some snapshots

catching some rays

after being home for just two days, little lucas had to return to the hospital for some "suntanning." we discovered that he had jaundice and needed to spend the night under some phototherapy lights at the hospital. it was really hard for us to see our little boy go through such an ordeal at just 4 days old, but he was all better by the next morning and we were able to bring him home again...for good this time.

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sent from above

it finally happened...my water broke around 8:30 am saturday morning, february 19. i was both excited and nervous at the same time! i was sort of in shock that it was actually happening - we were about to have a baby!

i was talking on the telephone with my mom who, ironically, was calling to ask me to change her flight schedule so that she would arrive to the tri-cities sooner. she wanted to be sure she wouldn't miss the birth of her grandson. after a very brief conversation, i quickly got off of the telephone with my mom and called allan, who was on his way to have breakfast with some friends. luckily, he had the cell phone with him! while i waited for allan to return home, i telephoned my doctor to let him know what was going on. he told me to relax, take a shower, grab a bite to eat, and meet him at the hospital. so, that's what we did.

we arrived at the hospital around 10:00 am. i found out that i was 3 centimeters dilated, which made me very excited. i was three-tenths of the way there! however, the excitement quickly subsided. by 4:00 pm (6 hours later) i had only dilated another centimeter. at that time, my doctor suggested that i be given pitocin to speed up my contractions. i wanted to wait a while longer to see if i could do it on my own - without the help of any drugs. so, we waited another two hours. by 6:00 pm, i was still only 4 centimeters dilated. so, my doctor insisted that i be given pitocin. at that point, i decided to go ahead and have an epidural since my contractions had gotten pretty bad. it took three tries for the epidural to take effect...sheesh!

lucas elijah tuan arrived at 7:25 am on sunday, february 20, 2005. he weighed 7 pounds 2.3 ounces and was 20 inches long. he was beautiful and perfect, more than any parent could ask for. we thank God for such a special blessing and sweet, sweet bundle of joy.

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2.54 cm in an inch

we went to our weekly doctor's appointment today. this is our 38th week and things are still looking good! my blood pressure is still low, the baby's heart rate is normal, the fundus height is 40 inches...so there's no need to worry. we also learned that i am 2 centimeters dilated! the braxton hicks contractions are working! my doctor said that the little guy could come any day now. our next appointment is on tuesday, february 22. i'm hoping i'll have dilated another centimeter or two by then. :P

by the way, did you know that 2.54 centimeters make up one inch? allan casually pointed it out to me when i commented that 2 centimeters was about an inch. it's interesting the things we store in our memory.

ready or not

we installed the car seat into our minivan today. (can you believe we own a minivan? we love it!) so, whenever our little guy decides it's time to meet the world, we know that the hospital will allow us to take him home. :) allan also put together the stroller and high chair. i think we're ready for a bigger house already.

we also put the final touches on our nursery. the only thing we're missing is our changing table. we can't wait to bring our little boy home!

a special day

i had a GREAT day today! some friends of ours threw me and allan an awesome office baby shower today :). Thanks, C, D, & R! allan and i feel incredibly blessed to have such great friends who care about us both outside and inside of work. thanks to all of our friends' and co-workers' thoughtfulness and generosity, we are set for our little boy to arrive. we were missing some essential items such as a stroller, play yard, etc. until today. whew! just in time...

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my day was made extra special with allan's homecoming. he's been away for the past two weeks and i finally got him back tonight! we had everyone praying that our son wouldn't arrive until allan returned...praise God for His goodness. so, tonight i have allan back with me safe and sound. i should be able to get a good night's rest, aside from the aches and pains of pregnancy, which will soon be over.

cockle-doodle-doo!

happy chinese lunar new year! so, you may already know, 2005 is the year of the rooster. i don't put much weight into these things, but this is how the sign of the rooster is described...

these quick thinkers are practical and resourceful, preferring to stick to what is tried and true rather than taking messy, unnecessary risks. roosters are keenly observant. it's hard to slip anything past a rooster, since they seem to have eyes in the backs of their heads! this quality can lead others to think the rooster is psychic. this sign enjoys a keen attention to detail that makes it a whiz at anything requiring close analysis. roosters make great lawyers, brain surgeons, and accountants, to name a few of this sign's possible occupations. above all else, the rooster is very straightforward and rewards others' honesty in kind...

not so bad. we will have ourselves a little rooster very soon!

by the way, the little one is having the hiccups as i type! so cute...

to doula or not to doula

i had dinner with a girlfriend tonight who recently had a baby girl who is simply adorable! my friend shared with me her personal birthing experience and gave me lots of tips and suggestions on how to make my own birthing experience as...enjoyable?...as possible. she was GREAT. her outlook on her experience was extremely positive. dare i say it has made me more eager about my own upcoming experience? maybe that's stretching it a bit.

here's an interesting thing that came from our conversation...the idea of having a doula in the delivery room to help me and allan through the labor process. a doula has come to be referred to as "a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during, and just after childbirth." i have heard great things from friends who have had a doula at their side during labor. so, now the question is, "to doula or not to doula?"

a sweet fairy tale

my very good friends here in the tri-cities threw me a baby shower today and i had so much fun! there's something about a group of women getting together to celebrate the birth of a first child that is truly touching. a big THANK YOU to my friends for planning such a fun and special celebration for me.

so here's a short fairy tale that my creative friends penned for me and my little one at the baby shower (each sentence was written by a different woman who was not able to see what the previous woman wrote!)...

"once upon a time there was a girl named yolanda. this beautiful young woman had a baby the day after allan arrived home. he crawled to the kitchen and pulled open the drawer to play with the pots and pans. yolanda and baby loved to look in each other's eyes and enjoy each other's smiles. the baby cried all the time and finally allan was able to cheer him up! this baby boy was so dearly loved and his mommy got to stay home and care for him everyday. then one day the boy went to school. the baby has yolanda's nose, allan's mouth. as the tuan's boy grew older and entered his teen years, he respected his parents and never talked back because you know this is a fairy tale. one day little baby wandered into the deep dark forest and met a strange little dwarf who gave him a riddle to solve. he came back from his adventure and to his mother's surprise, he brought back a beautiful princess. he was truly blessed to have such fine parents to raise him and teach him all of the ways of the Lord. and the lovely young lady and her handsome prince lived happily ever after with junior :)."

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going gray

we are officially one month away from our due date of march 2. yikes! of course, i'm feeling extremely nervous. i guess all of that "you can do it" and "it'll all be worth it" stuff i've been saying to myself hasn't really worked. oh, and through all of my dreams of giving birth and whatnot, i've developed a gray hair! i found it the other day as i was getting ready in the morning. it's pretty prominent to me, but i don't think anyone else can see it. i guess this is just the beginning of being a parent (i.e., getting older).