Sleepless in Richmond...

After one week of parenting, Mushi and I have perfected the art of waking on demand. Actually, Mushi has and I am still struggling to get up three times a night. Although I can't help with the feeding, my job is to change her diaper and put her back to sleep, which can take from 5 minutes to an hour. Mushi is usually nice enough to let me skip one shift per night.

Sushi is progressing really nicely. She is eating a lot and Mushi's milk factory was able to kick into full production quite early. Sushi has regained her birth weight.

Another sign of a healthy progress is that I have been changing at least 8 diapers a day for the past few days. It's quite incredible the amount of stuff that comes out of this little body. Sushi eats lots and releases lots. I am getting quite good at changing diapers now. I can get her wiped, dried, vasolined and re-fitted in less than 30 seconds.

You may wonder how big Sushi is now. Well, she only gained 1/2 cm from her birth length and weighs about the same. Not much in terms of growth, but she certainly made up for the lost weight, which is expected of a new born. Mushi and I thought to give Sushi a visual growth chart, and since I am the closest thing to a giraffe, I am the chart!! As you can see, she is now 1/4 Pushi. (well, she did not lie straight here, she was busy sleeping.)

Another observation I made was that even at 4-5 days old, Sushi has already begun to find her own style. Gee, I thought kids only start to be cool in teenage yesrs. Here is a photo of her posing as she sleeps. See what I mean!

Having a child is truly a blessing. It allows us to appreicate the very little things in life again. The little toes that open up as I tickle the bottom of her foot; the tiny hands that are learning to grip my pinky as she tries to pull up; the little eyes that constantly wander begin to focus on me; the little mouth that for awhile is used exclusively for crying and eating begins to show "smily" spasms... the little things that we have taken for granted. Sushi is like a treasure box, and we are discovering new things everyday. We wonder what her potential is in life and more importantly, how we can help as parents to maximize that potential... Sound familiar? Mushi and I certainly look at our own parents a little differently now. We thank them for what they have done for us and we pay forward to our next generation.

We now conclude Sushi's birth journey. Mushi and I want to thank you for taking the time following the blog and being with us every step of the way. Because of your prayers, God blessed us with a healthy Sushi. Take care!! The Sushi family loves YOU!!

Sincerely,

PMS-(Pushi, Mushi, Sushi)

Sushi Fun!!

Now that both Mushi and I have "sort of" adjusted to our new life, I thought I'd take some time to update the blog. The past two days seem blurred now with so much action. I feel like we've had Sushi for a week, but in reality, she is just a little over 2 days old... ha... This is the only time I am glad that a good time isn't going by fast. The take home lesson is this. If you want a good time to last, wake up and feed every three hours.

Let's go back to the beginning. Here is Sushi on the scale showing us who the champ is. I stared at my new boss with a proud smile. As you can see, she weights 6 lbs 3 oz and measures 51 cm long. She is thin and long just like her daddy!!

As an overwhelmed and over excited father, I just couldn't stop myself from pressing that camera shutter button. The funny thing is that I hated it when my dad always took pictures of us boys when we were young, and I guess that particular "gene" did pass down to me. Anyways, I find newborns so interesting because of all the learning they have to do to survive. I saw Sushi learn how to be fed, how to communicate (well, that one is fast, CRY, but to different degrees, mild, moderate, and severe), and how to pass gas and other unpleasantries through her system.
Here is a small collection of her still-quite-limited-emotions. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.








God has given me great women in my life. What can I say about Mushi. Watching the sacrifices she made to bring Sushi into this world gave me a whole new appreciation for mothers. Mushi is alreay an awesome mom and Sushi is lucky to have her as her mother. I want to thank another awesome woman in my life, grandmashi, for all her help. It has made the transition much much smoother.

Finally, Mushi and I want to say thank you to all of you who have been praying for us throughout this incredible journey. I really did not appreciate the pregnancy to the full extent until the moment I saw Sushi arrive in style. We loved every second of it, and we will do it again (well, I better check with Mushi first) !!!




PUSHI

SUSHI IS HERE!!

After 2 days of contractions, Sushi is finally here. Mushi set the hosptial record for "pushing" time. It took her a whopping 11 minutes to get Sushi out. And on the last push, Sushi flew a distance of about 1/3 of a foot onto the table. I've never seen anything like it. Super cool... The doctor had just walked through the door and the nurses were filling her in on what was happening so so no one caught her!
Anyways, lots to do today, We will tell more a little later. Everyone is doing well. Sushi is feeding on the first try!! I must get back to the hospital now!!

Almost but not yet...

Quickly another week has gone by. I was anxious all week in Montreal as I unsuccessfully tried to focus on the meeting and instead kept checking my cell phone for the labour call. All the worry was for nothing. It appears that Sushi is trying NOT to be an "early" person like I usually am and is already taking after Mushi... "Almost but not yet...", a famous saying from one of our dear friends came to mind as we anticipate Sushi's arrival this week.

The weekend was fun. The Cashews were in town pre-maturely this weekend. Little Cashew did not get to see her cousin, but she did test out Sushi's bedroom for her. From Cashew's expression, I think we have her approval. She continues to amaze Mushi and I on how quickly she is growing and learning. I will surely have my camera ready to capture Sushi's once in a lifetime moments.


Mommy Cashew came for a walk with Mushi and I in Steveston. Mama Cashew has been Mushi's best friend and mentor in the whole baby thing. Our moms are great but as we all know, sometimes we, as the 21st century tech savvy generation X, often question the validity and efficasy of the Baby boomers' advice and techniques. But then again, "You young people were the subjects of our techniques and you all turned out fine!" protests grandma Sushi. That's true : )

Well, gotta keep on waiting. I am the impatient one in the family, and it's always that much harder when it's near the end. I thank the Lord for giving Mushi good health and abundant joy during this pregnancy, and I also thank the Lord that He did not make men carry babies.

As we go forward... Cheers Mushi. You deserve all the ice cream you want!

PUSHI.

The Last Stretch...

It's the last stretch and the finish line is in sight...Pushi and I continue to wait expectantly for the arrival of our little one. The baby room now has a wallpaper border, a mobile for the crib and a change table which was given to us by our neighbour. We even have an exersaucer ready for the baby to use when it is four months old. How wonderful! Diapers, diaper wipes, clothes, blankets are all ready...now we just need a baby!














This weekend Spidey, Grandma and Mama Cashew will be bringing Cashew to Vancouver for a visit. Grandma Sushi will be arriving next Monday! So there are many things to look forward to in the coming weeks. We continue to pray for good health in the family and the smooth and speedy delivery of Baby Sushi!

Reflection: A Life-Changing Journey

Comfortable and well-rested, I am now entering my 38th week of pregnancy. How exciting and scary at the same time! Tonight we went on a tour of the Richmond hospital maternity ward and checked out the birthing and recovery rooms on the third floor. It’s hard to imagine that the next time we go there, we’ll be coming home with a baby and I would have survived the most painful but rewarding experience of my life!

As the October 5 due date approaches, I thought it would be a good time to reflect back at the last nine months. The journey has been a wild one but God has been our rock every step of the way. We have learned patience and that no matter how uncertain things are, God is always in control.

Things got to a rocky start at four weeks. At 2 am in the morning, my parents drove me to the hospital because I was experiencing painful cramps. After I took a urine test, the nurse asked me privately in a very concerned voice, “Is there any way you could be pregnant?” I calmly answered yes and informed her that my dear husband was out of town. I was convinced that she thought I was going to be a teenage mother.

I was checked into a bed and both an ultrasound and internal exam showed nothing. It was either an ectopic pregnancy or it was too early for anything to be seen. I returned home nervous and troubled but found peace and comfort in God’s promises. He had a plan and I needed to trust in Him and patiently wait. Every life was a gift from Him and only He had the ability to give and take it away. Having experienced miscarriages in the past, Jack and I knew this reality far too well. Yup, believe it or not, this was our third try!

Through these experiences, we learned to accept God’s “interesting” plan for our child-bearing, to strengthen our marriage through humbling tears, and what a blighted ovum was. Fortunately, at six weeks, an ultrasound revealed an embryo and a heartbeat. Then a week later, I realized that I was spotting (usually not a good sign). My world crumbled and I was overcome with disappointment. Grandma Shih, who was visiting at the time, never lost hope and told me to calm down and go straight to bed. Spidey and Mama Cashew who were visiting from Seattle prayed over me. In the next hour, the spotting stopped. God’s power was revealed once again and we were so relieved and thankful.

The following week, I spotted again and fortunately, it stopped again. At the doctor’s office at eight and a half weeks, we were thrilled to hear the heartbeat through the Doppler. Jack recorded the sound on his palm pilot and we played it over and over again. Following my doctor’s advice, I ended up staying home from work for a week which eventually turned into six weeks including Spring Break. Once my students learned what was happening to me, soon the entire school was praying for me. It was truly amazing the support, encouragement and prayers that I received.

At week eleven, we had another ultrasound and saw the little body, head, arms and legs. What a little miracle! It was so reassuring to see that something was really growing inside of me. I continued to rest at home, filling my stomach with healthy food and trying to eat as much vegetables as I could even though the cooked ones made me very nauseous.

Since then, it has been smooth sailing. I returned to work and finished off the year in June. Summer was a lot of fun with trips to the Okanagan, Whistler and a two-week baby training course in Seattle where I gained a lot of confidence in feeding, diaper changing and baby entertaining.

Pictures of our baby training days with Little Cashew (courtesy of Spidey and Mama Cashew)





Time has passed and we’ve celebrated each week, giving thanks to God for His protection and guidance. Pushi has been an awesome husband, supportive, encouraging, understanding and a great listener (most of the time). He talks to Sushi in Taiwanese and looks forward to meeting him/her face to face. I have full confidence in him as a father. There is no one else I’d rather have at my side on this incredible, life-changing journey.

For those of you who have read this to the end, thank you for sharing in this journey with us and we will be sure to contact you when the big day arrives!

Mushi

Almost there....

Mushi and I have recieved many generous baby gifts from families and friends. Mushi knew better, but I surely was not expecting the number of items that were deemed "baby essentials". I always thought a baby needed only one bib, one towel, one bed, and a few drawers.

"No, no no", says Mushi. A baby needs like 20 bibs, cuz he/she spits and throws up like an organic milk gun; hundreds of diapers and wipes cuz he/she pees and poos on demand; and two beds, one for sleeping and one for playing? Life of a baby must be good. A quote from a 4 1/2 month old dad, Spidey "yeah, at the beginning, the baby just eats, sleeps and poos."



We sort of found places for all the essentials in our humble home. Sacrifices had to be made to accomodate Sushi's new stuff. For example, one of my beloved TVs had to be moved into a closet. It was hard to cut that brainless bond after it had faithfully served me with my latenight news and sports update right near my bedroom. Also, a lot of the "treasures" that Mushi accumulated over the years had to take a trip to my storage locker.




Just when I thought we were finished putting away all the goodies, wala, TOYS came through our front door one day (courtesy of Mushi's student's family). "That's right...", I thought. Never mind the "essentials", toys are the big killer for space and bank accounts as the baby grooOWs. As you can see, Mushi and I currently have no place to eat. More storage needed.



As the selfish part of me begins to mentally calculate the "cost" of a child, Mushi calls me over to feel the movement inside her belly... the kicks, the hiccups, the sommersaults quickly erase that thought, and I cannot wait to give Sushi the best she can get in this world!!

Pushi

Shower of blessings

Our dear friends, the Showerheads, hosted our baby shower at their beautiful home. The extra effort they put into making our baby shower a memorable one makes Mushi and I forever grateful to them.


The baby shower started with many fun games: first was the matching game. I thought having a teacher on my team would make us a sure winner. Unfortunately, we were quite lousy.

Did anyone know that a baby tiger is called a "whelp", a baby monkey is called an "infant", a baby swan is called a "Cygnet", and a baby goat is called a "kid"? Mushi and I will make sure Sushi reads lots of books so she can be better than her mommy and daddy. Our smart guests did quite well as you can see from their happy "intellectual smirks".

















The second game required physical strength, dexterity and creativity. Who would have thought that hanging clothes would be such a challenging job... well, the Showerheads decided to make it realistic by providing the contestants with a baby, a phone, and a big load of laundry. The goal was to secure the most pieces of clothing with clothespins on the clothesline in one minute.

The contestants were competitive and numerous creative moves were observed. The notable ones were the following: Our dear friend KB decided to secure the baby bear between his knees. Pro: free hands, good upper body mobility. Con: child services may phone. Our dear friend MF decided to utilize the underrated neck muscles by putting the laundry bag around her neck while holding the phone with it, and she put the baby bear inside her shirt (good one). Pro: free hands, closeness with the baby. Con: possible sore neck the next day.




















The third game required patience and technique. Contestants got to re-experience bottlefeeding. As you can see, our sucking muscles have been long gone since our baby days. I gave up because I found that my tongue kinda got in the way. Mushi took over and she tried to use gravity to help with the flow...







Another game required us to identify various baby foods. Boy oh boy, I must say, one of the few nicest things about being grown up is to be able to eat and taste foods in their natural, non-mushed form. However, I quite enjoyed the pasta one...








Sadly, all good parties must end. Perhaps, Mushi will consider having more kids so we can have more parties like this... kidding. We don't want to overwork the Showerheads...



















A special thanks to JAM who stayed a few extra hours to attend the party before heading back to Seattle. We thank them for letting us "practice" our diaper changing and baby feeding skills on their beautiful Cashew for the past few weeks.

We were also thankful to have special guest soon-to-be uncle Jushi from Toronto join us. Thanks for all his help and for all the fun we had together.





After we got home, we set up the playpen and piled all the gifts into the crib. Thank you to all our generous, kind and thoughtful friends! We are much more prepared now for the arrival of baby Sushi!
















Many thanks,
Pushi

The Crib is Here

Yippeee... A very BIG thanks to one of my student's parents for their incredible generosity. Sushi has a bed now : )

Pushi was very excited about putting the crib together, especially when the crib came without any instructions. He finds challenges invigorating. After a few minor setbacks, the beautiful crib was assembled and placed in its new home. Now the next task will be finding the matress cover and bed sheets. How fun!

Mushi

Fun PNE Day

Mushie loves the PNE, and she looks for any excuse to go. The soon-to-be uncle Jushi's visit gave Mushi a perfect reason to visit the 2005 PNE. We arrived at 2pm, and were immediately solicited by "home parkers", people who rent their home parking spaces out at a reduced parking rate. I used my Taiwanese negotiation skills to get a big two dollars off.


We headed to the Motor Cross show at 2:30 first, and having been to Whistler and having seen some pro-level Extreme X Games on TV, these guys seemed a little amature, but still, being a live event with a great announcer, it was worth the visit.

Then we decided to get rid of some of our change by playing some fair games. Yes, we all know these games are far from being "fair", but to get into the "fun PNE" spirit, a minor rip off was required.

The first game we tried was to knock three stacked bottles off. I thought it was easy and knocked all three down only to realize that I did not finish reading the instructions which specified that prizes were only given out when the bottles were knocked down AND "OFF" the platform. I was not happy. Jushi knocked two off the platform, and Mushi missed the bottles COMPLETELY on her first try... Jushi and I almost laughed our pants off because the bottles were only like 3 feet from us. Mushi did get a second chance, but lost as well. That's how you waste five bucks.

Then, we thought a water game might bring us better results. Mushi couldn't take the pressure anymore. She did not want to spray the poor bystanders with her misses so she decided not to play. Jushi and I picked a spot. I'm the third from the left and Jushi is the fourth. AND, I know I should've been a fire fighter. My ballon popped first although Jushi complained that his balloon was bigger than mine.




Nevertheless, I won a prize, a real SMALL one. Yeap, another six bucks well spent.









Jushi, however, did not end the day without winning something. Jushi and Mushi had a washroom contest to see who had a weaker bladder. After a large Orange Julius and 2 water bottles later, Jushi needed to go to the washroom every half hour. Hmm... how does that work? Going to the washroom more often than a pregnant woman? Quite an accomplishment.



After seeing flipping bikers, super dogs, giant Pete (a giant bull), pigs, sheep, cows, horses, dancers, street performers, and the annoying lottery salespeople..., we were pooped by 6pm, and came home. Another fun filled day with the sushi family.

Pushi.

Getting Ready for Sushi

Today, with the help of MK and DK, Mushi and I (Pushi) finally joined the blog community.
What prompted us to explore this on-line journal option?
Sushi, Sushi is why.

It has been a long 8 months and finally Mushi is in her final stage of pregnancy...

Like everything else, to bring home a new "thing" whether it is an electronic or household item, a lot of preparation needs to be done. I thought the research to buy a camera was hard, man, it's nothing compare to all the prenatal materials out there. The books on pregnancy and first year infant alone fill a couple isles in any library!! For someone who has a short attention span like me, I can barely finish one chapter.
Fortunately, there is Mushi, who excels in reading, writing, and no-nonsense-grammar teaching...(to me). She is responsible for doing the readings and preparing me, and in return, I will make sure all the electronics and household items are ready for the arrival of Sushi.

The baby room is coming along. No crib yet. Mushi wants to find the best deal possible, and Grannyshi is busy making some comfy blankets for Sushi.










Even though Mushi and I are extremely excited about Sushi. We do know that our lives will never be the same. So Mushi and I took a few mini vacations during a few weekends here and there just trying to enjoy the life with just the two of us... The next time the life of two comes again, Mushi and Pushi will be Rinkli and Saggi...









We will continue to provide our family and friends updates as Mushi and I head into this very exciting transition...

Bye for now...
Pushi