Today, we journeyed to the windward side for Baby Champuru’s newborn photo session with the awesome Lisa Hoang of Windwardskies Photography. As newbie parents, Hubby and I are still a little uncertain about handling the baby, but Lisa is an old pro with infants and children. She dealt with Baby Champuru’s fits of fussiness with ease and posed her in the most adorable props. I can’t wait to see the result!

While Lisa was setting up the next shot, I took a quick picture of baby as she waited patiently for her next photo op. She was just too precious not to steal a shot. (Sorry, Lisa!)

We were out of the house for six hours today and baby handled the long outing quite well. Shortly after we got her in the car seat for the ride home, she started crying hard — with actual tears, not just dry-eyed wailing. I hadn’t seen her cry so violently before and was alarmed. Hubby pulled the car over to check to make sure nothing was pinching her on the car seat and that it was secured properly and wasn’t too tight. Satisfied that she wasn’t in pain, we started the drive back home again. Since we hadn’t eaten lunch yet (it was nearly dinner by this time), we decided to drive-thru at a nearby McDonald’s. In the parking lot, I checked her diaper and, lo and behold, a marvelously massive poop greeted me. I’m still not quite comfortable changing doo-doo diapers, but managed to do a quick and clean change in the backseat of my car. I suppose when it’s time to step up, the maternal instinct actually does kick in — just like everyone says it does.

I finally posted a She’s Here entry with a photo that one of the nurses took for us at the hospital. I meant to post it sooner, but life with a newborn is anything but leisurely.

There are many more updates in the queue. I just need to find some time to sit down and type it. It seems like I’m constantly feeding baby with nursing every 2 - 2-1/2 hours (40 minutes total each time) and supplementing with the cup feedings which takes another 20-30 minutes. Not that I’m complaining, of course! It’s just an adjustment. One of the many that we’ve been making over the past several days. The learning curve of parenthood is steep, but the rewards are great.

Today, Baby Champuru is four days old and she had her first field trip, a visit to the pediatrician. I didn’t realize how much preparation it requires to take an infant out of the house. Our appointment was at 10:45 am, so I figured we had enough time in the morning to get the diaper bag packed, get her bathed and clothed, and secured in the car seat for the journey. Our goal was to leave by 10:00 am, but we were still scrambling until a quarter after ten. We arrived five minutes late to the doctor’s office and that’s only because we couldn’t find parking. However, we ended up waiting over an hour, so being five minutes late seems like a moot point now.

Our pediatrician has a newborn room, which is a space that is separated from the general waiting room. It was nice to be sequestered in our own private space, away from other sick children coughing and sneezing all over the place. Too bad it’s reserved for babies under a month old. I’d prefer it to be three months and under, but that’s just me and my germophobia talking.

After they settled us into the examining room, we still had quite a wait. Baby Champuru started to cry like there was no tomorrow. It was obviously past her feeding time and she was visibly unhappy about her empty stomach, as there was no soothing her. So, I decided to try feeding her to see if that would satisfy her. In mid-wail, I stuffed her mouth on my breast, obtaining a good latch on the first try (woot!) and she was immediately pacified. I am the Human Pacifier! With my trusty Hooter Hiders allowing me to maintain my modesty, I was able to nurse her for about ten minutes before the doctor came in, who immediately apologized for having us wait so long. It’s understandable, after all, they’re short one doctor.

Our regular pediatrician is on vacation in Japan (I’m jealous!), so Dr. Paul came to the hospital to see us after the birth and for today’s appointment. He’s a wonderful doctor, too. He has a kind, humble, patient demeanor that not only soothes the baby, but us as parents, too. I thought it was amazing that he could take baby’s rectal temperature and clean her umbilical cord without her stirring or making a fuss. Overall, it was a good visit, aside from her weight loss — which we’ll be monitoring with another follow-up appointment in a week. The doctor suggested that we cup feed her 30 cc’s of formula to supplement the breastfeeding. Cup feeding is preferred to prevent nipple confusion that comes with bottle feeding in newborns. Once breastfeeding is successfully established, bottle feeding may be implemented without problems. The only thing is that cup feeding isn’t easy and it takes a long time for her to sip even 10 cc’s of formula — and it can be messy. But, whatever it takes, right?

We also squeezed in a quick visit to see Auntie Lindy and Auntie Anna on the way home.

Despite the rough start, Baby Champuru’s first field trip went amazingly well!

This is the morning after our first night home with Baby Champuru. I slept off and on last night, in between feedings and peering at her in the co-sleeper beside me. We experienced some early morning fits of crying that lasted only a few minutes, but enough to pierce the silence of the wee hours and make me wonder how many of my neighbors are going to be giving us stink eye in the morning.

This morning, sleep-deprived but powered by OCD-tendencies (and 800 mg ibuprofen) to get the house up to snuff for baby, I have been working non-stop while Hubby watches baby sleep soundly in our bedroom. Here’s what I accomplished this morning:

- Cleared out the nursery of extraneous “stuff” by taking things out of their boxes and finding an appropriate place for them instead of in the crib, which has been our temporary storage area for the many generous gifts given by friends and family. (THANK YOU!)

- Unpacked my hospital bag.

- Cleaned the bathroom and living room.

- Did three loads of laundry.

- Made phone calls to doctor’s offices for follow-up appointments for myself and Baby Champuru.

Now it’s about time to check on baby to see if she’s ready for her next feeding. She must be starving by now, since she and daddy haven’t stirred for the past three hours!

I am working on writing my “birth story,” but I wanted to get this quick update out to let everyone know that I survived the arduous 26 hour labor and am hitting the ground running! Also, thanks to everyone who sent me Twitter messages, e-mails, and came to visit me in the hospital. I still have to catch up on my messages, but I’ll be going through them in between the frenetic cleaning and organizing, feedings, and (oh, yeah) sleep.

Baby Champuru arrived on Saturday, October 4, 2008 at 10:53 am after the first dose of pitocin was administered the day before, on October 3 at 8:30 am. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 5.6 ounces and is 20 inches long. Praise God that both baby and I are doing well!

Here we are at week 41 and this is the last tummy shot you’ll see on champuru.net, because I’ll be induced on Friday, October 3, 2008. That’s in two short days.

Today, we went to lunch with Mahealani at Assaggio Ristorante. Something she said really got me thinking: “psychologists say that, for a couple, having a baby is like dealing with a crisis because of how much your life changes.”

A crisis.

Hubby and I have been through our share of tough times during the past 17 years (15 years of marriage this year). It was during those times of trial and testing that our relationship experienced the most growth. I expect this to be no different.

The birth of Baby Champuru will be an exciting, yet frightening time for the both of us as we are faced with the challenges of being new parents. Everything will be new to us. Neither of us has changed a dirty diaper, bathed a baby, or even handled a newborn. Despite the infant care classes we attended and numerous books and magazines I’ve read, I still feel sorely unprepared for my new role as mother. I really hope that Baby Champuru will be patient with me as I tackle the steep learning curve ahead of me.

Hubby and I have been trying to cram in as much “togetherness” time as possible, knowing that our quiet dinners out will soon be a thing of the past. For 17 years, we have come and go as we pleased, stepping out to dinner whenever and wherever on a whim without much thought for things such as the availability of a changing table in the restroom and a family-friendly atmosphere. Now, venturing out of the house will take much more planning and preparation with a new baby. That is only the tip of the iceberg.

But, those changes are good. It launches us into a new chapter in our lives. One that we have prayed for — for years — and now it’s upon us and I’m still wondering if I’m ready.

Ready or not, here she comes!

One of the last items remaining to check off of our To-Do List was to have our infant car seat installation inspected. Today, we went to Kapiolani Medical Center to have a professional make sure we installed the car seat properly.

Hubby is very meticulous and will actually read the instructions when assembling or installing things, especially if safety is an issue. The inspector took half an hour with the couple ahead of us, apparently running into trouble or perhaps fixing problems with their installation. When she got to us, it took all of five minutes as she praised Hubby for his handiwork. “You’re the first one who passed the inspection today,” she said. “About 90% of people don’t install their car seat correctly.” I was so proud of him.

She showed us how to buckle in our baby, ensuring that the straps are right above the shoulder (no gap) and the harness should go right across the chest, aligned with the armpits. She also explained how to properly use the different positions of the car seat — for when it is used as a carrier, as a stationary seat for baby, and when it is snapped into the base in the car. It was all very useful information and having the installation inspected gave us peace of mind knowing that Baby Champuru will be safe on her ride home from the hospital.

Expectant moms and new parents, have you gotten your car seat installation inspected? If not, here are the inspection stations on Oahu. They are by appointment only and they get booked well in advance, so make sure you call early — call two months ahead if you can.

Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children
1319 Punahou Street, Honolulu
Ph. 808-535-7000

Queens Medical Center
1301 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu
Ph. 808-537-7117

Kalihi-Palama Health Center
915 N. King Street, Honolulu
Ph. 808-848-1438

Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center
86-260 Farrington Highway, Waianae
Ph. 808-696-1548

Rehabilitation Services Dept.
(Sepcial Needs child passenger safety)
Ph. 808-483-4917

Tripler Army Medical Center
(Military beneficiaries by appointment, DoD employees on space available basis)
Ph. 808-433-6434

Marine Corp Base Hawaii
(Military, dependent and civilian base employees)
Ph. 808-257-1830

For more information about child passenger safety, call 808-537-9200 or visit the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition/Safe Kids Hawaii website.