Our Married Life

We survived our very first roadtrip as a family (sans doggies). We went to go see her great grandpa who was ill, plus we owed a visit to all her other great grandparents. We spent majority of Tuesday driving around the Austin and McDade area. It was quite the beating, especially we me sitting in the backseat.

Miss E did pretty well. On the way there, we had to stop in Waco to feed her, but we had to wake her to do so. It was either that or pulling over on the middle of 35 somewhere. She slept most of the way there without fussing. In the afternoon we drove another 45 minutes to visit more family and she finally threw a fit during the last 15 minutes if the drive. The same thing happened on our return trip home yesterday. I guess she was just ready to get out of her carseat.

We are hoping to head down there soon. If she does relatively well, maybe we can take a roadtrip later this year.

We aren’t quite at 3 weeks yet, almost though. It feels like forever ago when I gave birth. Baby E has changed so much over the last few days. It’s amazing. I guess with all the events and family over the last week and a half it’s been hard to track any real milestones.

We are still working on getting the feeding in a rhythm that works for us. I’ve been pumping more over the past week only because it was easier. But each time I pump, I feel guilty that I’m missing out on any bonding we may have. So beginning last night I’ve cut back. I feel like we’ve started over.

It seems that after feeding off one side she’s done. She’d go for about 20 minutes so I’m not concerned that she’s not getting enough. But that leaves me lopsided until her next feeding. Perhaps after today we’ll both figure each other out and my body can regulate the supply based on her needs. I plan to
pump a couple times a day just so she gets used to the bottle.

We also had to start giving her a paci
only because she kept reaching for her fingers. But luckily we haven’t had to use it the last couple of days. Maybe because I’ve responded by feeding her. So far she’s eating every 2.5 – 3 hours. I still rely on an alarm at night, but she usually starts stirring and waking a few minutes before it goes off.

I really hope we get this straightened out by the time Brian goes to work next week…luckily all the family have left so no more distractions.

I had to drop off a few things at the funeral home yesterday. I asked to see my dad at that time. I can’t describe the emotion. It was both fear and sadness. Fear because I’m in the room with my dad’s dead body. Sadness bc I wanted to say something but knew he wouldn’t hear me. I’m glad I got to see him
alone, and was comforted knowing that Brian and Baby E were in the car waiting for me.

I’m hoping Monday is the last time I will have to deal with this process….

It’s hard for me to focus on the big picture when life is chaotic. Chaos in the sense that I feel like I have no
control over the house or the dogs, baby, life.

As y’all know, my dad was pretty ill. He had a bunch of infections that they could no longer treat. On new years eve, a week after Baby E was born I got a call from my sister that he had passed. I am sad that we didn’t get to see him, but relieved that he no longer has to suffer. Thank goodness we Skyped a few days earlier and he at least got to see us and talk to us face to face. He even got to see the dogs. I’m sad that Baby E won’t have any memories of him. I hope I have enough stories to share when she’s older.

With this going on, everything I wanted to do around the house is piling up. Unfortunately we’ve had an endless flow of family coming through with more trash created and more things piling up. Its daunting to the point where I don’t know where to begin. Brian’s been truly helpful in that department but we’ve been so sleep deprived the last couple of days that it’s hard to do anything else.

We originally thought that she was overdressed or underdressed. Then it became clear last night that she has a stuffy nose. Poor baby can barely breathe laying flat on her back. She wouldn’t sleep at night. Thankfully someone at work had gifted us a nose spray for infants so we started using that. Last night we had her sleep on the bouncer so that her head is elevated and she actually slept through the night. She only wakes when she was hungry or needed her diaper changed.

I have my alarm set for every two hours to remind me of her feeding time. It went off last night at 1am and after turning it off I think I just went back to sleep. At 2:30 the baby started fussing and I realized I didn’t feed her an hour ago. I felt horrible. But I was just too sleepy. I’m logging every feeding and diaper change into an app so we can track them. It’s a little much but it’s good to have logged so we can track any issues.

Today’s plan is to do more laundry and chill with the baby.

I’ll also be working on the sideshow for my dads funeral and putting together the program. Speaking of funeral, my
Siblings want to have a traditional Buddhist service. Fine by me, but personally I would’ve wanted him to be buried with a traditional Christian service. I guess he would’ve wanted it the other way, it will just make this experience different for me. But that doesn’t matter… Unfortunately some of the family isn’t showing up bc we are having a Buddhist ceremony. WTF???
I have more thoughts on this but my brain is too tired right now.

I just need to get through this weekend so that I can really focus on myself and the baby.

One last update. We got a call from the pediatrician that her newborn screening came back abnormal. The screening for anemia came back with not normal
results. We are still waiting on a call
back, so as new parents we are a freaking out. I really hope it’s nothing.

Chaos I tell ya…

Dad was supposed to be discharged last week to a skilled nursing facility but suddenly got UTI which they are trying to treat. On top of that my mother was sent to the hospital this weekend because her condition worsened. They
suspect congestive heart failure due to the fact that she’s not diligent with her meds. I’m hoping there are no serious damages to her organs in case we waited too long to get her treatment. Thank goodness my brother is in town to help out my sister. I wish I can be there…

It’s also frustrating to learn that in only 3 months their condition didn’t improve. Not to my sisters fault by any means, but the fact that they didn’t bother to ask for help when they were truly feeling bad.

At this point I can only hope that they can be treated and that they return home healthy.

Dad got sent to the intensive care unit. I hope they can determine the issue and that it’s fixable. He’s been put through the ringer many times, so I know he’s resilient. We don’t need this craziness in our lives right now. Prayers are needed all around.

Today marks the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I remember driving to school after having dropping off my niece to school. I can’t remember why I had to drive her…it’s such a rare event. As I was heading towards campus I remember traffic being terrible, but I wasn’t quite paying attention to it since something strange was bring reported on the radio. I remembered hearing plane crash and Dulles, etc. To understand the gravity of the situation, I called Brian. He was still asleep, but I told him something is wrong and to turn on the tv. I remember hearing his reaction as he saw a plane crash into one of the towers. When I finally got to my 9:30 class, someone had the news displayed on the projector. I was still on the phone at that time. I recalled one guy leaving the classroom immediately. His dad worked for the US Embassy. Our prof walked in, turned off the tv. Gave us a pop quiz and dismissed us shortly after. Everyone seemed to be in a daze. Cell phone circuits became tied up. I decided I should just go home and see my parents.

I don’t know where this world will lead us, but I just hope our baby grows up knowing about her surroundings and where to turn to when she’s in danger. I’d hate to think anything like this will happen again but as a proud American I shouldn’t allow this event to prevent us from living a normal life.

In other news, my parents have moved in with my sister. I don’t know what the next few weeks or months or years will be like, but I know that my sister and parents will have to adjust to this new living arrangement. I just pray that it’s for the best. The burden on myself and niece was becoming unmanageable. I was losing too much sleep and becoming too stressed over the little stuff. I’m not saying that I won’t continue to worry… But I hope they are in good hands. If not I will gladly bring them back to Dallas.

It’s been a sad day…

…puppy!

This morning, Brian and I went to visit our new puppy Leah, or Lele. We walked in and saw 7 precious puppies all running around in their little pen. Baby Lele was one of the smallest and pretty shy out of the bunch. But we think she’ll be the perfect match for Miss Reesey.

While we were playing with the pups, I was a bit undecided between her and the other doggy. But the other pup was like a pistol and too rambunctious. Besides, our intention was to go see Lele. Anyway, we’ve fallen in love and can’t wait to bring her home in a month. I just hope Reesey treats her well.