4 Weeks!

Aiden is officially 4 weeks old today. Hooray!! Time seems to be flying by and he continues to change and grow every day... he's almost out of his newborn clothes! He's starting to spend more time awake, looking around and absorbing his environment, and now makes the most adorable sounds that make me smile every time I hear them. We had a one month photo shoot this past weekend and had such a great time. I think we got some really great pictures of Aiden, I'll be sure to post some when we get them.

This past week was my first week flying solo since Daddy had to go back to work. All in all, I think it went really well... we survived! We've fallen into a good Aiden/Mommy day time routine and I even had enough energy to cook dinner for Vic a couple of nights. We definitely had a couple of rough patches, but you just have to go with the flow! Wow... who would have thought that I would ever say that!! =)

We ventured on our first official outing this past weekend, visits to the pediatrician don't count. Where did we go? To the mall, of course!! Timing was key, we left right after Aiden was fed and changed. It was a successful trip, although Vic says that poor Aiden was unable to enjoy it since I had created an impermeable cocoon for him for fear that some stranger would breathe on him.

I wanted to take a picture to document the event, but would only open the bundler enough to stick my phone inside... I don't think I was being TOO over-cautious... do you?? Yeah, yeah... I know...

Things that I have learned so far about being a Mom:

1. Sleep is a wonderful thing... and getting CONSECUTIVE hours of sleep is even better.

2. I never thought I would be so happy about passing gas... my son's that is. Seeing his little fists tighten up and his face get all red as he's straining, I almost want to do a little dance when I hear him toot.

3. People who say that you should sleep when the baby sleeps are either able to time manage really well or don't have children. When Aiden sleeps, I'm trying to either put the house back in order or go to the bathroom.

4. My pediatrician is my new best friend and to her I am the frantic, OCD mother... but I only call when I have at least 3 questions to ask... so what if I called because Aiden sneezed? How am I suppose to know that it's normal and not the beginning of a cold?

5. I have mastered the art of completing most tasks one-handed while holding a sleeping baby in the other. I can even eat one-handed and not drop a single crumb on my adorable son.

6. Life with a newborn is all about routine... sleep, eat, change diaper, play while awake, pump, repeat.

7. You have to give yourself at least an hour to prepare for an outing with a newborn... at least that's about how long it takes me right now... I'm hoping to shave some time off with more practice. I'm still figuring out what to pack in the baby bag.

8. I had no idea I could be so patient... with Aiden that is. Poor Vic has been getting the shaft due to my sleep deprivation.. sorry, Babe!

9. I have become an expert diaper-changer. When you have a little boy who is consistently armed with a weapon of mass wetness, you learn to be fast.

10. My favorite time of day, surprisingly, is the 3am feed. Gazing at my son during the silence of those early morning hours when he is the most peaceful, warms my heart every time.

11. Being a mom is probably the most challenging and most rewarding role I will ever play in my life.

Super cute picture from this past weekend of Daddy, Aiden, and Rocky... all taking a nice snooze together.

Day 15

Hooray! Aiden is officially 2 weeks old. It's absolutely amazing how much he changes every day. He's much more alert now, constantly looking around and absorbing his new environment. Rocky returned home on Monday (thanks, Uncle Brian, for watching him for 2 weeks!) and is still trying to figure out what Aiden is. I don't think Rocky even noticed him at first, but as soon as Aiden started crying Rocky was very confused. This will definitely be a period of transition for our pooch, but I think that he will do well... he better!!!

We've finally reached a point where Aiden and Mommy don't have to go to the doctor every other day!! Since we've returned home, either me or Aiden have had to go for checkups each day (him for his bilirubin and weight checks, me for my blood pressure). Happy to report that our little Bugaboo is now 6 lbs 1 oz (past his birth weight, yay!) and his jaundice is noticeably less. Mommy's blood pressure is still a bit high, but being controlled with medication. I'll return back to my doctor in a few weeks to see if some more tweaking needs to be done... hopefully as my hormones normalize, so will my pressure.

Vic and I are starting to get a pretty consistent daytime routine down... well, at least getting better going with the flow. For those that know me, I am a planner... always wanting to be prepared for whatever is next. Being a new Mommy is definitely making me realize that it's ok to just wing it sometimes! Now if we could just figure out a good night time routine...

Vic goes back to work next week after being home with Mommy and Aiden for 3 weeks! We've definitely been spoiled and have enjoyed having Daddy around to help out. We'll see how it goes flying solo during the day!!

A New Life

So after a long hiatus, I'm going to give this blogging thing another try. Someone told me that it may be therapeutic for me, but I think it'll be a nice way to keep everyone up to date on what's going on.

After 38 weeks of being pregnant, Vic and I finally got to meet our son. Aiden Lewis Nguyen was born on January 25, 2011 at 5:39pm. He weighed in at 5 pounds 15.4 ounces and was 19 inches long. Apgar score was a 9, already an over-achiever like his mom. I was suppose to be induced, but after 7 hours of labor, Aiden decided that he had had enough of the pitocin. His heart rate dropped from the 150s into the 70s so it was quickly decided that mom would have an emergency C-section instead. By the time I fully realized what was going on, Aiden had made his debut... wailing like a madman... music to our ears. I had to spend an extra day at the hospital due to my high blood pressure and they reluctantly discharged me after 6 days with orders to "take it easy". I'm still trying to figure out what that means. We spent one night at home and were sent back to the hospital due to Aiden's jaundice and increasing bilirubin levels. After a night in the photo-therapy tanning bed, Aiden is looking less like a lemon and is getting cuter and cuter every day. Despite being absolutely sleep deprived, I'm loving every minute.

Life has been bittersweet for me these past couple of weeks. Losing my mom just a few days before Aiden was born was extremely difficult for me and I realized that no matter how much you try to prepare yourself, you're never really prepared for a loss like that. I'm sad that my mom 's not around to share this time with me, she was so looking forward to meeting her first grandchild, and it's hard for me to know that I can't pick up the phone to call her for advice or comforting words. But I am sure that she's looking down on us from heaven and is so proud. I'm trying really hard to focus on the good things and Aiden certainly is making life better.

So here I am, trying my best to figure out how to be a mom. Vic's been an absolutely wonderful husband, taking such good care of mommy and baby. With my life being a mess lately, Vic's been the glue holding me together. I definitely picked a good one.

Sometimes I wonder if it's possible to have a vacation from life. You know what I mean... some time where you can truly sit back, relax and not think about all the millions of things that you should be doing instead of sitting on your behind doing nothing. Vic tells me all the time that I need to learn how to relax. My goodness, it takes me 3 days of vacation to actually let myself relax and be on vacation. But who can relax when there is so much going on around me? And most of it is sad! Perhaps it's not that I need a vacation from life... more than I just need something happy and uplifting to happen. Something to be excited about. Boy, this sounds depressing...

Strange how life is...

I've decided that only nice people get cancer. I can think of so many people, my mother included, who don't deserve having to fight for their life. I was at the hospital visiting a friend whose loved one is battling this horrible disease and as I was going up the elevator on my way to the oncology floor, it stopped on the mother/baby unit. It was so amazing to me how as I watched these happy, excited people get off the elevator, on their way to meet their new niece, I was about to give my friend a hug because she is about to lose her husband to cancer. So much life and death happening all around us and we are just simply there for the ride.

When someone close to you get cancer, I truly believe that you start to look at life differently. You live more for the moment and the small things really don't matter anymore. Since mom got cancer, I have found myself being more "whatever" about things that I used to be so concerned and anxious about. I don't know whether or not that is a good thing, but I know that it's what I need to do right now. Being a better person and being the best daughter, sister, wife and friend that I can be seems more important right now.

London, Baby!

After seeing the movie "Julie and Julia", I've been inspired to be more diligent with my blog. Alas, I don't have a grand mission, but I think it'll be fun to jot down some of my thoughts on a more consistent basis... regardless of whether or not anyone will really read it.

So Vic and I just returned from our trip to London last night. We were there for Ellen's wedding and I had a great time showing Vic what I do there every year I go! I love London, I feel like the city is more of an upperclass-America, with less sun and more rain. =) We spent a day in Paris, Vic's never traveled abroad so I really wanted to get the best bang for the time we had.

Some thoughts:
1. London has interested lingo:
Trash: Litter
Trash Can: Bin
Waiting in line: Waiting in the queue
Restroom: The toilet
2. The bathrooms are interesting... the toilet has a more narrow rim and you have to "boost" the shower so that you'll have enough hot water.
3. They seem more earth friendly in London. The hotel we were staying at, mind you it was pretty swanky, was very green.
4. The food seems healthier... at the grocery store, their frozen dinners seem like fresh food that was flash frozen... versus our typical hot pockets here.
5. I need to remember to look left when crossing the street...
6. The London Underground is much easier to navigate than the Washington DC metro system
7. Paris is pretty dingy... at least in the more touristy areas. Isn't as romantic as it seems, at least in my opinion.
8. SO many gypsies in the touristy areas!! Makes it hard to enjoy yourself when some shabby girl is asking you if you speak English then proceeds to show you some card with a pity story on it for money... then you see that same girl eating ice cream later in the day.
9. Maybe I'm not a huge fan of Paris because they don't speak English... no, that's not it.. I loved Italy.
10. London versus Paris versus America?? London, all the way!

Start of a New Life

Ok, so it's been forever since I last updated!

Vic and I got married on September 19th! Officially husband and wife for almost a whole month! Our wedding was beautiful and so much fun, we lucked out and got a gorgeous day!! The day is a bit of a blur, passed by in a blink of an eye, but we feel so fortunate we were able to share such an important day with the people we love most.

We went to Hawaii for our Honeymoon that following Monday. It was indescribable. We had such an amazing time! 5 days in Kauai and 5 in Maui. Island hopping is the way to go! We ate well, soaked in the Hawaiian sun, went to a couple of Luaus, went ziplining and on a helicopter tour. We didn't want to come home! The culture in Hawaii is so different from the mainland. People are more relaxed and much more friendly! It was a bit hard to believe that Hawaii is part of the United States, seems like an entirely different world.

So now we're home... back to reality... and yes.. it bites. Although I'm sad that the wedding festivities are over, I am happy about having some extra time every night to decompress after work and before bed.

Mom's been doing great. Her chemo was extended for 3 more cycles, which is a good thing I guess. New research came out from NIH reporting that 9 cycles of gemcitabine yields better results than 6, so since Mom's been handling the chemo so well, Dr. Pandya wanted to add 3 more cycles. We're going to take it month by month, letting mom dictate when enough is enough. It's a little unsettling with flu season coming up, but mom got the flu shot and was told she's not at high risk for the swine flu, so I'm hoping that she'll stay healthy through the winter.

So, been thinking a little bit more about work. Wishing that I could get into the wedding planning business. I really had a great time planning my wedding and feel that doing it for someone else would be so much more fun. It's stressful doing it for yourself. I tried to do some research, but didn't really know where to start. Would love to get into it... but how??

Other than that, I've been enjoying married life. Not really different from how it was before, but I am definitely happier. I turned 30 last week and surprisingly took it in stride.. not at all sad like I thought I would be. I think it's because for the first time, in a long time, I'm pretty content with where I am. I'm married to a wonderful man who loves me so much, mom is handling her chemo well with no sign of recurrence, have a steady job, and surrounded by great family and friends. God... please let it be smooth sailing for awhile....