目前分類:尚甯 Acacia ~ our little girl (83)

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Well, Acacia no longer has her ear tag.
On Friday I took her(and Timothy) to see a pediatric surgeon, hoping to schedule a time to have Acacia's ear tag taken off. The doctor quickly looked at it and said, "I think I can do it right now"... YAHOO!! Can't be better than that! So the doctor gave Acacia some numbing shots around the ear tag, and of course little princess wailed,   
but as soon as I picked her up she calmed down and even started to smile. I guess the numbing medicine works quickly. After waiting for 5 minutes the doctor came in with 2 nurses(the 3 of us hold Acacia so she couldn't move). The doctor used a kind of burning device, it's like fuses with laser or something and started to take off the ear tag. According to the doctor it shouldn't be painful for Acacia, but she still cried very hard. It really only took less than a minute for the whole process and we could smell this terrible burnt smell. Then it's all over. Acacia no longer has ear tag.
 Before the doctor did the little surgery, I took several pictures of her ear tag just so she could see how it looked like one day, also for me to remember how she was born with the ear tag... I actually felt a little sad... because the ear tag was surely in the genes that came from my grandmother. But we felt for Acacia's sake it should be taken off... so she wouldn't feel bad about it when she is a little older.


I guess it really didn't hurt too bad because she seemed very normal afterwards. I only gave her some pain medicine once just to be safe.


Last night was another story. For some reason she cried and cried and cried and cried at around 8pm, none of us could comfort her.  We couldn't figure out what was wrong with her, but finally I took over and she stopped crying, and I was able to get her to giggle and smile... mommy's girl FOR SURE!! That's right, unbelivable as it can be, Acacia already has her preference in mommy. Everyone says how could it be possible, she is too young to do that! But I guess she is extra smart because she surely knows who she likes Mommy mommy mommy!!


Today my mom helped with the free flu shots at the elderly apartment center and she took home flu shots for us. Jacob was very brave and volunteered to take it first, only ending up with crying said I lied to him it hurt so much. I guess that scared Timothy and he refused to take the shot. after about 30 minutes he finally gave in, and he didn't even make a sound when my mom stick the shot in. He actually has higher pain tolerance than Jacob!! Way to go my boy! Hopefully the flu shots will really work and we will all be flu-free for the winter season. Now everyone except Acacia in the family is immuned.. keeping our fingers crossed !! No virus welcome!

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Today my little princess is 3 months old. What a big milestone!!
Acacia is becoming a VERY smart baby, refusing to be left alone for any period of time. She loves to be held by mommy ALL day long. And this has given my backaches .. but I hope Yoga will help me. I just bought a Bumbo seat today, and she seems to like it. Today while we(me and the boys) were cooking, she sat in the bumbo seat on the kitchen island for about 15 minutes, which was GREAT!!

I think Acacia is begnning her teething process... she drools a lot and likes to chew on her fist.. or mine :D Tonight I tried pacifier again before she slept while she was fussing and surprisingly she took it... well at least not spit it out or gag...

She is holding up her head very well now and likes to sit up.. with assistance of course. She coos and even laughs out loud a few times. Her face lights up when she sees Timothy or Jacob after they get back from school. I know she just loves and adores her 2 big brothers!!

Acacia is starting to show a preference of me. When my mom tries to hold her she cries very loudly. I can't believe at such a young age she can do that, but it's pretty obvious. At least for the past few weeks she has been very good on Lord's day in the nursery.

As for me... My tummy ache still exists.. it's better, but a few times a week it will come visit me. Brother Mike still thinks it's my gall bladder and that I should have it removed.

I am going to see a surgeon next Tuesday and get more detailed scans.. hopefully to find out the true cause of my aches. This week I am trying a method trying to resolve the gall bladder stones (if there is any)... by drinking apple juice 4 times a day and on the 5th day drink Epson salt + water, as well as olive oil+lemon juice... YIKE. Today is only day 2 and I am sick of apple juice!! We will see if stones come out on Saturday haha.

Happy 3 month old, my dear girl!

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 Acacia 耳朵旁的小肉球, 原來是遺傳到媽媽的祖母..... Grandma was the one that figured it out... wow!! 

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  Acacia is starting to smile, not only in the sleep as the above picture, but she also smiles at us when we talk to her. Her smile is really cute, the kind that melts my heart. Her baby acne is still there, sometimes better, sometimes worse, but hopefully they will clear up soon so we get our pretty princess back. Acacia has outgrown her 0-3 month clothes, now she wears 3-6 month onesies. I wonder how much she weighs now.. she looks so big already!

Today both Timothy and Jacob took lunch to school, in their lunch bags they had a cheese/ham sandwitch, some baby carrots, and juices. Jacob also brought a banana and Timothy brought some cookies. Both boys finished their foods and I was pretty surprised but happy. Since Timothy has to bring lunch 2 days a week, I will probably start letting Jacob bring lunch to school on these same days so he gets to eat some home foods.

Daddy REALLY wants his boys to start learning piano so last Saturday we started our piano lessons. I don't want to push them at all and hopefully they will enjoy their piano learning experience from mommy. Each time I teach them we are saving money!! That's pretty good!!


Sometimes I let Acacia sleep on her tummy, so she sleeps deeper and that also helps her gas problem. Last night was the 1st night for a while she slept through(not even awake when she nursed) and didn't cry. We got some much needed rest and I surely hope the trend continues...

Now the weather is a little more tolerable. Can't wait for fall to start... this weekend is labor day long weekend, and maybe we can go out and have some fun if it's good weather.
Daddy put the ceiling fan in the study so it's not so hot in here typing away... what a handy daddy we have!!

We've got lots of cute pictures of Timothy holding Acacia. They are all so precious. Acacia is so lucky to have 2 big brothers that love her to pieces.

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 真棒ㄝ!!

Acacia is 1 month old today!! What a BIG step!!

From yesterday, Acacia's gas problem stopped and she gradually turned back to a super baby again. And last night, we didn't have to get up and rock her, she slept very well, I had to "remind" her to eat actually!

This morning while my mom watched her, I took Timothy to my 1st Yoga class for a long time. I really enjoyed it, my legs and arms were shaking because I've been out of shape for a while... Today is the 1st day of Acacia being 1 month old, a very meaningful day for me to start yoga, and tring to get back to a better shape... in mind, body and spirit. Timothy was excited to go to Lifetimefitness as well. I felt great holding his little hands while we walked into the building, it will be very rare that I could be alone with him now we have 3 kids. He will still be my baby boy forever though...

I went and had a haircut on Tuesday morning, now my head is lighter I feel much better. Plus Acacia started to grab my long hair so a haircut was a must.

As the doctor recommanded. I've been trying to let Acacia practice tummy time. Acacia doesn't like it at all, she cries until you turn her over to her back. Daddy had found that when Acacia has hiccups or gas problem, lay her on her tummy usually works, but it means we have to hear her cry for a few minutes...

Tomorrow we will go and have our fingerprints. we will drop grandma, Timothy and Acacia off at the Galleria mall so they can play for a while then we will all meet there and maybe I will get to have another piece of La Madelines's Tirimasu ALL BY MYSELF !!

I will now start to cook the meals, since I know their tastes better, and to give my mom some rest. She has really helped me a lot during the last month and I appreciate having her here with us.

I can't wait for all the fun to begin, now we can "officially" take Acacia out to play... and when the weather gets cooler, we can go to the zoo, the Dallas Aboritum, ..... FUN FUN FUN!!


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 這2天妹妹一直不停的哭鬧,搞的我們都累壞了,我開始懷疑,是不是妹妹的真面目露出來ㄌ,原來之前的乖巧都是偽裝,或是因為我坐月子吃了幾箱米酒,把她一直灌的醉醺醺。。

It all started on Sunday morning, Acacia began to cry without any reason, but it wasn't so bad until late afternoon, when rocking and holding and feeding and everything didn't work... we began to realize maybe it's gas that's making her uncomfortable. so I ran to Kroger to buy some gas relieve drop and it seemed to work a little bit, but not for too long. Yesterday whole day she was in a very bad mood, crying all the time and only slept for a very few hours during the day. Grandma held her and rocked her and sang songs to console her for hours, I was also as tired as a dog trying to calm her down. When daddy came home, she was quiet for a while... so daddy didn't really believe how fussy she was... until midnight, 2am to be exact, when she started the crying business again. Daddy was very patient with her, he tried to rock her for a long time... until we finally were able to go back to sleep again, it was already 5am, I watched the clock. This morning we all over slept, of course, lacking sleep. Uncle Tom was already at the door but nobody was up yet so Jacob went to school late...

So this angel of ours for the past 2 days has turned into a fussy crying little girl that I alsmot felt like I wanted to return her to the store... for a refund... But Acacia proves me wrong. This morning she has gradually turned back to a better baby, I am still keeping my fingers crossed but she hasn't cried like yesterday at all... and it's already pass the midday..12:22pm... This morning we actually took her to do some grocery shopping, and she was wide awake the whole time, enjoying her carseat ride. And now she is taking a nap(finally).

Last night I told her daddy, oh no, it must be the "colic" that started... but her daddy was pretty optimistic, he didn't think Acacia has colic. Maybe it's the honeydew I've been eating.. I am going to cut out all milk and wheat for now.. and see if it helps. After all, Acacia is not a bad baby!!


On Sunday 淑慧 & baby came to visit us... I was very happy to see them!! It's my 1st time to meet a friend that we got to know each other on the internet(BBH).. it was a neat experience! What a good baby 卉昕 is, she didn't cry, she was all smiles... and she certainly is a cute baby girl!!!
淑慧 brought 麻油雞 for me and baby clothes for Acacia, what a nice mommy!! We chatted for a while and had a good time.

I hope we will have lots of chances to get together in the next year before she moves back to Taiwan!! Thank you
淑慧!!  (p,s, not a very good picture, can't see our babies well at all )


Acacia has a whole face and neck of baby acne... so red and so ugly... I was hoping she wouldn't have them but I guess all my kids had them so I can't expect otherwise. These baby acne probably won't clear up until a few weeks later... I missed her super soft baby skin so much. I researched and it said it's very normal for babies to have baby acne at this age (3-4 weeks old) because the hormone that I passed to her is now showing up through her oil glands on the face... and once baby got rid of the hormone her skin will return back to normal.


Yesterday afternoon after I picked up Jacob from bus I took J & T swimming. It was the very 1st time since I had Acacia. We didn't go for a long time, just about 30 minutes because I was afraid Acacia would get hungry, but the boys had a good time. I guess they missed the water fun. Sitting under the shade I could totally remember the very last time I was sitting at the exact same place... with Acacia in my tummy kicking away.. I remember the feeling well and I actually miss that moment... being pregnant and taking the boys swimming. Next year Acacia will be able to join us swimming... and it should be a lot of fun!!

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Acacia is 2 weeks old. Yesterday morning we went into Dr. Cole's office for her 2 week checkup. She weighed 8 lbs 7 oz and has already grown 2 inches(22.5 inches). She is 95% on length and 75% on weight. Perfect! The nurse poked her foot to get blood test and overall she did very well. Dr. Cole said she is perfect in anyway. Her next appointment is 2 month checkup when she will get more shots and we will also talk about her getting a sonogram to check her kidneys since she has an ear tag near her left ear.

Timothy also had his 4 year old checkup, he passed eye exam and hearing exam. It's very cute to see him raise his hand when he heard the beeping sound from the testing machine.
 He also got 3 big shots (2 on left thigh and 1 on right thigh). At first he was a little nervous about the shots but after daddy talked to him he was all pumped up and even said "I want to see how painful the shots are!!" He did so well even the nurse was impressed. He didn't cry at all and was super brave. We were all very proud of him. He won't need shots until he is 12 years old. Timothy weighed 38 lbs and was 105 cms tall, percentage wise he is not on the high end. But we are not worried because he is just a healthy and smart 4.5 year old.

We switched our pediatritian from Dr. Daniel to Dr.Cole. Dr. Daniel was great but I didn't like how we always have to wait a long time to get an appointment for wellness checkups. Dr. Cole is a woman and I feel better for a woman doctor to see Acacia for her childhood years and for convenience matter we also switched our boys to see Dr. Cole. I actually felt a little sad about this but after seeing how patient Dr. Cole was with Timothy, I felt it's a good decision.

Many brothers and sisters and friends have come to visit Acacia during the last week. We got mostly girl clothes and some diapers. Everyone said Acacia is a beautiful baby. Of course her daddy and I think so too but we are biased.

Today is Father's day in Taiwan. I called my dad last night and it's actually been 2 weeks since I last talked to him. I can't wait to take Acacia home next summer for all the families there to see her!

This morning Daddy took the boys swimming so we had some quiet time at home. Acacia for some reason couldn't fall asleep the whole time, she pooped twice and nursed some and finally fell asleep. Looking at her bright eyes I was really thankful the Lord gave this special gift to us. A VERY welcome addition to our family. We all love her to pieces.



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Today Acacia is 9 days old. And Today was supposed to be her due date... and looking at her, I feel like she has always been in our lives... it's hard to imagine life without her!

It's has been great since we came back from the hospital a week ago. Everyone is adjusting well to our new life together and the boys love their sister so much. Everyday they take turns holding Acacia, and they really help me doing little things. Yesterday Acacia's umbilical cord fell off... it's amazing it only took 8 days this time. With the boys it's almost a month before it was off. And soon we can start giving Acacia a real bath... although I doubt she would like it. Everytime I wash her poo poo she cries so hard.. I am not sure why, but I guess she doesn't like it when we take her diaper off.. probably feels unsecure. Ever since she was born she absolutely can't stand a dirty diaper. The minute she has a poo poo she cries so hard, I have to change her diaper IMMEDIATELY. She is a clean little girl. Acacia is really a great baby. She only cries when she is hungry or when she needs her diaper changed. She is never fussy otherwise. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she will stay this way.

These 2 days she already starts to smile at us. It's so sweet to see her smile, it just melts our hearts. She can also turn her heads very well to respond to our voices. She is gaining weight because we can see her getting chubbier. During the hospital stay she had nipple confusion, she was sucking on the pacifier so well that she forgot how to nurse, so I had to completely remove her pacifier. Soon she became a great nurser again. I produce a lot of milk, I guess Acacia has a small stomache, so I am producing way more than what she needs, so I am having to pump several times a day. I am not sure what to do with the pumped milk but I don't like being wet all the time so when I don't feel comfortable I just pump the milk out... maybe I will donate the breastmilk to a mom who needs it... like I did before... giving frozen breastmilk to a mom who adopted a baby girl.

Unlike other newborns, Acacia has no problem sleeping at night. She never had the day/night confusion. During day time now she usually is awake about 3- 4 times, and each time she will stay awake for about an hour or so. Then at night she just sleeps... sometimes I would see her eyes open but she is never fussy, just looking around. She sleeps in our bed now so it's really convenient for me, when I hear her rooting sound(those little piggy sounds) I feed her and I continue sleeping at the same time. So I am not sleep-deprived at all. During the day I sometimes don't even feel like napping. This is really great for me... for my 2 boys I always felt so tired during the 1st several months. I guess I am lucky this time around... it began with a super easy delivery and now life is so wonderful. Can't ask for more!

Philip took his final exam last night, he didn't do very well. But he had so much going on, having a new baby, work, school, family..

Today the whole family sneaked out for a brief outing to the Stone Briar mall. I know I am still in "sit month" but I just needed to get out of the house for a breather... Philip took Jacob ice skating for the very 1st time. Jacob fell a lot but he did so well, near the end he had really improved. But the last round both Jacob and daddy fell and got some ouches. Maybe we will take him every once in a while, so he gets better and better. While grandma watched Acacia I took Timothy to take the 旋轉木馬ride. It was only a few minutes but Timothy and I really enjoyed our time alone. Ever since we had the baby I have to put a lot of my time and energy on taking care of Acacia, and I sometimes feel bad I am not spending enough time with the boys. But I am glad the boys have each other as the best companion. They play so well together most of the time and really keep each other occupied.  And they show NO jealousy at all at the baby. They just cherish her and love her. They picked up a nickname for Acacia "蘋果妹妹" because Acacia has this rosy cute face. I told them I was called 小
蘋果 when I was little.

As for Acacia's Chinese name, we still can't decide. I guess it will take some time for us to really settle on a name. Acacia's full English name is Acacia Grace Huang.

I am doing great. I am almost all healed from giving birth. Most of the time I actually feel no different than a regular person. And I still have 3 weeks for trying to relax. I am ok with the tasteless foods. I am used to it, and I am trying to eat according to the book. My mom is cooking all our meals 3 times a day, and I really appreciate her help. Yesterday she said she tries her best to give me a good "月子' because it's my last time having a baby. And she said next life I should still be her daughter so she can take care of me. I was in tears hearing her words. I told her maybe in the next life she should be my daughter and I will take care of her. She is a very loving mother and has sacrificed so much in her life for us. I can't ever have a better mom then she is to me. I am a very lucky person to be her daughter. Now I have my own daughter, I began to realize how much she has loved me and cherished me during these years.

I guess I should end here. It's getting so long.


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to be added later~

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 Well the day is finally here. Today afternoon we will go into the hospital to get ready for the birth of Acacia. I can't believe after 9 long months of waiting this day will really get here. I couldn't sleep just now... well I did sleep for about 2.5 hours... but I had to get up and post a diary before I have the baby.

Everything is in plan now. This morning we will go to the Lord's day meeting as usual and I am sure tons of saints will ask us when... and we will be able to say: "today!!". How exciting!! After the meeting Philip will go to Costco to do some grocery shopping, and I will take the boys to Target to get some last minute things(I also want to buy the toys that "Acacia will give them" when they come to the hospital to see their little sister, but how I am going to hide the toys will be a big challenge!!). Then we will go home and mom will prepare all the day 1 and day 2 postpartum drinks for me so on Monday we will be all ready. Then we need to eat a quick supper and arrive at the hospital by 5pm. Philip plans to take the boys along so they get to see where mommy will be staying for the next 3 days and nights.

I feel so sad leaving the boys at home. I am going to miss them terribly. Hopefully they will get to visit us very often at the hospital and get to know their baby sister before we take her home.

Since about Wednesday I've been having a new external hemorrhoid. It's a Texas size one.  It hurts so much I can't imagine what it will become after all the pushing during birthing. I've tried everything... medicated cream from Taiwan, Preparation H, Pads, warm/hot water, pain relieve medicine, and ice packs.. the only thing that work a little are pain medicine and ice packs. I am determined to get rid of these monsters after I have the baby... maybe will have to wait a few months before I can go have them treated. For my 2 previous pregnancies I never had to deal with them until after I had the babies. I guess getting older did something to me this time around.

On Monday morning Cherie will pick up the boys and take them back to her house to play with her girls. So mom can come to the hospital to be with me and watch her granddaughter being born. The boys will have a lot of fun playing with the girls and don't have to sit in the house all day long waiting for mommy to have their little sister. I am glad mom will come watch Acacia being born because it's such a life miracle and she is my last baby.

Yesterday we finally mailed out the application for naturalization to become citizens of the US. We went to several places to get Philip's photo printed and finally found Kinko's the best price. We mailed out the package, then came home later and realized the fee has changed to $330 instead of $320 per person. Oh well. We will just have to wait for the office to ask us to send in more payment I guess. It's neat that if Acacia is born on 7 /24... it will be exactly 5 years since we got our greencards. What a meaningful date for us. And tomorrow our household will have 3 little US citizens. I want to make sure they all know their source though, that we are Chinese in our blood... but the most importantly, they are God's children.

May the Lord bless my labor and delivery and we will have a healthy baby girl to love and hold soon!

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So we have a date. On Sunday 7/23 I will go to Baylor Garland hospital to start inducing. The time is 5:30pm, and I should be there at about 5pm with all my bags and stuff. On Sunday night after I check in they will put medication in my cervix to start softening it up and starts the dialation process, and on Monday morning I will probably start having pitocin if labor hasn't picked up fast enough.

It's so good to finally get a date. Now I know when Acacia is coming I can really start preparing mentally. So I have about a week before I see our little girl.

This morning when I went to my last OB visit, I weighed about the same(or gained about 1 pound) as last week. My BP was 110/70, perfect as usual. Brother Mike did an internal exam and said I am about 2 cms dialated. I asked him if we can set a date and he said I will have to go take another sonogram for size of the baby... I really did't want to because I already went 3 times and had to spend $20 each time copay. After the sonogram Dr. Graham & brother Mike decided I will be induced on Monday, and I will go into the hopspital on Sunday afternoon. Mike asked me again this morning what happened to my last labor, I told him because Timothy was so big I had a 4th degree tear. And he shook his head and said no we don't want this baby to be that big again. So that's the whole point of induction. Hopefully it will be a much easier delivery for me. I surely hope so too because I totally remember the pain I had from the tear last time.

At the sonogram Dr. Graham showed me the hair on baby's head. He said lots of hair and it's funny to see hair floating in the water. almost like little grass waving in the wind.

Philip will go buy the Taiwan rice wine in downtown Dallas. I asked for a discount because we will buy a dozen. It's still quite expensive. But this is the kind that doesn't have any salt and directly imported from Taiwan so it should be better. This is the same kind that I used both times with my boys. Sister Li-ling used to buy them for me since it's close to her work but this time we feel it's better that Philip go pick them up so we don't bother Liling too much because these glass bottles are heavy.

I taught Michelle her last piano lesson yesterday and it won't resume until at least 1 month after the baby. She has been a brillent student, learning so fast and it was easy to teach her.

I also bought
Mustela Post Partum Body Restructuring Gel on line from ebay. It's much cheaper. Hopefully it will help my tummy go back to it's normal size and shape. I think we are about ready for everything that I and the baby will need. Now just the last few days of waiting.

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Just a quick update of my sonogram this morning:

Baby is about 7 lbs now (6 lbs 15 oz) and if I deliver near due date(in 3 weeks) she will be about the same as Jacob and Timothy . Today I had a different doctor today. He was much nicer and took longer (not in a huge rush like Dr. Graham) to check on the baby, he tried to buzz the baby but she was very stubborn she didn't want to show us her face today. She was facing downward which is the correct position to be born. The doctor said her head is very low, getting ready to be born. She was kicking the sonogram handheld device and made the doctor laugh a few times. She is measuring about a week ahead so really very healthy and well.

I guess we won't know when the induction date will be until next Monday when I go in for OB check up.

p.s. Here is a photo of the boys in our ice cream store holding the Bigtom Sign:


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Well, nothing exciting is happening here.. This morning I went in for my 37th week OB visit and I was disappointed we didn't schedule an induction date. Mike wants to hear the result of my sonogram tomorrow after the baby's size is checked then he can schedule the induction date. I guess I really should take it easy... no matter what the original due date is only 3 weeks away, and after the baby is here we will all be so tired. So I really should wait patiently and enjoy the last days of just me and the 2 boys.

The baby's heart beat was 160/minute and my bp was 70/110... I didn't gain any weight since last time(10 days ago) so my weight gain has stablized which is great. Well I haven't been snacking as much recently and I am sure it helped.

I will start packing the hospital bag today... I don't want to bring too much stuff to the hospital but I want to make sure I have the things I need there during the 2 days 2 nights stay.

This morning after I came back from the OB visit, I helped both boys with phonics and math homeworks. And they did so well, finished everything I assigned in a short period of time. I am determined to continue teaching them even after Acacia comes and I will be so tired. I still want to try to do it everyday so the boys continue to learn and progress. After homework they did some crafts and watched a TV cartoon and now after lunch they are playing with toys. I told them we should do homework in the mornings from now on so the rest of the day they can do stuff they enjoy. And they like that idea.

I will update after the sonogram tomorrow. I am very curious how big Acacia is now!!

I think I want to choose the name "黃尚惟" for Acacia's Chinese name. We will call her
"
惟" and it sounds pretty sweet. "" can mean several things. First of all she is the only girl we have, and also there are some great hymns that use "惟". Like "惟見榮耀裡的基督",  "惟知道我所信的是誰"..... so it's really a good word. Still undecided about her English middle name. I like Grace but it's so common... Maybe just use Wei... we will see.

p.s. a photo of me and the boys eating at Korean restaurant:



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Here is a picture of Acacia's face... not very clear but I was happy to see her again.



Well, the sonogram went well(and fast!!)... Acacia is now 100% a girl(with NO doubts as everyone saw her girl parts).

She is measuring about 2 weeks bigger(35 weeks 4 days) and is 5 lbs and 9 oz (2540g) now. The doctor said its the normal range and in 3 weeks I should get another sonogram to determine when the induction will be. Well I actually hope in 3 weeks I will deliver Acacia because she will be 37 weeks and considered full term. By the rate she is measuring, she will probably be 7 lbs + in 3 weeks which will be ideal. The doctor did something (a buzzing vibrator) on my tummy to make Acacia turn(Acacia actually jumped I hope she wasn't scared!!) so we could see her face. Looked like she has a chubby face, but the image wasn't really very clear(unlike the 3 D images people have in Taiwan), and I think she looks like Jacob more... which will be cute anyway!!

The doctor measured everything very fast, my fluid, her head, tummy, leg bone, heart, spine, arm... and everything looks great! I am so glad Acacia is such a healthy baby. Thank the Lord!!

I am now thinking I will ask my mom to be in delivery with me. And I will find somewhere to put the boys... maybe at Andy's or Cherie's. I know my mom will love to see her grandchild born and this is the last opportunity I can give her so I want to work out things so she can be there. If I schedule an induction it will be perfect because for an induction I usually go in the early morning and have the baby in the early afternoon so it should be fine for the boys to stay at someone's house and play while we give birth and then they can come and see their baby sister then my mom can take them home.... sounds like a plan!!


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This Morning I went in for another prenatal checkup... and I had to wait a LONG time... more than 1 hour before I saw brother Milke... I was getting really impatient. But of course he came in and apologized so I had to forgive him

As usuall, I was measureing big. I told Mike how long I pushed last 2 times with Jacob and Timothy and he said our goal is to not push for more than 1 hour, and he would avoid episiotomy and aim for no tearing. Of course that's great news to me.. last time I was cut but still tore all the way... hopefully this time it will be much smoother. He ordered a high-level sonogram for me(next Monday 6/19 at 11:30am) at another Dr. office (Dr. Grame?) I guess he was a little concerned, but I really think the baby is normal size, just my tummy that's big.  But I always love the opportunity to see baby on the screen and to make sure she is doing ok in there.

Brother Mike will try to go to summer training but he said he will schedule my delivery anyway and he will be there to deliver my baby FOR SURE! What a relief. I don't want any other stranger doctor to deliver my precious baby. He said Garland Baylor has a policy that no one should be induced before 39 weeks without a medical reason. But Mike thinks if the baby's size is too big, it IS a medical reason, hum... sounds like he will deliver me before 39 weeks :))  I can't wait! I just pray Acacia will be big enough by then and comes out all healthy. I am sure she will be. And a 7 lbs baby sounds great to me !!

Also saw sister Beth at Mike's office. She is such a sweet sister. She said her daughter Sarah can do massage for me... but I am not sure if I want to call her, I don't know her very well, and might not feel comfortable enough to ask her to do free massages for me. We will see. My aches and pains are pretty standard now. I am getting used to it. What I can't stand is not being able to find a comfortable position at sleep so I have to toss and turn.. and of course go to the restroom like 20 times at night !!  But I know I should be patient. Time is not much left for Acacia to stay in my tummy and I will for sure miss being pregnant.

Acacia is moving so much lately, I think she has reached my rib cage already and sometimes she kicks my ribs, sometimes she jumps, stretches... still a very amazing feeling for me to feel her inside. Timothy and Jacob love to touch her from my tummy and guess what body part they are touching. I let them draw on my tummy just now... it's very cute, Jacob drew a flower, Timothy drew a butterfly, and they wrote words like Acacia, Jacob, Timothy, sister to fill my tummy. It looks so cute. I am glad they are already bonding with their baby sister before she comes out.

It's getting so hot here. This morning after my checkup I took the boys to swim. They had a good time but I was so hot watching them "on shore". Next time I should jump into the pool with them as well. But it's so much trouble to change clothes afterwards. Jacob had a bleeding nose before swimming and I had to wipe his face with a towel... I hope the cleaning staff won't be scared when they saw blood on the towel.. oops sorry!



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 today is the 1st day of the 33rd week. Wow, it's getting closer and closer to L & D day!

Bible camp has been fun. The boys enjoy it, I hope they really learn something of God during this week, and they learn to love the word of God and get to know their companions. Jacob is in Noemi's class, Noemi is a serious and 'follow-the-rules' kind of teacher so Jacob needs some adjustments to her. Jacob had Mrs. Huggins at school for a year and on the very contrary, since she was a lot younger and had totally different personality, I think Jacob was used to the more "free-style" of learning. So I think it's good for him to be in Noemi's class so he also learns to be in a different environment of learning.

We went to Walmart to pick up Acacia's stroller yesterday, I didn't know how to assemble it so it's still in the garage waiting for daddy to do it. I also got Jacob a pair of new sandels because his old ones broke. I also bought a pair of slippers for me. Flip-flops and slippers are pretty much all I can wear now since my feet get swollen a little.

Yesterday at Lifetime fitness I did stair-master for 15 minutes which equals 30 floors, and I also did some weight training for my shoulder and arms. I felt pretty good after only about 25 minutes of exercising. I think this is what I will do before the baby since it's more comfortable than yoga at this stage. Jacob had his swimming lesson and now since he is the only kid in level 2 they placed him with level 1 class. I was a little upset about that but I observed the teacher, she seemed to be pretty good in teaching Jacob at his level so I think this will do for now. Maybe next time I will enroll him in semi-private lessons to get a better fit for his level.

Yesterday afternoon I clearned the refrigirator in our kitchen. It now looks very very clean. I think I am definitely starting my "nesting" process... I never had the desire to clean the refrig but yesterday I spent about 1 hour cleaning it. Don't know what the next project is yet... maybe hanging the window panels so our bedroom will be darker so baby can sleep better.. need to buy rods for that still.

I will take the boys to Barnes & Noble this morning so they can read books there. Timothy has been requesting to go for a few days now and I keep putting it off because I don't want them to get too tired during the day. Yesterday both boys took a 1 hour nap(which was very very rare) and it really helped them to have energy for bible camp at night.





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 Just a quick update:
Got back from my 32 week check up: Baby heartbeat 148/minute, the head is down(correct and perfect position). My weight is 155 lbs (up 6 lbs since 3 weeks ago). Brother Mike is not concerned with my weight gain, said all is normal. (he said since I can't be on diet, it really doesn't matter)!!

Asked about induction, he said we will do a high-level sonogram later which will determine the baby's weight and then decide when to induce. He said the ideal baby's weight should be in the 7 lb range, not in the 8 lb range.. haha we will see about that. Jacob was 8 lb 3 oz and Timothy was 8 lb 14 oz at birth.. This one will surely be as heavy as her brothers!!

Also asked about Melody being present and Philip video-taping the process. Of course brother Mike said it's ok... he will agree to anything I request I think!!

Asked about epidural.. he said epidurals are much better now a days and I can still move around and be very concious and alert... good to know.

That's about it!!
Next check up will be in 2 weeks(6/12 at 9am).



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Yesterday I went in for a regular check up (25 weeks). Mike thought my tummy looked very big (everyone comments that way too), and he measured the uterus, and I measured 30 cms(30 weeks) instead of 25 cms so I measured 1 month ahead. Mike ordered an ultrasound this morning to check if baby is too big or my amnio water is too much.

So this morning my appointment was at 8:10am. Philip went with me(I insisted). We waited a little bit and I was a little nervous, praying the baby is doing fine.

And I was SO happy to see our baby on the screen again. Lori was very patient, explaining everything as she measured along. The baby's head is right on target, her upper leg measured 1 week ahead, and on average she is just on the mark, PERFECT!!! The baby weighs about 1 lb and 13 oz already! I think we will have another big baby by the time she comes.

I also asked Lori to check the gender again, just to make sure. And Lori said " I am always happy to do that". I was a little nervous when she pointed to the baby's gender area, I saw something a little swollen. Lori said " I hope I told you it was a girl", I said "yes", and she went on, "well, it's still a girl!!" and she explained the "hamburger", and really it does look like a hamburger on the screen. Lori said "It's 1000%, definitely a girl". So there she is, still our princess Acacia.

So happy to see the baby. She is head down, perfect position. Philip commented "she is comfortable in there". So really now my doubts are all gone, knowing and believing we are soon going to have a little girl in our lives.
Thank you Lord for protecting our little girl !


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It's official, we are having a baby GIRL!!!!
This morning me and Philip went in the doctor's office for our ultrasound. We were the 1st ones there and had to wait for the nurse to open the door for us. I was so anxious my heart nearly jumpped out of my throat! The technician Lori was a very sweet lady. We asked her if we could videotape, she at first hesitated because now a days doctor's offices won't let people go away with baby images for safety reasons, but we told her both our older boys have videotapes and we would really like for this baby to have its own. She agreed during the last few minutes we could videotape. So she put some HOT jell on my tummy and started the sonogram. She was very detailed, showing and telling us each part of the baby while she measured. the head, the kidney, the amnio sac, the leg, the arm, the heart,.... finally she said "you can start videotaping now" and she asked if we wanted to know the sex... OF COURSE!! So she looked and I thought I saw something in bewteen the legs, I sighed, "it's a boy, right?" and she shook her head without a word... then she looked from another angle and said " it's a Girl!!" Well, I really couldn't believe it, although I think I saw the magic "3 lines" as well. Then she went on to measure other stuff, but I kept asking her, can you look again? Is it really a girl? so she looked 2 more times and said she was 100% sure it's a girl. Wow. It's true, we are really having a baby GIRL!!!
She printed out 4 pictures for me to take home, and one shows her head and body (she looks REALLY cute), one shows her scratching her head, and one shows the tummy and the leg, and the last one shows her girl parts (the magic 3 lines... ie the hamburger)..

What can I say except "halleluiah!!" Thank the Lord for giving us this "surprise" baby girl. She will complete our family!!

I called my mom immediately in the restroom. And Philip said the whole clinic could hear my voice. I was just SO excited and thrilled and happy.

Thank you Lord Jesus!!


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昨天晚上大約2點半,被寶寶給吵醒。 他不知道為啥決定半夜在媽媽的肚子裡開舞會
   跳ㄉ不亦樂乎, 動個不停。 害我張著眼睛等ㄌ快1個小時,等他老兄跳累。

So this afternoon I took Timothy to bed to take a nap in the afternoon to make up the sleep I lost last night. We slept for 1.5 hours, very refreshing. This morning I went to yoga like usual, and found I had more energy today, and more balance. I really like yoga, especially now I am pregnant, it's not like aerobics where people are sweating and panting, but at the same time yoga still let me build up strength and muscles and lots of stretches. I don't know if I can last the whole pregnancy but I surely want to try my best.

Last Sunday when I went to the prenatal yoga class, Philip took the boys to swimming in the indoor pool. They boys had fun with daddy. Our prenatal yoga class now has 5 mommies, there is this one older mom having her 4th baby, and her 1st son is already 21 years old!! She is going to do a home birth, I know now it's getting popular in the US for home births but I don't think I will like that idea too much.... I'd rather get my DRUGS(to reduce pain) and have an experienced OB doctor deliver my baby, and the nurses to take care of me and baby afterwards.

Tomorrow is the BIG day. We will hopefully find out the sex of the baby. I can't wait!! I want to start SHOPPING!! Well, if it's a boy I won't need any shopping, I can get plenty of stuff and clothes from the sisters. But if it's a girl... haha Philip's bank account is going to shrink a lot.

So in 14 hours we will know. And there are a lot of people who are anxious with me too. I was asked by everyone I saw last Lord's day. And we joked if they see my long face next Lord's day, they'd better get away from me because that means I am havig a boy. A sister even suggested me wearing black if it's a boy and red if it's a girl. But really I don't care that much now. I am just curious to know. I will love the baby to bits no matter what it is. Our prescious little baby. Our last baby. 

The boys are having their spring break next week, but since Philip and I are going to change the floor to wood in our living room, it will be a lot of work(for Philip), I don't think I will be able to help much. But I think we will try to take the boys to the zoo or the science place for some fun. And weather should be great.

Ok Let's end here. I will update tomorrow after the ultrasound. Stay in tune!

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