Sunday, December 30, 2007

Day10 pictures of Julianne

Julianne was born 5 lb. 13 oz. (2635 grams) and 18 inches ( 45 cm) in length—a little on the smaller side but that’s okay, she'll get bigger. Her facial features seem to be a little more defined since she Day 1. When babies are first born, I guess they kind of look odd. Now at Day 10, I think she looks a lot cuter than days 1-3. People say she has daddy's lips—I think so too, but she may have mommy's eyes.

Feeding Julianne is easier for me because I feed her with a bottle. I was surprised at how she gulped down a bottle of 70 mL milk. When she can drink 60-70 mL without stopping even once, it means she is hungry. She is feeding at about every 3 hours so her schedule is pretty regular right now.


Since we took Julianne home from the hospital on Boxing Day, it has been really exhausting because we don't get much sleep. But now we're taking shifts during the night. But following the holidays, after I return back to Prince Albert, Sask. on Jan. 2, Alice will stay at my parents place for another 2 weeks so grandma (my mom) can help take care of Julianne and cook for Alice while she recovers from her C-section. I hear it usually takes about a month to recover from these types of surgeries so it's great to have some parents (or grandparents) get involved in taking care of the baby. Well, this is the Asian-style communal family life where others get involved in taking care of the other family members. It also makes life a little easier.


Do you like her one-eyed picture below? She often does that when we pick her up to feed when she's still not fully awake or she is too lazy to open both eyes. She will open just one of her eyes to see who it is, then close it, and start drinking again. The one with her shifty eyes was a lucky photo-opportunity. She's a tough girl who is looking real serious--"Don't mess with me or else!"

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Baby Julianne Hannah Sam has arrived

We have just received one of the greatest Christmas gifts ever this Friday. Our baby daughter, Julianne Hannah Sam, arrived on December 21, 2007 at 9:41 a.m. at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon. The operation-delivery went very well and Alice is recovering from her C-section. She will probably be able to go home on Monday. Baby Julianne was put into Neo-natal ICU so that the nurses can monitor her breathing more closely. She had a little trouble breathing right after delivery but she is steadily improving each day and no longer needs anymore supplementary oxygen. The nurses have been taking very good care of her. She is sleeping “like a baby” almost 24 hours a day. Her eyes have not yet opened and she cries every time she needs food and a diaper change. We have been able to feed her with milk formula Similac Lactose-Free. Alice is able to produce a little colostrum now (early stage of first-milk) so baby Julianne will be able to get some natural anti-biotics to fight off viruses and enzymes to help her digestion. (also see Kevin's Facebook album of baby Julianne)

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Christmas and Charlie Brown


Charlie Brown really does know what Christmas is about.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Advent season, Advent liturgy, and the Advent wreath


The music for this litugy is "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" from A Quiet Knowing Christmas by Jeff Johnson - www.ArkMusic.com

The word Advent means “coming” or “arrival”. We celebrate the coming King, Jesus Christ, who is born into our world. This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent season. We will be lighting the Advent candle on the Advent wreath at Messiah Lutheran.