First Christmas

It's our first Christmas with little Lucas...

Photo taken by my cousin, Jopie

...and that's what made Christmas this year even more special!

Now Crawling

Lucas is now starting to crawl. He still can't move that fast but his mobility has improved a lot. He still crawls like a seal. He uses his elbows to pull himself while dragging his tummy and his legs. Sometimes he moves backwards. His upper body is stronger than his lower body at this time.

He has started bending his knees and doing the "dog-stand", but when he does that he just poses and doesn't move. I think pretty soon he will learn how to coordinate his arms and legs. It will only be a few weeks before he is able to crawl around.

Sitting Up

At six months old, Lucas has started sitting up without support. A few days ago, he would sit by himself for just a few seconds and then he would topple down. But today, he sat still next to the Christmas tree, and he sat there by himself for a long time! I thought the sight was picture-perfect, so knowing that he was sitting on the carpet and that he wouldn't hurt himself if he fell, I left him there to get the camera. I expected him to be lying on the floor when I get back, but no--he was just sitting there, gazing at the tree, smiling and looking so amazed at the sight of the flickering lights!

I can't believe he's growing up so fast. Sometimes it seems surreal. I don't want him growing up that fast. It's hard to enjoy moments when they go by so quickly.

First Tree

Today, I finished decorating our Christmas tree. We actually put it up a week ago, but I didn't get to complete it until today. What made it even more complete is that I was able to take photos of Lucas sleeping next to it. He was looking on while I, with the help of Nang Nena (Lucas' nanny) decorated the tree. He was already asleep by the time we finished.

This is Lucas' first Christmas tree. I put it up with a wish that as Lucas grows up, he will love Christmas as much as I do.

Brunching Out

Today, Lucas experienced his first Sunday Brunch outside of our own dining room. We went to see a friend and his family in Berkeley and took Christmas photos with them.

After less than an hour of photoshoot, we proceeded to Claremont Resort and Spa for brunch. That place is a crown jewel! It's a resort in Berkeley Hills, nicely situated on top of the hill overlooking the San Francisco bay. The place is also a historic landmark--it's over a hundred years old but it's nicely renovated. They kept the old feel of the place, but it's very elegant, classy, festive and extraordinary! The food was really good too! And they threw in some holiday spirit by having a choir entertain the guests with Christmas carols.

I did not even know that place existed, but now that I do I'll definitely be going back. As for Lucas, he was in his best behavior the whole time. I know he likes going out, but he loved this place!

Fading

My son's eczema rashes are now disappearing. What helped? Aveeno Soothing Oatmeal Bath Treatment (this really is soothing--I soaked myself in this when I had chicken pox and it really helped with the itching) and Aveeno Anti-itch Cream.

Lucas was born with Eczema, a skin disease also known as Skin Edema primarily caused by dryness and ultra-sensitive skin. I was told that Eczema is very common to Asian babies here in the US because our skin type sometimes doesn't do very well in dry, cold weather.

He's been having rashes in his face and arms. Sometimes they fade and sometimes they flare up. There is no guaranteed cure for eczema. Doctors here will tell you that the rashes will disappear in its own time--for some it will go away after a few months, for some it will stay for years. What we can do is just moisturize the skin and apply some anti-itch cream so that baby won't keep scratching the infected areas and cause the rashes to blister or bleed. And then we just hope that it will eventually disappear completely.

Lately, the rashes have faded and there's less and less of it everyday. The Aveeno bath products and the new brand of anti-itch cream that we just introduced seems to be working well for him. I really hope this disease will be over for him soon.

First Thanksgiving

It's Lucas' first Thankgiving, and so this makes the holiday extra special for us. We have so much to celebrate! Having Lucas alone is the one thing we are very thankful for. We are also thankful that he is healthy so far and hope that he will stay that way. He has been a good baby--he doesn't cry as much and hasn't given us a lot of grief, especially in terms of sleep. At 6 months old he has been sleeping straight for 6-8 hours, giving Charles and I the opportunity to get enough sleep so we can get some work done during the day.

Lucas,

Happy Thanksgiving, dear son! If you weren't around, things would have been fine, but now that you are with us, things are way better, way happier! You have no idea how grateful I am to have you in my life! I wouldn't trade you for anything!

Love,

Mommy

Just A Little Skinny

We saw Lucas' pediatrician today. We had a scheduled 6th-month visit and he was also going to have some vaccine shots.

We were thrilled to see that Lucas has grown a lot in terms of height. He is 1.5 inches taller since 2 months ago. His head size is also growing steadily, and this is one thing I watch very closely because this is one way to measure brain development. We were a little disappointed that he didn't gain much weight. He only gained 7 ounces in the last two months. He dropped from the 56th pecentile at 2 months and 36th percentile at 4 months to the 15th percentile at 6 months. The doctor said "he looks just a little skinny to me".

We've been trying to make his feeding as regular as possible, but it's been challenging feeding Lucas when he's not hungry. It takes time before he drinks his milk. He eats solids ok, so the doctor advised that we start feeding him solids twice instead of just once a day and to give him formula after every meal. She also suggested we mix his food with a little bit of olive oil to add a little more calories. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is going to work.

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Photo: Lucas with his Nana

Six Months

Lucas turned six months old today. Wow--time does fly!

I wanted to do something for him today. I wanted to get him cake and celebrate his six-month birthday. But then I thought, it's Nathan's birthday too--he turned one year old today and I think that's a bigger deal than six months. Yet my sister's family isn't celebrating him today. In fact, my sis is out working. We won't be celebrating Nathan's birthday until this weekend.

I also didn't feel like eating cake. Charles isn't big on cakes too. So I changed my mind about getting cake. Instead, we had something that Lucas can eat--jello! Yes, he now eats jello for dessert. I put one candle on the jello, took photos and made a wish for him, while Daddy blew the candle. The smile on Lucas' face was priceless!

Happy Birthday, Little Knick Knack! I love you so much!

Rolling Over

I saw Lucas rollover for the first time today. His nanny said this wasn't the first time he did it, but it's the first time I witnessed it. This is one of the cons of being a working parent. You don't get to witness all of your baby's firsts--the babysitter will.

I saw him rollover today because I worked from home. I get to do that once in a while and I thank God that my work is flexible in that aspect. But these are the times when I wish I wasn't working, that I just stay home and be with Lucas all the day long. Reality check: not possible.

I wonder what other firsts I'll miss...

First Solids

For the first time today, Lucas had solid food. We started him out with Rice Cereal, as his pediatrician suggested. Rice Cereal is too bland so to add a little bit of flavor, I mixed it with milk formula. At first, Lucas seemed a little shocked to have eaten something different, but he liked it anyway and he finished the whole thing in about 20 minutes.

Next, I'll introduce flavors. I'm thinking yellow vegetables like squash, sweet potatoes and carrots. This is exciting!

Five Months...and that's it!

I decided to officially stop breastfeeding today. It's about time to quit. I have so little milk now that I feel it is no longer worth the efforts. I used to produce 5-6 ounces every 3 hours and now it is down to 3 ounces per day, max.

I fed Lucas with breast milk for exactly 5 months. I wish I had done that for a whole year, but nature didn't quite cooperate. Nevertheless, I am very happy with 5 months.