Mike, Nan, Owen, and Phoebe (2025)

Mike installing the car seat base...

But it went in backwards...

Nan readjusting the car seat base...

Putting in the car seat on to the base the right way...

All done!

Today is Mike's first day off after working a rough 6-day holiday shift in the Neonatal ICU. He now has the next 5 days off until next Wednesday. We had some time today, so we thought we should install the car seat. It was more complicated that we thought, although the LATCH system in the car did simplify a few steps. Mike is still worried that the base is too loose, but I think we did it right. We'll see how it really works when our little one arrives in less than 4 weeks.

We have most everything covered now as far as baby clothes and gadgets - thanks to the generosity of our friends and family. The only things left to do is to write the birth plan and pack the bags for the hospital - which we will have to tackle next week before Mike goes back to his regular work schedule.

Today also marks the 7th day of the moxibustion treatment. I'm not very good at feeling for the baby's head, but he has been very active the past few days. We will see if the treatment works when we have our next visit with Dr. Lu next Thursday.

Tonight we're going to the UCLA basketball game vs. Stanford at Pauley Pavilion with some of Mike's friends from his residency program. It will be the first time either of us has been to the UCLA basketball game. It was one of the things we wanted to do before leaving LA in June (another is to go to the Rose Parade - but the impending rain may prevent us from doing that).

Today, Mike and I went to see an acupuncturist for the moxibustion treatment. It was a very easy and non-invasive procedure. Basically, the moxa herb is dried and rolled into a stick. This stick is then lighted to create heat and placed close to the pressure point on the 5th toe. The acupuncturist said that the moxa stick should be placed close to the pressure point on both the left and right little toes for 15 minutes each. Mike will have to repeat the treatment for me once a day for 7-10 days since I cannot bend down or lean forward anymore.

Interestingly enough, as soon as the acupuncturist started the treatment, I felt the baby moving... so I hope this treatment will work and we won't have to go through a cesarean section. We probably won't find out if the baby has turned until our next prenatal visit after the holidays on Jan. 5th when our OB can check with the ultrasound machine.

Opening presents

Yesterday, Nan's friends Kathy and Jen threw her a baby shower at Nan's parents' house. Nan's mom cooked a big Thai feast, and Jen baked a giant cake and four smaller cakes shaped like building blocks. After lunch, it was on to presents!

Mike and Monica got us baby clothes from Guatemala. The outfit looks like hill tribe clothes from Thailand.


Kathy helpfully did the writing down of what people had given us. She was concentrating very hard on the writing.

Nan opening a card. There were lots of very nice cards, and some people even hand made their cards, which was really cool.

Cutting into Jen's cake. You can see how big it was by the next photo, where everyone has had a piece, and there's a huge sheet leftover.

Later we played a game where people had to guess which one of us had experiences like "was almost swept out to sea by a rip current" or "drove over a log and blew out my tire when I was coming back from an interview." Although Nan's brother had a commanding lead, he was disqualified by popular assent and Joe N. won the prize: a manly chenille throw!

Scrapbooking afterwards.

Afterwards, Kathy and Jen and many friends put together a scrapbook of Polaroids of the guests and their well wishes.

When everyone had left, and we were loading up the car to drive home, it began to dawn on us how different life will be when the baby is born. I think all the baby things really made us think how in 6 weeks, it's not going to be Mike and Nan anymore, but M., N., and O.

Nan says, "I feel lucky to have such a kind, caring, and generous group of family and friends."

We went in today for an ultrasound since Nan's been feeling tight in the abdomen lately, and our doctor wanted to look at her cervix. Apparently the cervix is a little thinned and the technician called an obstetrician--she said it looked okay.

Another surprise was that the baby is breech. Our obstetrician had thought the baby was vertex (head down) at 30 weeks, but now his head is near the top of the uterus. Both of his feet are by his head, which is called frank breech. You may be able to see this in the bottom ultrasound. The top of his head is pointed to the left of the screen, and his left foot is the bright rectangle near the left side of his head.

The baby's estimated weight is about 4 pounds, 8 ounces, or a little more than 2 kg.

This weekend we drove down to San Diego to see Nan's friend Michelle and to visit the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

Etosha, a 2 year old lion, having hamburger for lunch. You can't see the part of her belly where the hair is growing back from being shaved. She had a cesarean section a month and a half ago.

When we got to the park, we went to the Lion Camp, which consists of a window and a large open enclosure where the lions can sun themselves on a grassy hill. Etosha and her mate were out, while the others were hanging out in their bedrooms. After visiting the lions, we went to see the huge lake they have in the Heart of Africa section. They were feeding the ducks and the pelicans. The ducks went crazy when the keeper threw the food out into the water. There were also huge catfish in the pond that were eating the duck food.

Mallards fighting over duck food

Baby gibbon and mother. They were picking branches off of the trees outside their enclosure by reaching their arms through the wires.

One of our favorite things to do in the park is to go to Lorikeet Landing, where you can feed these brightly feathered birds a sugar-starch water concoction. They're really aggressive and fly up to your hand and fight over the little cup of food. Sometimes they fly up on your shoulder to watch for a chance to get in on the food.

Nan at 32 and 4/7 weeks with lorikeets

A male black rhino, which is apparently the only one in the Western Hemisphere. You can see a little of how big the plains are in the Wild Animal Park.

At night, we went to see Pride and Prejudice, which was surprisingly crowded for having been out for a few weeks. It was pretty good, but apparently Nan and Michelle didn't think it measured up to the Colin Firth mini-series one on A&E.

And this morning, finally...

I am obsessed with this little Mexican restaurant. They have the best tacos and burritos. Every time we go to San Diego, I have to stop here. It's at Leucadia and PCH just off I-5.