Welcome to the world Landon Robbie Cheng
Born March 12, 2012 at 2:51pm
8lbs 6oz
21 inches long
Didn't make a peep coming out, just with open eyes and curiosity!
My wife is my hero!!! 3 pushes and out!
Monday, March 12, 2012
2:30pm
10 cm!!!! Head is visible!!!
After the epidural, we were just bee-bopping along. Just in the last 5 minutes, Nicole told me that it feels different, like she has some increasing pressure. But she's just sitting there, smiling and talking. So the nurse checks her, and she says..."well, I feel the head!"
Here is what Nicole looks like at 10cm:
We're gonna be pushing soon - wish us luck!!!
1:30pm
Well, Nicole's contractions got A LOT stronger with the pitocin at 12mU/min and her water broken. They were coming every 1.5-2 minutes and pretty intense. Around 12:30, we gave in and called for the epidural. She went from incredible pain to smiling and happy within 10 minutes.
She's 4.5 cm now, and we're just hanging out...comfortably! She's about to take a nap actually. This epidural stuff is incredible!
9:30am
So we are moving along...Dr. Roberts says, lets go ahead and break your water!
Water broken, "feels like warm water running from a faucet into a puddle under my butt"
Pitocin off temporarily to see what happens.
Nicole, eyebrows raised.
Lets get the show on the road
Well, no real labor over the weekend, so we're in the hospital now...going to get induced today!
Nicole's feeling well, still with some mild irregular contractions and pressure. I had the feeling baby Cheng #2 would be stubborn and wait until we made him come out!
We are at Piedmont Hospital, the hospital where Nicole works, so we're in familiar territory. I've got my computer and music, Nicole's got her People magazine, so we're ready! Here she is, getting an IV, all smiles.
I think Hudson will be a good big brother. Last night I was laying with him...my last night with just 1 son. I was asking him if he was ready. I think he is. He says "I am going to hold him. I am going to read to him and help give him his nai-nai (milk). I'm a big brother!" And then he head-butted me, and it didn't hurt him but it hurt me, and he started rubbing my head and said "It will get better daddy."
Pitocin stated around 8:30 am, started at 8 milliunits (mu)/min, now 12 mu, which has kicked in some minor contractions. Will keep you updated!
=)
Nicole's feeling well, still with some mild irregular contractions and pressure. I had the feeling baby Cheng #2 would be stubborn and wait until we made him come out!
We are at Piedmont Hospital, the hospital where Nicole works, so we're in familiar territory. I've got my computer and music, Nicole's got her People magazine, so we're ready! Here she is, getting an IV, all smiles.
I think Hudson will be a good big brother. Last night I was laying with him...my last night with just 1 son. I was asking him if he was ready. I think he is. He says "I am going to hold him. I am going to read to him and help give him his nai-nai (milk). I'm a big brother!" And then he head-butted me, and it didn't hurt him but it hurt me, and he started rubbing my head and said "It will get better daddy."
Pitocin stated around 8:30 am, started at 8 milliunits (mu)/min, now 12 mu, which has kicked in some minor contractions. Will keep you updated!
=)
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Not much action
4:22pm Saturday
Seems like contractions come and go every 6 to 8 minutes, but aren't too intense. No baby yet! On Thursday Nicole was dilated 3cm and had her membranes stripped...the doctor said she'd have that baby by 10pm...but its Saturday now. He'll probably be stubborn like his brother Hudson, who waited until 41 weeks, and then waited for 10 hours on pitocin before starting to move.
It's so funny how the second time around we are much more non-chalant. We waited forever to get baby's room ready, and we just packed a bag Thursday. We haven't cleaned any bottles yet, and the crib is set up but still acting as "storage". We haven't read a single page of a book to prepare ourselves...unlike the many books we read before Hudson. I heard the second kid is like a second-class citizen sometimes!
Well, to update you on other tidbits in our lives, Nicole is officially on maternity leave from her job as a liver surgery and liver transplant physician assistant at Piedmont Hospital. She takes care of transplant patients! How cool! I'll be finished with my second year of cardiology fellowship and will start my third and FINAL year of training (all together, 11 years of medical training). I just found out I will be one of 2 chief fellows at Emory cardiology - what an honor! Hudson is doing really well - I think he is excited about being a big brother...when we talk about it he seems to like the idea...although we'll see if he walks the walk. He's getting so big - he'll be 3 in June, and will be starting preschool in the fall. Barbara is doing fantastic...we believe she's cancer free and living life fully and loves being Hudson's "Baba", right down the street!
Aarish is getting married soon...his bachelor party is in Vegas! By the way, for any wives or girlfriends out there, would you let your husband/sig other go to Vegas for a bachelor party??? =)
More updates soon...
Friday, March 09, 2012
2 years later
Well hello again. I can't believe its been over 2 years since my last post. A lot has happened. Why am I writing now? Well, because we're expecting another child. In fact, Nicole is already over 3 cm dilated, 50% effaced, and had her membranes stripped yesterday.
Our next baby boy (name to be announced when he's born) is supposed to be due March 15th. We are scheduled to be induced March 12th, if we make it that far. We are all doing well, and I think Hudson wants to be a good big brother, so we'll see how it goes.
I will use this blog to keep you updated of the pregnancy and delivery! Its funny to read the comments from the last one (06/2009).
Here are some recent pictures of Hudson:
At the "mountain house" for Thanksgiving in Clayton, GA
Centennial Park, Christmas 2011
My new bike from Pop Pop for Christmas
Starting early
I'm a nerdLove, Nicole and Alan
Monday, December 06, 2010
Happy Holidays!
Thanks to Ben and Jen Yin for taking some pictures of us outside on a cold wintery day, so we can have some holiday pictures to give out!
My friends are talented
I like showcasing my friends!!! They're so talented!
1) Bryan Edwards - country singer/songwriter - wrote a song for country superstar Jason Aldean on his new album! The album is currently #5 on the country music charts in the US!
It's called "If She Could See Me Now"; you can hear it here.
2) Vadin Lum You - film producer - he sent me a clip that his film company made...a music video parody of "I want to be a billionaire" by Bruno Mars. They are pretty funny - check out the "Newark State of Mind" video too! Check it out here.
Alan
1) Bryan Edwards - country singer/songwriter - wrote a song for country superstar Jason Aldean on his new album! The album is currently #5 on the country music charts in the US!
It's called "If She Could See Me Now"; you can hear it here.
2) Vadin Lum You - film producer - he sent me a clip that his film company made...a music video parody of "I want to be a billionaire" by Bruno Mars. They are pretty funny - check out the "Newark State of Mind" video too! Check it out here.
Alan
What I do
I get a lot of questions about what I do. It's understandable - many people aren't exactly sure what a "cardiology fellow" is, or if there is a difference between a resident or fellow.
First, the training structure:
College (Bachelor's) > Medical School (M.D.) > Residency (to practice medicine in the US you have to complete a residency) > Fellowship (specialized training after residency, in my case, cardiology).
Second, what is "cardiology"?
Cardiology, or "cardiovascular medicine" or the "study of cardiovascular disease" is a subspecialty of Internal Medicine. It is where I learn to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease. The 3 most common cardiology conditions are 1) Coronary Artery Disease (aka blockages in the heart, which cause heart attacks), 2) Heart Failure (damage or dysfunction of the heart), and 3) Atrial Fibrillation (a common rhythm problem that makes your heart beat fast and irregular. Of course, there are many many more conditions:
- coronary artery disease
- arrhythmias (and the study of them, called "Electrophysiology"; they also place pacemakers and defibrillators)
- valvular heart disease (disease of the valves)
- adult congenital heart disease (heart problems you are born with)
- heart failure
- cardiac imaging (echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, CT, and MRI)
- interventional cardiology (the docs who place stents)
- preventive cardiology (the study of preventing heart attacks and heart failure)
Notice that what is not included is cardiac surgery. Cardiologists do not perform cardiac surgery - instead, "cardiothoracic surgeons" do. The decison to become a surgeon or not actually happens in medical school - when you apply to residency, one of the main distinctions is choosing a surgical or a non surgical residency, and thus, to become a surgeon or not to become one. These surgeons do cool things - bypass surgery, valve repair and replacements, correction of congenital malformations. Their specialty though, is not to diagnose and study...their specialty is to cut. Who decides if the patient needs a cutter? The cardiologist does.
So...my cardiology fellowship is 3 years long, and I've finished about 5 months of it. I do a different rotation every month, learning all the various disciplines and skills within cardiology that I listed above. Here is my schedule this year:
July: Heart Failure
August: Inpatient/Consults
September: Consults
October: Consults
November: Electrophysiology
December: Nuclear cardiology
January through March: Cardiac catheterization (learning to put plastic tubes "catheters" into the heart to look for blockages, or to make measurements, or to take certain xrays of the heart)
April: MRI
May: Echocardiography
June: Electrophysiology
I really enjoy what I do. The key to Internal Medicine, and to a subspecialty like Cardiology, is that I get really good at diagnosing patients, and learning the skills to do various tests to help diagnose them. Then, I decide what treatment they need and how to get them better. And there are many procedures I can do to help them...everything except surgery! It is fascinating and there is always so much to learn. The only drawback is...the extra 3 years it takes to get through this!
Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season! This will be almost 5 years since I started this blog!
Alan
First, the training structure:
College (Bachelor's) > Medical School (M.D.) > Residency (to practice medicine in the US you have to complete a residency) > Fellowship (specialized training after residency, in my case, cardiology).
Second, what is "cardiology"?
Cardiology, or "cardiovascular medicine" or the "study of cardiovascular disease" is a subspecialty of Internal Medicine. It is where I learn to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease. The 3 most common cardiology conditions are 1) Coronary Artery Disease (aka blockages in the heart, which cause heart attacks), 2) Heart Failure (damage or dysfunction of the heart), and 3) Atrial Fibrillation (a common rhythm problem that makes your heart beat fast and irregular. Of course, there are many many more conditions:
- coronary artery disease
- arrhythmias (and the study of them, called "Electrophysiology"; they also place pacemakers and defibrillators)
- valvular heart disease (disease of the valves)
- adult congenital heart disease (heart problems you are born with)
- heart failure
- cardiac imaging (echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, CT, and MRI)
- interventional cardiology (the docs who place stents)
- preventive cardiology (the study of preventing heart attacks and heart failure)
Notice that what is not included is cardiac surgery. Cardiologists do not perform cardiac surgery - instead, "cardiothoracic surgeons" do. The decison to become a surgeon or not actually happens in medical school - when you apply to residency, one of the main distinctions is choosing a surgical or a non surgical residency, and thus, to become a surgeon or not to become one. These surgeons do cool things - bypass surgery, valve repair and replacements, correction of congenital malformations. Their specialty though, is not to diagnose and study...their specialty is to cut. Who decides if the patient needs a cutter? The cardiologist does.
So...my cardiology fellowship is 3 years long, and I've finished about 5 months of it. I do a different rotation every month, learning all the various disciplines and skills within cardiology that I listed above. Here is my schedule this year:
July: Heart Failure
August: Inpatient/Consults
September: Consults
October: Consults
November: Electrophysiology
December: Nuclear cardiology
January through March: Cardiac catheterization (learning to put plastic tubes "catheters" into the heart to look for blockages, or to make measurements, or to take certain xrays of the heart)
April: MRI
May: Echocardiography
June: Electrophysiology
I really enjoy what I do. The key to Internal Medicine, and to a subspecialty like Cardiology, is that I get really good at diagnosing patients, and learning the skills to do various tests to help diagnose them. Then, I decide what treatment they need and how to get them better. And there are many procedures I can do to help them...everything except surgery! It is fascinating and there is always so much to learn. The only drawback is...the extra 3 years it takes to get through this!
Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season! This will be almost 5 years since I started this blog!
Alan
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