Category: Baby

JY and I just spent the last two weekends in more baby related classes.

This time, the class was on labor and birth of the baby. We went through theory then exercise on how to deal wtih the labor and birth process.

Most of the people in the class were expecting earlier than us. Were were taught relaxation exercieses, positions, breathing techniques, stages of labor, and a bit on baby care.

Overall, it was a good class, took us couple of Saturdays, did provide us with more information on the whole process.

My favorite part was watching the actual birth on video, the babies were so far from what I imagined a new born would look like, it was shocking. Now that I’ve seen what a new born really looks like and understanding why she looks like that, I think I can appreciate the appearance of the new born baby much more.

JY and I also went on a maternity tour on Wednesday. We went through the consultation area, delivery room, post-partum rooms, and the nursery. The highlight of the tour was the last stop – the nursery. Just as we got to the nursery, couple of new-borned were just brought in. We watch in fascination how the nurses look the babies’ weight, dress them, took their photos, took their foot-prints, tested their hearing, and wrapped them. One of the babies was 4 pounds, the other 8 pounds, and they look so much different but both cute as buttons.

Anyway, it’s been a busy week, I’ll spend more time blogging once I get more time.

JY and I went to a Baby Care class today at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley. This class is for first-time parents who are expecting, to prepare for the baby’s arrival. It covers the first two months of a baby’s life.

I enjoyed the class quite a bit. There were about 10 couples attending, most of them are expecting boys. They all looked excited and well into their pregnancy. I liked the instructor, she seems to know the material inside out, and it was great fun listening to her telling her stories.

So much material were covered during the 4 hour session that we took over 5 pages of notes. Althought all these information can be found somewhere else, I found it quite useful in reviewing what we already know and what we need to study further.

These are the topics covered:
Sleep; Cribs and beddings; hospital stay after birth; conditions that require medical attention; colic; diaper change (my favorite); burping; handling; bathing; time management; feeding and much more.

The class actually ran over for 1/2 hour, we decided not to stay for the video section on Safety toward the end because both JY and I were starving.

For any of you expecting parents out there, I think this class is definitely worth taking.

On the topic of colic, although the instructor touched on all the basic points, I think this book does a much better job of explaining the science and solution of colic:
The Happiest Baby on the Block : The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer

I also would like to recommend to you all this wonderful book on baby’s neurological development, it’s an area often neglected by parents because they were busy trying to meeting the baby’s physical needs.
What\’s Going on in There? : How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life

We still got a long way to go toward the baby’s birth, so please pray for us.

I never knew there are so many possible girl names. When I browsing through the baby name section at Borders today, I saw at least twenty books on that topic.

As you all know (for those who don’t, please read my previous posts), JY and I am expecting a baby girl.

I’ve been doing name search for quite awhile, and I’m trying to come up with a list of names so we can pick one we really like.

So far, the candidates look like this:

• Angela Greek heavenly messenger
• Janice Hebrew God is Gracious
• Jane Hebrew gracious, merciful, God is gracious
• Joanne Hebrew God is gracious
• Libby Hebrew Consecreted to God
• Lisa Hebrew consecrated to God
• Nina Spanish, Hebrew girl; grace
• Priscilla Latin from ancient times
• Rachel Hebrew little lamb, an ewe, one with purity
• Sarah Hebrew princess
• Sharon Hebrew princess

JY and I want something easy to spell, sound pretty and not too popular.

Which name would you pick? or do you have other recommendations? Please vote with your comments.

我们还不知道中文名要起什么，如果你有什么好建议，也请告知。
Thanks.

今天我和JY去照了超声波。整个过程差不多一个小时。
那个帮我们的护士边用超声波仪边向我们解释看到的图像，“这个是胳膊，那个是大腿 等等”. 我们开始时不知道在看什么，通过她的解释我们才逐渐能看出些端详。

JY and I were both very excited to see our baby for the first time. It’s indeed a miracle. We were told that the baby were progressing nicely, within the normal weight range, than her major organs as well as limbs are developing as planned. We actually got to see the little fingers and toes, they were tiny. One of JY’s fear was that the umbilical cord would wrap around the baby’s neck and choking her (she read it somewhere this could happen), we were told it’s not the case.

I’m still trying to calm down from the excitement I felt when I first saw the baby on the UltraSound monitor, before today it was just a concept, but now, it’s something I can see with my own eyes. Now the realization of the responsibilities and joys of being a dad also is sinking in.

We are going to make our travel plan soon since the baby’s indeed healthy and developing so well.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Here is our baby’s sonogram from today: