Alden over 8 months

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Sports rehabilitation center, shenzhen

Between moving, flying, and our ever growing baby, two weeks ago I hurt my back.

So I ventured to a rehabilitation clinic for shorts injuries - Timon found it and since I was unable to stand out sit without pain I said Yes!

It was far off in Futian district, about 30 minutes by car. Timon stayed home with baby A while I hobbled out, and for an excruciating minute thought I may never obtain a cab.

When I arrived, I found that it was a huge sports area with several stadiums and training grounds. A kind fellow offered to guide me to the clinic, but I was in so much pain I want sure I could make it.  I said to myself, "you gave birth to an almost 9lb baby!  This is nothing! " so I told the security guard I would be fine, and continued according to his directions. After about 100meters my back could no longer hold me up and I was really confused because where there should have been a path it was bushes and chained off stairs. I ran into a convenience store where I saw a stool - a respite of relief - and then cried.

Over the phone  Timon helped and then the cashier lent me his arm and held my bag for me. He have me lots of encouragement as he his me to the clinic around the corner. I felt really embarrassed and small, and also grateful for the strangers help.

When I entered the clinic they were all expecting me,  and took care of my situation instantly. They were thorough in inquiring about all my physical activities,  and poked and prodded, trying isolated motions to determine what the unhappy muscle was.

After a massage,  I could stand up straight with out pain!  They also put me on a warm buzz table for 30 minutes. Ahhhh.  It felt so much better!

I would definitely go back.

Breakfast at the tencent cafe

Alden left his little signature on the Tencent note wall. Tencent is trees here internet company behind QQ, WeChat and other apps.

The had dozens of versions of their mascot logo penguin in different costumes. We have the snake costume one since alden is year of the snake.

Lunch break

1. Extruded foam corn sticks. I think they taste like styrofoam-not that I've eaten styrofoam.
2. Baby bunny seller. Baskets of cute waiting for a home.
3. Lone Lion dancer offering his services to the restaurants.
Lastly I since this is a lunch post,  I guess I should mention what I are. Lamb and veggie dumplings with garlicky vinegar sauce. Yum!
An old lady also told  me alden shouldn't wear such a huge diaper because it wasn't good. I said, "but he pees so much! "

Visit to Shekou

Aldie in his new Sack n' seat portable chair!

After a long first week settling in, we headed south to Shekou for brunch, Al fresco by the ocean ish. Shekou is the expat area of the city, and also where one ferry departs to HK.
We ate at Mama's,  open air bacon and pancakes for T(78rmb) and a croissandwich with salmon and home fries (42) and a caramel roll (25). It was in a cool area of restaurants mostly western with a large open plaza like Santa Monica. At the end of the plaza was a small cruise ship. It was a hotel and restaurant, with palm trees on its open deck. Hotel Rooms began at around 500rmb. We boarded the shop only to find it was docked in a teeny body of water,  and we still a ways from the actual ocean. Funny thing was that there was a whole mess  of people on the ship deck taking photos and sitting next smoking,  then a lady with a no came up and yelled at us to all get of the ship!  As we made out way down,  more groups of people were trying to board the ship. It's a pretty cool idea and seemed to be in partnership with Paulaner.

We also got to try out Alden's new fabric chair- which was awesome! He is grabbing and reaching for everything, so it was relief to be able to eat together without juggling him back and forth, except that he kept chucking his toys on the floor. He can throw surprisingly far. Ok - its not really throwing, but he can wave his arms a great deal and release his grip at the same time = toy across the room. But he's not quite aware and sit there confused... like, "Where did my toy go??"

The char is easy to use. Slide it on the back, buckle around the seat (so he can't stand up and pop it off the back) and then buckle the strap under his armpits through upper loops which is an upwards seatbelt if you will. The shoulder straps were a bit big for him- as you can see, his 6 month little arms can't quite reach around the straps to hold things with both hands.

First weekend shenzhen

Sunday afternoon naptime

Horse performance- reenacting a battle. Flaming arrows, and other cool tricks.

Splendid China park with mini versions of famous historical places of China, and also replicas of minority homes. We saw a war reenactment on horse, zip line over a mini west lake. And took naps.

 The first parking lot - walmart I've ever seen in China.

Other sights

woof woof! our adorable 6 month old

 

On the way to Xin'an ancient city

At the Ren ren le grocery store

security tagged toe-shoes - who would steal these?! Lots of weeping willows.

Shenzhen week 1: off to a running start

We came down to Shenzhen about 2 weeks ago, but didn't start to live in our apt until this past week, starting Monday.

It went something like this:

Monday: Toilet clogged. Bad.Took Alden for a walk down Gongxin Zhong 4 rd to metro station, discovered a several evening al fresco eateries and the university.

Tuesday: Plumber came, yay! Alden started solid foods- rice cereal! Saw a huge cockroach in Alden's room- freaked out at 4am.

Wednesday: Strained a back muscle- I am totally out of commission keeled over like a hunchback, and cannot lift our little one : (  Got roach traps and set them up.

Thursday: Saw more roaches in kitchen now- HUGE and gross! We didn't catch the one in Alden's room since Timon stepped in that trap...

I couldn't sit nor stand without back pain. Visited sports medicine rehabilitation center in futian, got lost in the sports block and in pain, went to a convenience store to sit down and cry. The fella there listened to Timon's directions and graciously escorted me to the clinic (while holding my handbag) The Dr.s at the clinic were super nice and helped me so I can walk better now!

Discovered several cool eateries on the way home from the metro (1st time) including Liz Pizza and more al fresco eats and a basketball court in an empty swimming pool. 

Friday: Thats today! Apt is still in disarray, and going back to the clinic in the afternoon.

Whew! We look forward to finish setting up house and also visiting the beach with Timon's team from work.

heading to shenzhen

In 5 days we go 'move' to Shenzhen for T's work project. We are packing light, as we'll only be away for 4 months.

Another city, new to us. We don't know anyone there. Its exciting and a tad daunting- they'll speak cantonese there. And since it is farther south it has more of a tropical climate. Beach!

Shenzhen, city of 7 million, made it big when it became a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in 1979. Its also one of the busiest ports in China. I've only been there to visit factories and once, a trade show. Shenzhen is in the Guangdong province along with Guanzhou is roughly 2 hrs NW of Shenzhen, with Dongguan slightly in between. Hong Kong is just across the water from us, about 1 hr by ferry! We are really excited to be able to go there on the weekends.

 So the last time I was in Shenzhen was for a tradeshow.... and was booked a hotel room in a hotel that didn't house foreigners. And it was along a dirt road with nothing in the area. And I sat in the hotel room all day since some other complications wouldn't allow me into the trade show.

I'm feeling a little bit like a migrant worker. Packing to the next city for work. Knowing nothing but hoping for the best. I don't know if a hotel is booked, we have no apt so there's no where to ship Alden's crib or anything. 

Anyways, back to packing and list making!

Alden's 4 months

Alden's 4 months pic. I think he is starting to look more like T in this picture.

-He can grab things in put them in his mouth (toys, my hair, your shirt)
-He gurgles and squeaks, giggles and coos
-He likes to watch people
-He cries when momma leaves for work
-He kicks a lot
-He sleeps on his belly and tucks his knees underneath him
-He think peeing on the wall is hilarious

4.5 months a mother

Every blog post signifies yet another morning spent with tech support to get on our vpn.

I now sit with a sweaty baby strapped to me, straining to see the computer screen. Please Alden, let mommy eat. He's been crying all evening not wanting to sleep even with rubbing his eyes and all. Timon's away on business so its just us two. He's fed, clean diapered, and I read him a good night story and pray he will nod off and blissfully drift off to dreamland.

But this is not so. Its more like a battle. He just might be winning. I'm exhausted and wondering if I can microwave a plate and eat it before it gets cold....

Here we are playing on the floor. I love Alden so much I even let him grab my under chin fat.

While I nurse him I read the news. I read about the good and the bad, the drama and politics of life and wonder how I will be able, one day, to talk to him about the realities of life. I mean if he asks. For now I'll just savor his cute cheeks and innocent looks after he's yanked on my hair.

I've been working part-time now for almost 2 months. Our helper comes in the morning and I run to the office and then come home after lunchtime to feed baby and feed myself. Then Alden and I have the afternoon to ourselves to read books, sing songs and try to take photos for the grandparents. about 80% of them are blurry or he's waving his arms in front of the camera. I eat dinner around 5:30pm Then baba comes home around 7pm and plays with Alden while I put dinner on the table (yes, I eat again) and then we hang out and talk about the ups and down of work and our upcoming social calendar. I. am. tired.

Cinnamon rolls in 90 minutes! Pre-icing.

This past weekend was Timon-less so Alden was privileged to accompany to an urgent work review (approving samples to ship out that day) SH artists community luncheon, then Alpha. Later that night we made cinnamon rolls for brunch the next day. Sunday, we hosted group - iced the cinnamon rolls and asked helpful people to help reach tall things and be in charge of coffee. We lunched at Elephante with some old friends in town (we all knew each other pre-kids) awesome, with a touch of babies and kids! Then we Skyped T for a while and begin our evening trying to get baby to sleep routine.

Some days seem like groundhog day. But I know that he will grow quickly and we will cherish these young days of cuddling and enjoying simple things like tickling!

2 month and 3 month photos

2 months old!

"Dungarees!" the bride-to-be exclaimed. I fashioned the onesie with some ribbon for a friend's Hen party (bridal shower). (She's british- thus the terminology.)

3 months old! Look how big I'm getting!

At 3 months, Alden is now starting to drool a lot and chew on things. He can kinda grab thing if you help them (he can't really reach) and will automatically pull them towards his mouth. He can hold his head up pretty well, and kicking is a favorite pastime.

Stylin outfit from Aunty Jennica

First time swimming

For T's 33rd birthday, we had our annual rooftop pool party! The hotel in our neighborhood hosts a 5th story view over Zhongshan park, and plenty of space to hang out. (most pools are jam packed in SH) Alden got used to the water temp quickly. His buddy George had a cool inflatable donut necklace so he could float around on his own. (see example pic)

Baby swimming competition in China

Alden's first trip to the park, stroller review

This was our test run with the Lilly Gold Sit N Stroll stroller that we got for free* from SH United family hospital, where A was delivered at. The 5-on-1 benefits were as follows:
• Stroller
•FAA approved flight seat
•car seat (rear & forward facing) (2 of 5)
•restaurant booster seat

 At first we thought it couldn't be a good stroller since it was free. But then again SH United is the premier international hospital for giving birth - aka expensive. We got two bags of gifts after delivery- spa gift certs, nursing pillow, and a keepsake engraved with his birth info and footprint.

With our city lifestyle- taking taxis since we don't own/have a car this was the best option for:
• Getting in and out of a cab quickly
• Safe car ride with baby (if you've ridden in a SH cab you know what i mean...)
• Having an alternative to baby wearing for longer outings.

Cons:
• Not much storage.
• Baby is forward facing, so we can't communicate with each other, and Alden gets full sun
• Once baby is gets really heavy, I'm not sure I'll be able to lift the whole thang with him in it
• Sun shade is tough to get off and doesn't retract.

Conclusion: So far so good! We get in and out of cabs in a snap. It is a bit awkward to push down the lever while holding Alden in the unit (in the air) but it only takes 10 seconds vs. having to dismantle a carseat from stroller, than fold up that stroller part and put in a trunk. Ugh.... this seems semi lame to blog about - but it is whats on our minds!

alden's surgery

healthy Alden at 2wks, before vomiting began

I have a laundry list of topics I want to write about - many half written and long overdue. Our scary moving experience, Alden's birth story, and here is his surgery story.

You can see the difference between the top two photos- how much baby fat Alden lost through just a few days of vomiting. He was on track for eating and weight, generating plenty of diapers. The day his passport arrived from the consulate, I set him up with a flag celebrating his American citizenship. After a few snaps he began to spit up..... lots. I later learned there was a distinction between a spit up (a little milk after burping) and projectile vomit (sour smelling, stomach acid).

The "spit ups" became more sour, larger, and frequent. Soon he was vomiting everywhere about 8 times a day- almost every feed. We began to journal every occurrence, of feed, vomit, and diaper, and I grew concerned when his quantity of diapers dropped to half and he was sleepy a lot. After consulting with medical professionals, we received no diagnosis but to change nursing positions- his body was still developing and strengthening its muscles that keep fluids in... and maybe he just swallowed lots of bubbles.

Alden at 3 wks, in hospital after 5 days of vomiting

The vomitting began to cover everything. Sofa. Chairs. Floor. Crib. Bed. Us. On the 5th day we went to get a second opinion and were greeted with, "I am really not glad to see you, your son is really sick," were the pediatrician's first words. (We knew her from A's delivery) The nurse had taken his temp as 102° in combination with vomiting it could have been an infection or even meningitis. Either way a fever that high was not good for a 3 wk old. (We didn't know what meningitis was at the time, but we were scared)  They took blood and urine samples (yea, don't ask how you get a urine sample from a baby...) and said only a spinal tap/lumbar puncture would determine if he had meningitis or not. T and I were on the verge of having a panic attack and I was texting my mom to look up all the medical terminology for us. They admitted Alden immediately- he was dehydrated, and not allowed to leave until his temperature went down. Since I was exclusively breastfeeding him, it meant I was also admitted immediately. Timon sent a quick text to a few friends to pray for Alden. We waited for test results from the blood and urine analysis- which concluded nothing wrong in those areas. The nurse, a tall gal named Jennifer came and took A's temp again- the fever was gone!

In disbelief, she took it again. No more fever! Hallelujah! Shocked, she went to grab the pediatrician, who made her take the temperature a 3rd time in her presence. "Well, hmm that changes the diagnosis...hmmmph." The prayers had been heard! We went to our hospital room, and they brought in a ultra sound machine to look for blockages or weird things in A's head and tummy. Timon went home to grab stuff, so it was just me and baby A. The technician quickly determined there were no tumors in his head- phew, but then spent a LOT of time on his tummy. like 30 minutes. Keeping Mr. Wiggles still for 30 minutes was hard- esp with all the prodding and cold vaseline she squired on his belly. He screamed and wailed, and we tried to coax him to be still. He hated the IV taped to his arm. he was yanking on the tube and trying to chew on it.

The diagnosis was Pyloric stenosis:

There is narrowing (stenosis) of the opening from the stomach to the first part of the small intestine known as the duodenum, due to enlargement (hypertrophy) of the muscle surrounding this opening (the pylorus, meaning "gate"), which spasms when the stomach empties.

hungry baby who couldn't eat : (

It required a minor elective surgery to cut open the the pylorus muscle so more food could get through. It would take one hour. Very little food was getting through his system. The milk was just sitting in his tummy, semi-digesting, and then would "overflow" (if you will) and flow/project out in large amounts. The doctor advised to stop nursing him, (also to prevent choking during surgery) and they would give him nutrients through his IV.

Alden would look at me and cry, hungry for milk, and I couldn't give him any. It about broke my heart to see him so sad. "Mommy, I am hungry for milk! Why are you denying me what I need so badly?" How do you explain to a baby that the pain temporary and you are doing the best for him?

The pediatrician advised using a pacifier to calm him- which worked- and he sucked and gulped the life out of that pacifier! Alden was on this IV, so anyone holding him was also tied to the IV unfortunately behind the door. I was pumping milk to keep my supply up. We asked tons of questions of the pediatric surgeon and anesthesiologist- which I won't go into detail- I will note that Timon's Daddy instinct kicked in and he thoroughly interviewed them both! Fortunately, the next day there was an opening for pediatric surgery- he went in at 6pm, and we tried really hard not to cry, so Alden wouldn't get scared. The Operation room nurses rolled in an operation bed, then paused then he saw how tiny Alden was. We all glanced at the full size OR bed- "Is that really necessary?" They gently put tiny Alden in the center and gingerly tucked him under the ocean of blankets. Alden was lethargic and calm. No one wanted to tell him what was going to happen. Then they rolled him away.

Operation table bed

We bit our nails for the next 1-2 hours, trying not to cry. Then they brought him back- assuring us the surgery was well- the surgeon even showed us a snapshot on his pylorus muscle she took during surgery. It was "the biggest she'd ever seen"! He was still asleep from the epidural. A big bandage was on his belly. The nurses reconnected his IV. It was almost 9pm, and T, my mom and I sat there just looking at him- restless and relieved it was over!

We spent the next 3 days hanging out at the hospital, while he recovered. The nice part about staying there was pushing the call button every time he vomited and they'd send in a crew to clean up the mess! I only wish I had more shirts- I was covered in sour milk more than a few times and couldn't do laundry there.

In conclusion, Alden is now a healthy boy on track (height & weight) for his age, and we are satisfied with the medical services at SH United hospital. Many people - both here and in the US asked about how the medical services compared to those Stateside. As an international hospital with international staff, it like a small town hospital. (doctor's words, not mine) They are pretty well equipped, but any really serious complication would be sent to local hospitals. They only do surgery on infants maybe 2-3 times a year- whereas the SH Children's hospital does them all the time. Our surgeon claimed to have completed this procedure "hundreds of times". Our American-trained pediatrician said some expat families would opt to fly to HK or even home to do surgery due to lack of trust. (Wasn't an option for us, since Alden had no visa) This was definitely a major test of parenthood, revealing to ourselves how much we cared for this little person who had only recently come into our lives. We are thankful for Alden and thankful for God's hand over the whole situation.

1 month photo

Alden at 1 month. A little skinny since he lost so much weight, and we still recovering from surgery, was still eating less than half of a normal "meal" for a baby of his size.

Photos of little A

After Alden was born, he was admitted twice - the second time for surgery, which was scary. Since then he has healed and is healthy, smiling, and a joy! This past Saturday marked his welcome to the community open house.

reminders of how temporary life can be

Northeast of Nanjing xi rd.

Living in China- China grants very few non-chinese citizens permanent resident status, so its always been assumed living here would only span a short amount of time. (By "short" we mean a minority of our lives.) So we trod on day to day, knowing that one day we will will leave all of this behind and return to the US (aka the promised land, land of milk n honey) Its not like we dislike China- it is just different. We purchase less big ticket items, since we won't be able to bring them home (furniture, crib, etc) and  try our best to purge un-needed stuff every year, (ok some of us do) knowing that one day I'll move back to America with the same 2 suitcases I came here with. 

Last night we handed our rent money to our landlord, who lives next door. We also mentioned we'd need some furniture moved out to make space for Baby. Dear friend of ours were giving us their awesome sofas and we wanted the old sofa out. (Old sofa= sags really far down, has tassles, etc) The landlord replies, 

"Why do you want to change the furniture? Your going to have to move in Sept anyways when my son takes over the apartment." 

Pause.

A month prior, we had inquired if the landlord's son (whom we knew was getting married this year) was going to want our apt, which is all too common here. Two of our friends recently were booted for the same reason- Chinese families purchase apartments for their son to take over when he gets wed. We  wanted to make sure we wouldn't have to move with a newborn...

So there we were, staring at the tasseled sofa, taking in the news. I'm 8 months pregnant, can't lift anything, and I have a hard time bending down in my big-bellyness. If we wait until after Baby is born, we are two nervous new parents with a baby, sleep deprived and trying to figure how to live day to day. Then the landlord walks out looking at our artwork- "What is this? Art? its just fabric on a frame? Does it look good? Hao kan ma?" And then he leaves.

Maybe this is what I get for complaining about the furniture? We knew we wouldn't live here forever, but we loved the area and the spacious apartment. And life goes on- we'll have to move in the next few months. Just today I was considering what that really meant:

-Running around after work visiting apartments, asking tons of questions negotiating renovations; and trying to size up the landlord in 5 minutes and negotiate some more. And then argue about the furniture and negotiate some more.

-Then packing up everything in boxes, labeling, and moving to new place

-To unpack and clean and re-build systems. Re-learn the neighborhood, grocery shopping, buses, metro...

Its not the end of the world, but not exactly what we needed right now. Baby, please don't come out until we can have a proper home!

Pros of moving/my hopes:

-4 burner stove that works

-Bathrooms with windows, for air

-An open kitchen, for easier hosting

-A big balcony, for BBQing!

-A big refrigerator

-Beds with storage underneath

-Furniture that is sturdy

-Air conditioner that is effective in each room.

And if the next place doesn't have all these nice things, that's OK with me. Its only temporary.

Jendow vegetarian

Last weekend we joined some friends for dinner at Jendow vegetarian buffet about 10 minutes outside Xujiahui.

Tofu pretending to be beef jerky!! Lots of spices!

Here's a review I wrote for Smart Shanghai:

"The restaurant was a bit tough to find- its really more like 10 minutes outside Xujiahui, a well lit sign welcomes you (but number was not lit, english is tiny, and we passed at first)

After walking about 200 meters through empty cemented area, we found it- large and inviting. There were about 8 buffet tables, japanese style, chinese style, soups, desserts, all well labeled in english and chinese specifying if it had eggs and/or dairy.

For drinks you could mix your own tea, (lavender, mint, peach, etc), Mango smoothies, alcohol "free" beer, qingdao beer. For dinner there was simulated sashimi, and sushi rolls (which I rather liked, and were quite visually convincing!) "beef" and "pork" jerky- hot pot, tofu "eel", tons of mushrooms and veggie dishes to sample and experience.

"Sashimi that had really authentic coloring and fish flavouring

The tofu eel

For dessert a chocolate fondue tower beckoned, not to mention the hagen daz ice cream (4 flavors!), New zealand egg-free ice cream, tarts, pastries, mousse, tiramisu.... need I go on?

Our party of 6 tried as many dishes as we could. Not sure how the "enzyme" shooters went down?? They insisted on collecting the bill and such at 8pm- it seems they close down by 9pm? Next to a temple, there were several monks there, otherwise the place was pretty empty. Bring your coat when going to the restroom. The service was good and the presentation was wonderful. Its 168rmb per person- all you can eat and drink, so a bit pricey ($25 USD) but a really interesting experience.