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Time has really been flying by, I can’t believe my 3 months is almost up soon and I return back to the office as a working Mom!
It has really been a joy and a pleasure to be with my baby and watch her double in size. We feel very blessed for A and she definitely makes our lives so much sweeter each day.
Here is just a quick snap shot of what I’ve been doing with my time…. This is my top 10 favorite moments.
1. Watching the sunset from my balcony with my baby in my arms and Noodle by my side.
2. My photographer friend Jia came over and did a cutie photo shoot with A. Here’s one of her pics which also became the Baby Wu profile.
3. My favorite time of the day? Bath time!! (The 4 B’s have made A fall asleep easier- Bath, Bottle, Book, Bed!)
4. The way my baby looks up at us when we play with her each night.
5. Noodle met a new friend too.. his name is Gizmo- an 8 week old Havanese.
6. Our first trip as a family to Boston!
7. I went to the Martha Stewart show and saw how she hand made gift bows using paper shopping bags. I thought it was such a smart & pretty way to dress up presents. I tried it myself using an old Juicy shopping bag and one from one of my fav baby stores name: Giggle.
8. In between naps and feedings, I got a chance to tackle some DIY projects that I’ve been meaning to do. Our built-in bookshelf that came with the apt needed to be revamped a bit. I used these easy decorator tips from the internet and got to work. By using a spare can of paint we can leftover from our living room walls, I painted the back wall of the bookshelf and also the cabinets on the bottom. Then I stacked the books horizontally and vertically to mix & match and used some of my leftover baby shower decor.
9. My first night out in the city as a Mom… We went to Ajna Bar for my cousins bachelorette party. Woohooo… I thought those days were long gone but it was fun to feel like 22 again!
10. Sitting back in nursery with my baby makes me love even those 4 am feedings like I’d never thought possible.
Time is passing by so fast…..I cant believe I’ve already pass the halfway point of my maternity leave.
To celebrate Baby Wu turning 1 month, we are kicking it off with our first family album. My cousin Lenny (an amazing photographer) took photos of us this past weekend, spending some good ol’ quality time together as a family. This mommy is head over heels in <3 !
 Smooches*  *yawn*
 Hands & Feet 
It has been such a joy being a new mom this past month and watching my baby grow.
I wanted to record my growing belly throughout my pregnancy, my friend Jia had sent me the idea. Since Baby Wu came so early, she got to be part of the family at 39 weeks. I must say it does feel good to get my pre-preggers body back, but I still have a double-digit # of pounds to loose to really get back in shape. Stay tuned for that!
 My preggers belly from week 14-39!
Men at a baby shower? Judy does what she wants, evident by the coed baby showers with her friends and now at the family baby shower. This was my first time at a baby shower, but it felt more like a family gathering than a baby shower. I think I pictured a ton of games (we did play a game to guess the size of Judy’s stomach) and everyone circling around Judy as she opened her gifts. Or maybe that’s just what they do on TV shows? Either way, it was great seeing everyone again and enjoying some tasty food from Uncle Phil and Aunt Marion’s favorite takeout place in Flushing and a homemade s’mores treat.
 And good thing the family baby shower was held that weekend because as we all know, baby Alexis arrived a little early the following weekend. Maybe she was too cramped in Judy’s stomach and wanted to upgrade to their spacious apartment? Maybe she wanted to meet Noodle? Or maybe she just wanted her pictures to be included in this blog post. Hmm, already looking for all the attention? Simon and Judy are in big trouble. Whatever the reason for her early arrival, we are all happy she is well and healthy and wish Judy and Simon all the best.
 Alexis at the hospital the morning of her birth
Today is supposed to be my due date, but Alexis is already 2.5 weeks old!
 Alexis Paige Wu on her birthday: 2.18.12
It was 7pm; I was out to dinner with my good friend Pam on 2/16 at local favorite restaurant; Almond right by my office. We had just ordered our meal and started to catch up on our whereabouts since we haven’t seen each other in awhile. Pam had just taken her first bite of hanger steak when I felt a warm gush of fluid down there, and it had continued to flow. So I quickly rushed to the bathroom and realized that my water broken!
What was going through my mind at that point was “yeahhhhhhhh right…. this is SOOOOOOO not happening! It’s only 2/16 and I am not due until 3/6!” Anyway, I told Pam what happened and we hurried out of Almond as quickly as possible without making a scene and tried to hail me a cab right away. The first call I made was to my doula, asking for her advice since we had been working on my birth plan for the past month. She suggested that I go home first to try and start the labor on my own (which is what I had wanted to do) and see from there. I called Simon next and he rushed to gather my hospital bag, along with the registration papers for the hospital.
It felt like the longest cab ride of my life… I finally made it home 45 mins later and called my doctor who recommended that I can labor at home for a couple of hours but said I should check into the hospital by midnight since my water had already broke. My doula recommended I try some natural methods to stimulate labor such as a warm shower, 2 acupressure points on the waist and ankles, walking, stairs and etc. but nothing was working. We finally decided to make our way to the hospital and got admitted into triage.
Since I was tested positive for group B strep, which is a bacteria that has no effect on the mother but if it’s passed through to the baby during delivery it can be very harmful. It was a real curve ball we weren’t expecting. Since I have GBS, it caused my water had break at 37th week, and I had to be hooked up to an IV and continuous flow of Penicillin the whole time during labor. I was also under the clock and my doctor had given me a time limit of about 24 hours to have the baby. If I didn’t have GBS, then I’d have the freedom to labor at home for as long as possible and can avoid an induction. Being induced was not on my birth plan, and I had read that Pitocin induced contractions hurt a lot more than natural contractions and was very worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle the pain.
During triage, a resident had checked me and I was only 1cm dilated and 50% enffaced. I had a long way to go to get to 10cm and to have my cervix 100% thinned out. The OB came in shortly and suggested Pitocin right away but we really wanted to buy more time so she gave us a couple of hours. At the delivery room, I was already exhausted because it was around 3 in the morning on Friday and we haven’t slept since Wednesday night. My doula came in shortly and assisted me in trying to get my contractions started naturally but still nothing had worked. At 6 am, my OB came in to push for an induction again, since I was still not in labor yet we decided to start the Pitocin induction then.
The contractions got started at 7am and got more intense at a rapid rate. Every time a contraction came, Simon and my doula would push my pelvic bone together which really helped me ease the pain. They got more intense at around noon on Friday so the doctor checked me again to see if I was progressing. I was 2 cm dilated and 70% enffaced, so there was not much progress but the labor went on. A couple of hours later our doctor came in again and suggested an epidural. I was a little hesitated at first because I was handling the contractions fine (with help of course) but decided to get the epidural. As soon as it was in, I got some much-needed rest and went straight to sleep. My doula was so attentive the entire time, but Simon had decided to watch the Knicks game while I was asleep. Funny how Jeremy Lin is now part of my labor story!
11pm Friday night came quickly and the doctor had woken me up to check my progress again. Much to our amazement, I was already 8cm dilated and 100% enffaced, not much longer until we would all get to meet Baby Wu! Since the doctor was busy attending another birth, within the next hour I felt an urge to push like I had to go to the bathroom but I knew it was the baby descending downwards. At around midnight, the nurses and doctors came in ready to have me deliver as I was fully dilated and +3 station which meant the baby’s head was not that far away… and I was mentally ready for this! It felt like a big relief when I was finally told to push and I had remembered to keep my face relaxed while focusing on my bottom. The doctor had warned me prior that since it was my first birth, the pushing part would take a long time. But 14 minutes of pushing later, we heard Alexis cries for the first time and she was born! We had skin-to-skin contact right away as I was eager to start breastfeeding and Simon had the privilege of cutting the umbilical cord. It was a long process but sooooo worth it to be able to finally meet our daughter face to face at 1:11am on 2/18/12.
We are done with our baby showers and had such a great time seeing everyone ! Thank you for all those traveling from afar and for everyone’s generous gifts. Baby Wu is going to be LOVED in a BIG way!
Just wanted to share some of the shower pictures with all of you, enjoy!
Thank you Jia and Cheryl for taking some of these great shots.
I am at 35 weeks as of today, the end is very near! I wanted to share some stuff I’ve learned throughout this pregnancy…. hopefully this will benefit any new Mamas-to-be out there! There is still sooo much information out there for me to know, 9 months is not nearly enough to fully get prepared for Baby.
 10 Things*
01- Pushing in labor is a skill that can be learned and practiced during your pregnancy, the most popular and effective technique that I’ve heard of is the Tupler Technique to strengthen the muscles you will be using during labor.
02- Straphangers guide for pregnant women: always stick your bump out so you can get a seat. From my experience; women have been offering up their seat for me way more than men.
03- Start working out your transverse abdominals as soon as possible- they are the deepest of the abdominal muscles that lies under the obliques. They are important to workout pre/post- natal and helps you recover faster after the birth. I’ve found some safe exercises during my pregnancy that has helped me.
04- ASOS maternity and Topshop maternity has been my go-to online shop for trendy preggers wear. They always have a great sale section too!
05- Drink up! Raspberry Leaf Tea has been proven to have many health benefits throughout your pregnancy and helps strengthen the female system.
06- Black leggings have been my best friend throughout this time… They are comfy and elongate the legs.
07- There are consignment shops for maternity wear, what a great concept!
08- 1 in 4 pregnant women have back labor, which is more intense and the pain during labor is much greater, especially in your lower back area. There are ways to position your body to avoid a back labor, I’ve found this information very helpful here.
09- I highly recommend this book if you are pregnant: Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth.
10- Learning from other Mama’s out there… Get on the waitlist for Amazon Mom as soon as you find out you’re pregnant. I heard they have really great deals and you can’t beat the convenience!
As you all know, I <3 Owls so a feminine owl theme was just perfect for Baby Wu’s shower, especially since it matches the nursery as well.
My good friend Cheryl had a vision (and a natural talent) for this, and everything ended up coming together so well. Our color scheme was peach, yellow, brown and aqua….mostly inspired by the natural colors of owls but with a girly twist. Cheryl had handmade all the pom poms hanging from the ceiling with tissue paper…. I like how our chandelier is peaking out as an accent. She DIY the pendant banners hanging on the wall, it went across most of the living room which really brought all the colors together nicely. She also found a yellow owl cake topper to sit on top of the green tea chiffon cake!
The cake pops are done by yours truly, we even found jelly beans that matched our colors as the base for the cake pops. We are so blessed to have our friends help, a BIG thank you to Cheryl, Nats, Cindy and Jess!
Stay tuned…there will more many more images to come! This is just a sneak peak. =)
 Bottom 2 right photos, courtesy of Jia*
 As the size of my belly grows, so does our to do list before the baby comes!
I was just reading up on what to expect being 33 weeks pregnant when I came across our “Overdue Tasks” from the Bump.
It seems like a never ending list right now but we just got to take it one step at a time, breath deeply and quickly check off each overdue task from now until 3/6/12. (assuming the baby doesn’t come early!)
On the other hand, we cannot wait to see and hold our Baby Wu. These days I’ve been feeling more kicks and hiccups at night, while waddling all over NYC during the day. It’s all worth it in the end, she’s going to make life that much better. <3
This past week I turned 31, ironically I was also 31 weeks pregnant. Not having a big celebration this year was also nice because Simon and I got a chance to really treasure these last few months before Baby Wu comes along and our lives are changed forever. I felt really loved and blessed spending time with friends and family during my birthday weekend.
It was also a great excuse to have some fabulous meals that I wanted to share with you all.
 Warm Mozzerella with olive oil that just melts in your mouth @ Torrisi Italian Specialties
 Pastry Tastings
 Oxtail Terrine @ Salt and Fat
 Foie Brulee @ Jean Georges.... This was also our 4 year anniversary dinner!  Dessert Trio, the warm chocolate cake was to die for! Needless to say, with all this eating over the weekend…. I will definitely be watching my diet from now until March.
What was the best meal you’ve ever had? Please feel free to share!
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