Happy Chinese New Year!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Feburary 7 began a New Year in the Chinese Calendar. Here is a link if you would like to read your horoscopes. Skyler should have been born in the year of the Rat. Now, he is a little pig beening borned on 1/1/08.

This is Skyler in his transformer-style shirt.

These are pictures from the first Check Up. Doctor said Skyler is doing well.





New Year is always very festive in our family. Usually, we visited families and eat around town. This year, more friends and families visited us because we are not travelling much with Skyler. Oh, we finally decided and settled the Chinese Name for Skyler. It's Chan Bai Xi , 陳栢禧.

Skyler said: "I WANT MY RED ENVELOPE NOW!"

Home, Sweet Home...

On January 30th 2008, Skyler came home with us. It seems to be a long month and definitly a long jounary before coming home. He weighted approx. 5 lbs and 13 ounces when he was discharged from the hospital.

At first the doctors told us that Skyler will be returning home around Feb. 27th., but as he grew and progessed, the doctors and nurses keep pushing him and gotten him ready for us. Sometimes, we wonder if we are ready for him. On one hand, we are happy for his return home but on the other hand, we also wanted him to stay in the hospital longer so he can be more stable and more ready for us, since Erica and I are not medical professionals. I guess Skyler is telling and teaching us to be ready as parents, to take on more responsiblities and to enjoy his company at home. It's a great feeling and reward to hold him into his sleep.

A few days before his return, the nurses performed a car seat test on Skyler to make sure that he will be stable on the way home.

This is the nurse bathing him and teaching us how to bath him. Skyler at first didn't like the water but was very comfortable afterward. Of course, Erica and I did a baby bathtub shopping the next day.

The day Skyler was release from NICU, his grandma (Erica's mother) also need to go back to Hong Kong. She taught us a lot since she is taking care of another grandkid in Hong Kong. The great thing is that Skyler's other grandma (Samson's mother) was able to come over and help. Erica, Skyler and I really appreciated their help. I guess eventually, Erica will do the same for Skyler.

Lastly, I saw this great commerical at a meeting. You guys might like it...

"Today, I prayed the first time in my life. The sight of my baby brought tears to my eyes... I made a promise. That I will watch over my baby till the end of the world. And that I will always loves him. Please say a prayer for my baby."

Many Faces of Skyler

Skyler is getting bigger. He is now 2144 grams. He is beginning to make faces when we visited him. When Issac visited him after haven't seen him for days, Issac said Skyler looks different. Maybe this is a good sign, a progress that he is growing. We are bottle/breast feeding him twice a day. Both Erica and I had "fun" burping Skyler. Erica said feeding Skyler is a full time job. :P

First Bottle Feeding

Por Por (Erica's Mom) visited Skyler for the first time. Does Erica and her mom looks alike?

Skyler also took his first bottle feeding today. It was a lot of work for him. He needs to suck, breathe, & swallow. Bottle feeding was much easier for him since he doesn't need to suck as hard. It was fun watching him. Erica and I got pretty tired ourselves trying to feed him.

12th day - Vinegar & Ginger

The Chinese tradition usually includes the Vinegar & Ginger party. My Mom made a huge pot today. She started at about 11 in the morning and was done around 4ish when my families arrived. Grandpa and Grandma finally got to visited Erica since got some time to recover. Although we couldn't visit Baby Skyler today, everyone chatted and got to ask Erica about her experience. Anyone that wants Vinegar and Ginger should give us a call or send us an email.

Skyler has been eating and sleeping well. He is now 4lbs and 3oz. We were glad to see him broke the 4lbs mark. His weight swung up and down around the 3lbs level the last 2 weeks like the stock market. AND in the long run, it should be up. :P

We also tried to take a picture for Skyler's Passport. This is the only good picture after 5 minutes of struggles before the nurse had to place the feeding tube.