Happy Halloween!!

Liam says: err... in his sleep, "HAPPY HALLOWEEN, everyone!"

BABY is the new fashion!

So after much thought and debate, Kobe and I went out and bought a BabyBjorn this weekend. I've only worn Liam in it a few times, but I already love it. Does Liam?... Eh, he's getting used to it. I think he'll like it a lot more once he fits in it better. The weight range is from 8-25 lbs. Right now Liam weighs 7 lbs 11 oz so he's a little small in it. He loves it for the first 10-15 minutes and then he's over it. I like that it isn't strenuous on my back at all, most of the weight is put on my shoulders, and that the fabric is soft and comfy. It's also very simple to snap together and to take off quickly when baby starts hollering. What I love most about it is that I can actually get things done while I'm "wearing" him. Today I was able to prep all his bottles for washing, danced around the living room like a crazy person, and then I did a load of laundry all while little man was strapped to my chest. haha... Well, just wanted to share my thoughts on this new purchase. I'll leave y'all with a picture of me "wearing" Liam. Excuse my morning face/hair. lol

- Amber

4 weeks = 1 MONTH!!

I know what you're thinking. "Seriously?! 1 Month already??" Yep! I can't believe it either. Needless to say it's been a good one. I feel like Kobe & I have learned so much in these past 4 weeks. Not just basic stuff like changing diapers and making bottles and bathing Liam, but the real parenting stuff like how to rock him to sleep at night, figuring out what's wrong when he's crying, learning how to ease his discomfort when he's constipated, etc. Stuff that most first time parents would need to know. I wouldn't say it's been easy, but we're slowly working our way through the so-called "new parent handbook." lol... It doesn't really exist, I'm just saying that, but wouldn't it be awesome if one book held all the answers?! Yeah, only in a fantasy world, but a girl can dream, right?! haha... 

Here's Liam in an outfit that Kobe made fun of - he said it was girly. Liam didn't care... he was comfortable! LOL

We had a lot of great moments this last week including LOTS of firsts. We went for our first store trip - Walmart of all places, went for our first walk at the park, Liam played with his rattle for the first time (I walked in on him hitting it & looking at it while laying on his back), I gave him a bath with no help for the first time, and we caught his smile on camera for the first time.

I hope you all enjoyed keeping up with Liam's first month. Thanks for stopping by!


-Amber

Week 3

Gosh, I cannot believe one more week and he'll be ONE MONTH old! It's crazy how time flies. I'd say week 3 was pretty uneventful - aside from enjoying Liam's cute little self every day. =)... We stayed home again, took lots of pictures, ate a lot, and changed lots of poopy diapers! lol... Top moments of week 3:

1) Kobe & Liam "playing" football... hahaha

and

2) Liam's first tummy time... recorded/hosted by "Count Dad-cula!" lol!

I'll leave y'all with a cute photo of Liam's little feet. Gotta love 'em! =)

Week 1 & 2 (combined)

We survived our first two weeks! At first I was really nervous about bringing Liam home and not knowing whether we would know what to do - being that Kobe and I are both first time parents. It turns out, having a baby is a lot of work, but it is well worth it! Knowing that this little being is someone that you created and that you love so much, makes it that much easier to care for them. The lack of sleep means nothing when I get to kiss Liam's chubby little cheeks each time he gets up to eat (every 3 hours to be exact).  It turns out our little man is a fast healer too! His umbilical cord fell off at 5 days old, so that gave us the green light to give him his first real bath. We were happy to capture the moment on video... our first video shows Liam's private parts, so I didn't want to share that with the world! Here's the 2nd half of his bath (we had to stop recording halfway through so daddy could help).

We also snapped some pictures of him because Kobe combed his hair with the comb-over style & he looked so cute- just like a little man! hahaha

See what I mean?

Proud daddy & clean baby Liam!

Me & my baby! Isn't he handsome? =)

Another thing that Liam did in his first two weeks... played X-box with his daddy! haha... He's starting young. Here's a picture of daddy & Liam having "boy time."

Liam had his first checkup at 6 days old and did surprisingly well (except for peeing out of his diaper, all over the scale). lol... He weighed the same as when we left the hospital - 4lbs 14 oz and was still 17.5 inches long. Here he is in his car seat before we left home in the morning...

Then again after the doctor's office... look at those long legs!

After the doctor's office, we didn't really go anywhere else for the rest of the week. Liam just kept on eating like a champ and sleeping his days away.
Here he is singing in his sleep... I actually thought this might be something bad, but the doctor said it's normal. haha

Week 2 came around and it was time for Liam's next checkup. Kobe had to work, so Liam and I ventured out on our own! I was a little nervous thinking of all the things that could go wrong, like "what if he cries on the way there," or "what if I have a hard time with him at the doctor's office," but everything went surprisingly well. I even went so far as to practice putting Liam's car seat into the car, snapping it into the stroller, etc. You'd be surprised how much that little practice session helped! LOL!! Liam's checkup went better than expected as well. He weighed in at 6 lbs 1 oz and measured at 18.75 inches - needless to say his doctor was VERY pleased with his weight gain and growth. I guess you could say we've had a successful two weeks! We've learned a lot about Liam's little personality in such a short time and I must say he's the best baby ever. He sleeps when he's supposed to, eats like crazy, and makes the cutest faces (just like his daddy). I'll leave y'all with my favorite moment thus far this whoooole two weeks- Liam's first "outside of mommy" bedtime story. I was amazed at how attentive he was with Kobe. As soon as Kobe started reading, he just stared and never looked away. It melted my heart to say the least.

Stay tuned for his week 3 update!

-Amber

Chinese Tradition!

Being that Liam is a big melting pot of different races, it would only come natural that he would be exposed to a lot of different cultural traditions and experiences. From Kobe's side Liam gets Cambodian, Chinese, & Vietnamese. From my side, he gets Mexican, Spanish, German, & French (mostly the first two though). Saturday, we went to a family event for Kobe's cousin's birthday. The first thing that happened was the traditional Chinese blessing of "good luck" for Liam. It wasn't a ceremony or anything. It was very informal, but cool to me since I had never experienced or witnessed it. What they did was tie a red string around Liam's wrist with money hanging from the string. Traditionally this happens after the first month, but since we wouldn't be having another family get-together until probably Thanksgiving, they decided to do it then. Also, usually coins are used, but Mr. Liam got a rolled up bill of money. haha

 -Amber

LIAM IS HERE!!!

So, as you all read in my previous post, doctor planned on inducing me tomorrow (September 26th) for prevention of pre-eclampsia & also because of Liam measuring below the 10th percentile. Well, after being in the hospital that Friday for observation, the doctor told me she wanted me to follow up Monday just to see how bed rest had gone over the weekend. Turns out my BP was still high, so the doctor decided to induce me Tuesday instead of waiting a whole other week. 

I checked in at 7:15 Tues morning & was in my room dressed & on the monitor by about 7:45 am. By 8 am my IV was in & they started my pitocin. Contractions were coming on well and started hurting, so I got my epidural at about 10 a.m. By 1 pm I had only progressed from 1.5 & 50% effaced (what I was when I got there) to just 3cm dilated & 80% effaced. I was checked again at 3 pm & had moved up to 4cm & 90% effaced. Dr said after 4cm that I would progress about 1cm per hour, so we thought "Alright! Only 6 hours to go!" Little did we know that that wouldn't be the case for me at all. At 4:45 I started feeling a lot of pressure & some discomfort on my right side pelvic area. Turns out I had progressed to 8cm in just 1 hour & 45 minutes & the pressure was pushing on the bulb of my foley catheter - in turn causing the discomfort. The pressure & discomfort only got worse & by 5:30 I was 10cm & ready to push. They called the doctor & I was able to start pushing by 5:45 pm. After only 1 hour of pushing baby Liam entered this world at 6:46 pm! It really wasn't bad at all, I thought I would've been more tired from pushing than it turned out I was. Right away they laid him on my chest & those first few moments just staring at him had me all worked up & sobbing because he was finally here! I now truly understand what it means when people say they fall in love with their baby instantly! After me seeing him for a few precious moments, they had to take him to be weighed, get footprints done, & all that other good stuff. He had to go to the NICU for his first 6 hours of life due to his weight (5 lbs). The NICU nurses assured Kobe that if he kept his O₂ sats up, maintained his temperature, & kept a good breathing pattern, that he would be transitioned to the nursery at 2 am. Of course our little 5 pounder went in there & kicked butt! He passed all his parameters & was sent to the nursery as promised. He came to the room with us at 2:30 am & we've had him ever since! We are now home & he's eating like crazy. Kobe & I are both so overwhelmed with happiness just thinking how healthy he is - despite his small size! He's a tough little guy & we couldn't have asked for anything more!

Here are a few pics of Mr Liam! 

After he was all cleaned up... daddy holding Liam for the first time! All those bedtime stories paid off because Liam just stared at Kobe the whole time he spoke to him. 

Our first "family" picture! =)

All cleaned up! A few hours after he transitioned to the nursery from the NICU and came to our room.

Our second night with him at the hospital... can you tell how tired we were? lol

The morning after we got home... isn't he so cute?! Already holding his pacifier too! Liam is 2.5 days old in this picture!

Finally... Mr. Liam posing for the camera that same morning. He looks so mature for a 2.5 day old! =)

Hope you enjoyed reading Liam's birth story. I'll leave y'all with his stats:

Liam Austyn Nol

DOB: 9/20/11

TOB: 6:46 pm

Weight: 5 lbs

Length: 17.5"

-Amber