Early Days

First Day at Home (Baby's Day 3 or the day we came home from the hospital)

































5 Days Old















Me & My Big Sister





























Visitors

Let's Do Lunch














Where's our hand?














Raise Your Hands, Halleluia

Smile for Daddy

At the Hospital With Braedyn

Like with his older sister, mommy started getting contractions early in the morning around 2:30 AM. Since daddy was told by several people that the second one usually comes much faster than the first, he got worried when the contractions came closer together and rushed the whole family to the hospital early in the morning. After some inspection at the hospital, the contractions seemed to have slowed down rather than being as close as it was when we left. It seems that they do not count the mild contractions, only the ones that hurt or was more intense... so since mommy's contractions were not yet as consistent (having a mix of intense and mild ones), we all went back home. Daddy decided to stay home that Friday because baby may be coming, and sure enough, after we got home and rested some more, the contractions became stronger later in the day. We called the OBs office ahead of time before we went to the hospital the second time as they would be open by then, and mommy didn't feel that she absolutely had to go to the maternity center right away. Sure enough, after checking mommy, the doctor said, "You're having a baby today." By 3:04PM, after three sets of three or four 10 sec or more pushes, baby Braedyn arrived into the world... just in time for Mother's day.

Mommy thought it was all over after delivering healthy baby Braedyn naturally without any medications or anything, but it was not to be. Mommy ended up losing more blood than normal, and the doctor had to administer some local drugs so they could stitch mommy up. Later on, a few hours later, they discovered that there was still more bleeding, so they had to take mommy to the operating room where they administered a spinal anesthetic and performed surgery to fix mommy up. It was a long and tiring day for the whole family.
Day 2 Morning Pics


Because of mommy's situation, we were at the hospital for two nights with the option to stay a third night. When mommy and daddy decided to leave for home on the third day, they were given the option to do a blood transfusion or to let mommy slowly build up her blood levels since they were critically low... they opted for the later. Per doctors orders, mommy needs to have somebody home and was suggested not to walk around and carry the baby (just in case of any falls or fainting spells)... and of course, no driving. Other than that, she was told to eat iron-rich foods in addition to iron supplements and just take it easy. It felt nice to breath the fresh air and feel the warmth of the sun after being in the hospital the whole time.


Although it will take a while to get mommy's levels back to normal, she is feeling much better every day. We are very grateful to all our friends and fellowship family for all your prayers and help with bringing food, cleaning, running errands and playing with Carolyn during this time. It has been a tremendous blessing, and words cannot express how much we appreciate your love and concern. Thank you.

Baby Announcement

Welcome Braedyn!

(Click on picture to expand)

Baby is here!

Thanks for all your prayers and support. We have a beautiful baby boy! Born today at 3:05pm. He weighs 6lb 3oz and his length is 19.75".

Stay tuned for pictures!

Baby is coming today!

We'll keep everyone updated once he arrives!

38.5 Weeks Baby Update

We went to the OB yesterday, and it seems that I am now at 3cm and 144 lbs. This pregnancy is a bit different than with Sweetpea because I don't recall getting more dilated at each visit... with this one, there's no telling... it could be any day now. Whether he decides to make an appearance in time for mother's day, that is the question. It would be amazing if he is born exactly on his due date just like Sweetpea, but I still think he will come in a bit earlier. As for my weight gain, after having stayed at about 140 in the last 3 visits, I'm surprised at the weight gain of 4lbs in just one week. Maybe, the sweater I was wearing also added a pound or so :) Hmm... hope he's not too big or difficult to get out... and hope I'm not the one gaining all the fat, haha. At any rate, things are not getting any more comfortable as there are pains that I can't do anything about but just accept as the pains that go along with pregnancy with your second or subsequent child(children). Well, it won't be long before our lives are changed once again with the arrival of baby Chickpea.

37 Weeks Belly Session

Below are some photos from our 37 Week Maternity Photo Session for Baby Chickpea. I'm pretty sure I'm much bigger this time around.

Make your own scrapbook design

Like My New Muffin Hat?

Play Tennis? Yes

Over 37 Weeks OB Update

Had a doctor's visit this past Thursday, and it seems that I am now between 2 and 3 cm dilated... close to 3 but not quite 3 and 50% effaced. Seems that I haven't really gained weight in the last two visits though... I'm just staying at about the same weight of 140lbs, which I thought was odd because I sure am eating quite a bit these days. I think, compared to when I was pregnant with Sweetpea, I'm much bigger this time around; my tummy just looks huge, and for some reason, my belly seems to have formed some strange patterns as well during this pregnancy. Other than that, baby continues to do well. My prediction is that he'll come a little earlier than the due date of May 16... maybe sometime in the 39th week. Since we are at 38 weeks, that means that he's coming out soon. Yikes! I'm not sure what to think about labor; we've been so occupied lately, but hopefully, daddy will recall some things from the childbirth class we took a couple years ago and be a good, supportive coach. I'm planning to do no meds again and praying that it won't be too bad. Hopefully, Chickpea comes out quickly.

Adventures of Little Sweetpea

This week we have been experiencing strange weather. There are days when it would be nice and sunny one moment and then pouring the next. Above are a few photos of Sweetpea enjoying the rainy moments after her Kindermusik class this week. Though the borrowed umbrella was a wee bit big, she seemed to really enjoy hanging on to it and didn't even want to share with mommy. Fortunately, there were some covered areas. During the sunny times, we sometimes like to visit the park, where Sweetpea enjoys the slide and the swing.

This week we also spent some time indoors at the mall, where Sweetpea enjoyed an all-fruit Jamba and received some freebies including cheese from a bakery restaurant and a crown, so you can see why she's as happy as can be.