5 Weeks and Counting!

Aiden had his one month well-baby visit and clocked in at 8 pounds 2.5 ounces and 22 inches. It's hard to believe that my 5 pounder has grown so much in just a couple of weeks! He is definitely becoming more and more alert every day.... I think I even got a non-gas-related smile the other day! Tummy time is definitely proving to be beneficial, his head control is getting better and better.

On Wednesday of this past week I finally did it... I ventured out alone with baby in tow. I have to admit, I was pretty proud of myself! The plan was to hit Babies R Us to return a couple of items and then come straight home, but it went so well

that we decided to window shop at the mall for an hour or so. Granted I didn't have to change him or feed him while we were out, I made sure those things were dealt with before we left home, so I'll need to start going out more for longer stretches of time... but hey, it's a start!!

I'm absolutely loving Mommy-Duty; it's absolutely amazing to look at Aiden and remember that he was in my belly just over a month ago... crazy! I'm getting better and better with our day time routine and have started integrating daily activities for Aiden and

Mommy. We do tummy time, read short stories, have conversations about colors and count fingers and toes. I've even started multitasking Aiden-time with house chores! Vic and I started a new night time routine, which is so far proving to be much better than what we were doing before. Acclimating Aiden to day and night is a good thing. =)

Fridays have become Uncle Brian's day. It's been nice having my brother come over every week to spend time with me and Aiden. He's definitely getting the hang of caring for a newborn and we've even set up his first babysitting gig... that should be interesting! But I have faith!

So for all you Daddys out there: a question. When your little one was first born, sleeping in your room, were you able to wake up to their cries at night? I find it absolutely hilarious that Vic does not stir AT ALL when Aiden cries in the middle of the night. He could be screaming bloody murder for a few minutes and Vic is sleeping peacefully away. I asked one of his friends about it, since I am so intrigued by the lack of awareness, and he said that men don't wake up to the baby's cry because they know that the mother is there to take care of him/her... but that it will come eventually. Either way, it's fine... I love the night time help when I can get it, but I cherish those quiet little moments with my little Bugaboo. Now don't get me wrong, functioning on 3-4 hours of nonconsecutive sleep per night is rough, so I am still looking forward to the day when Aiden sleeps through the night.. but until then, this isn't so bad. =)

February 24th was my mom's birthday and I spent the day reflecting. Sometimes I look at Aiden and see my mom in him, which makes me happy and sad at the same time. I think about how wonderful it would have been for my mom to have met him. I can almost see the smile on her face. Since everything happened so quickly, I really haven't had a chance to just miss her and really accept what has happened. I almost still expect to be able to pick up the phone and call her, just to hear her voice and tell her about my day. Now that things are starting to settle down, things are starting to also set in. I had a strange dream the other night about her. I was laying in bed and she crawled in next to me, wrapped her arms around me and asked me "Why did I get Cancer?". I'll never understand that one, Mom.

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!