And Then There Were Four

May was another busy month for me. I ditched my daily habit tracker which I now realize was a mistake. That journal thing was useful and I was actually crushing big goals when I was using it consistently. My life is a mess without any kind of schedule or normality. Everything in my life is different now – new home, new baby, new location (sort of….) bigger family (totally not used to a family of 4!), and new plans. Some readers even asked about my disappearance on WP and if I was okay – your concerns really touched me. Thank you! 💕 I just wish that there was more time to write/blog.

Re-grounding Myself Again 🌱

I also wanted to update you on my whereabouts. Up until the beginning of June, I was temporarily working full-time from home. We were also in the process of packing and moving to a new home. On May 20, 2021, I went to my appointment as planned, only to find myself in the L&D triage unit at the hospital later that day. I had abnormally high blood pressure a.k.a. gestational hypertension + fluid retention, so they wanted to rule out some things, like preeclampsia. I am grateful for the knowledge I gained from nursing school because I knew what signs and symptoms to monitor throughout this pregnancy. That being said, I became concerned during the final weeks of pregnancy when my BP remained consistently high, which is abnormal for someone who typically has low blood pressure. Ultimately, childbirth was the best solution to quickly alleviate my gestational hypertension.

On May 21, 2021 at 4:48am, Baby Aaron was born weighing 7lbs 1oz, and measuring 20.5 inches. He had some mild jaundice (more medical jargon, see photos below ↓) but the jaundice went away on its own and he didn’t need blue-light therapy. Most of this pregnancy was fairly straight-forward and uncomplicated up until the very end, the delivery went smoothly despite dreading childbirth the most, and Aaron is a healthy baby boy. His big sister welcomed him with open arms! ❤

Rebecca and Baby Aaron
A jaundiced Baby Aaron, 1 day old
A sleepy neonate. He will be 1-month old on June 21, 2021 🐵

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ FINAL THOUGHTS ♥

I am keeping this blog post short and sweet because honestly, I am not in the mood to write today. I am trying to write a blog post in the presence of others and the words aren’t flowing the way I would like them to – and good writing cannot be forced. I haven’t even touched my personal laptop in weeks which I mostly use for WordPress, but I consider it rude to spend hours blogging when we have company over. Also, my phone needs a major upgrade which I don’t see happening any time soon (it barely holds a charge), so I haven’t felt motivated to brainstorm blog post ideas, write rough drafts on my phone, or capture life’s precious moments. Perhaps it is time to revisit that habit tracker journal yet again, before I become a lazy potato.

Thanks for stopping by! ❤

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image.png

69 thoughts on “And Then There Were Four

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      I limit the amount of photos I post online because I don’t have many photos to post. Shocking, I know 🙇‍♀️ I’m not much of a shutterbug although my fantasy self still clings to that dream.

      There’s at least 2 photos of Nick on blog – possibly more. I can also think of another photo from Mother’s Day 2019. Think of it like a scavenger hunt. It gives readers something to do while they wait for the next blog post which we know, might take a while 😂

  1. Arristella says:
    Arristella's avatar

    Congratulations!!! He’s so cute, thought he looks ready to fight in the second photo. Also, I get it when you say you don’t force yourself to write.

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      Thanks for reading! Omg It’s been forever since we’ve talked. I hope that you are doing well! ☺️

      Haha he does! 😂 The photo of him in the car seat was an attempt to replicate the same photo of 1-day old Rebecca in that car seat. Even at 1-day old he was starting to show signs of jaundice (yellow/orange skin).

  2. myplace3187 says:
    myplace3187's avatar

    Congratulations on the birth of your son Aaron. He looks healthy and his big sister is going to look after him. That is cute to see. All the best with the new family of 4.

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      Thank you for your well wishes! 🙏🏻💕 His big sister is like a second mom. She wants to help out around the house and she’s really concerned about her baby brother – it’s really cute. I don’t have any siblings personally, so this is all new to me 🙂 Having kids was always a dream of mine!

      • myplace3187 says:
        myplace3187's avatar

        Your daughter is just being protective of her little brother. Being helpful around the house is a natural reaction to a baby coming into her life and yours. I have lots of siblings to share if you want one or two lol I am happy your dream came true. God bless you and your daughter and your husband.

      • Hilary Tan says:
        Hilary Tan's avatar

        Having a big family sounds like fun! Being an only child is lonely and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

        I honestly have no clue what it’s like raising 2 kids but I’m learning day by day. Yes, she’s definitely being protective of her little brother.

      • myplace3187 says:
        myplace3187's avatar

        Hello Hiliary Yes, a big family has its moments. It was fun with lots of laughs at times.

        I know you will do great raising two kids. As the older sister is your part time helper already. Wishing you a lot of fun and laughter over the life time with your kids.

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      Thank you!! 🤗 We’ve always liked the name Aaron. It’s the first name in the name dictionary and his middle name literally means last (12th) prophet, which is ironic. Lots of hidden meanings! 🙂

  3. V says:
    V's avatar

    Squishy new baby! He’s adorable. Hopefully this summer it becomes safe enough for me to bring you the gift before he’s too big for it!

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      Cases are lower these days, or so they say. I’ll feel better about leaving the house once I get the second dose. Based on your description I’m guessing it’s something that Baby Aaron can wear?! 🥰

      MIL is over helping with the baby. At first I was hesitant about the idea, and I didn’t tell my mom for a week knowing how she would react 🙇‍♀️ My mom now knows but I let Nick tell her the news 😂

  4. ashok says:
    ashok's avatar

    Aaron is so cute 🥰 and together they are looking beautiful 😍
    Congratulations Hilary. Love and blessings

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      Thank you for your well wishes, Ashok! 😊🌺 I’ve been meaning to reply sooner but my phone keeps dying on me. I have finally resorted to using a computer since it’s the only thing that hasn’t died on me yet…. yikes, I sound morbid talking about tech 😂🤣

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      Thank you so much for stopping by, and THANK YOU for your well wishes!! That really means a lot to me. I hope that you are doing well these days! 😊💕

  5. bosssybabe says:
    bosssybabe's avatar

    You are hardly a lazy potato but a strong mama!!! Take that break, sounds like it would do you good! No guilt!! Congrats on baby Aaron!! 🙂

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      I definitely feel like a lazy potato these days. I need time to slow down a bit. There is still so much left to do and accomplish before the end of the month. hahaha I take breaks every day! More breaks than I would like to admit 😂🤣

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      Thank you so much, Chloe! 😊 I have been trying to reply from my phone which keeps dying on me and have forgotten how great it is to use to a computer. I apologize for the very overdue reply!

  6. ceponatia says:
    ceponatia's avatar

    Congratulations 🙂 What you said at the end about brainstorming post ideas and writing rough drafts on your phone… good idea. I should do this.

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      Hey!! Did you end up using your phone to write a rough draft? Did it work? I attempted to write a rough draft but it drained my battery yet again 😒 Ugh… I need a new phone 😭

      • ceponatia says:
        ceponatia's avatar

        No I still haven’t been able to get over how clunky writing on a phone is, lol. I can’t even text anymore; it annoys me so fast. Video chatting has saved my life. Lol

      • Hilary Tan says:
        Hilary Tan's avatar

        Texting is the one thing that doesn’t seem to annoy me, but my phone doesn’t hold a charge anymore. It dies within 2 hours. Video chatting I cannot do because I don’t like seeing myself in the video chat. I think there is a way to turn that off, but then it wouldn’t be a video chat… it would be a phone call LOL We are very different people, and that’s okay! 😅

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      Thank you so much, Karalee! 😊💕 He will be 1 month old tomorrow! Like how?! He’s graduated from neonate already – it still blows my mind how fast this past month flew by!

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      Thank you so much @buddy71! 🙂 It’s been so long since I’ve updated this blog that I don’t remember if I address bloggers with an @ or not. This isn’t Twitter or IG but I feel like the same rules still apply! 😅

      Thank you for your well wishes! 😇 Tomorrow, Aaron will be 1 month old. I can’t believe it’s been a month already. It’s absolutely crazy!

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      Thank you so much! 😊 Time is going by so fast and I wish it would slow down a little. How is it almost the end of June already?! How is he already 1 month old?!

  7. Jenny in Neverland says:
    Jenny in Neverland's avatar

    Congratulations! Glad everything went smoothly and everyone is healthy and happy. He’s gorgeous and Rebecca looks like she’s going to be an amazing big sister!

  8. Helen says:
    Helen's avatar

    Congratulations on the birth of your baby boy & glad everything went well. It is definitely a challenge to go from a family of three to a family of four with TWO kids. Definitely a different ball park with two instead of one. But definitely more fun! <3

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      My daughter is with her grandparents these days and she doesn’t even miss us! 😂 I agree that two kids is a lot more work than one child, but it’s worth it. I’m an only child and always wanted a bigger family 🙂

      • Helen says:
        Helen's avatar

        Yes!! Same girl. I’m an only child too & wanted my daughter to have a sibling. There’s just something special about that sibling relationship.

      • Hilary Tan says:
        Hilary Tan's avatar

        I wish my daughter and son were closer in age. They are 4.5 years apart. My daughter tries to help out and take care of her baby brother 🥰 I love it when I meet other only children! It makes me feel less alone.

        Do you have two daughters or a son and a daughter? How old are they?

      • Helen says:
        Helen's avatar

        I have a son and a daughter. My son is 1 and my daughter is 5. They are almost 4 years apart. I think it’s a good age difference. They are close enough that they can play together and my daughter’s old enough to do a lot of things for herself (like using the bathroom, getting dressed, etc) & can help her brother out a lot too. I can’t imagine those families in which kids are 1 or 2 years apart though.

  9. Shandean Reid says:
    Shandean Reid's avatar

    Congratulations on the new addition to your family. He’s adorable and I imagine he is much bigger and cuter 6 months later. Happy Holidays (if you celebrate).

    • Hilary Tan says:
      Hilary Tan's avatar

      Thank you so much! He’s 7 months old Dec 21 which is so crazy. Where did the time go? We are having very easy-going Christmas this year. I’m trying not to get too stressed out over it… easier said than done!

Comments are closed.