Down to the Wire......

Just two and a half weeks left until our precious little girl will be born. Minh and I are just as anxious and excited for the arrival of our daughter as we did when Sophie was born. The miracle of life is so amazing. Right now, I am trying to prepare the last minute stuff for our daughter and trying to get some rest before her arrival. We'll keep you guys posted once the baby is born. To be continued....

What technology does...

10 Weeks to go before the little munckin is ready to come out the oven ...

Another One On The Way!

I can't believe that it's been a year and three months since we had our little princess Sophie. Now we are getting ready for the arrival of our second daughter who is scheduled to arrive on July 14, 2010 which all depends on if she wants to come out earlier if not later.

There is so much work in taking care of a baby, which Minh and I have learned a long the way with Sophie and we are still learning every day. But all in all we enjoy parenthood and wouldn't trade it for the world. There's going to be a lot of work with the second baby coming but we will be as ready as we will ever be since we had some experience with Sophie.

Right now we are trying to get as much rest as we can because when the baby comes, there will be sleepless nights for Minh and I again. We are so excited and looking forward to our baby's arrival and can't wait for Sophie to meet her baby sister.

So get ready because there will be more to come on the new baby girl set to arrive in July 2010.

If anybody knows a good agent for Sophie to do some baby modelling, let me know. Who can't resist this baby!

It's been forever

It's been forever since our last update. It's true what they say. Once you have a child, your life becomes more hectic and hectic. First of all, we're doing great. Our little Sophie is 15 months already, is teething, walking and having the time of her life as a little muchkin. Moreover, in a little three months, she'll be welcoming her new sister who's still cozy and warm in mommy's belly. Everything is going great! We've moved to a bigger place last year. It's probably going to take me hours, if not days, to update you on all the exciting things that have happened the past year. But we'll just take it one step at a time, and I'll make sure to update this blog more regularly. Here are some updated pictures of the Huynh family.


Until the next post!

Precious Moments...

I can't believe that it has already been a week since I gave birth to our daughter Sophie. How time flies and how fast she has grown. I am so happy that Sophie is a part of my life and am looking forward to all those precious moments with her because I don't want to miss anything that happens in her life.

Childbirth is an amazing process and I am glad that I had the opportunity to experience it because words cannot express how wonderful it is to give life to our little girl. She is the sweetest and most precious little girl that I could ever have.

Minh and I have been taking a lot of pictures and videotaping Sophie ever since the moment she was born and will continue to do so because we don't want to miss any moments with her because you can't roll back time once you miss something. Pretty soon you will know it she will be walking around.

I better stop here because Sophie is crying and needs to be changed and fed. These are some of the things that I have to go through but this is all part of motherhood and I enjoy every moment of it and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered ... Sophie Ngà Huynh, Born 01/28/2009

Ladies and Gentlemen ... Here she is: Sophie Ngà Huynh. 

Sophie was born on Wednesday, January 28 2009 at 2:29 pm. A healthy baby weighing 7 lbs and 13 oz (3,551 grams) and 20.5 inches long (52.1 cm). Mommy, Daddy and Sophie are doing great!

But here's how the story went...

Our due date was on Tuesday and we were scheduled to be induced on Wednesday at 5:00 am. Wednesday morning around 12:59 am Anh started her contractions which were 20 minutes apart. At 4:00 am her contractions were down to 5 minutes. So when we arrived at the Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, Anh was technically in labor. Being the trooper that Anh was, she went through contractions (as they got heavier and more frequent) till 8:30 am. That's when we decided to take the epidural. At this point, she was was still 6-7 cm dilated. With that in mind, I thought we would still have a long ride ahead of us. However, when the doctor visited us at 1.00 pm we were told that Anh was already 9.5 cm dilated and that we would be able to start pushing at 2:00 pm. And that's what happened. 29 Minutes later Sophie was born! I'll spare you the details. All I can say is that it's amazing to be part of a delivery like this. 

Sophie (emphasizing the second syllable) is a variant from the Greek name Sophia which means wisdom. Her middle name Ngà was named after my mother. 

It's an amazing experience. Except for Anh receiving her epidural I was there all the time. I even coached ... that is, holding her left leg and supporting the back of her head while the doctor took care of the rest. We only needed 7 sets of 3 puffs (of which the last two sets were 4 puffs) to get Sophie out. As a little baby, I broke down when I first saw Sophie crowning. And when her little head popped out, I was just in tears of joy while having the utmost respect for Anh who did such a wonderful job. Once again, this is such an amazing experience.

So ... all in all, we had a pretty good delivery. Anh is doing fine. Obviously, her body has to recover from this amazing labor and delivery marathon. Other than that, no complications whatsoever. All the tests have turned out to be good so far. 

We're currently still staying at the Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. Tomorrow we'll be discharged and ready to take Sophie back home. I don't know what we would have done without the hospitable and helpful staff here at Huntington Memorial. They have been a great support in all of this. And the hospital is wonderful. Man, almost looks like a freakin' hotel. They really make labor and delivery easy and pleasant as much as possible. 

As I'm writing this blog from our room, little Sophie is calling us to get fed. So I better get steppin'. Love it !!! 

Until the next post :-)

The Year of The Ox...

Gung Hay Fat Choy! That's Chinese for Happy New Year. This year, according to the Chinese Lunar calendar, will be the year of the Ox.

The Ox ... hmm ... let's see ... this is what I found online:

"Those born under the influence of the Ox are fortunate to be stable and preserving. The typical Ox is a tolerant person with strong character. Not many people could equal the resolution and fearlessness the Ox exhibits when deciding to accomplish a task or an objective. As we used this great creature long ago to plow the soil day after day, so do Ox people labor through their daily responsibilities either at work or at home without complaint or gripe. Oxen know they will succeed through hard work and sustained effort and find no truth or benefit in concocting get-rich-quick schemes". 

Applying this Chinese character to our little muffin, then she should be classified as The Earth Ox:

"The most reliable and diligent Oxen belong to this collection of Oxen. The Earth element balances many of their negative characteristics. These Oxen show good judgement, a good characteristic for successful financial dealing. Other people tend to look up to Earth Oxen because of their reliability, sincerity and their modest ambitions. They are willing to tackle the workload when it becomes overbearing for others and are loyal and compassionate with family and friends".

In conclusion... this sounds good to me. If (or should I say When) we can raise our little munchkin to be the person described above, I reckon we're happy parents. The widget on the right side tells us we still have 2 days to go. Wow ... 2 days ... that's 48 hours ... 2,880 minutes ... 172,800 seconds. While Anh is The Stoic and patiently waiting, I'm pulling the hair out of my head. I'm probably counting down very slowly in seconds, because these two days are still horrible. But then again, the delivery date is set. If not Tuesday, then Wednesday. 

This coming week everybody will get a promotion. The two of us will step up the ladder and become parents. Our father's will be promoted to grandfathers. Cousins and friends will be named aunts and uncles. It's amazing, huh! What a life changing event. Something Anh and I are really looking forward to. 

I'm double checking everything. Bags, cameras, batteries, car, gas tank ... basically, everything. I want to make sure we have everything set. And while I'm writing this ... I forgot one thing ... plan a second route, just in case they close the streets or something.

... How do you mean, he's freaking out! :-)

Until the next post :-)

Finish Line In Sight ...

Good news and bad news today! The bad news is ... no delivery yet or any heavy contraction. The good news is ... we have a delivery date!

Today, our OBGYN's office was pretty empty. I'm used to sitting among a bunch of pregnant couples, waiting and waiting to be called in. However, it was empty today. Anh and I found out that the doctor had to re-schedule her appointments due to the fact that she had a delivery to go to today. Fortunately, the doctor did have time to see us (I guess because we're so close to passing the finish line).

Everything is perfect. Anh's daily walking is speeding up the delivery process. So Rebecca! Put your sneakers on and start walking like crazy. It will definitely benefit your pregnancy and eventually you going into labor. 2.5 hours a day (5 x 30 minutes).

After Anh's internal research we were told that she's currently 3 cm dilated and that the softening of her cervix is going smoothly. Our due date is still this coming Tuesday. In the event our muffin doesn't decide to come out that day, we'll be scheduled for an inducement on Wednesday. So there you go, our final date should be Wednesday. I was so happy with this news, since the past couple of days have been nerve wrecking. I can't seem to wait any longer. 

Meanwhile, we've watched at least 4 or 5 movies the past two days. And of course, still waiting ... speaking of which ... time for another 30 minute walk.

Until the next post :-)

Down To The Wire ...

Ugh ... *sigh* ... pfff ... what else can I say? The waiting is horrible. It seems our little muffin is still comfortable in momma's womb. Meanwhile, dad is pulling his hair out and momma is getting less sleep as we count down the remaining 5 days. As our official due date approaches, the two of us are 100% fixed on the calendar. There's really nothing else for us to do. Everything is in place, we're prepared as much as we can be... mom and dad really think this little bun is ready to come out of the oven. In conclusion, all this waiting is driving us crazy. 

Has Anh lost her mucus plug yet? Frankly, we don't know. She's been having late night bathroom runs so much. She might just have lost it without realizing it. The past two days sleeping has become very restless for the both of us due to the late night activities of our little munchkin. I realize how uncomfortable it would be for Anh with the little one growing day by day. At this point, our little muffin should be 19 or 20 inches (we'll find out this Saturday at the doctor's office visit ... unless she decides to come out before that) and her weight should be somewhere in the 7 pounds. 

Now that we technically still have 5 days to go (please please please ... we cannot wait any longer), we're feeling the pressure to lap up all this quiet time of waiting. For now, we might as well pop in a couple of DVD's , put our feet up so we can think about something other than the baby. Hon ... let's watch some DVD's ! Where's the popcorn ?!?!

Until the next post :-)

Officially Into The Single Digits ...

Today we have officially entered into the single digit waiting period. 9... What a magical number. 9 Months ago we embarked on a journey called pregnancy. And in 9 days our little one is due. Anh is pretty calm under these circumstances. It's me who's pacing over this whole thing. I'm asking myself when exactly the moment will come, how this whole experience will be, how long everything will take. Maybe it's my impatience, maybe it's the anxiety ... I just wish she'll come soon. 

As Anh's cervix is beginning to dilate, she hasn't reached that moment yet where she's losing her mucus plug. Then again, losing her mucus plug is not a definite indicator of her going into labor. So, I guess we'll just have to wait a little longer. According to some studies I've read, less than 10% of pregnant women are actually delivering on their due date. So, chances are little Baby Huynh is going to surprise us on a different day. 

Saturday's doctor's visit was short and sweet. Everything seems to still be going very prosperous. Our muffin's heart rate was good, her size was still good and she's still in her right upside-down position. She's been showing a lot of activity too this week. Her movements are becoming more and more clear as our little one is growing. Her movements are somewhat similar to land slides ... on specific moments you'll see something like an elbow go from side to side on Anh's belly. By the end of this week, she should be around 19-20 inches long and her weight should be somewhere in the 7 lbs. 

Anh and I have both tested our new High Definition video camera. I even bought an extra conversion wide-lens and battery. This little muffin is ready to be recorded in Full HD 1080. 

Until the next post :-).

Anxiously waiting for the big day!

Just 11 days left until the big day but it could be any time now. I have been at home this week resting and trying to walk a lot so that when the big day comes, then things won't be so bad with the labor. Everything is pretty much set for our daughter's arrival but when she wants to come out, only time will tell. I am anxiously waiting for her arrival, but all I can do right now is follow my doctor's advice by walking a lot and drinking lots of water. Minh of course is so excited for her to come out that he's been asking me every day now if she is coming out yet.

This week she is between 19-20 inches long and weighs about 6 1/2 pounds. Last week my doctor mentioned that by the time our baby is going to be delivered, she will weigh approximately 7 pounds and 7 ounces. She said that our baby is a tiny baby, but it's okay because nowadays most babies are born much bigger than that. Supposedly she will be born on the second day of Chinese New Year - Year of the Ox. I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Tomorrow I have another doctor's appointment because as I get closer to my due date I need to see the doctor at least once a week. I will keep you posted on how the appointment goes. So if everything goes according to schedule then I should have my baby by the due date which is January 27.

Getting Sooo Anxious...!!!

18 ... What a magical number! 6 x 3 equals 18, 18 is when you're officially of age, 18 is when you get your driver's license back in Holland ... and finally, 18 days is how much longer we have to wait until our little one comes out. In Holland we call it de laatste loodjes wegen het zwaarst or the final stretch as it is known here in the U.S. I'm tellin' ya ... we're stretching alright. 

Looking back, we can't believe in less than 18 days (give or take) we'll be welcoming our first munchkin into our lives. Little Baby Huynh is officially baked at this point, just cooling down in mom's oven. At the end of this week she's considered to be full term. So all systems should say GO!, should Anh go into labor right now. So what the hell is she still doing in there, I might ask myself. I guess she's just practicing for life outside the womb. What an emotional roller-coaster and an amazing journey this has been. Emotional due to the lack of sleep and the preparation. Soon another journey of parenthood will start. We're getting so anxious ... !!!

Seeing the doctor tomorrow morning and hopefully, everything is going prosperous. We are pretty much all prepared out for the baby. Walking 2.5 hours a day is pretty tough, but with a few days left it still has to be done. Today was Anh's last day at work. Her maternity leave officially started this evening. You're probably wondering about the pediatrician. Well, we went the easy route. The hospital Anh will deliver in has a bunch of good pediatricians that we can use. Anh's OBGYN referred us to a pediatrician (what better way than to be referred by your OBGYN) who will guide us through this new venture.

For the past couple of days, baby's daddy has caught a cold. I better pull myself physically together before she comes out. Can't have a tired and sick daddy on the Great Day of Delivery. Us Huynh's don't get sick :-). With that said ... Mama! Can I have some honey-tea!

Until the next post :-).

A New Beginning ... !

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone! I think the video turned out pretty well. We still have to work on our video appearance... heheh. I've been testing our new camcorder like crazy. Just want to make sure our new baby looks pretty darn beautiful in High Definition. We purchased a couple of extra lenses too ... Tele-lens and a Wide-lens. And not to forget an extra battery ... might come in handy since we have a lot of recording to do.

So this marks the new beginning of a year full of new and exciting things. I can't believe we're down to three weeks. Last Saturday we had our check-up (weekly from now on until the big pop) and everything was good to go. According to the doctor, our baby was in her head-down position. The only thing she still needs to do is descend down the cervix. The odd of her changing this position are - according to the doctor - is a mere 1%. The doctor also recommended us to do a lot of walking. This will help Anh in strengthening her muscles to aid her in pushing the baby out. In her words, labor is like running a marathon. What happens if you don't prepare ... yup ... you'll end up finishing last. In our position, that would mean her taking a very long time to go through labor. So, if you happen to see me dragging a pregnant woman around ... that's us! 

Anh will be working her last week at school this coming week. Thereafter, she'll be off for at least 4 months. By next week, we'll have to be on standby. Hopefully, she'll be on time. At this point (and since the last measurements from Saturday), our baby is 2945 gram, which equals 2.945 kilogram, which also equates to 6.49 lbs. Her birth weight is estimated to be 7.7 lbs. Her head was a tiny bit above average (which is good ... brains of her daddy) and her length is approximately 18.5 inches. 

For now, we continue to count down ... until the next post :-)

Happy New Year !!!

It's Down To 30 days...

First of all, hope everyone had a great Christmas Holiday. After today, Anh will be working for another two weeks until January 9. That's when she'll go on her long 4.5 months of maternity leave. After having been off for a week, I know she's really looking forward to working again tomorrow... NOT ! :-)

30 Days ... 720 hours ... 43,200 minutes to go until the big moment. At this point, I'm feeling like a little child counting down the days until his birthday. I can't wait anymore. At this point in time also, I'm trying to think what else Anh and myself need to prepare for before little Baby Huynh comes out. We've picked out her name officially today, but we're going to keep it a secret until she's there. As far as preparation goes, I think we're pretty set for now. We've packed our Labor stuff for when the big day comes, filled out the paperwork for when we have to go to the hospital etc. Last week I contacted the Dutch Consulate General in Los Angeles to go through some questions regarding adding our baby daughter to my passport, as well as going through the process of how to apply for a Dutch passport for her. This girl will have the privilege to have a dual citizenship. And to keep options open (you never know what might happen in the future regarding her residence), I want to make sure that she'll be able to call herself Dutch-American (or vice versa). Which brings us to another question... what language will we teach her?

After having searched the internet, I found a Dutch school in Hollywood where we can send her to at the age of 4. Meanwhile, I'll be the Dutch teacher while Anh will teach English to her. We will also add some Vietnamese (with the help of the family) in the mix. And if Anh's Chinese is still up to date, we'll try that too. One thing's for sure ... she'll be well-rounded in her language. Today I ordered a High Definition video camera to capture all those beautiful moments to come. Sometimes I wish our parents had that technology back in the day. How fun would it be to watch my 3D/4D pictures when I was still in the womb and see my toddler experience in HD!

This coming week we have to stack up on some extra coconut butter. As Anh's belly is growing, we're covering a huge surface of coconut butter to keep those stretch marks as minimal as possible. Our baby's movements are becoming stronger and stronger. Especially, at night she tends to be very active. I realized during Christmas dinner how fast kids grow. Anh's sister's baby (Yenna) is only three months. But in those three months she's grown so rapidly. I can still remember seeing her all wrinkled and so tiny after her birth. By now you can already see her laughing and responding to us playing around with her.

With all this said, time for me to hit the sheets so that another day can go by faster. Until the next post.

Preparing For Our New Arrival!

It's Christmas Eve and I am sitting at home in the living room making a list of all the things that I need to pack in preparation for our baby girl's arrival. I was checking online to see what was needed for the big day and didn't realize that there was so much stuff that I needed to pack for myself, the baby and daddy. I guess I better start packing because you never know when the big day may come. It could come early or later depending on when she wants to come out.

The big day is approaching and I am kind of scared about how the labor and delivery will go. Some questions that have crossed my mind are: how will I know when is the right time to go to the hospital?, how long will I be in labor? am I pushing the right way?, etc. I have been watching dvds with Minh about the labor and delivery process and am somewhat prepared for the big day but you never know things could change when that time comes.

I am anxious, nervous, excited and scared at the same time about the arrrival of our baby girl considering that this is our first child but with Minh by my side I am sure that things will be alright. Together we will do our best to raise our child in the best possible way. Well, now it's a matter of time until she comes so that we can hold her in our arms and love her unconditionally.

Merry Christmas !!!

The chestnuts will be roasting on an open fire here in SoCal this year. For the past two years (or should I say, ever since I got here) the two of us spent Christmas time in Holland. With Anh still having 34 days to go, we obviously won't be able to travel. 

Looking back at this year, I can definitely say a lot of things have happened. Obviously we got ourselves 'knocked up' and I'm impatiently waiting for our little one to pop out. The thought of becoming a parent is still surreal. I think I would also like to give a huge shout-out and show gratitude to my best friend Ytja back home. Thanks Charlie, for helping me out with my dad earlier this year. For the readers, Ytja has been like a brother to me ever since we were little kids. The brother/neighbor from next door. Best friend a person like myself could ever wish for! Meanwhile, I just realized how old I am ... I've known this fool for over 20+ years now ... but then again, age ain't nuthin' but a number.

Back to Christmas ... currently, I'm seeing people running around like crazy trying to do their last minute Christmas shopping. We just got home from the mall ... and it's crazy to see the shopping madness. Too bad Americans only celebrate Christmas. Back home, when Christmas time comes around people just shut down ... celebrate Christmas, Boxing Day (2nd Day of Christmas, or 2e Kerstdag) and start stacking up on fireworks for New Year's Eve. In my case ... December 26th (2nd Day of Christmas) is another working day for me :-(.

Anh has this week off. Most of her time, she's sleeping in (cuz the phone won't be answered until after 10:00 am.) and cleaning up our place. We're going to have a Christmas dinner with her family tomorrow. What the plans are for Christmas Day ... we still have to plan :-). Depending on how the weather is this weekend, I might take a small snowboarding trip to Big Bear. That's the good thing about SoCal. You can either go to the beach here in Santa Monica, stroll down the boulevard and enjoy the sun or just go up north a little bit for 4 to 6 feet of snow. Enough diversity, I should say. 

At this point in time, the final touches are being added to our little masterpiece. She should be 5.5 lbs by now and approximately 18 inches tall. The kicks have turned into small wiggles and stretches due to her growing day by day in that little space called Anh's womb. I read somewhere that she will be adding her final layer of fat this week which will result in her having her daddy's dimples (I hope). Also, her lungs should almost be fully developed (meet your new competitor, Michael Phelps). And her liver is starting to process the waste products (thank God we've already stacked up on those diapers).

How much longer can a person count down for her arrival in 34 days? Again, I can't wait ... maybe by hitting the sheets now will make another day go by faster. 

Lastly, we would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy the food, each other, the family (if they haven't been snowed in or being stuck at the airport due to weather conditions). 

Until the next post :-).

Baking Chef...

Part of being a future parent is being able to bake a pie. I haven't baked any pie or tart whatsoever for a long time. So, with Anh's help and my Dutch background, here is the end-result of a traditional Dutch Apple Pie ("Appeltaart") with a twist of American flavor. 

We just need to let it cool down and with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream ... Hmmm !!!

Anh saw her doctor today for her check-up. Everything is still good to go. The baby's heart rate was 141 which was perfect at this stage. She'll have her next check-up in another 2 weeks from which points we'll start to having weekly check-up until Anh's giving birth. 

Around this time last year, we were spending our Christmas and New Year's in Holland... something we obviously won't be able to do this year because of the baby. Even though the weather is cold, I do miss the cold cold (freezing cold) weather back home. So instead, we're planning a trip to Santa Barbara tomorrow. 

Meanwhile, our appeltaart is close to cooling down. And for some reason, our stomachs are really growling... 

Until the next post :-).

34 Weeks Pregnant...

Lately it seems as if the father has trouble sleeping. Meanwhile, Anh's getting her early rest. Hmmm ... shouldn't that be the other way around, knowing that close to 75% of all the pregnant women have trouble sleeping in their third trimester. 

At this point both of us are waiting, waiting ... and ... waiting. Instead of driving ourselves crazy (mainly daddy), it might be better to utilize the time that we have left to spend with our friends, family, together, etc. I can imagine that soon everything will revolve around the baby, and Anh and I will wish we could have some downtime. 

Currently, little baby Huynh is the size of a doll (close to 18 inches) and weighs about 5 lbs. At this stage, she should be ready to start descending down or at least, be in that downward position. Things to do this week is to start filling out the hospital paperwork regarding her birth plan... whether we want rooming-in or have her go to a nursery for a couple of hours after the delivery, contacting the pediatrician, medication, etc. Anh's going to deliver at Hungtington Hospital in Pasadena. Also, I suggested to start watching those DVD's again ... just to refresh our memories. This coming Saturday we're seeing the doctor again ... and every week thereafter.  As far as activities goes, our little one has been very active lately. Unfortunately, still now belly button pop :-). 

Speaking of popping, time for me to pop the light switch. It's bedtime. 

Until the next post.