Jiffy, the baby boy, will make his debut end of this year.
Joaquin made a guest appearance at the baby shower, stealing the limelight temporarily from Auntie Lisa. He was okay the first twenty minutes but became fussy and then fell asleep for the rest of the time we were there (which allowed us to savor food at the party). It's too bad that we had to leave early for the airport (we also arrived late because we had to pack). In the short period we were at the party, we enjoyed very much catching up with old friends. We will hopefully be back in LA soon. Can't wait to meet little Jiffy!

Chamu learns how to rave

Chamu learns how to rave, originally uploaded by Joyce and Jaime.

Chamu has a long chat with Mamu

Joaquin Meets Bear Aunties

At Berkeley we had a close circle of friends that we built our college memories with. We are fortunate that we stayed close even after each of us went on with adulthood after graduation. Every time I am back in LA, our main coordinator, Cindy, has always so faithfully put together a small gathering for us LA bears. This time was no exception. Tina, who lives in Tokyo, is also in town.
This year marks the 10th year since our graduation. In the last 10 years, most of we have gone through grad schools, engagements, weddings and now we are entering the baby phase. Joy brought her newborn son, Aidan, who is one month older than Joaquin. He is such a cutie pie. Joy looks great and is now a full-time mom. Joaquin was in his usual grumpy mood but at least he behaved when each of his bear aunties took turn to hold him. Among us bears & friends, there are three more babies on the way.
As we sat around the dining table at Cindy's house and started chatting away, I felt like it was just like one of those nights on the weekend when we gathered in someone's dorm room or single apartment. The good old days. Even though most of us only see each other a few times a year in the last decade, we never seem to ever run out of conversation topics. In fact, it seems now we are able to talk even more freely than when we were in school! This weekend, there is a bachelorette party for Christina in Vegas that I'll have to miss...

雖然說歲月催人老, 但在我們身上似乎並沒有留下太多的痕跡. 十年的日子不短, 但就算現在身旁多了個老公, 懷裡抱了個小孩, 只要我們一聚在一起, 就有說不完的話, 希望未來再有幾個十年, 我們的友情都能堅持下去!

Jetlagged Baby

We had hoped and thought Joaquin would be a good traveler since Jaime and I both enjoy traveling a lot and it would be a shame if we have to give up traveling while waiting Joaquin to grow up. We were extremely nervous and had packed everything we could possibly think of in our diaper bag. We had budgeted in 50% extra time for buffer but only to learn that we actually needed 100% more buffer time than usual. We nearly missed the plane since we stayed too late at the lounge (to change Joaquin's diaper) and had to run non-stop across the HK airport for 20 minutes to catch our plane.
Luckily Joaquin had no problem equalizing at take-off and he was sleeping right away. One hour later, however, he began his 10-hour marathon fuss. He refused to sleep in the bassinet and wanted to snack constantly. I had trouble breastfeeding him since the seat was too narrow (and Chamu is gotten too big to fit sideways) so we had to feed him 3 bottles of formula. Dadu had to walk him up and down the aisle for most of his awake hours. We had to make several runs to the changing table in the bathroom and also to change him out of his dirty clothes... At the end of the flight, I have developed so much more appreciation of those mothers or fathers traveling alone with their babies...
Then the marathon continues after we landed. Joaquin is so jetlagged that he sleeps most of the day and is playful from 3am and onwards. He does not resettle until 7am. Last night he was up at 1am and went back to sleep at 5am. Today, he managed to stay up more during the day. Let's hope he will not be as jetlagged tonight as previous nights. I think we are scratching our grand idea of driving him up the Pacific Coast Highway...

Chamu succeeds!

Babu Babu Babu

十周後

JoJo媽咪從178磅變成135磅 寶寶從8.5磅變成14.5磅
終於又可以穿上八個月前已被放棄的褲子(雖然是懷孕前最鬆的一條)
肚子上雖然還有難看的妊娠紋 但至少可以看到許久不見的腰身 (贅肉還是有啦)
十周的產假已結束 但一點想回去工作的意願都沒有 (只好再休4周年假)
還是不習慣當媽媽的身分 但當媽媽的每一刻都開心 (好啦! 不是每一刻但絕大部分都開心)
十周後 少了40磅 但遇到老同事 卻還是被問 "妳懷孕了呀?"

E.A.S.Y. vs E.A.G.E.R.

"The Baby Whisperer" says that parenting should be easy if you follow the E.A.S.Y. method: "E" for eating, "A" for activity, "S" for sleeping and "Y" for the 'you' time. Babies should be satisfied if you allow them to eat well, play well and sleep well. It all sounded wonderful and I thought we could just take it E.A.S.Y. However, what it fails to address is what happens when your baby refuses to take it easy.

Chamu is usually good in the mornings, following the E.A.S.Y. method closely, but when it comes to after 2pm feedings, everything goes haywire. He would eat, play and then fall into perpetual grouchy mood for the rest of the afternoon until he exhausts himself around 9pm. Last five days, he has been extremely difficult to deal with: eating every two hours while being grouchy, refusing any activity and sleep time (which means there is zero "You" time for us).

Today we called it quits when Chamu was still refusing to fall asleep at 9pm after two feedings and 3 hours of grouchy. We had to call our helper to take over and we left to get a foot massage.

E.A.G.E.R. seems to characterize our parenting experience better than E.A.S.Y. these days: Eating and Activity followed by Grouchy until we Escape but only to Rush back thinking we are bad and impatient parents to have left our baby.

Hopefully this E.A.G.E.R. stage will soon become E.A.S.Y. again...

Chamu Wins the Battle (and Mamu Calls a Truce)

So we have been training ("teaching" is a better word since Joaquin is not a puppy) Joaquin to 1) be on a schedule; 2) sleep overnight; and 3) to fall asleep on his own.
For the first few days, he was making very good progress: eating, playing and sleeping to our schedule. Last few days, he would wake up before 7am and therefore fall out of his schedule, resulting in difficult evenings and cranky days. We also would fall out of our schedule (not used to getting up at 3 or 4am) and become sleepy all day.
Sleep-on-your-own training is harder. We have established a bedtime routine where curtains are shut and Chamu gets swaddled. First few days all seemed too easy, Mamu would hold him for 5-10 minutes and he would drift off and fall asleep inside his crib. The last few days, he has become extra sensitive with the motion of putting him down in the crib and would start crying the second you move him towards the crib. After doing 30 some repetitions Sunday evening (and missing my dinner), Mamu had to hand him over to Dadu. Tonight, after dealing with Chamu from 5pm to 1130pm (3 feedings and countless repetitions of putting him in the crib), Dadu is now carrying him and sitting on the sofa and decided it is not worth it to teach Chamu to fall asleep on his own. Mamu is still exhausted from yesterday so she decides it is time to call a truce.

Joaquin Making Progress

So we have been training Joaquin for the last 4 days to be on schedule and also to sleep over night. The first couple of days he still woke up around 5 or 530am. We fed him some water before we put him on breasts for 10 minutes. Yesterday he woke up at 630am and today he woke up at 7am!
His schedule has more or less settled, not exactly to the minute but usually does not deviate more than 30 minutes. The key is also for us to learn not to stress out when he deviates from his usual pattern. For examples, two nights ago he needed a top-up before going to sleep and yesterday he needed a top-up around 5 pm and I have come around and learned to accept that it is okay.
I started also training him to fall asleep by himself in his crib instead of being held or rocked to sleep. For the last five times I put him to bed, he has learned to relaxed more and more each time without fussing around. Just now, he was tired and wanted to be swaddled. The minute I set him down in his crib, he was content and before the musical mobile stopped playing the first round, he already had his eyes closed... and I'm sitting here at my computer five minutes later. That makes me a contented little Mamu!
Well, we are leaving for Vancouver in 9 days so maybe we will need to start all over after the jetlag.
P.S. Chamu's pediatrician corrected me and said that babies can adjust to jetlag better than we do so we will see...

More Boxing

Chamu (unsuccessfully) tries to suck his thumb

Darned fingers keep getting in the way

I Miss Chamu

I have been on all-day conference calls for the last 3 three days. Even though I am home and I get to see him and know what he is doing, the fact that I cannot play with him or hold him (since I'm on blue tooth headset) makes me really sad. I miss him so dearly!
I don't know how I can go back to work if I can't even adjust to working from home!

Obsession

I have to admit ever since I learned that I need to go back to work earlier than I expect I have been very obsessed about putting enough milk away in storage. It was difficult for me to build up the reserve since I feed Chamu directly most of the time and I usually don't have much left after feeding.
I also need to wean him from feeding directly since he is very clingy and usually does not feel full after feeding from bottle (since he drinks faster than his brain can perceive satisfaction). But he will need to feed from the bottles at least twice a day after I go back to work.
Since I have three days of conference calls this week, I have to express instead of direct feeding. He needs to be bottle fed and I can squeeze in one extra expressing in between his meals.
I have put away two extra meals today. The downside of not feeding him directly is that he feels neglected and have been grumpy all day (at least that is my interpretation of his grumpiness).
My boobs will hurt in a couple of days due to the extra stimulation from the pump and I certainly am not looking forward to it.
I also have started training him to sleep overnight and feed him minimal from the breast if he wakes up before 6am. The goal is to hopefully have him wake up after 6am or 7am regularly.

Chamu got his US visa

Chamu got his 10-year multiple entry US Visa! We are off to Vancouver next Saturday and to LA afterwards. Let's hope Chamu is a good traveler...
Here is Chamu's visa picture, a bit of kiss-up with the American designer shirt (to show that we support the US economy!)...

Two-month Check-up

It's hard to believe but he is turning two months old tomorrow! At his check-up today, he weighed 6.05 kilograms and is 61.5 cm tall. Compared to the weight of 4.85 kg and the height of 57.5 cm measured last time, he is making excellent progress! Chamu was up for his two-month vaccinations. Today, he was to receive one oral dose and two injections. We code named the injections as lollipops since we don't want him to freak out whenever we talk about it. Anyways, two nurses came with one lollipop in each of their hands. They pointed one lollipop at each of Chamu's thighs and went "one, two, three" and synchronized their injections. Chamu was lying there in a good mood but immediately burst into tears and had this "shocked" look when the injections took place. He was a brave baby though and didn't cry too much after we picked him up.

We are warned that there may be some side effects like fever or swollenness in his thighs. So far Chamu has adjusted well but he remained lethargic for the rest of today and also lost some appetite (first time since birth). He just wanted to cling on to his daddy's shoulder most of his awake hours. Now is 3 am. We just finished feeding him and put him back to his crib after he woke up an hour ago. He has a slightly higher body temperature than usual but we think he should be fine. Let's hope we get the active Chamu back in the morning...

P.S. Just learned that I need to be back at work by early September. It really sucks.

The Apple and the Tree

Outgrowing his chair

At 2 weeks:

Almost 8 weeks:

Chamu getting an early start

Well, sort of (with a little help from Dadu). Thanks Auntie Margaret!

And with a bit of help from Auntie Carmen:

Auntie Bens & Cousin Waikit

Chamu modeling his forehand after Nadal's for Wimbledon 2026

Anti-Gina Ford Chamu

So just when we began to think that Joaquin is on schedule, he decided to show us who is in control here. After putting him to bed last night at 11pm, he woke up at 5am this morning, which all seemed normal to us. He fed at 5am, fell asleep, woke up at 630am and wanted to feed again. In between, he was fussy and required a number of diaper changes. Next thing we know, we started repeating the same loop at 730am, 830am, 11am, and 130pm. Finally he took a long nap while Dadu and Mamu passed out in their own bed (we had to hand Chamu to our helper since we were both exhausted). Then he woke up at 5pm looking for food as usual. He fed again at 5pm, 7pm, and 9pm with two baths (someone had a huge poo-not surprising after) in between these feedings. After 10 feedings and 20 some diaper changes, he is now finally asleep again and I'm lying here feeling so defeated... I guess I just need to live with the fact that he will never be a Gina Ford baby... Or maybe it was his weekly growth spurt day...