Life as a Family of 4

Okay, so I am finally going to try to do a post about life with and since Vienna made her grand entrance--almost 3 weeks ago! It seems to me like the more kids you have, the faster time flies, lol. They certainly keep you busy and help remind you to live in the moment! All pix that correspond with our stories are on Vienna's photo page (link in the links section to the right).

I am happy to say I only had 1 "false alarm" this pregnancy--with Hana, I must have went to L&D at least 2 or 3 times--and called for advice I don't even know how frequently, lol. I certainly thought I was in labor more this time around, though--I was just no-way going to the hospital unless I felt certain. With a kid at home and no family around to help with childcare, I REALLY wanted to go the SCHEDULED (as opposed to emergency) c-section route--or at the very least be cut open during daytime hours, so that life would be easier for Hana. If I went in during the day, she was going to wait it out at her best friend Elise's house. If I went in at night, we were either going to have to interrupt her sleep or risk her waking up to find Mom and Dad gone and someone watching her. She already has light issues with nighttime abandonment (Da and all visiting relatives usually leave while she is asleep), so we certainly didn't want to worsen that! Thankfully, everything went according to plan.

This delivery was SOOO much easier than Hana's. This is probably going to make me sound really fat, lol, but the hardest part for me was the 9-hour food and liquid fast leading up to the operation. Right before I went into the OR, I was starting to feel weird, irritable, and shaky (typical pregnant hungry me). Martin has me on film saying "I feel really weird. I feel really weird. Would you turn off the camera? Seriously. Please." But that went away as soon as I got my spinal--which caused my blood pressure to drop a bit which made me feel like I was suffocating--but apparently that feeling is quite common--and is just an illusion. Thankfully the anesthetist kept an oxygen mask on hand to help with my peace of mind.

Martin was great in the OR. At first he was kind of antsy even coming along for the op and my friend Suzy was going to be my support person instead. But, luckily, he had a change of heart--I think we would have both regretted him missing Vienna's birth by choice. He kept me occuppied during the op by telling me all of the great activities he had planned for Hana during my hospital stay--and also caught quite a bit on film. The docs let him film over the curtain right after Menna came out, which means you get to see a little bit of my insides as well. I watched the tape once already and was trying to figure out what some of the stuff was, but kept getting weirded- and grossed-out since it was me on there (even though I love checking that stuff out on Discovery Health) and had to stop.

We went into the OR at 9:00 am on July 8th and Vienna Li Caluag was born 55 minutes later. She weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces (exactly 1 poung less than Hana did--and was also born exactly 1 week earlier). She measured 20 1/4 inches long (3/4" shorter than Ha). Compared to Hana, she looked much skinnier and much more caucasian-colored--but feature-wise was the spitting image. She also cried right away when she came out--which was nice because the nurses had trouble getting Haha to respond right away. It was a very controlled, peaceful, and successful birth. The hospital workers apparently cut the cord right away--but they let Martin trim it after Menna was in the warmer. My hands were tied to the OR table (so I wouldn't "interfere" with things), so I didn't get to hold her right away, which was hard, but Martin did bring her over so I could meet her and give her a kiss. Then he went with the hospital workers to film everything, give her her first bath, and get her all bundled up while I went back to L&D, where they make you remain until you're able to lift your bottom up off the bed.

I recovered from the spinal in under an hour--which is great because Menna was just getting hungry around that time, so I got to nurse her right away. I wanted to try only nursing and expressing milk with her and avoid formula altogether, but I ended up supplementing for a couple of days until my milk supply built up a bit. I know that babies get all they need from the limited colostrum those early days--but my girls have always liked a full belly. When Vienna was 2 days old, she was getting pretty annoyed with the low-flow--almost as if she didn't think nursing was worth her while if she was only going to get a drop or two--and she started refusing to eat and just wanted to sleep nonstop. So I ordered her a syringe (for finger feeding) and a formula--and that girl went to town! Of course, now that my milk is in, she is taking after her big sister and refusing the bottle--sometimes she will accept expressed milk--but no way is she willing to drink formula anymore, lol. I'm hoping I can eventually pump up a stash. I think it's nice when other people can bond with her through feeding as well (Ha, Da, grandparents, etc.).

Hana and Martin came to visit the afternoon Menna was born. At first Hana didn't know quite what to make of her little sister. She seemed mad at me initially and didn't even want to sit by me when I was holding Vienna--but she warmed up in record time. Until I was able to get up and walk (so we could meet in the lounge), visits were kind of difficult, as the post-partum rooms are nice--but not exactly geared toward toddlers. Plus I had a huge wound from the surgery (although, to be honest, I was really surprised by how small the incision was, considering a little person came out of it!) and was hooked up to an IV and a catheter. Hana is used to climbing all over me, so that was a little frustrating for her as well. By Ha's 3rd visit, she was saying Vienna's name ("Menna"), calling her "Baby Sister", kissing her nonstop, and always ready to offer her the pacifier. Normally I am not a pacifier fan, but Hana likes giving them to babies so much, we had to let Menna at least give it a try. She is pretty neutral about them. Usually she'll be into it for a minute or two and then lose interest. However, this is a great way for Hana to feel like she is helping to nurture her best buddy.

Hana and Martin kept super-busy while Menna and I relaxed and recovered. They went to her favorite play park (Sunabe Baba--the one with the carousel, rollerslide, and zipline) daily, did tons of artwork, a lot of rough-housing, and also some "gaming" (Hana has a toddler educational video game system that she and Da enjoy playing together). This is timeframe where Ha learned to use the zipline. Martin isn't as nervous/cautious with her as I usually am, so she really developed her independence while I was away. It is great because up until now, I couldn't take her to the park without doing every single thing with her--but now she likes doing most of the stuff on her own or with a friend (with the exception of most slides, of course)--which is so wonderful because I can very easily take both of the girls pretty much anywhere now. Hana even colored a super-cute "Welcome Vienna" sign for her little sis.

Since we've been home, Hana and Vienna have been joined at the hip. Hana still cries or asks for me sometimes when I am leaving the room or it's bedtime--but more often than not, her request is for "Baby Sister". Hana gets very agitated when Vienna cries--earlier today, for instance, Vienna was fussing and Hana actually told me to nurse her, lol! Since I weaned Hana so recently (December 19th), and given her apprehensive behavior during the older sibling class she went to (which discussed the new baby drinking Mommy's milk)--I thought for sure she would want to go back to nursing--or at the very least object to Menna's feedings. Not a chance. Sometimes Hana will ask for some "cow's milk" when Vienna is nursing, but that is it. Mostly she is just very interested in the concept and likes to try to help. She has given Vienna a bottle a couple of times, but prefers to offer her toys, balloons, and pacifiers instead. She loves to kiss her little sis, but is a little nervous about holding her. Hana loves to take Menna's socks off, hold her little hands, play music and vibrations while she is in her bouncer chair, push her in her hammock, cuddle with her, hang out in the playpen/crib/playmat, show her how to operate her light-up toys, and she LOVES to take baths with her. Martin jokingly complained when Baby Sister's cord fell off: "Oh, so I guess we'll have to bathe her now? Great..." And I told him: "Watch how much easier bathtime is with Hana now." Hana used to love baths, but had been getting a little ornery about them lately (probably because she associates them so strongly with bedtime, lol), but now she loves them once again. She is ready to jump in, clothes and all, as soon as you turn the water on. We hook Vienna's baby tub to the bathtub wall and Hana likes to fill it up with water and then cover Baby Sister with sponge animals once she is in. Hana is also VERY interested in the business Vienna [frequently] deposits in her diaps.

Now that I've been changing a newborn's diapers the past couple of weeks, I am realizing how gigantic Hana is! It is so different going from changing one to the other, lol. I think we are going to start trying the potty again with Hana soon. We tried a few months ago, and it seemed to freak her out a bit--and I didn't see any sense in pushing it. We got her Elmo's Potty Time DVD, which she has been VERY interested in--and which also has opened her up to the idea of at least talking about that stuff again. But she is still adjusting to her new sis, and Martin is about to deploy, and we have some other MAJOR changes in the works as well, so we will probably wait until things settle down a bit. At least we have a dialogue going. :O) Most of her friends out here ended up starting and finishing the whole training thing sometime between 3 and 3 1/2. Anyway, back to how big Hana is getting. Another example: Vienna's socks are so small compared to Hana's, that Hana's look HUGE to me now. I actually discovered a couple of her socks in my sock drawer today--I must have put them in there by mistake, lol!

My recovery is going VERY smoothly. I had to take it easy for a couple of days--I tried vacuuming too early and ended up hurting myself. But all-in-all, the pain has not been bad at all. I ended up stopping my painkillers after a couple of days because they made me too tired--if I was hurting badly enough, I don't think I'd care about being tired, so that just goes to show. :O) I cannot wait until my 6-week recovery period is up, though, because I'm not cleared to go in the sea/pool until then and it is killing me! Those are my favorite places to take Hana! Martin loves taking her to the park--and I love taking her to the beach. Speaking of water, Martin took her to the beach while I was recovering--that girl is REALLY learning how to swim! She is very independent and doesn't like to be held up in the water, so she uses one of those swim suits with built-in floaties. Anyway, Martin is able to toss his hat a couple of feet out, let her go, and she will swim to it!!

We also found a GREAT free kiddie pool here. None of the water is deeper than Hana's chest, there are two toddler-friendly water slides, a rainbow circle stepping stone thing, and a water fountain feature. Plus there is shade, and it is open in the late afternoon when it's slightly cooler out--meaning I can take her as well as Vienna. We are going with some of her buddies tomorrow. :O)

Okay, now I am going to talk some more about Vienna, lol. She is such a sweetheart. I feel like she is very patient. She wants to be held all the time, granted, and her favorite place in the world is that well-worn purple sling I made for Ha when she was 8 months old--but she strikes me as really patient. When I was a bit more hormonal a few weeks ago, I actually started crying because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to give her the one-on-one time she needs due to the fact that Hana is used to such a busy schedule--we are still almost always on the go--but she seems so happy and at peace that I think she is okay with the situation. Plus, Martin sleeps with Hana and I sleep with Vienna, so we get a LOT of one-on-one quiet nurturing time, which is great. Vienna really seems to enjoy her big sister as well. She stares at her in wonder quite often, and is readily calmed by Hana's kisses. I think they are going to enjoy a very close bond. As most of you know, I am a huge proponent of attachment parenting and trying to be responsive and empathetic towards your kids. I think that has REALLY paid off with Hana. I believe that because she is used to having her needs met and her cries responded to, she expects the same treatment for Vienna. While she could be jealous that another kiddo is getting nurtured from her Ma and Da, she seems incredibly accepting of and understanding about it.

Vienna and I have ventured out quite a bit with Big Sister now that Da is back at work. Solo outings thus far include: playgroup, photo shoot, Wago Family Land, Navel Kadena kiddie pool, Sunabe Baba Park, and the Children's Museum at the local zoo. Tomorrow will be our last big day of outings because after Wednesday, we will be down to one car because we are getting rid of Martin's. JCI (2 year inspection) is due on it, and there is no way it will pass. It seems like every day something else on that thing breaks (driver side door, window, who knows what else?), so we are taking it to a place that supposedly buys junk vehicles (although I will be shocked if anyone actually pays us anything for this thing), and Martin will be needing the station wagon most days for outprocessing. He even has work this weekend. :OP We are trying to schedule a LOT of playdates at the house, lol. Hana really likes her friends. Before we got back into the loop with playgroup, she was really feeling the need for same-age companionship. When I took her to Wago Land, she kept trying to cuddle up with any kid who sat still for more than a moment! She is such a sweetheart.

Some other things about Vienna: she smiles a lot. I don't think it is gas. Usually gas makes her scream. She loves to hold onto my finger when we're cuddling, which is so sweet. When she is really angry, she snorts, just like her big sister always did. She has gained back her birth weight (she was down to 6-something when she left the hospital--and was all skin and bones--her skin was even wrinkly). Now she is getting some rolls on her thighs and wrists and is developing a meager second chin. When her first layer of skin was peeling off, Hana kept getting really agitated and asking me to clean her, lol. She also would tell me Vienna was "pooping" whenever her cord was exposed, lol. Menna loves to eat, but seems to have trouble nursing in her sleep, which was when Hana did most of her eating. She's getting a little better at it, though. Her favorite burper is Martin. That was the same with Hana. He is so good at burping babies! Hana also likes to help burp Vienna, and cracks up whenever she hiccups or sneezes. Ha's actually went over to Baby Sister and asked her to hiccup a couple of times, lol. Vienna was also born witht he floppiest little baby head I have ever seen and the mushiest little baby body I have ever felt. When Ha was born, she could essentially hold her own head up already--Vienna, I don't think, had an ounce of muscle on her--despite all the fast-paced exercise routines she conducted in the womb. However, nowadays she is starting to enjoy tummy time and gain quite a bit of head control--she is developing soooo quickly!

Vienna has a full head of black hair, brown eyes a little lighter than Hana's, caucasian-looking skin, Asian-shaped eyes, back and shoulder hair, and one ear that looks slightly squished. :O) I was looking at some baby pictures of me the other day, and she definitely looks a little more like my side of the family than Hana did at this age--although when you look at pix of her and Ha, they look almost identical as well, lol. I think Vienna's mouth is definitely from my side, though. Her nose seems to vaccilate a bit. :O)

Anyway, just wanted to do a quick post covering these past couple of weeks before I forget everything, lol. My memory is not at all what it used to me, much to Martin's delight. :O)