Computer Literacy

Zoe loves her early birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa.

Here is a summary of the things she apparently looks up on the internet:
-- A recipe for Chinese beef, with chocolate and raisins
-- Where to find Costco, so she can buy nectarines for Baby Tad (her toy frog)
-- A picture of Uncle Paul
-- Photos of starfish, Uncle Paul, "and stuff"
-- A photo of Lancie, hiking. We're not exactly sure who "Lancie" is; Zoe alternately claims she's a bear or a mouse.
-- Pictures of marmots
-- A picture of a big sculpture from China
-- Pictures from New York City: the museum (dinosaurs) and the Statue of Liberty

Getting ready for the baby

Of course there is no way one will ever be totally ready for a new baby, but we are, at least in the preparation department, getting close. This week, the beautiful dresser Haraboji and Halmoni bought for bun 2 arrived. Once that was in - the crib arrived more than a month ago - I got busy with decorating the walls and making it all nursery like. I also got around to ordering other necessities like a shower tub (the old one of Zoe's got moldy) and a new diaper changing pad. Today, we picked up a bag of newborn baby diapers and placed it next to the burp clothes (retrieved from Zoe's room), receiving blankets, and bibs. We have an appointment with the police station to help us install the baby car seat next Wednesday. Once the infant car seat is in, we would basically be ready to receive the baby.


Here, the "we" I mean refers to Dennis and I. Though we talked to Zoe about it, read books about babies and new siblings to Zoe, we won't know how ready Zoe is for Bun 2 till he arrives home. I'm not even sure how well (or I should say badly) Zoe will take to my not being home for a few days. Just a couple of days ago, Dennis and I went out to a movie in the evening. We thought we would let Uncle Ben put her to bed, just so she gets used to the idea of being put to bed by someone other than us. She couldn't sleep till we came home. She waited. Ben said she looked like she was in tears. Later, she told us that "she missed us."

Despite the worry that Zoe will have a hard time, we are excited about Bun 2. We still don't have any names (English nor Korean/Chinese). Dennis and I can't seem to find one we both love in unison. Zoe has been trying to help with many of her own suggestions. Names like "Fit Kim!" "Peanut Butter Kim!" She laughs and laughs at her own joke too!

Storyteller

This is a long video, but if you can get through it, you'll hear Zoe's version of "The Big Bad Wolf and The Three Little Pigs." In her version, the Pigs are camping.

New Piano

The piano arrived about a week ago, a very generous and thoughtful gift from her Po Po and Gong Gong. Zoe is still too young for lessons - hands are too small and we doubt she has the patience and aptitude for formal training yet - but she certainly shows enthusiasm for playing and singing to it!

Aphids, Ants and Ladybugs

We have a severe infestation of ants and aphids on our corn. I noticed the ants way earlier, but thinking they are not too much of a problem, I didn't do anything about them until about two weeks ago, when I realized that they are all over the corn. I sprayed the corn with diluted vinegar because that supposedly chases the ants away. Going out to check on the corn a few days ago, I realized that the corns are turning black with aphids. It turns out that - after some basic research on the internet - ants "farm" the aphids. The ants keep aphids the same way humans keep cows. The aphids are terribly proficient at sucking sweetness out of saps, and the ants milk the sap out of the aphids.

I thought I would resolve the problem by introducing more ladybugs to the area. Every ladybug can eat hundreds of aphids a day. It is not clear to me if this will work at all now. I noticed, after dumping a box of ladybugs onto the corn, that the ants were actively attacking and chasing away the ladybugs. The ladybugs are much bigger than the ants and yet they seem easily deterred by the ants.

In short, I think I will probably have to resort to a different method: more neem oil and soap.

We probably won't be eating home grown corn this season.

Sequoia National Park

We went out to the Mineral Kings area of Sequoia National Park over the July 4th weekend. I think it is one of our best camping trips ever. The area was beautiful - full of alpine scenery, lush green meadows and vistas of jagged peaks. We camped right next to the Kaweah River and fell asleep to the sound of rushing waters. And we got plenty of exercise, though we didn't quite make it to the alpine lake we wanted to get to. We are, alas, no longer in great physical shape. I have bun 2 in the belly and Zoe plus pack is just about 30 lbs on Dennis' back. Still, we got to romp through the dusky wild. We think Zoe enjoyed the trip very much too.

Zoe sayings

All the things Zoe said today:

During toothbrushing time, she told Dennis: "I think you need to help me Papa.  I am too exhausted to do it myself." 

To me: "My butt is hurting. I need to put it down gently" 

The Joy of Zoe

Both Dennis and I feel so lucky that we have somehow managed to produce a daughter like Zoe. Her jabber, her spontaneous songs, her bright smile, her affectionate ways all bring joy to us. Zoe has been especially affectionate to me. She would say, "I love you, Mama Bird!" or "You are my sweet, purple butterfly." I am taking care to savor it. I imagine that this love, if we are lucky, will stay and grow. But she would probably express it less exuberantly over time as she seeks independence and separation.

Anyhow, I was inspired to revisit some of William Blake's poetry this evening and I thought this is how I feel about Zoe and and bun 2. 

Nurse's Song - Songs of Innocence

When voices of children are heard on the green,
    And laughing is heard on the hill,
My heart is at rest within my breast,
    And everything else is still.
'Then come home, my children, the sun is gone down,
    And the dews of night arise;
Come, come, leave off play, and let us away,
    Till the morning appears in the skies.'

'No, no, let us play, for it is yet day,
    And we cannot go to sleep;
Besides, in the sky the little birds fly,
    And the hills are all covered with sheep.'
'Well, well, go and play till the light fades away,
    And then go home to bed.'
The little ones leaped, and shouted, and laughed,
    And all the hills echoed.

Blight in the Garden

Sadly, it looks like blight or some kind of fungus infection has arrived in our garden. All but one of our zucchini plants have white spots all over the leaves. One is covered in a down of white. The tomatoes on that bed - two of them - were so healthy before. They have been looking wilted and listless the last two days. Watering didn't help. I am beginning to think they have blight.

Blight is bad news. They travel. The spores are carried by wind. I'll make an attempt at curbing it tomorrow with a milk treatment (apparently, a diluted 1 to 10 parts solution is a great fungal treatment) and also cutting back of some of the plants. I hope it helps. I'm quite bumped by it. I have been watching the zucchinis closely for two weeks now. But the eggplants and tomatoes is a real bummer. They were just starting to fruit!

I guess this is a rite of passage for any home gardener (or I should say wannabe homesteader): Dealing with diseases and bugs.

Zoe studying my book on plant diseases and insects. She loves the pictures of bugs.

Our eggplant when it still looked relatively healthy. In retrospect, the leaf in the foreground already looks ill.

Birthing Plan

I have been thinking more about the delivery of bun 2. I had, when I first got pregnant, assumed that I'd have to do a Cesarean birth again. I remember asking John, who is an OB/GYN about this point soon after we had Zoe by Cesarean birth. He had said that about 80% of patients are directed to have a second C-section. However, on the day Dennis and I told our pregnancy to John, he mentioned that the policy/guidelines regarding VBAC (Vaginal birth after Cesarean) is under debate again. It appears that there is some rethinking about VBAC and the risk assessment regarding the primary reason for shunning it - primarily uterine rupture at last cut - as well as the costs and risks of repeat Cesarean birth. He spoke strongly of studies indicating the high risks of repeat C-sections, and the benefits of vaginal birth for both the mother and the child.

I want what is good for my child and myself, which means I should attempt a VBAC. Luckily for us, Kaiser is fairly supportive of VBAC. And the doctor I have been seeing - Dr. Beecher - is not opposed to it. (Apparently, some insurance does not allow it and some hospitals' malpractice insurance forbids it too. Interesting, considering how C-section is so much more expensive than vaginal birth. Most women who have had a previous Cesarean birth do not end up with vaginal birth the second time round. Here, most is at about the 90%, according to the National Institute of Health. That's a huge number. But it hasn't always been this way. Back in 1996, nearly 3 in 10 women (or 28.3%) who had a previous Cesarean birth managed to give birth through the vagina. What changed between the years?)

Anyhow, we discussed it and the current plan is for us to try a VBAC if I go into natural birth by due date, and to schedule for a Cesarean birth should I go over due date. Induction is no longer a possibility as the chemicals used for inducing babies apparently lead to high incidences of ruptures, which is vastly dangerous for both mother and child.

Since I did more research on this topic and having talked to my OB, I regret that I allowed so much intervention in Zoe's birth. I've learned that Pitucin - the drug used to induce labor - causes stronger contractions that actually stresses out the baby. The stronger contractions leads to more discomfort and more intense pain, which then increases the likelihood of a woman in labor to ask for an epidural. The epidural relaxes the muscles and numbs the lower pelvic area in such a way that slows down labor, which then leads to another dose of Pitucin, thus doubling the stress level to mother and child. At the same time, as the baby makes its way down the birth canal, it has higher propensity to get stuck in the sunny side up position now that the mother is relaxed by epidural and not able to shift about (being stuck on the bed) or push. The result? More intervention culminating in Cesarean birth. Well, that sounds like my birthing experience with Zoe!

There is still more reading, thinking and researching to do (see http://consensus.nih.gov/2010/vbac.htm).

But his much I know right now, I'll threaten to sue any nurse or doctor who tries to put Pitucin into my system or tries to break my water to speed up the process. (Yet another surprising thing the doctor said today. They would not induce, but the medical team at the hospital may want to use Pitucin if labor becomes stalled. But I thought they just said it increases my risk of rupture?) Also, I want to move around. I learned this much about the labor process, lying horizontal with the legs wide apart is the worst possible position for pushing. This means I can't have epidural. I'm going to try!

Bun 2

I am currently 25 weeks pregnant with Bun Two. Every day his kicks grow stronger and it is quite a wonderful feeling to feel him move about. Perhaps I remember incorrectly, but I believe he is - at this stage - less opinionated than Zoe. If ever I pressed too close to the table, fetus Zoe would kick really hard. Bun Two seems to be more easy going. From this, I like to imagine that he is in temperament a lot like Dennis. Gentle and kind in all ways. Very patient. That would be good. Zoe seems to be more like me in the patience department, which is to say, not very.

Only 15 weeks to go! I'm still debating whether to attempt VBAC. I was very convinced that that is what I want. But a little part of me is worried. Different doctors say different things about the cost and benefits and risk. My mom - and I'm sure Dennis' mom would say the same thing - pray and it will be just alright. We'll see!

Daikon Greens

I thinned out some of the daikon I started out from seed a couple of weeks ago. I probably would have thrown the greens into compost bin if mom didn't tell me that they are in fact edible. Come to think of it, why shouldn't they be edible? I stir fried it with garlic and it was quite tasty. I expected it to be peppery, but it tasted slightly like pea shoots plus spinach. I also stir fried some freshly harvested green beans. Dennis and I thought the vegetables really tasty and sweet today.

On edibility, I learned that the nasturtiums are actually edible! We have a lot of them in our garden. I planted them around our zucchinis. They supposedly deter the bugs that love zucchinis (I say it works pretty well, but not completely). And how they grew! I have had to cut them back so that they don't completely choke out the Zucchinis. I think we might have them for dinner tomorrow night. Dennis and I were talking about how we eat a wider variety of vegetables these days, no longer confined to just salad greens, carrots, tomatoes, zucchinis, broccoli, cauliflower, and the occasional cucumber, frozen green beans, peas and packaged beets. I guess that's good!