After such a long time away, I thought it would be nice to do a little recap on everything that has happened in the last couple of months. There has been a LOT.
We took a two week trip back to the US (exactly 14 days, including transit time, which is way, way too short when you factor in the nearly 22-hour door-to-door travel time one way, the ensuing jet lag, the fact that we squeezed in a 3 day trip to Cleveland, and that Michael worked steadily throughout the entire trip).
But, we did manage to introduce Lola to a WHOLE host of people, including, on my side of the family: my two aunts, both of Lola's grandmothers, my cousins and their kids, and on Michael's side of the family: a nearly innumerable amount of uncles and aunts and about 10x the number of cousins! Lola seemed a little intimidated at times but she gamely took everything in stride. One of the sweetest moments was when we saw her play and interact with her younger cousins in Cleveland. They embraced her wholeheartedly and were so gentle with her, each wanting to hug her and hold her and teach her how to play with dolls/blocks/legos/puzzles/drawing.
Christmas is a huge, wonderful affair on Michael's side of the family, and they didn't disappoint this time around. We each got multiple, multiple presents. In the Secret Santa, I got a great yoga outfit (love!) and Michael got whiskey. Lola got so many presents we lost track, but among them: an American Girl baby doll, adorable outfits, a tutu skirt, Elmo, an e-reader, a bath playset, books, sippy cups...in addition to our Secret Santa, I got amazing alpaca socks that I love, bath bombs, an alpaca scarf, organic shampoo and conditioner that really does soothe my scalp... and Michael got matching Under armour tops and bottoms, more whiskey, a hair and beard trimming set...it was pretty excessive and overwhelming and awesome. My favorite of the gift exchange was probably seeing Michael's mom's face when she opened the new iPhone that we got her. Haha, it was awesome.
We also got a ton of Christmas presents with my family when we returned to New York - Lola got stuffed animals, beautiful headbands, toys galore... Michael got cuff links, ski goggles, cool shirts... I got a linen duvet set from Italy (because my sister ordered it way back then!), comfy PJs and loungewear...we gave my mom a small diamond and sapphire eternity ring and my dad a flying drone for videos on his travels.
Among other things on our US trip, we learned firsthand the terrors of baby jetlag. Lola was desperate to go to sleep at 11 am, 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm... basically any time of day, all day. Then she would wake up at 11 pm, 1 am, 3 am... basically any time of night, and be up all night. The jetlag got progressively better but it wasn't until (I kid you not) the last day or two of our trip that Lola was finally adjusted - and at that point, it was time to return to Hong Kong. My friend told me that a normal time period for babies to recover from jetlag is one day for every hour of time difference. And Lola was right on schedule. At 13 hours' time difference... it took her almost exactly 13 days.
To compound the difficulty, Lola got very sick as soon as we reached New York, and had a raging fever for a day and a half. She was hot to the touch and when her fever finally broke, she sweat so much that it seemed like she had just taken a bath. She must have been exposed to a lot of germs on the long-haul flight and then the shock of one of the coldest days in New York after a mild and balmy Hong Kong winter was too much. For all intents and purposes she is a tropical baby who has never experienced such bracing cold and wind chills!
Despite all of the challenges that the trip posed, I still think it was wonderful that Lola got to meet so many family members, and they her. My grandmother was so delighted by her, and my other grandmother too (although with her short term memory no longer intact, she could only take delight in Lola during the immediate present). Both sets of grandparents left a lasting impression on Lola and she came back from the trip calling for them by name. We now try to facetime regularly and show Lola pictures frequently so that she continues to feel close to them.
We returned to Hong Kong on January 1 and gratefully returned to our old routine in a brand new year. Our return flight was on New Year's Eve, a great time to travel if you don't care about that stuff because the plane was nearly empty and Lola and I could wander into the back of the business class section and co-sleep in one lie-flat bed. Airplanes and bassinets and bassinets on airplanes generally do not work for Lola because there is too much going on for her to stay put, no matter how tired she is. The screens! The lights! The announcements! The flight attendants walking by! etc., etc. At least she generally doesn't cry. At one point, probably 10 hours into the flight, I couldn't help but laugh because she would fight her way out of the blankets and pop up like a sleepy-but-somehow-wide-eyed meerkat.
Work was pretty quiet for me in January, and I spent it mostly attending yoga sessions, catching up with friends, giving a talk for an EMPEA conference, networking, and going to my personal training sessions.
Yes, that's right - personal training sessions! I won a voucher for a few personal training sessions last year and I decided to use it before it expired. The personal trainer concept has never appealed to me, but having tried it (and talked into a package) I guess I see the appeal. There is more accountability because someone is waiting for you to show up - and you really can't slack off as easily. Plus, and this is something I didn't really appreciate, the workouts are configured to focus on your weakest bits. So while that makes the session itself awful, at least there is progress being made. After my first session I woke up with my abs so sore I almost didn't work out for a week! My trainer has helped me identify that a big problem I have is with my trapezoid muscles: I overwork them at the expense of my weaker chest and lat muscles. I also have a pretty weak core (but I knew that). And it turns out I am actually pretty strong with a low fat profile, which is nice to hear. I have finally fully returned to my pre-baby shape and size and weight and, while I didn't have much to complain about while being pregnant, I have to admit that it's nothing compared to having my own body back.
February dawned quickly and we went on a wonderful, wonderful trip to Cebu, Philippines over the Chinese New Year holidays. This year, it was a three day holiday that fell in the middle of the week, so it was a particularly lucrative holiday to take. With just 2 days off from work (Monday and Friday) you could be out of the office for a whopping 9 days once you included weekends! We only went for 5 days and while I'm sure we could have stayed longer, it was probably the right amount of time. We stayed at the Shangri-la resort which is about a 15 minute drive from the airport (nonstop flight from Hong Kong) and it was so relaxing and wonderful. It was the exact kind of antidote that our little family needed. Lola had such a fun time that it really deserves its own standalone post. Given the proximity from Hong Kong, the great weather, the ease of transport to the resort, the comfort of the facilities and the amazing services for kids, we will very likely be back.
The only downside to our holiday was that Lola came back with a vacation hangover. I kid you not, she was supremely grumpy for about a week after we returned to Hong Kong and kept saying "don't want" (in Chinese) to everything. She missed the constant sunshine, the warm weather, the soft grass underfoot, the water park, and the beach (well, actually, no, she didn't miss that) at Cebu. She was pretty unimpressed with our small apartment, the lack of grass, the cold, the gray skies... I mean, you can't really blame the kid.
February also passed quickly - Lola went on a school trip with her playgroup to Victoria
Park, I went to a couple of orientation sessions for her pre-nursery classes (Hong Kong is just ever so *slightly* crazy with academics stuff), Michael and I and Lola went on a very invigorating hike to the Peak, we went on a casual Sunday brunch date with friends and their kids and I attended a yummy corporate group dinner at a new restaurant, Aaharn, in the Tai Kwun Heritage Center.
I also took the time, which I usually never get around to doing properly, to go to a new GP and get a full body checkup. I got tested for gluten intolerance as well as a full slate of blood tests, got new vitamins and supplements and resolved to start drinking more turmeric lattes. (Note I say "resolved," I can only do so much at one time!) I was kind of curious if anything was going on with my body, because I couldn't quite put a finger on what was wrong, but I felt pretty low energy overall and had been getting sick with more frequency. Interestingly, it turns out that my DHEA levels are on the low side. I had no idea what that is, and indeed had never heard of DHEA, but it broadly is a measure of your adrenal glands and function (DHEA helps to make estrogen and testosterone). While it was nothing alarming and I don't need artificial supplements, my doctor did suggest I try to boost it naturally (through finding fun and invigorating activities that leave me feeling happy and content) so that I would feel more energetic and less sapped about life. This is likely the source of my feeling "run down" as of late.
Lola also started seeing a physical therapist for her ankles and feet. I noticed she walked with her feet turned out slightly and her pediatrician recommended that she see someone to help her fix that as well as strengthen her core and chest muscles so that she does not hunch over or walk on her toes. She is two sessions in and already there are signs of improvement. The cutest but also most heartbreaking thing is how she gets her little ankles and feet taped at these sessions. I don't think either Michael or I are particularly worried about it, but we also don't see any reason not to try to correct this issue now. I'm pretty hopeful that after a few more sessions she will have built up the strength and we will have fixed her gait.
And there you have it! Now we are into March and, but for one disastrous playdate this past Saturday where everything that could have gone wrong did, this month looks to be a good one.
Michael's birthday is coming up and we plan to get away for the weekend, and then we have a week-long trip planned to Niseko for the third week of March (a reprise of our trip last year, when Lola was only 4 months old)!
We took a two week trip back to the US (exactly 14 days, including transit time, which is way, way too short when you factor in the nearly 22-hour door-to-door travel time one way, the ensuing jet lag, the fact that we squeezed in a 3 day trip to Cleveland, and that Michael worked steadily throughout the entire trip).
But, we did manage to introduce Lola to a WHOLE host of people, including, on my side of the family: my two aunts, both of Lola's grandmothers, my cousins and their kids, and on Michael's side of the family: a nearly innumerable amount of uncles and aunts and about 10x the number of cousins! Lola seemed a little intimidated at times but she gamely took everything in stride. One of the sweetest moments was when we saw her play and interact with her younger cousins in Cleveland. They embraced her wholeheartedly and were so gentle with her, each wanting to hug her and hold her and teach her how to play with dolls/blocks/legos/puzzles/drawing.
Christmas is a huge, wonderful affair on Michael's side of the family, and they didn't disappoint this time around. We each got multiple, multiple presents. In the Secret Santa, I got a great yoga outfit (love!) and Michael got whiskey. Lola got so many presents we lost track, but among them: an American Girl baby doll, adorable outfits, a tutu skirt, Elmo, an e-reader, a bath playset, books, sippy cups...in addition to our Secret Santa, I got amazing alpaca socks that I love, bath bombs, an alpaca scarf, organic shampoo and conditioner that really does soothe my scalp... and Michael got matching Under armour tops and bottoms, more whiskey, a hair and beard trimming set...it was pretty excessive and overwhelming and awesome. My favorite of the gift exchange was probably seeing Michael's mom's face when she opened the new iPhone that we got her. Haha, it was awesome.
We also got a ton of Christmas presents with my family when we returned to New York - Lola got stuffed animals, beautiful headbands, toys galore... Michael got cuff links, ski goggles, cool shirts... I got a linen duvet set from Italy (because my sister ordered it way back then!), comfy PJs and loungewear...we gave my mom a small diamond and sapphire eternity ring and my dad a flying drone for videos on his travels.
Among other things on our US trip, we learned firsthand the terrors of baby jetlag. Lola was desperate to go to sleep at 11 am, 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm... basically any time of day, all day. Then she would wake up at 11 pm, 1 am, 3 am... basically any time of night, and be up all night. The jetlag got progressively better but it wasn't until (I kid you not) the last day or two of our trip that Lola was finally adjusted - and at that point, it was time to return to Hong Kong. My friend told me that a normal time period for babies to recover from jetlag is one day for every hour of time difference. And Lola was right on schedule. At 13 hours' time difference... it took her almost exactly 13 days.
To compound the difficulty, Lola got very sick as soon as we reached New York, and had a raging fever for a day and a half. She was hot to the touch and when her fever finally broke, she sweat so much that it seemed like she had just taken a bath. She must have been exposed to a lot of germs on the long-haul flight and then the shock of one of the coldest days in New York after a mild and balmy Hong Kong winter was too much. For all intents and purposes she is a tropical baby who has never experienced such bracing cold and wind chills!
Despite all of the challenges that the trip posed, I still think it was wonderful that Lola got to meet so many family members, and they her. My grandmother was so delighted by her, and my other grandmother too (although with her short term memory no longer intact, she could only take delight in Lola during the immediate present). Both sets of grandparents left a lasting impression on Lola and she came back from the trip calling for them by name. We now try to facetime regularly and show Lola pictures frequently so that she continues to feel close to them.
We returned to Hong Kong on January 1 and gratefully returned to our old routine in a brand new year. Our return flight was on New Year's Eve, a great time to travel if you don't care about that stuff because the plane was nearly empty and Lola and I could wander into the back of the business class section and co-sleep in one lie-flat bed. Airplanes and bassinets and bassinets on airplanes generally do not work for Lola because there is too much going on for her to stay put, no matter how tired she is. The screens! The lights! The announcements! The flight attendants walking by! etc., etc. At least she generally doesn't cry. At one point, probably 10 hours into the flight, I couldn't help but laugh because she would fight her way out of the blankets and pop up like a sleepy-but-somehow-wide-eyed meerkat.
Work was pretty quiet for me in January, and I spent it mostly attending yoga sessions, catching up with friends, giving a talk for an EMPEA conference, networking, and going to my personal training sessions.
Yes, that's right - personal training sessions! I won a voucher for a few personal training sessions last year and I decided to use it before it expired. The personal trainer concept has never appealed to me, but having tried it (and talked into a package) I guess I see the appeal. There is more accountability because someone is waiting for you to show up - and you really can't slack off as easily. Plus, and this is something I didn't really appreciate, the workouts are configured to focus on your weakest bits. So while that makes the session itself awful, at least there is progress being made. After my first session I woke up with my abs so sore I almost didn't work out for a week! My trainer has helped me identify that a big problem I have is with my trapezoid muscles: I overwork them at the expense of my weaker chest and lat muscles. I also have a pretty weak core (but I knew that). And it turns out I am actually pretty strong with a low fat profile, which is nice to hear. I have finally fully returned to my pre-baby shape and size and weight and, while I didn't have much to complain about while being pregnant, I have to admit that it's nothing compared to having my own body back.
February dawned quickly and we went on a wonderful, wonderful trip to Cebu, Philippines over the Chinese New Year holidays. This year, it was a three day holiday that fell in the middle of the week, so it was a particularly lucrative holiday to take. With just 2 days off from work (Monday and Friday) you could be out of the office for a whopping 9 days once you included weekends! We only went for 5 days and while I'm sure we could have stayed longer, it was probably the right amount of time. We stayed at the Shangri-la resort which is about a 15 minute drive from the airport (nonstop flight from Hong Kong) and it was so relaxing and wonderful. It was the exact kind of antidote that our little family needed. Lola had such a fun time that it really deserves its own standalone post. Given the proximity from Hong Kong, the great weather, the ease of transport to the resort, the comfort of the facilities and the amazing services for kids, we will very likely be back.
The only downside to our holiday was that Lola came back with a vacation hangover. I kid you not, she was supremely grumpy for about a week after we returned to Hong Kong and kept saying "don't want" (in Chinese) to everything. She missed the constant sunshine, the warm weather, the soft grass underfoot, the water park, and the beach (well, actually, no, she didn't miss that) at Cebu. She was pretty unimpressed with our small apartment, the lack of grass, the cold, the gray skies... I mean, you can't really blame the kid.
February also passed quickly - Lola went on a school trip with her playgroup to Victoria
Park, I went to a couple of orientation sessions for her pre-nursery classes (Hong Kong is just ever so *slightly* crazy with academics stuff), Michael and I and Lola went on a very invigorating hike to the Peak, we went on a casual Sunday brunch date with friends and their kids and I attended a yummy corporate group dinner at a new restaurant, Aaharn, in the Tai Kwun Heritage Center.
I also took the time, which I usually never get around to doing properly, to go to a new GP and get a full body checkup. I got tested for gluten intolerance as well as a full slate of blood tests, got new vitamins and supplements and resolved to start drinking more turmeric lattes. (Note I say "resolved," I can only do so much at one time!) I was kind of curious if anything was going on with my body, because I couldn't quite put a finger on what was wrong, but I felt pretty low energy overall and had been getting sick with more frequency. Interestingly, it turns out that my DHEA levels are on the low side. I had no idea what that is, and indeed had never heard of DHEA, but it broadly is a measure of your adrenal glands and function (DHEA helps to make estrogen and testosterone). While it was nothing alarming and I don't need artificial supplements, my doctor did suggest I try to boost it naturally (through finding fun and invigorating activities that leave me feeling happy and content) so that I would feel more energetic and less sapped about life. This is likely the source of my feeling "run down" as of late.
Lola also started seeing a physical therapist for her ankles and feet. I noticed she walked with her feet turned out slightly and her pediatrician recommended that she see someone to help her fix that as well as strengthen her core and chest muscles so that she does not hunch over or walk on her toes. She is two sessions in and already there are signs of improvement. The cutest but also most heartbreaking thing is how she gets her little ankles and feet taped at these sessions. I don't think either Michael or I are particularly worried about it, but we also don't see any reason not to try to correct this issue now. I'm pretty hopeful that after a few more sessions she will have built up the strength and we will have fixed her gait.
And there you have it! Now we are into March and, but for one disastrous playdate this past Saturday where everything that could have gone wrong did, this month looks to be a good one.
Michael's birthday is coming up and we plan to get away for the weekend, and then we have a week-long trip planned to Niseko for the third week of March (a reprise of our trip last year, when Lola was only 4 months old)!
Sounds like you guys are doing well. Run down = parent of 1 yr old?
ReplyDeleteHaha, yes! That might be it. I don't know how parents of multiples do it!
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