Introducing Phoenix
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Photos by MJ Klein, including FOOD PHOTOS
Last Sunday, Hui-chen and I hosted a traditional Chinese banquet to introduce our new daughter to family and friends.
Right after I arrived with Phoenix in her car seat, I took her out and gave her to Ma. Needless to say, Ma was very happy to show Phoenix around to our guests.
You will notice, that at no time was Phoenix crying or fussing whatsoever as different people were passing her around and holding her. I have to say that Phoenix is a truly remarkable baby in that she takes just about everything in stride and is probably the happiest baby I have ever seen (or heard of). Even on the ride over she was calm and very easy to care for. She is so small that the car seat is very uncomfortable and of course, she has to be tightly strapped into the seat to be safe. Not a peep out of her.
Our friends Michael and Peichi were able to join us on this occasion and we were very happy to have them.
This is the table setting for each table. Now, onto the food.
The red stuff is vinegar. It adds an interesting dimension to the soup.
Classic Shrimp & Pineapple, Taiwanese style.
Boiled octopus with a really great sauce.
An all time favorite of mine: duck meat.
Salt grilled shrimp.
Seafood platter.
A traditional Taiwanese mein dish with chicken.
I have to ask Hui-chen what this is, but it’s over spinach, and it was good!
These grilled pork cutlets were fantastic.
Now we have a couple other shots for you:
Hui-chen’s sister, Ping-chen became pregnant about 2 weeks behind Hui-chen, believe it or not. Ping-chen’s baby arrived while we were still in the convalescent center (same hospital, btw) so for awhile, Ma had both babies to play with!
Naturally, I just had to include this shot of Phoenix looking at Ma.
Remember that I told you Phoenix doesn’t really fuss or cry (unless necessary) and is a very happy baby? I have some more shots for you (with some focus problems on the D7000, which I’ve since resolved).
A problem for new babies is the bath, which takes time for them to get used to:
Mommy washes Phoenix’s face with a washcloth.
Absolutely no problems with that.
Now the baby’s hair gets washed.
That’s my happy girl!
I love this shot. Peek-a-boo!
Hui-chen placed Phoenix into the wash basin. At first she was scared, but didn’t cry. She just made this face which she does when she’s scared.
But then she decides she likes the bath.
This is one happy baby. 
Thanks for reading. Please leave us your comments below, and feel free to use the icons for sharing.
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Stefan (3)
Carolyn (1)
David (1)
December 8th, 2012 at 22:36
Great shots – Phoenix looks like a very happy child!
Did Hui-chen follow tradition by doing nothing for one month after birth, and drinking that special wine that most new moms are required to quaff? I remember we had several cartons of that stuff piled up on our balcony after Pamela got home from the hospital.
I suggest you get Phoenix used to being in a car as early as possible. We did that with Amber, and to this day she has never made a fuss about being in the back seat. Also, don’t listen to anything the in-laws might say about keeping Phoenix indoors until she’s six months old or so. I was pushing my daughter outside in a stroller almost as soon as she was home from the hospital.
Kaminoge´s last post ..Coming a Clopper
thenhbushman
reply on December 9th, 2012 01:54:
hi Jim, thanks. HC and i both spent a month in a convalescent center in the hospital. truthfully, she was very tired and worn out from the experience. there was no wine (no alcohol at all during pregnancy and while nursing) but all kinds of “special foods” which probably don’t do any harm but i am basically skeptical about.
we took Phoenix home from the hospital to HC’s mother’s house in the car seat, and later on we took a 3.5 hour trip home. she never complained about it once, so now i’m satisfied that we can travel with her in the car with no issues. as she grows up i see that situation improving as she fits the seat better. i would like to take her out now, pretty much everywhere i want to go, but i’ve been told she is too small and that it’s too cold, and not by my in-laws
i’ve been told she has to be a couple of months old before we can safely take her out. you can bet that i’ll be pushing that envelope at every opportunity.
i find the amount of folk-knowledge that i’m hearing, astonishing. of course, every single belief that i’m told is a necessity has been totally busted by my sister’s experience raising 3 strong, healthy sons. no month rest, special foods, confinement to home, superstitions, etc.. one of the local customs that i’ve seen is how mothers burp their babies. i was told by HC and her cousin that i should hold my hand in a cupped position and use a circular motion when gently striking the infants back to induce burping (from lower to higher). so far i have seen every single woman who held Phoenix and tried to burp her, use this cupped hand and circular motion thing. it’s absurd and i have no idea where the idea came from, but it sure seems to be universal. i was flatly told that how i burp my child is totally wrong because i’m not holding my hand in the correct shape, and i’m not pushing the air “up” with the circular motion. i should write a book about this experience! thanks Jim.
December 9th, 2012 at 23:50
Thank you for sharing your pictures. Phoenix is very precious. I like the bath time pictures. Of course, I was delighted to see my son’s picture. The food looks delicious, especially the one over spinach.
As for the difference in burping babies, I am still stuck on the month off doing nothing. I gave birth in the wrong country. Just kidding. I would not have liked sharing a hospital room with a man. It is interesting to hear about the differences in having a baby and taking care of it. If you write a book, I would enjoy reading it.
thenhbushman
reply on December 10th, 2012 08:32:
hi Carolyn. thanks for your comments. i like the bath time photos too, and now that she is home with us, she’s really having fun with bath time now. so i have to get more photos!
i want to make clear that HC and i were in a private room where we could have our baby with us if we wanted to, or if we wanted the nursery to care for her (depending upon how tired my wife felt). the only time we were in a room with other people was immediately after her C-section procedure and there were other women recovering there too. the men in the room were husbands of those women. on the second day we moved to a private room and then the convalescent room after that, which was private of course. take care, Carolyn.
Carolyn
reply on December 10th, 2012 09:36:
I misunderstood what happened when Phoenix was first born. Very glad that the husbands were not the patients since they disturbed others. The private and convalescent rooms were a nice luxury for Hui-chen to be able to heal from surgery.
thenhbushman
reply on December 10th, 2012 22:29:
hi Carolyn. i’m sure that your misunderstanding was fueled by my poor explanation of things. overall it was a good experience and gave us time to get into the routine of taking care of a baby full-time. thanks and take care.
December 10th, 2012 at 08:55
It’s great that Pheonix has a cousin just a few weeks younger than her. I’m sure that they’ll spend a lot of time together in years to come.
thenhbushman
reply on December 10th, 2012 22:29:
hi Neil. yes, i was thinking that too. thanks and take care.