Photo Comparison
Maybe its because I spend more time looking at them than others.. but I think Mateo and Matilda look totally different! What do you think?
Here is a pic of Matilda at 20 days.
And here is Mateo at 14 days.
Inauguration
As much as I love our new house, I miss the city so much. One of the strongest pangs of longing for the city hit me on election night. I wished so much that we could have run into the streets to celebrate with our neighbors when Barack Obama was declared the winner.
I don’t want to miss out on inauguration festivities. If I was younger and didn’t have kids, I would totally be heading to Washington D.C. But alas, I have responsiblities. What’s everyone doing for the inauguration?
My breasts hurt
I am having a much easier time breastfeeding Mateo than I did Matilda, but its still just awful. It takes forever, and it still hurts. I guess its better than pumping, which makes me feel like a cow.
I will try to give Mateo breastmilk for 100 days (as I did with Matilda) and then I think I will happily resort to formula. I know, it sounds awful. Breastmilk is supposed to be the best thing for your baby, but its just horribly inconvenient for a woman who works. Also, I want my body back!
Seaweed Soup (Miyuk gook)
Koreans take post partum recovery very seriously. You are supposed to protect yourself from the cold at all costs to avoid getting arthritis. And you are supposed to eat lots and lots of seaweed soup to help produce breastmilk.
My mom made seaweed soup the day Mateo was born and brought it to the hospital. She was pretty mad when she found out that my first post-partum meal was a cheesburger! Anyway, I ate the seaweed soup afterwards. And for every meal and snack, including breakfast, since I got home.
They even do medical studies on the soup in Korea. They proved that there is more iodine in breastmilk of Korean women.
Its a good thing that I actually like seaweed soup. You are supposed to eat it for the first 100 days after giving birth. That’s a lot of seaweed! I personally don’t think it does anything breast milk wise, but its really good for starting your post-partum diet. Its high-fiber, low calorie, and very nutritious. Since you eat it every few hours, it keeps you from getting hungry.
Here is a recipe and more info about seaweed soup. Jocelyn, my doula, also suggested that I put some nori (which is sushi seaweed) down there, on my stitches. I presume she means the unsalted, unroasted kind.
Keeping Busy
In an effort to distract myself from all the waiting, Pablo and I have been keeping busy working on many projects in the last 10 days.
Today, I finished the website for my uncle’s sushi shop. As you all know, Pablo is the designer in the family, but I am not without skill. This is actually a site that I designed and coded up by myself! The url is Ko Ko Sushi. If you happen to live in or near Westchester, please go eat there!
I also coded a site for my sister, which she designed. Margaret-lee.com
Over the weekend, we installed Elfa in our closet and Matilda’s closet from the Container Store. I have always dreamed about having a closet that is really organized. Check it out!
Last week, we installed a new basking platform and some fake plants for our turtle tank! Don’t they look happy!
We hung some curtains and decorations in Matilda’s room. Because she loves monkeys so much, we put monkey decals. I also hung photos of her family in Spain around her bed.
Oh and PS. Its snowing again today.
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to all! Its 10:30 am on Christmas Day and we haven’t had a baby yet! We are going to spend the day at home playing with our new Wii (a gift from uncle Dave) and watching our new flat screen TV (our Christmas gift to eachother). Matilda got a doll crib and new baby doll, but we plan to give it to her when her brother is born so she will get a baby the same time as we do!
Snow Storm
It snowed a lot this weekend (8 or 9 inches I think).
We tried to get Matilda to go out and play in the snow, but she wasn’t having it. I guess being born during a blizzard does not ensure that you like snow!
Pablo on the other hand really enjoyed his first time shoveling out our driveway and digging out our car.
House Pictures
We have the house more or less setup — and a mess
New sofa
Back of the sofa and our new console table
We painted it exactly the same color as my old bedroom and bought the same furniture.
New kitchen storage from IKEA! It took HOURS to build
Other view of the kitchen
Dining room
Matilda picked out the monkey shower curtain rings
Matilda’s room — Pablo still plans to paint it
This is where we are working right now
Matilda likes to hang out with us when we work.
Happy Birthday Pablo!
Happy Birthday to Pablo! I got him 4 cans of paint and some rollers and brushes! 
We did it!
We closed on our house today. We have a house! Yay!!!!!