Our new new life with Sage

Well it's been seven weeks since my last posting here on 6/13 and in that space of time our lives have been completely transformed! Here's a quick recap to bring you up-to-speed:

6/13 - Sage's first photoshoot with professional photographer who came to our house for an all-day session. Click here for pictures!

6/18 - Went into contract with a buyer for our Menlo Park townhouse - woohoo! Unfortunately buyer wants to move in asap!!! Must find new home and/or apartment pronto.

6/19 - Celebrate Paul's first Father's Day. Definitely not used to it yet...

6/26 - Put down a deposit to reserve for purchase a new construction home in Mountain View. Home will not be built until Jan/Feb 2012. Meanwhile we still spend every weekend looking at comparable home listings and open houses.

6/26 - Celebrate our one-year wedding anniversary with a crockpot dinner at home... yes we cooked!

7/2 - Celebrate Sage's one-month birthday with small family gathering.



7/6 - Contingencies lifted on Menlo Park home - we now have 2 weeks to move out but still no new home or apartment!

7/6 - Sign Purchase Agreement for MV new construction home but with contingency through 7/15 in case Menlo Park home sale falls through. Still looking like crazy at suitable comparables.

7/12 - Host Rajiv Khilnani Art Festival - sadly the last party at our Menlo Park home! Huge thanks to Rajiv for helping sell our home by staging his beautiful art throughout.

Pics: Rajiv Khilnani Art, Wine, & Juice Festival



7/13 - Exhaustive apartment search ends with signed 6-month lease for 1-bedroom, 760 square foot apartment in Sunnyvale.

7/14 - Movers come in the evening and spend 7 hours emptying our townhouse into two large trucks and hauling everything to our new apartment and Shu's parents' garage.



7/20 - Escrow closes on Menlo Park home and buyer takes possession - whew!

7/22 - Submit loan application for MV home for which finance contingency has been extended. Still spending days and weekends looking at comparables.

7/31 - Loan approved and finance contingencies lifted on MV home. After countless prayers and having exhausted a review of all suitable comparables over the past couple months we are satisfied that this is the best home we could find.

So you can see that life has been anything but normal for us not the least due to precious baby Sage bursting on the scene. She is now 9 weeks old and learning to roll with wherever we take her as long as she has a ready supply of milk and lots of clean diapers. Here's a list of some of her favorite things:

* Talking with mom, dad, and anyone who will listen
* Listening to dad play guitar and even singing along
* Visiting grandma and grandpa
* Studying her mobile when she should be sleeping
* Sitting and bouncing in her Bjorn Bouncer
* Looking at herself in the mirror



Yes, people find it hard to believe that she "talks" but she incredibly started very young at less than one month old! She converses using her own baby words and language. Here are some video demonstrations from before we moved out of our Menlo Park home:

Video: Talking with dad at 6 weeks
Video: Sage discussing upcoming move
Video: Sage on moving day

We wish to say thanks to all those who have supported us during these crazy first couple months of Sage's life with your encouragement, prayers, and practical help.

A huge thanks to mom and dad who helped us with the whirlwind packing and moving and helping take care of Sage through all our house and apartment hunting appointments.

And we especially enjoyed the home-cooked meals lovingly prepared and personally delivered by Judy & Brooke Hobbs, Cindy & Rob Luenberger, Wendy & Jeff Lui, Susan & Alex Van Riesen, Ines Shih and Cinthia & Allen Lee.

Love and hugs,
Paul, Shu and Sage

Highlights from Sage's first week at home!

So Sage has now spent one week at home with us and already has had many adventures and met many new friends. Mommy has been very diligent as a round-the-clock milk producing, storage, and dispensing operation. Daddy has been promoted to Chief Diaper Changer but still moonlights as Bottle Washer. Overall we are absolutely loving being new parents and especially being blessed with a perfect baby girl.

Click here to see the top pictures from her first week at home.

Here are recaps of some highlights (click on photos for original size):


* Watched her first French Open Finals and witnessed history-making Li Na become the first ever Chinese tennis player to win a Grand Slam title by defeating Francesca Schiavone. Li Na is blazing a trail for Asian female tennis players that Sage will no doubt follow in the not-too-distant future!


* On Monday she met godfather CPC (that's "Chen, Paul Chen" as in "Bond, James Bond") for the first time fresh off his return flight from China. CPC is already working his charms to induct her into his large fan club.


* On Tuesday (6 days of age) she got out of the house for the first time with a trip to Day One Center, Calafia Cafe for lunch, and then Sharon Park where mommy and daddy had their wedding pictures taken. It turns out Sage really does not love being strapped into her infant car seat. After a 1/2 mile (that seemed more like 10 miles) of driving down the road with baby crying, mommy had to move to the back seat to make an attempt at consolation. We have definitely explored and tested the effective limits of various pacifiers.


* On Thursday she had her first scheduled well-baby checkup with her pediatrician who said she's doing very well and has regained the weight she lost in her first two days of life. She was born 6/1 at 9lbs, 8oz. Then by 6/3 she had dropped to 8lbs, 10oz. After a week of ravenous feedings she surpassed her birth weight reaching 9lbs, 10oz by 6/9.


* On Saturday she was fitted for cloth diapers. Shu and I are trying out the Tiny Tots cloth diapering service (they pickup old diapers each week). It's really not that much more effort than disposable diapers but it's softer for baby. And those diaper covers are the cutest!


* Went to her first church service on Sunday. Mommy and daddy sat in the back row with Sage mostly sleeping the entire service in the Baby Bjorn carrier. Thankfully no meltdowns or mishaps. Afterwards Pastor Alex even prayed a blessing over baby Sage.


* Sunday afternoon attended Infant Massage class with mommy and daddy. It turns out that she really likes massage and especially on her little bum. Sage was a model baby by not crying or fussing at all the whole 90 minutes!


We have been blessed this past week with many people bringing over meals that we would otherwise have little time ourselves to prepare: Sunday (Michael & Pearl), Monday (Grandma & Grandpa), Tuesday (Yasmin & Rajesh), Thursday (Arnisha), Saturday (Simona & Kurt). You all are angels to us!

We've also enjoyed reading her Bible stories (thanks to Marie and the Kilners for the Bibles!) and singing praise songs with her (well, okay may more like "to her"). Click here to see video of one worship session with Sage.

Thanks again to all of you for the encouragement and support you have provided. We could not do it without you!

Love and hugz,
Paul, Shu & Sage

Introducing baby Sage Grace Baty

It's 3am and things have finally quieted down enough for me to pen this quick announcement to you all. Shu and I are happy to announce that baby Sage Grace Baty arrived on the scene two nights ago on Wednesday, June 1st at 8:14pm. Because of Sage's extraordinary size Shu got to enjoy 2-1/2 hours of pushing in labor before our delivery team finally all agreed to move the party to the operating room for a Cesarean procedure. As promised she was born in the top 5% for weight (9 pounds, 8 ounces) and top 5% for length (21.5 inches)!

The last 48 hours have been non-stop getting to know Sage's unique personality. We've learned that she cannot get enough to eat as she can eat for an hour and then be hungry again 30 minutes later. And when she's hungry she doesn't like to wait more than a few milliseconds before she will vociferously inform mom, dad, or the whole maternity ward if they'll listen! Her breastfeeding class teacher today said that she's remarkably smart but also prone to be a high maintenance drama queen.

We are still checked-in at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital most likely until Sunday morning. (For Cesarean deliveries the standard practice is to keep mom admitted for four days instead of the usual two.) As it turns out we are taking full advantage of all the professional help available from nurses, pediatricians, and lactation consultants who seem to be popping into our room every hour around the clock.

Click here to see the pics of our stay in the hospital.

And here are some fun videos you might like:

Video: Sage weighing-in
Video: Sage licking her chops in the nursery

Special thanks to our birth doula and friend Christl Kirchner who stuck by us throughout the pregnancy and over that first night of labor in the hospital! And to our parents who are always ready and willing to help in any possible way.

And thanks to all of you for your well-wishes, prayers, love, and support both throughout the pregnancy and now in our lives as new parents and growing family.

Love and hugs,
Paul and Shu

p.s. Well I did start this email at 3am when it was quiet, but it took a while to complete since it was interrupted by cries, feedings, and diaper checks. :)

Welcome Pookie Cub!

Shu was dilated to 10cm by 4:30p when her OB came and we started pushing. After 2 hours of pushing the OB started prepping us that she thought the baby may be large since there had been absolutely NO progress through the birthing canal. She suggested we give another 30 minutes of earnest pushing before considering C-Section surgery if there was still no progress. Shu bless her heart really gave it her all for a total of 2.5 hours of exhausting pushing. Then by 7:00p we decided with the OB to proceed with C-section surgery.

After an hour of surgery our beautiful little girl was born at 8:14p. She weighed in at a whopping 9 (yes NINE!) pounds, 8 ounces and measured 21.5 inches.

Mommy and baby are doing well after a loooong day for both. Right after baby was placed on mommy she immediately went to town with an all-the-milk-you-can-drink buffet feast.

More pics and stories to follow as we are now bonding with baby and getting much needed rest.

Thanks again for your love, support, and prayers!
Paul and Shu

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Checked into hospital

We're checked into hospital today while Shu has been in labor since midnight. Dilated to 5cm as of midnight but only to 6cm as of 7am. Hasn't progressed for past few hours so they're administering Pitocin to speed up process. Thanks for your prayers for smooth labor and delivery process!

Love,
Paul & Shu

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Fetal Stress Test Completed

Just got out of a visit at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital to make sure everything's OK with mommy and Pookie Cub and that it's fine to continue the pregnancy without inducing yet. As they did on Wednesday they hooked up sensors to monitor baby's heart patterns and mommy's contractions. Baby was very active the whole time and showing healthy patterns. Mom had no contractions. :) So we still have a green light to let the pregnancy continue naturally. Barring any onset of labor the next doc appointment would be on Wednesday morning to do final checks before commencing with induction on Wednesday evening.

Throughout the pregnancy we've always gone to Menlo Clinic for regular check-ins with Shu's OB. Today's visit was our first to the LPCH Labor & Delivery ward where we'll be delivering the baby. So it was nice for us to become familiar with the environment in which we'll soon find ourselves albeit in more excitable dispositions. Our nurse today was most helpful and obliged us with a mini tour of the triaging rooms, the nursery, and a sample delivery room.

Now we're simply relaxing and enjoying what is certainly our last Saturday of Life As We Know It!

With much appreciation for your continued support and prayers for our amazing adventure!

Love and hugs,
Paul & Shu

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Estimated Due Date Demystified

So these days whenever Shu or I bump into any friends or co-workers on the street or at the water cooler we are met with big eyes and cries of near alarm that the baby hasn't arrived yet! This is because all along we've been tracking for an Estimated Due Date (EDD) of 5/19, which was 7 days ago. Well first of all the EDD is just that, an "estimate", and in fact only 5% of babies are born on the due date but 80% are born within +/- 10 days of the due date. Secondly, the questions of whether baby is late and when to become concerned and think about inducing are based on a premise that we have a reasonable EDD.

As it turns out there are different ways to estimate gestational age of the fetus and consequently the EDD:

1) Using an ultrasound to measure fetus size and estimate date of conception
>> See Calculating Your Dates: Gestation, Conception & Due Date

2) Computing from first day of mother's last menstrual period (LMP)
>> See How to Calculate Your Pregnancy Due Date

In our case, our OB performed the first ultrasound on 10/14/10 and measured the fetus size. With this measurement she could then estimate both date of conception and a resulting EDD of 5/19/11.

However, using the second LMP method above we independently determined based on an estimated LMP of 8/19/10 a reasonable alternative EDD of 5/26/11, which is today!

(In fact, at the time of the OB visit on 10/14/10 we cluelessly failed to tell our OB the LMP date of 8/19/10, so she reasonably used method #1 above to arrive at the 5/19/11 due date.)

So we can all rest easy now knowing that 5/26/11 is just as reasonable a due date and a delivery up to 10 days beyond that (by 6/5/11) would still fall within 80% of band of pregnancy terms.

OK, now go back to sleep!
Paul & Shu

p.s. The picture above is of all parents earlier tonight. Yes, the parental units are now all in town and on at the Orange Alert level!

Check-in with doc on 5/25

So we went in for a routine check-in with the OB this morning just to make sure all is well with mommy and baby. Still no progress or contractions for mommy indicating labor is anywhere close. They also stuck monitors on Shu for an hour to track fetal heart rythms and any contractions. Baby seems to be perfectly healthy. As for mom there was one barely noticeable contraction within the hour. OB also did an ultrasound to confirm baby has plenty of amniotic fluid. Everything checked out fine. Since we're past due date OB wants us to come in twice a week. Our next appointment will be this Saturday morning followed by Wed morning. If labor doesn't start by then we will start induction on Wed night (6/1).

Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

Hugs,
Paul & Shu

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Post-due date update on Pookie Cub

Dear Family and Friends,

We thought we'd send a quick (yeah right!) update since many of you know that our expected due date was this past Thursday, 5/19. So mommy-to-be has been to weekly check-ins with her doctor the past few weeks leading up to the due date. Thankfully the whole pregnancy has gone perfectly on-track for both mommy and baby with no health complications or concerns. We know that labor could start at any time within 1-2 weeks before or after the due date. But we had been hoping baby would not come early so we would have more time to prepare and also relish the last few days as carefree, childless newlyweds! :)

One week ago the doctor said there was no dilation and predicted the birth would happen sometime past our due date. This was welcome news to us since at the time we had yet to acquire a glider (aka "rocking chair"), changing table, or dresser for all the baby's clothes we've been given. So last weekend after a flurry of visiting two different maternity flea markets and following-up on a few Craigslist ads we locked-in fabulous deals on a nice Dutailier glider, a Pali crib, an armoire / dresser, and natural wood changing table. All told we shelled out $560 for excellent condition furniture we estimate would have cost over $2000 new!

In our defense we had delayed the furniture purchases partly due to not knowing if our home would sell before the baby comes. Having received no offers we have suspended open houses for the week before / after the due date. And believe it or not Shu has discovered her internal interior designer and enjoyed setting up and decorating our mini "baby room" with whimsical monkey decals pasted on the walls.

This past Friday at the weekly doctor check-in they conducted a more extensive monitoring of the baby's heart rhythms just to make sure she's still happy and healthy inside. Little "Pookie Cub" (our working title for the baby :) appears to be having too good a time in there and in no hurry to come out! Again there is no dilation or indication that labor is imminent. Our doctor generally likes to give the baby an extra week or so to make her grand entrance in her own timing. After a week past the due date she would discuss with us potential of inducing labor.

We are definitely very excited about the baby coming any moment. It's an interesting time now of being in a constant state of readiness after 9 months of ramp up. For those of you familiar with the weeklong summer foster kids' camp I've led the past 10 years, I've likened my experience now to completing all the months of preparation leading up to camp planning all the activities and coordinating and training all the counselors, staff, and kids only to find myself on Sunday before camp not knowing if it would start on Monday or Tuesday or a week from now!

Thanks for your continued love, support, advice, prayers, and well-wishes as we are one the verge of life as we know it changing forever!

With love and gratitude,
Paul and Shu

HUGE THANKS for special time at the Baby Shower

Dear All!

Shu and I just wanted to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for the MOST FANTASTIC day of celebration yesterday. We were so happy to be able to invite all our closest friends and family to share in our joyful anticipation of our coming baby. And because of all of you it was a very special time that we will always remember. We were slightly concerned ahead of time about the weather, about fitting 50 people into the home, about mingling people from so many different communities, having enough food, entertaining games, etc..... BUT in the end it all came out perfectly and we saw there was no need to worry. I could tell that everyone who came genuinely enjoyed themselves. It was an amazing amount of food, fun times of reunion and meeting new friends, and wild and wacky activities. Thank you all for the gift and blessing you gave to Shu and me even though we couldn't help as much with all the planning and preparation since we're so wrapped up with the house selling, car selling / buying, and baby prepping tasks we find ourselves in now.

I'm attaching just a few pictures that were randomly shot with my little camera, but I hope to get the much larger set of "official" pictures from Edwin later today. You all were awesome and I'm sure I'll miss some people and some of the special things you did behind the scenes, but just wanted to call out a few:

Mom & Dad Nguyen - hosting everyone, weeks of preparation cleaning and cooking, rearranging furniture and set-up, dad's awesome BBQ throughout

Paul Chen - activities planning, emceeing the games, awesome birthday cake with humorous stories, bringing chairs, providing beef and lasagne, early prep and setup (too many to count!)

Marie & Melissa - activities planning, putting together all the prize bags and smelly diapers, coming early to setup decorations, late night shopping for all the party favors, baby food, decorations, etc., etc.

Edwin - Acting as official photographer capturing all the moments

Marileigh - putting together all the kids' goody bags, help inventorying the gifts

Cinthia & Allen - activities consultation, fruit and vegetable trays, coming early to help setup, helping with bbq

Ines - activities planning, coming early to help setup

Nicole - providing beautiful shower cake

Love and hugs,
Paul & Shu

Prenatal Classes are confirmed!

Here is the summary of all the prenatal classes for which we are now registered. Whew, there's a lot but let me know if I'm missing anything! :)

*** PRENATAL CLASSES (Shu and Paul) ***
Gearing Up For Baby
DOC - Sun, 2/20, 1p - 2:30p

CPR for Infant
LPCH - Sat, 2/26, 9a - 11:30a

Newborn Care
DOC - Sun, 3/20, 1p - 4:30p

Birth Center Orientation
LPCH - Thu, 4/7, 5:30p - 7:45p

Breastfeeding
DOC - Thu, 4/14, 6:30p - 9:30p

Childbirth Preparation
DOC - Sat, 4/16, 9a - 5p

Comfort Techniques for Labor
LPCH - Sat, 5/7, 1:30p - 3:30p


*** GRANDPARENTS CLASSES (Mom and Dad) ***
CPR for Infant
LPCH - Sat, 2/26, 9a - 11:30a

Grandparents Seminar
LPCH - Thu, 3/10, 6p - 8:30p