maddox calvin kim

well, my due date came and went and with each passing day i was sure i would go into labor at any time. of course, things
didnt happen exactly that way. tiffany, my best friend and a midwifery student, was planning on being here the week before
my due date and the week after in hopes of being my doula. after the experience of marleys birth, i was really counting on
lots of support to get through this birth with no epidural. my mom flew in as well to be here with us for almost two weeks to
help out. on july 28th my cousin jenny flew in from illinois (she was on her way to china for a vacation and wanted to stop
here to visit) and she got here just as things started happening! mom and i made it to get her and then to pick marley up at
school and the contractions were picking up by that time. by six that evening i was pretty convinced that i was in labor and
that these contractions werent going away (for the past week contractions had started and stopped almost everyday) so
tiffany came over and we all started getting ready for the main event. we headed to the hospital around 10pm and that was
when things got really intense. when we arrived i was only about 3-4cm dilated so i was sent to walk around for two hours. i
only made it an hour and a half and the pain was really intense and we found out i was about 5cm and they set me up in a
room around midnight. at that point i was really in another place (mentally) and the pain was pretty intolerable but thanks to
tiffany, joon, and my mom i was getting through it. but then i started asking for the epidural, thinking i still had hours of labor
to go...little did i know i was in transition and about to push. at 1:15am, maddox was here! it was amazing! such a different
birth experience than with marley, both special in their own way, but the second time around i felt much more in control and
was able to avoid the parts of the process i didnt like the first time. in the afternoon of his birthday everyone came to the
hospital (joon, marley, mom, tiffany, jenny, and my friend katrina) and we had a little party for maddox, complete with happy
brithday cards that the kids in my class had made for him that day. it was very special and something i will always remember.
i was up and moving around in no time and we left the hospital the next day!

the first couple of weeks went by so quickly. joon headed to vegas for a bachelor party and celebrated his 30th birthday
there while i stayed home with marley, maddox, and my mom. having my mom here was a HUGE help, but by the time she
left i was pretty much in the swing of things with two kids. joon took two weeks of his paternity leave (for those of you not in
california, we have paternity leave where a new dad can take up to six weeks off for 'time to bond with baby' and still get
50% of their pay--pretty cool) and is going to use the other four over the course of the year. maddox went from being a
very quiet newborn that you had to wake up to feed to a very aggressive (read: loud) baby who wants to eat all the time!
we werent quite ready for that switch and we are still trying to keep up with him. my mom nicknamed him the gladiator
when i was still pregnant and she was right on the money! in the grand tradition of all babies as long as his tummy is full
and his diapers are clean he is usually pretty calm.

i started working again after labor day and am
lucky enough to be able to have maddox with
me. i am in the classroom only two hours a
day for now but so far i am really enjoying
being back at work.
my dad came out the second weekend in
september to meet maddox and hang out a bit.
on saturday we went to the bay area
discovery museum and then hit up joons
company picnic. the weather was great and
we all had a good time, although i think marley
enjoyed the museum the most!! he really
didnt want to leave the construction pit. as
usual, it was great to see dad and spend
some time in vacation mode.
we would like to thank those of you that have
come to visit, sent cards and gifts, or phoned
us with congratulations. we love all of you so
much and are happy to share our newest
addition with all of you.