Last Sat, my mom gave Terrence his first bath. I took some pictures of that moment and never got a chance to share. According to my mom, Terrence really enjoy his baths. My mom said that he lays so calm, relaxing in the warm water. After the bath he sleeps very soundly and for a long time.
Newborn babies sure do sleep a lot. But that's actually a welcome thing, ask any parents. I love Terrence in his sleep. Sometimes I sneak into the room while mother and child are both fast asleep and just sit there and watch. Terrence always does the funniest things in his sleep. He would be sleeping so peacefully, like in these pictures, but then out of the blue throw up his hands and legs into the air like he's doing some type of aerobic exercise. Then they slowly drop back to his side before going totally limp. It's so funny to watch and took me by surprise the first time I witness this. Maybe I'll try to capture some of that the next time to share. In the mean time, here are a couple of pictures of baby Terrence sleeping soundly in bed and in his car seat.
Julie is back home with my mom and will be there for the next three weeks. In the Vietnamese culture, after a woman gives birth, within the first month there are certain things that she must do, eat, avoid in order to ensure she continues to be healthy in the future. Whether any of that is true or not, all I am concern about is that if she doesn't do any of what is required, our immediate future will be hell...that's for sure. So Julie is up in LA with my mom and I am back down here in SD, taking care of work as some important things are happening there. Julie emails me saying that Terrence did something funny, though he didn't think it was funny himself.
After getting bathed, Julie was switching him into some clean diapers when he let a fountain of pee up over his shirt and square into his mouth and face. He pause momentarily to taste and swallow before making supposedly the funniest face and then proceed to scream his head off. So mother and grandmother must bathe him all over again, laughing at him the entire time. He became one Red piglet by the end of the ordeal Julie said. Too bad I was not there to capture the moment but I am sure I will be privy to many more faces from him. Enjoy...
Certainly not Terrence after being fed. He's full of life and so alert even though he's only six days old when this picture was taken. More pictures soon now that I have access to a fast PC again. I was tortured up at my parents house as the only PC I had there was a 7yr old laptop. Slow as molasses once the memory were all used up. 
On Sunday, March 25th, my family celebrated Julie's birthday. This was the original date the ultrasound predicted Terrence will be born so he would have shared the same birthdate as his mom. Fortunately for Julie, he didn't wait till then, else he may be even bigger than he was at birth. This is baby Terrence's birthday card to his mother and his own unique signature on the inside.
Terrence's second day and he looks so peaceful after getting dress for his pediatric appointment early this morning. The first night was difficult for mom as she was up every couple of hours to feed and in between that, change diapers. As new parents, you are force to learn to anticipate and communicate, all in an unspoken and almost primal way. But did you know that there is a secret language of babies? A lady name Priscilla Dunstan went on the Oprah Winfrey show to explain that at the age of 4, her parents discovered that she has a photographic memory for sound. She could hear a Mozart concert and play it back, one note at a time. This very special ability made her realize when she became a mom herself that her baby's pre-cries had the same pattern relating to what they wanted. It's suppose to be a natural reflex of babies, regardless of race or ethnicities. However, if parents don't learn those pre-cry words/sounds, the baby eventually stop using them. Here are a few samples:
Neh="I'm hungry"
Owh="I'm sleepy"
Heh="I'm experiencing discomfort"
Eair="I have lower gas"
Eh="I need to burp"
New parents, with our past experiences must rely on them to react and cater to the babies' needs. Being a new mom, despite the lack of sleep the night before and the painful labor and birthing process, you don't get much sleep the first night. The experience is just too new and raw. I speak from my observation of my wife. I guess you react to every sound coming from your new baby. Like the baby and their sound reflex above, it's a natural instinct I guess all good mother exhibit. But my friends who have gone through all this say, your baby will be a baby for a only a short time, and those time passes by so quickly. Eventually you'll long to go back to the mornings like today, where your baby is resting so peacefully and content. Enjoy the picture.
Once the Julie and my family heard of the news, everyone made the long drive down to San Diego to visit with baby Terrence for the first time. Both grandparents were ecstatic as well as all the new aunts and uncle. Terrence is so lucky to have everyone who loves him so much.
You'd think that pregnancy and birth is such a common event. But it really is a celebration of life when something so little finally comes into this world, healthy. It's not something that everyone is bless with and so far, I feel extremely bless that all the events unfolded so nicely.
Anyways it has been a long day and now that all the visitors has gone home, I will save all the gory birth pictures and leave you with this single picture. I like how Terrence was born wide awake and so inquisitive. He kept gazing at everything and everyone, seeing all for the first time. I like how this picture reflects that. He seemingly gazes right through the camera at me. I also love how Mom is in the background, still recovering from the birth. I guess this will be one of the first changes as a new parent, is that we learn to see things anew, through our baby's newborn eyes.
I was surfing the web for meaningful Vietnamese baby names for our soon to be born son. I always knew that the Mai name meant blossom but I did not know of what plant until I came across this website. According to the site, Mai means apricot blossom in Vietnamese. This site further explains that it is a revered plant and is a symbol of purity and taste.
In some part of the country, winter is still around as evident by the snow on the ground. However, in sunny San Diego, we are blessed with beautiful warm weather and fresh life springing up everywhere. At lunch today, I watched as bees hover and buzz, busily pollinating the beautiful white apricot blossoms. Last year came and went and the apricot tree did not bear much fruits. Hopefully, the blooms of the apricot blossom signify that this year will be different and that apricots will be plentiful. In a couple of months, we may have fresh picked apricot to use in our sauces and marinades. I can't wait...until then, enjoy this photo taken with my buddy Ham's 100mm F/2.8 macro lense.
