Four weeks

There is a piece of good marriage advice for brides to prepare as much for the marriage as you do for the wedding day. On hindsight, that seems like it would have been good advice for pregnancy as well.  You'd think we'd be better prepared, yet once again we seem to have found ourselves in a state of shock at the major changes a newborn brings. We are just now emerging from the "baby's here! Uh, now what?" fog and slowly adjusting to the new Noah & Max show.

Max is already a much better eater than Noah ever has been, and we are becoming quite familiar with his angry cry when he is hungry and can't eat RIGHT NOW. Sleep is still dicey but such is the challenging nature of newborns. He's managed to stay healthy thru all the sickness surrounding him, but we've battled remembering how to nurse and a low milk supply after the family stomach plague. What a month!

We celebrated this past weekend with a lunch of lobster rolls, clam chowder, and hot dog.

Happy 4 weeks gorilla man!

Brothers from the same mother

When Terah sent out the email announcing Max's arrival, one of the pictures reminded me of a similar picture of Noah...

Max: 

Noah: 

Even I would have a hard time figuring out who is who from these pictures! 

Shower time

A few weeks before Max arrived, a few awesome small group friends threw my friend Heather and I a baby "sprinkle." It was amazing and the perfect way to laugh and eat an afternoon away with friends.



If you ever meet Wendy (second from the right), please ask me about my new favorite Wendy story - it involves a signed waiver & release, a placenta, and a crazy chinese tradition.

Two weeks

It has not been an easy two weeks around here. Max practically lived in our arms the first week, and the whole family except Max has been sick twice already, once with a cold and now with a nasty stomach bug, thanks to our germ-carrier preschooler.

But we can't imagine life without our fourth member already. Yesterday when my awesome parents took Max home with them for the night so that we could recover, Noah kept asking me, "where is my baby? I left him!"

Happy two weeks Max - we're just grateful to have survived it!

Noah and his baby

At nine days, Noah has been handling the transition incredibly well. This may all change when he realizes the baby is here to stay.



Noah has been spending lots of quality time with Grandma Chern who, in Noah's book, solely exists to play with him. He has been coming home from mornings with grandma quite the happy camper.

Can't believe Noah is a big brother!

When he came, he came

Max's birth was quick and intense, and also a reminder that he is his own little person with his own timing.

I had been walking around 2 cm dilated with his head uncomfortably low for two long weeks leading up to his arrival. As my sister remarked, "I hope this baby comes soon... for Terah's sake," or my friend Elaine commented, "It's amazing our husbands stick around given all that we put them through." Let's just say I was anxious for him to come out.

Monday was my first day of maternity leave and to kill time, I had resigned myself to a day of shopping, lunch with a friend, and a phone chat (I know, rough life). That evening I noticed the first signs of mildly painful contractions and was texting with my very pregnant friend Heather joking it was all a scam and I wasn't holding my breath.

By midnight the fun and games were over as I realized I was not going to sleep through the contractions. By 1am, they were timing at 10-12 minutes. All of sudden, within one or two contractions, they had dropped to every 5-6 minutes and it was go time. My mom arrived to stay with Noah and we checked into the hospital at 2am where I was measuring 6 cm dilated. At this point, I was still able to breathe through the contractions and was wondering whether it was just less painful this time or I was managing the pain better. I considered waiting for the epidural, but the nurse (very smartly) advised that unless I planned on going without all together, now was the time.

As the anesthesiologist began, the pain intensified rapidly and I started feeling immense pelvic pressure. You have to sit perfectly still and curled over for the pain medication to be administered, and by this point the contractions were coming almost non-stop and were so intense I really thought I was a goner. Stanford is a teaching hospital, which I fully support, but when the anesthesiologist-in-training took what felt like an eternity, I was almost going to fire him on the spot. Poor guy, he must face women like me all day.

To his credit, this time I had full mobility, unlike with Noah where I was so numb I had to push blindly. It allowed me far greater control at the end and I was able to experience delivery in a really different way. Turns out I was already transitioning by the time the pain meds kicked in, and with a few pushes, Max was out at 4:15am Tuesday morning, five days before his due date. We were the last to arrive at the hospital that night and the first to deliver and I'm just glad it was over quickly!

He's here!

Maxwell Zechariah was born January 29 at 4:15 am at 7 lbs 4 oz. We have been thrown back into the throes of sleepless nights, chinese medicine-laden foods, postpartum aches and pains, and round the clock feedings. But he's worked his newborn charm on us so we'll keep him. 

Welcome to the world Max!