Smiling on camera in Ye-ye’s arm’s when she was 4 weeks old…

Then Chris said, “Come to Daddy!”

When Aslin was 2 weeks old, she meet Uncle Matt and Auntie Lyly for the first time. It was then that she met her Dai Gei, Big Sister, Cayden. In chinese culture, cousins on the father’s side are called brothers and sisters. So sister Cayden was a little shy. She didn’t want to get too close to Aslin. But I think she’ll like being a big sister.

On the 3rd week, mommy’s sister, Auntie Mary can down to visit from Sacramento. She came down to help mommy and daddy out, because Aslin would stay up all night crying and wanting mommy to nurse. Which obviously daddy couldn’t do. But lo and behold, Aslin stopped fusing that whole weekend Auntie Mary was there. Mommy and Auntie Mary had a great time talking and spending time with Aslin, and catching up on how each other’s kids were doing. I’d have admit that it was nice having family around, helping out and giving us an extra hand. It certainly lightened the load for mommy and daddy. It was too bad that Auntie Mary had to leave, because that night, Aslin was up a lot crying.

On Sunday, June 4th, Aslin visited Ye-ye and Ma-ma’s house the first time. That’s where daddy was raised and lived most of his life, so far. We dress Aslin up in a cute, little pink and white striped dress. She looked adorable. There, she was able to meet most of her great uncles and great aunties, as well as a few of her uncles and aunties. It was nice hearing all of the Uncles and Aunties say how beautiful she is, even though they said that she looked like daddy when he was a baby. Which I don’t know if that’s such a good thing. Daddy is certainly a handsome man, but I don’t think he’d make a very cute girl. We’ll have to see I suppose.

So what color are your eyes? We have no real idea yet. Aslin’s eyes have no real color to them. In the picture above they look dark. But when we look up close, they’re grey. So I had this great idea to use flash to lighten them up. She didn’t like the flash. Well I don’t blame her. Mean Daddy!

I’m sorry baby!

… But I think they’re grey. But they may change. To what color? I don’t know. But those who picked brown on the pool are probably wrong. So I know I didn’t win.

After a couple hours, Aslin, Denise, Malia and Chris left the birth center. After making a appointment with Dr. Fleiss, Aslin’s new pediatrician, they proceeded to drop off Malia at home and continued to Dr. Fleiss’ office for her first visit.

At Dr. Fleiss’ office (yup Heidi’s dad), we had Aslin checked out, weighed, measured again, and the newborn exam to make sure that she was normal. Everything checked out fine. But they got a little scare when they got home.

At home, Aslin threw up some meconium and amniotic fluid that she swallowed during her delivery. She tried to breathe, but ended up choking on it. Panic-stricken, Denise called out to Chris. Chris grabbed the aspirator from the cupboard and began suctioning her throat and nasal passages, which to their relief, worked.

It took awhile for Aslin to start breast feeding. Well, not too long. It just seemed long to Denise and Chris. She feed later that night and once she started, she didn’t stop for a long time

So that first week, Denise and Chris didn’t get much sleep. Aslin roared like a lion, crying almost every hour.

On her second day in this world, Aslin’s grandparents on her father’s side, came to visit her. Grandfather on the father’s side is called Ye-Ye in chinese and Grandmother is called Ma-ma. So Ye-ye and Ma-ma met their 3rd grandchild for the first time. Smiling and happy, they said that she was lovely. They instantly fell for the new member of the family. Chris was never so proud to see his daughter in the arms of the ones that once carried him and loved him so much.

Aslin Elizabeth Shui-Yan Choi was born! She came into this world May 5, 2006 at 5:20 am, at the Natural Birth & Women’s Center in Sherman Oaks, CA.

“It was the coolest wierdest thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life,” said her father Chris Choi. “Who would’ve thought that there would be a little life in that belly for 9 months.”

Her mother, Denise Christenson said, “OOOOOOOHHHHHH YES!!!” as Aslin squirted out with a gush of amniotic fluid.

Big sister Malia said, “Oh gross! I’m never going to have a kid!” Which was a delightful thing to hear to both Denise and Chris.

Denise started her contractions the previous night at 6 in the evening. She didn’t even tell Chris as he was watching the Lakers play the Sun in the NBA playoffs (which the Lakers eventuallly lost. How could they! They should’ve totally won! They had it won in GAME 5! But blew it!!). So they went to bed after the game with Chris not having a clue about the contractions. Denise decided not to tell him because she thought that one of them should at least have a good nights rest since no one was really going to get any the next day.

Around 3:00 am, Denise woke Chris up telling him, “This is it.” Chris thought “Holy crap! Holy crap! This is it! Stay calm!”

Chris got out of bed, grabbed the list that they put together a previous night that told him what he need to do before they head on over to the birthing center. He called the birthing center and finally got in contact with Tonya Brooks, the midwife. Denise proceeded to describe her contractions to her. Tonya said that she’ll be on her way that she should be there at 6:00 am. Which wasn’t soon enough. Denise asked if someone could be there sooner. Tonya said that she’d send someone there and that they’d be there by 4:30 am.

For the next hour Denise paces the room. Contraction after contraction with a few minutes inbetween for her to rest. She doesn’t cry out but moans. Once in awhile she would ask Chris to rub her lower back.

4:25 am hits. Everything is packed. Chris ran through the checklist to make sure he didn’t miss anything and throws everything into the trunk. Malia is up and ready. Denise is definitely ready and they jump into the car and head on over to the birthing center which is just a hop, skip and a jump away.

When they arrived at the birthing center, they found Johanna, the midwife’s assistant who Denise thought was just the receptionist, there to greet them in her scrubs. She proceeded to show them to their room towards the back of the center with a bed and bathroom attached.

The room had white walls and brownish linoleum tiled floor. If you didn’t know any better, you would think that it was a hospital room except for the fact that the bedside table was wooden and had a lamp sitting on top of it and the wooden paneled receiving table up against the wall by the bathroom door. Everything else had the sterile feeling one should get in a hospital, from the fetal monitor on the bedside to the contoured counter with the bleached sink.

For the next 45 minutes, Denise paced the room and halls, back and forward, stopping once in awhile during contractions, sometimes asking Chris to rub her back to distract her from the pain, as Malia recorded everything on the camcorder. Denise threw up a couple times from nausea. When asked by Johanna, she tried to stay still so that Johanna could monitor the baby’s heart rate. But Denise couldn’t still long enough. She need to keep moving.

After a few more minutes, while pacing the hall, her water broke. “It was like a huge water balloon broke under her,” as Chris would later describe.

Chris helped Denise into the room and onto her hands and knees on the bed. She moaned in pain and concentration. Chris stared at her, standing next her, concerned. Hoping everything was going ok and that she and the baby would make it thru all of this. Chris helped Denise out of her underwear and Johanna and Malia noticed that the baby had started to crown.

“Ok Denise, I need you to lay on your back,” Johanna says.

“Ok Baby, we need to get you on your back,” Chris repeats not realizing that the baby has crowned as Denise softly reaches down and for the first time touches the top of her baby’s head. Her motherly instincts take control and as if touching the baby’s head would tell her that “everything is going to be okay precious. Just a little bit longer,” as she rolled onto her back. At that moment, Chris noticed the baby crowning. “Oh my God, this is it!” he thought to himself. “Stay calm, Denise needs you.”

At 5:20am, May 5th, 2006, Aslin Elizabeth Shui-Yan Choi was born with a gush of amniotic fluid, with the help of Johanna, the midwife’s assistant who had never delivered a baby before.

As Aslin cry rang through the halls of the birthing center, Tonya Brooks, the midwife with 15,000 delivered babies under her belt, finally arrived to see number 1 for Johanna whom she herself had delivered.

With Aslin finally in her arms, Denise comforted Aslin, holding her close to her belly, where moments before she had just been, but on the other side. Chris cut the umbilical cord and now Aslin was her on separate being. A whole unto herself, with Mommy, Daddy, and Big Sis looking onto her with all their love.