37 Weeks

Almost ready to go! Hospital bag is all packed! Lucas loves kissing his mommy's tummy where his baby sister is at. He can't wait to meet her.

Preparing for New Baby

For the last couple of months we've been pretty busy preparing for the new baby. We originally thought that hey, since this is our second one, preparing should be a breeze right? Well, actually, no. Since we are having a girl, all the baby boy clothes we have are now useless. Not to mention the blue car seat. Luckily though, my sister is loaning us her girls' clothes and they are in great shape. We just had to organize and wash them. Logistically, we also decided that baby girl will be staying with us in our room for at least a year (just like Lucas did until he moved over to his own room). This makes it easier to feed her and to put her to sleep. I also assembled a new Hello Kitty dresser drawer for baby's clothes and picked up newborn diapers, a new stroller, a pink car seat, and an extra car seat base. Most of the stuff we picked up from Amazon so that made it easier.

It's not just about getting things and stuff though. We also had to make sure that Lucas is prepared. We moved him several months ago to his own room but he still needs either me or Lediya to help him sleep (been mostly Lediya though). But with baby coming, he has to accept that mom will be busy with baby girl and that dad will be the one to put him to sleep. We've also prepped him by getting him a couple of books on being a big brother and on getting a younger sister. He seems to understand and I think he can tell that baby girl is coming real soon.

Other things left to do: clean the house from top to bottom, especially our room; last minute baby toiletries; swing set; rechargeable batteries; and pack for the hospital. For pictures, I picked up a new 35mm f/1.8 lens so I can snap away without having to use the flash. So I'm all set with that. Oh yeah, we still have to finalize her name. We can't wait to meet our little princess!

Baby Beltran 2 - Coming December 2009!

Lucas is going to have a sibling! Baby Beltran #2 is coming this December 2009, and baby is going to be a girl! Stay tuned to this blog for more updates as the date gets nearer and nearer.

Caring for Your Baby and Young Child

An excellent reference book for all parents, especially first-time parents, is Caring for Your Baby and Young Child by renowned pediatricians Shelov and Hanneman. We're thumbing through this book now, learning the intricacies of caring for a newborn. In there you will find:

• Basic care from infancy through age five
• Guidelines and milestones for physical, emotional, social, and cognitive growth
• A complete health encyclopedia covering injuries, illnesses, congenital diseases, and other disabilities
• Guidelines for prenatal and newborn care
• An in-depth guide to breastfeeding
• A complete guide for immunizations and updated information on vaccines
• A guide for choosing child care programs and car safety seats

Luckily, I was able to score a free copy of the book online, but you can pick one up for $16 at bn.com or also from eBay. Highly recommended.

One Week Old

Hard to believe but Lucas is one week old today! He's doing great, just a mild case of jaundice that we're hoping to clear up this week. He's feeding every 2 hours and he's almost like clockwork. Lediya and I are getting more attuned to his schedule so we're getting a bit more sleep at night. We've also learned to take naps while he's asleep during the day.

Baby Bargains

We're now flipping through Denise and Alan Fields' Baby Bargains and wish we read it a few months ago. It's an excellent reference book that covers the whole spectrum of baby items - cribs, high chairs, car seats, formula, diapers, nursery furniture, strollers, clothing, etc. They review the items and, based additionally on thousands of reader feedback, give the products a rating grade. They also run a cost-benefit analysis of the products and provide links to where the products can be bought for less than retail. The authors promise that the average reader will save 20 - 30% off retail prices.

We highly recommend this book to expecting parents-to-be to get before the baby shower! I picked our copy up from bn.com for $15 shipped.

Happiest Baby on the Block

We've been kind of "forced" to read Dr. Harvey Karp's The Happiest Baby on the Block (thanks Tek) to help us out with Lucas. The book has five main tenets on how to activate the calming reflex on babies called the five "S's." They are:

1. Swaddling - tight and snug swaddling helps set the stage for the rest of the five.
2. Side/Stomach - rolling the infant into his side or stomach (ie "football hold") can activate the calming reflex within seconds.
3. Shhhh - Shushing crying babies mimic the sounds of shushing in the womb, but this needs to be done at the same loudness level.
4. Swinging - energetic and vigorous swinging can result in a trance for the baby. 5. Sucking - the breast or pacifier leads to soothing.

We've tried all five and can attest that it works. We can usually calm him down in a minute when he cries.

Kaelyn and Lucas

Kaelyn and Lucas met for the first time today. They are almost 10 months apart (Kaelyn just turned 10 months old last Friday) and you can totally tell the size difference in the picture. Kaelyn does acknowledge that there is a little baby there. It's great to see the first cousins together for the first time. They will be growing up together and Lucas will respect his ate (Tagalog for big sister) for the rest of their lives. This is the first of many pictures together.

Lucas Is Now Home

We're now back home with Lucas. Let's hope that he gets adjusted quickly and easily. Here's a picture of mom with Lucas on the Boppy pillow. Wish us luck!

Meet the Beltran Family

Here's our first picture as a family. Lucas is now 1 day and 3 hours old. Quick summary of events: last night Lucas was mostly quiet but he didn't sleep that well as he had some congestion throughout the night. So, we both only ended up sleeping about 2 non-continuous hours.

There was a lot of action today for Lucas. First, he was circumcised, then he was administered a couple of shots. He also took a hearing test. He was also examined by several different people who had cold hands. He's fussier today because of the pain from the circumcision, which makes changing his diaper way more difficult and heart-wrenching from the little fella's cries. But, it should heal in 10 days or so.
He just got back right now from a bath and a weighing in - as expected by the pediatrician he's lost 10% of his birth weight. He's now 5 pounds 8 ounces. He will gain the weight back in 2 weeks as he adjusts to the milk. He's feeding well though, mom is close to nailing down the latching technique. Tomorrow, he's got one more blood test to go and then we go home!

Also, we found that holding and swaddling Lucas tight calms him down. From his perspective, it's a strange new world so recreating that snug environment that he was in for 38 weeks is comforting.

Finally, thank you everyone for the support and congratulations during this exciting time!

More Pictures of Lucas

Here are more pictures of Lucas from tonight!

Lucas Patrick is Here!

Born April 8, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. 5 pounds, 13 ounces and 21 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing great!