Mikaela Ching-Yun Wei

(Sorry for the picture quality, these are all from my iPhone since we haven't gotten around to uploading pics from the camera yet).

Introducing Mikaela Ching-Yun Wei.

Mikaela: feminine derivative of Michael, meaning, "who is like God"
Ching-Yun: pure promise

Born January 14th, 1:23am, 6lbs 2oz, 18.5inches long.
Hackensack University Medical Center
OB: Dr. Marc Clachko

We're home!! We got home yesterday after what felt like an eternity at the hospital. While we got home mid-morning, we were actually debating whether we should stay the entire day so Mikaela could get treated under photo-therapy lights for a mild case of jaundice. We decided instead to come home and try and get her bilirubin levels down on our own through some natural sunlight, lots of feeding sessions and supplemental formula as well. An early trip to the hospital for more blood work today, followed up by her first pediatrician visit proved that so far we haven't been too successful since the levels went up. So we're back to the labs tomorrow morning at 7am for more blood work. Hopefully things will improve from there!

It was a long, somewhat traumatizing delivery which may be the deciding factor in why we'll never be a family of 5. But we did it, Mikaela is a doll. I'm completely smitten, and where I thought Naomi occupied all the space in my heart, God's clearly graced me with a limitless amount of love which I can spread between my two daughters.
Despite being ever so tiny, (at her weight in today, she's at 5lbs 14oz, up a whole oz from when we left the hospital), Mikaela already has such a strong personality, and incredible grip, and lungs of steel. She loves to be held, and decided she wouldn't sleep last night unless either Austin or I had her in our arms. Her voice, while loud and strong, is petite and incredibly cute. She makes the littlest peeping noises while she's sleeping. These noises have both Naomi and I cracking up when we hear them, it's almost like a little bird chirping.
She's managed to mesmerize everyone she's come in contact with. Naomi adores her. She's a little frightened by her and doesn't want to hold her, despite weeks and weeks of "pretty please can I hold my baby sister?", she shied away when she actually had her chance to meet her. She loves gently patting her head, and giving her tiny kisses on her cheek though. And she's always trying to pull out extra toys and food for her baby sister. When she see's Mikaela without a hat on, or her blanket swaddling her, she'll quickly run around trying to find her blanket and hat cause "her baby sister wants them". She's an incredible older sister. Tonight before I took Naomi up to start getting ready for bed, she kissed Mikaela and said, "Good night baby. Sweet dreams".
Not to say it's been all easy. I'm overwhelmed. Completely. This morning, trying to get both kids out the door to the hospital, on just a few hours of sleep, was enough to have me near tears and begging my mom to stay longer (request denied). While Naomi does love her sister, she definitely is a little jealous that Mommy now has two babies. She wants me to take care of her more, wants me to get her dressed, pick her up cause as she says, "she's still a baby", and even once asked why I could carry Mikaela when I wasn't able to carry her.
And yet in the few days since Mikaela was born, I've seen such a change in Naomi. She's more independent, she's talking more and more in fuller sentences, she is growing up faster and faster and it sometimes breaks my heart. Don't even get me started on thinking about when both girls start school, leave for school yada yada, ugh