August 2017- Update

It’s been a while! More than 2 years. Life with two kids have been quite busy and it seriously flew bye. My little one Sara is a tough little cookie. She doesn’t like to loose to anyone, esp to her older sister. She has been pretty much attached to me from birth until now and is definitely the harder child to control. I am now pregnant with my 3^rd and I worry about the jealousy coming.

Emma has been growing up as a really amazing young lady. She is so smart, kind, and loving. As I see my daughters grow, I just wonder how they can be so different from me, even my mom agrees. It’s a good different though. I just want them to grow up to be healthy and happy young ladies that are kind and genuine. But parenting as they grow older is getting harder. They are more aware of their surroundings and the things they hear esp from us affect them very easily.

With that said, I think I changed a lot over the past 2 years esp after my 2^nd was born. I also grew more aware of my surroundings and learned to be more patient. Say less, do less…simplify my life. I guess people can think I don’t care as much and that’s the truth. I don’t care as much if it doesn’t involve my family…(also since I don’t have enough brain capacity to think about everything). Last year was a hard year for me (my 30^th) and after going through another rough stage in my life, I slowly started to learn not to take things too seriously. It only wears me down and makes me someone that is not pleasant to be around.

Being pregnant with my third seems a bit weird to write down but it’s happening soon. October 30^th. I feel like with this pregnancy I am emotionally more stable and believe in myself and abilities more than I ever did. I did gain quite a lot of weight already (30lbs), but I am ready to work it off after birth. Symptoms wise they are pretty much the same as my other two pregnancies. I did crave more spicier and tangier foods with this one but other than that it’s been the same.

Something different is I have been low on Iron/calcium and I get round ligament pain when I walk sometimes. I got very sick last weekend with a high fever and flu-like symptoms (body aches, cold sweat, etc.) and I think the low iron contributed to that. I was feeling pretty tired before I got sick and while recovering, I was like a walking zombie. After taking the iron pills and trying to get more sleep I think I am doing much better.

Baby #3, I hope you continue to grow to be a healthy baby. We cant wait to meet you!

Sara Young-In Lee is Here!

#2 is here! Sara was born on April 20th (39weeks + 3days) 9:43am at 7lbs 11oz.

Birth Story:

Labor was about 8 hours total. I started contracting Sunday night after a long day at the Bronx Zoo. I think all the walking that day made me start to contract more frequently (I have been having irregular contractions on and off the previous week). Stomach felt very strange Sunday night so I kinda knew something was gonna happen very soon. With that in mind i tried to get as much sleep as possible...just in case it happened in the middle of the night.

During the night I woke up frequently having to use the restroom, also my stomach was cramping slightly more than usual. It was 2am when I noticed blood and my water broke. We took Emma to my in laws and went to the hospital. We got there around 3am and I was 2cm dilated. My water was not broken all the way so they had to break it for me. I tried to hold on using the epidural but by 5cm it got too painful for me to bear. The epidural only ended up working on my right side so I had to get another one. That really sucked. By the I got the second one my doctor came in and checked me..I was 10cm and ready to push. I freaked out because I couldn't feel any of my contractions! This didnt happen with my first so I was worried I wouldn't know how to push correctly. Luckily by my 5-6th push she came out!

She looked exactly like Emma when she was born. I felt like I had her all over again. She was so precious and small. I forgot how small they were. She latched on well and is continuing to breastfeed very well. I am so thankful to have another healthy baby girl.

                     

-Jess

Almost there

I have 2 weeks and 3 days left until my due date. My company decided to close down earlier than expected so last month we had our second group of layoffs. Thankfully they gave me a good insurance package to cover my delivery and post birth so that's a relief. Since the layoff I have been busy taking Emma to local mommy and me and library classes. She has been enjoying them so much. I'm glad I can spend this quality time with her before the birth of her sister.

Weather in NY has been so cold so I haven't been able to go out much. Other than the classes i have been helping out my husband at work here and there. Since the layoff we don't know what we are gonna do about my job and daycare for Emma. It's been stressful with no plan. 

In terms of my pregnancy, I'm going in for another growth scan this Friday. Baby is looking a bit smaller than average so my doctor wants to make sure she is still steadily growing. Emma was only 6lbs 12oz at birth so I think this one will be small too. Ive been feeling ok other than not much appetite mainly due to my heartburn/acid reflux. 

Last week was my husbands spring break at school so we decided to take a weekend trip to PA. It was pretty relaxing and Emma had so much fun. We took her to the Crayola Expercience. It was an amazing place for kids. 3 stories of a activities and fun. We didn't expect it to be so interactive and big. We ended up staying there longer than expected. I'm sure we will be back when we are around the area again. :)

-Jess

Much Needed Weekend

I have never felt soooo tired in a while. On Sat., I woke up and I couldn’t even get out of bed, I tried to sleep but of course having an awake toddler, sleep is impossible. My body ached and felt so restless. Oh man. On Sunday I got to take a nap, but still was exhausted most of the day. Couldn’t get myself to do dishes from the night before and cook a single meal. L I definitely didn’t feel this way when I was pregnant with Emma, but of course I didn’t have a toddler to take care of either. Maybe since work is so super slow my body is also moving slower. Now I can’t wait until this girl arrives!

I have been pretty quiet this past weekend and I think my husband realized I am actually so tired that I don’t even want to bother talking. He has been understanding and has been trying to help out more. Luckily Emma’s fever went away and she is sleeping better. Her cough is better too. But she is having her fits and tantrums more frequently these days. I’m sure she realizes there is something happening to me.

On another note, despite my exhaustion I managed to start packing my hospital bag. I washed and packed the baby’s clothes and my clothes. I don’t remember what else I really need other than toiletries. With Emma I packed a whole bunch of things that I ended up not even using because the hospital provided most of the things and I didn’t mind using them. This time I’m going to narrow things down and pack light. One thing I missed the first time that I will not miss this time around is packing snacks!  I can’t believe the first time I didn’t bring any snacks. After not being able to eat for 15-16 hrs, after delivery I was starving…unfortunately it was so late at night (around 1-2am) the hospital didn’t have much to offer. The food was horrible. Anyways maybe after I’m done packing I’ll do a hospital bag post!

-Jess

Sleep Deprived...

Emma is officially sick L I took her to the doctor yesterday and they said it wasn’t bad enough to give her medication. She had a fever of 102.7 the first night and now she is just coughing and has a runny nose. Colds always scare me, but luckily this is Emma’s second cold since she was born. Hopefully her immune system continues to stay strong and she will fight this quickly.

I have been so sleep deprived the past few days, I feel like such a slug esp with my growing belly. Body aches all around and I can barely keep my eyes open. It is taking me closer to the reality of what will come very soon. Sleep deprivation + crankiness = stay away from Jessica. Other than due to Emma’s cold she has not been a consistent good sleeper. Thinking about having to deal with two now makes me very unexcited for the baby. Bahhh. I can’t believe I want more? I think I will see if I can handle more after two. 

Sick in bed eating string cheese :) 

-Jess

Randomness...

I am due in 7 weeks! I definitely feel pregnant and move like a pregnant lady now, but it didn’t really occur to me until this weekend that I am going to be taking care of an infant all over again! Why did I realize this now? I went to visit my friends sister’s baby who is only 3 weeks old. I couldn’t believe Emma was that tiny. It was actually scary. I suddenly felt so overwhelmed…and unprepared. What’s going on here..? I didn’t feel like this with my first. Maybe because when I had my first, I didn’t know what to expect, but now that I do know what to expect, I know it won’t be easy esp. with two.

Work has been so slow these days (hence the reason I am updating so regularly), I see myself surfing the web for things to buy every day. Bad, I know.

Here’s a list of items I recently purchased from Amazon :

1. NovaFerrum Pediatric Drops Liquid Iron Supplement for Infants and Toddlers 120 mL

Emma's 2 year old blood test showed she lacked a bit of Iron so the doctor suggested she take iron supplements. I tried to give her poly vi sol, and it tasted terrible she should spit it out. This one is supposed to taste better and the reviews are pretty good so I will see how she takes it.

2. Set of 10 Multi Color Indoor/Outdoor Mini Oriental Style Nylon Lantern Plug-in String Lights - Expandable to 150 Lights

I am so excited to put these string lights above Emma’s bed! Since we have a bunk bed now there is no place to put her night stand and it’s much darker down on the bottom bunk so these will be good during story time.

3. By Anna Dewdney Llama Llama I Love You (Brdbk) [Board book]

By Caroline Jayne Church I Am a Big Sister

Books are always good right? She is obsessed with Llama Llama books and introducing her to a big sister book will be fun for her.

4. stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner, Intense Black

This is seriously the best eyeliner I have ever tried (and believe me, I tried a lot!) It is so easy to put on and it stays all day long. Only bad thing about his eyeliner would be that it does dry out fairly quickly.

5. Rebecca Minkoff Rhodium and Rose Gold Arrow Pendant Necklace, 15''+2'' Extender

This is for my best friends birthday gift. I think it is so pretty! I wish I can wear it for myself haha. Hope she likes it!

6. Hamilton Beach 63325 6-Speed Stand Mixer

Purchasing this mixer is long overdue. I bake a lot at home and now that I’m trying to explore more recipes I find myself needing the mixer more and more. I plan to make pizza dough too! We love pizza…who doesn’t right?

7. Summer Infant Ultra Plush Change Pad Cover, Pink

I never got a changing pad cover for Emma. I just laid a waterproof fabric/towel over the changing pad. I regret doing this because, since I didn’t protect the changing pad well enough the plastic part of the pad is breaking apart.

8. 3 Sprouts Laundry Hamper, Octopus, Purple

We used a small laundry bag for Emma’s clothes and hung it by the door, but with the new baby coming, the bag will be too small to fit both of their clothes. I got the octopus one since the color matched best with the room. J

I think it took about a week of slowly adding these items to my cart before making my final purchase. Let me tell you it was downsized at the end of each day :x. 

-Jess

Emma's 2yr Old Update!

It’s been almost a  year since I did an update on Emma!

She turned 2 Jan. 30^th, so she is now 25 months. At 25 months she is talking, babbling non-stop. I think because she is a fast learner it is easy to sit down and teach her new things every day. She loves learning and is definitely like a sponge. Her vocabulary has grown so much I can’t really say how many words she knows now. She is talking in sentences most of the time and expresses herself pretty well.

Her weight now is 23lbs (10 percentile). I don’t remember her height but it is also in the 10 percentile. She is a small little girl J

Eating:

She is a very picky eater! I cant get her to eat anything green. She doesn’t eat any of her veggies. She loves rice, cereal, pasta, bread, mac and cheese, fruit, yogurt and cheese. I have been worrying she is not growing enough due to her eating habits, so the doctor wanted me to provide her with more dairy and vitamins. She doesn’t eat the vitamins (even the gummy ones) and she barely finishes a cup of milk a day. L Hopefully this is just one of those toddler phases…

Sleeping:

In terms of sleeping, she is still waking up at night. After she turned 1 she slept through the night with no problem, but I think after she started to refuse sleeping in her crib, and stared sleeping on the mattress only, she started to wake up more frequently. When that started we began to lay next to her until she fell asleep. This has now caused her to become dependent on us lying next to her while she sleeps. Once she wakes up and we are not there, she will start crying. This happens at least 2-3 times a night. Luckily once we are next to her she falls right back to sleep. Hopefully before the baby arrives we can break this habit. Gotta start now.

This is her new KURA reversible bed from IKEA. She is sleeping in the bottom for now and we are using the top for storage. She likes to go up there to play as well.

Personality:

Her personality is definitely starting to develop. She is honestly a very easy and simple kid. Of course she has her toddler tantrums from time to time, but nothing that makes me feel like I can’t handle her. She is very friendly. I swear sometimes I think she can be with a stranger and not care if I’m there or not. She loves to greet people hello and goodbye even when I don’t ask her to. She loves to dance and try to sing along every time music comes on. She is so caring and loving to me and my pregnant belly. I really think she will be a great sister. She is also so funny…always makes our family laugh with her facial expressions and her funny sentences. I wish I could have a video record of every single one! She loves to say the word “together” in Korean. Always wants to do things together. It’s the sweetest thing. She is also very cautious of herself. But if she does hurt herself, she barely cries. I took her to get her 2yr blood test +  Hep B. shot and she didn’t even cry…this was done on two separate days too. The doctors were pretty impressed. However she is scared of lions, and sharks. She is currently very in to Minnie /Mickey mouse and Minions (crazy about minions). All in all she has a pretty outgoing personality. I cant wait to see how she keeps developing!

Link to her two year montage below!
https://animoto.com/play/gRoR6PQkdqO5jgcbWl51Qg

-Jess