Welcome to Happy Baby!
This blog
is made by Ah-young who is expecting her first baby in January.
I am
concerned about delivery, postnatal care and infant care.
To be
honest, I've never thought of having a baby in my life.
So hasn't my
husband who always pursues liberal life without any restriction.
It was
this May when I visited my father in Korea who was diagnosed with last stage of
lung cancer that I found out I was pregnant.
⬆︎ The first sonogram in May 20, 2016
I was
going to stay with and nurse him by the time he passes away giving up my life
in the U.S. including studying in CSUS.
I couldn’t
be happy as much as others anticipate since I was in deep sorrow for my dad’s condition and felt like the baby would be a fetter of my free life.
In
addition, I thought it was too unfair to undertake the responsibility (like terrible
pain..?) for pregnancy, delivery and rearing by myself as a woman. My husband
is a surely supportive person, but he never understands how much agony and
anxiety this whole process involves.
For these reasons, I had little interest in preparing
for delivery and infant care in spite of the flood of information.
After three months of deliberation, I finally decided
to come back to the U.S. because I don’t want to give birth without my husband
who has to stay in the U.S. to complete his PhD until next summer. Fortunately,
the chemo my father started to receive was working well, and it looks like
(hopefully, I believe) he can endure the treatment for a quite long time.
He is at the center of the second line, right behind me.
Everyone thought this would be the last gathering,
but he is still with us! Thank God.
Still, my future baby hasn’t received enough attention
up to this time from its mom, because I’ve been spending most of my time in
doing assignments for grad school. I guess it takes at least five or six times more than the time other
students invest in to complete an assignment. (<- I don’t think this
sentence sounds correct. I have a huge difficulty with comparative sentence. Can
anybody help me to correct this sentence?)
But!
I can no longer postpone preparing for delivery which
is just two months away.
I’m getting fearful as time goes by.
Through
this blog, I will try to be prepared to be a mom with successful birthing.
I will
gather and post some useful information about how to reduce pain during labor(1
or 2 articles and videos ), how to recover after delivery(2-3 articles), and how
to take care an infant(3-4 articles and videos) etc. Moreover, I hope to find
some interesting resources that compare different culture and belief about delivery and postnatal
care between Korea and the U.S.
Please
cheer me up and enjoy my blog!
I will be
more than happy if somebody points out grammar errors in my writing. J
Looking forward to going on this journey with you!
ReplyDeleteHi Mandy, you are so fast!
DeleteBe brave ah-young. Everything will be alright !!! Fighting~
ReplyDeleteWow! Having a baby is a big responsibility. I am kind of like you and my husband is kind of like yours. We like our freedom and aren't really interested in sharing our lives with anyone but ourselves.
ReplyDeleteFor your sentence structure of this sentence "I guess it takes at least five or six times more than the time other students invest in to complete an assignment." I would probably word it "I heard it takes me five to six times longer than my student counterparts to complete assignments" Now I am not saying that is the best way but that is how I would word that sentence. It is a tricky sentence in general.
Thanks for your help Jacquelyn. One of the difficulties in English I have is that no one corrects my errors. I want to use Writing Center as many times as possible, but it's not that easy. >.<
DeleteAh Young I am so sorry to hear about your father. I imagine that coming to America was a tough decision for you to make. But I truly love having you in class and am always so impressed at how eloquent and well spoken you are.
ReplyDeleteI hope that with writing this blog it will help you feel less anxious. Also, we are all here for you if you ever need support. I'm excited to go on this journey with you and to learn about any differences there may be between Korean and American culture in terms of child birth and raising a child.
Hi Mandy, thanks for your warm message. Yes, it was really tough to make a decision. I call my parent every day to check if they are still good. They can't visit me when I give a birth because my dad receive his treatment every three weeks. It makes me feel more anxious. But I try to believe that I can. :)
DeleteYes, Mandy is right. We are here to support you. In Chinese culture, the pregnant woman should have to stay at home about one month and do nothing except taking care of the baby after delivered. It is in case some disease, and it might help woman keep younger. Is there any special culture in Korea?
ReplyDeleteYes, we have similar culture. After birth, most Korean women today go to a special postnatal care facility which is quite expensive but provides high quality of cares for moms and babies including various massages for moms, nutritious meals, and instructions about baby care. There's no facility like that in the U.S. For my enough recovery, I hope my baby will come out in December, my due date is January 8th though.
DeleteHello !
ReplyDeleteI had my son last October (while I was still finishing my B.A) and it was hard to manage but I was able to finish up that semester and spring semester. I would just think to myself "finish while he is still little and wont miss me so much". I can help you with baby stuff if you need help or have questions because it can be challenging at times. I am excited to see your progress! also that was very selfless of you to keep taking care of your grandpa :) especially given the fact that you are going through such a life changing event in your own life. I am also interested in learning about the difference in pregnancy, labor and delivery customs between the two cultures !
Hi Jessica, I like your idea, 'finish while my baby is still little and won't miss me so much'. That gives me a lot of consolation, absolutely. I wonder how many weeks you took a rest at home after birth. I'm worried if my baby comes out too late. Our next semester starts January 22!
DeleteFor me I took a full four weeks not going at all and then for the rest of the semester i only showed up once a week, the professor was great in the sense she worked with me so long as i was keeping up with the work. We can all advocate for you ! And make sure our next professors help you out. It takes a village !
DeleteAh-Young,
ReplyDeleteI have so much to say about your blog, so bare with me as I type:
1) I am so sorry to hear about the experience you are going through with your father. Cancer is serious, no matter the stage. I am happy to hear though that the Chemo seems to be working as of now... I myself am dealing with a family member going through cancer. Unfortunately, my grandpa's diagnosis isn't as good. My grandpa has two forms of cancer, both are extremely rare, so there is very little research about it; also meaning there is very little treatment for it. All we know is that he has about 5 more years to live...I can also connect with you about being away from your father. I am away from my grandpa. I am from Chicago, Illinois but came to California for work. With this being said, he is all the way across the country. It sucks...I know.
2) YAY for BABY! Having a baby is an exciting, yet hard thing. I have never had children myself, but one day I will! I look forward to hearing what you find about baby health and birth. I feel it will be educational for me. So thank you!
3) As others have said, we are all here for you. We are a cohort, which is like a family. We are here to help with school stuff and personal stuff. That's how it works. We are all here for each other :).
I'm sorry to hear that your grandpa also has cancer. It's really painful to see a family member goes through such a hard time. And the situation we cannot meet them as much as we want for the distance. But at the same time, I think your family still have a good chance to make good memories with him. When my father was diagnosed (this Feb.), his doctor anticipated that he would live only 3-6 months more. It was really frustrating. I hope he will be able to meet my baby! And I pray for your grandpa.
DeleteThis cohort is obviously very supportive and encouraging of each other. That is really great to see. I see that as a huge benefit in your grad school experience.
ReplyDeleteAh-young, on your baby learning journey please keep in mind there is a TON of information out there. There are entire sections of the book store dedicated to infant care. It can be over-whelming. During this time just know that your interest and willingness to learn is really what your baby needs from you and you are already doing that. Now let's all learn together!
Thanks Luke,
DeleteYes, I like my cohort, and I appreciate you making a chance to communicate with each other. It's great to get to know each other via blog. (It takes too much time to reply to everyone though... Y.Y I've been doing this for two and a half hours so far.)
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ReplyDeleteAh-young I am so sorry to hear about your father. We are here for you!
ReplyDeleteA baby is a precious gift :) so excited for you! You're very strong and determined - you are going to be a wonderful mother.
Hi Alina,
DeleteThanks for your encouragement! I was very confused and not happy at first. But now, I'm looking forward to meeting my baby. :)