I Am Your Mommy 我是你的媽咪

Have you ever heard of "pregnant brain"?  They have actually proven that a woman loses brain capacity each time she gets pregnant.  It happens because all our body's resources go to feeding and growing the baby, and the rest of our body suffers the consequences.  Most common things that women forget are where they put their keys, what time they have to meet someone, or whether or not they've turned off the stove upon leaving the house.

不知你可曾聽過一個名詞叫"孕婦腦"?專家說每懷一次孕，腦的活動力就會減少一些。這是因為當我們懷孕時我們全身可運用的資源都被送去餵養嬰兒，而身體其他的部分就要接受這個後果。

女人最常忘的就是鑰匙放在哪裡，跟朋友約會的時間，或到底有沒有關掉爐台上的火。

I am on my third round of pregnancy, and they say each time it gets worse...and never gets better.  What am I going to forget next?  My children's names?  Whether or not I showered?   Did I put on a bra today?

They say we have to stimulate brain activity.  Reading, puzzles, and brushing your teeth with the opposite hand are supposed to help get the brain going. 

I personally think there's not much hope for me.  I didn't have too much brain activity in the first place.  :)

這是我第三次懷孕。

專家說這種健忘的狀況一次會比一次糟…而且無法修復。接下來我還會忘記甚麼呢?我孩子的名字?我洗過澡了沒?還是今天我穿胸罩了嗎?
專家說我們必須常常用閱讀，玩拼圖，用左手刷牙等來刺激我們的腦子。

對我來說都幫助不大，
因為我本來就不大從事腦部活動。:)

The reason I'm talking about this is because I completely forgot to explain why my blog name is "I Am Your Mommy."  I have had this blog up for a week or so and it really brings me so much joy.  I love to write, and if we ever meet in person you'll find out how much I like to talk.  But I failed to explain where I got the title for my blog from. 

好了。為什麼我要提這件事呢?因為我完全忘記要解釋為什麼我這個部落格要取名為”我是你的媽咪”。

開始這個部落格已經一星期左右了。它帶給我好多的快樂。我很喜歡寫東西，如果你見到我本人，你會知道我是一個多麼愛說話的人。
但是我竟然忘了要說明一下為麼我選擇這樣的名稱。

I will always remember the day Malakai was born.  We went to the hospital late in the evening of October 14th, 2007.  The 14th was my due date and I still hadn't experienced any contractions.  I forced Jordan to go on a walk with me but it was too cold so we made it down our street, and then turned around.  I ate some salad while Jordan and I sat on the couch, watching tv.  All of a sudden, I felt I needed to cough.  If you've been pregnant, you'll understand that by the end of your pregnancy, it's hard not to "have an accident" when you cough or laugh. It's all natural, don't judge!  I sat up immediately and felt I needed to use the bathroom.  I ran to the bathroom and as I went #1, I felt more liquid coming.  I wondered why there was so much liquid.  Then I felt a warm feeling in my hips and my back.

我永遠記得凱凱出生那天….

我們是在2007年10月14日晚上進的醫院。

10月14日是我的預產期但是我完全沒有陣痛，所以我強迫喬登陪我去散步。但是那天非常冷，我們只走到街角就轉了回來。然後我吃了一些沙拉就和喬登賴在客廳的沙發上看電視。

忽然，我感覺到我需要咳嗽。如果你懷過孕，你一定有在懷孕末期咳嗽或大笑時因控制不住而漏尿的經驗。
這是不可避免的自然現象，請勿論斷!
我坐起來後立即感到我需要去廁所。
我衝到了廁所，感覺到有更多的液體流出來，
同時有一股暖意衝到我的臀部和我的背上。

I told Jordan that my water broke.  He ran upstairs to grab the hospital bag.  I wasn't even in pain or having contractions but Jordan was running around in excitement.

我告訴喬登我恐怕是破水了。他立刻跑上樓去抓我們早已準備好的”住院包”。
雖然我毫無痛感也還沒開始收縮，喬登卻已開始按耐不住，興奮地跑來跑去。

The morning of the 15th, our beautiful Malakai was born.

10月15日上午，我們漂亮的寶寶凱凱誕生。

They swaddled him in a tiny blanket, and brought him to me.  Tears streamed down my face as I held his warm body for the first time.  I looked into his perfectly round face and said, "hi, Malakai.  I am your mommy."  I felt his breath and felt his little chest moving up and down.  I felt more love for him than I ever thought imaginable.  He was mine.

護士把包裹在毯子裡的小凱凱交給我，感受到他暖暖身體的那一刻...
我的淚水止不住的流下。

我看著他圓圓的小臉，對他說”嗨!凱凱，我是你的媽咪”。

我可以清楚的感覺到他的呼吸和他胸部的上下起伏，
從來沒有想過我可以這樣強烈地愛他。
他是我的。

“Hi, Malakai.  I am your mommy.”  It was a very simple sentence.  But I could feel the gravity of it.

”嗨!凱凱，我是你的媽咪”一句簡單的話，卻讓我感到背後的重責大任。

It doesn't just mean I gave birth to you.  It doesn't just mean that I will feed you and clothe you.

Being a mother is so much more than that.  Taking on the commitment of becoming someone's mother means something so much deeper to me. 
Imeans I will sacrifice what I have for you.  I will take care of my body when I'm pregnant with you, and I will feed you all that's best.  I will teach you, love you, nourish you, encourage you, support you, and do everything in my power to raise you as best as I can.  I will make mistakes, but I will give you my best.  I want you to be happy, strong, and wise.  I want you to be loving and humble, but smart and hard-working.  I want to help you discover who you are and make sure you are happy. 

做你的媽咪不單只表示我生下了你，也不表示我只需要餵飽你和給你衣服穿。我知道一個媽媽需要做的比這個多太多了。我也知道接受承諾成為母親這件事的意義比這些深多了。

它表示我會為你犧牲我自己，在懷孕時為你照顧好自己的健康，出生後餵給你最營養的食物。

它表示我會教導你，愛你，滋養你，鼓勵你，支持你，竭盡所能地養育你。

我希望你能成為一個快樂，強壯且充滿智慧的人。

我希望你能成為仁愛，謙虛，但是聰明且工作努力的人。

我要幫助你探索自己，並確定你是幸福的。

The role "mother" is the most worthwhile, rewarding and happy career in the whole world. 

I love this statement ------“I am your mommy !”

”做媽媽”是全世界最值得也最快樂的工作。

我愛這句話-------

”我是你的媽咪”

The Third Time 第三次

You probably know that I am pregnant right now with our third baby. 

你可能已經知道我現在在懷孕中，肚子裡的是我們家的第三個寶寶。

When I first told all my friends from high school I was pregnant with Malakai, they said "how exciting!!!"  Then when I told them a few years later that I was having another baby, they probably thought "wow!  That's awesome!  A sibling for Malakai!"  Then when I told them just a mere 8 months after Eli was born that I was pregnant AGAIN, they told me "wow! Congratulations!".... 

當我第一次告訴我高中同學說我懷凱凱時，他們說”哇!好興奮!”

幾年後，當我第二次告訴他們我懷孕時，他們可能會想”哇!不錯!給凱凱添一個伴”

凱弟出生的八個月後，當我告訴他們我又懷孕時，他們說”哇! 恭喜…………”

But I'm sure they were thinking "now we know for SURE she's crazy."

但是我確信他們的腦袋中一定會想”這個女人瘋了”

This third baby was kind of a surprise, but a happy one.  We found out on February 4th, 2011 that I am pregnant once again.  After I got a positive on my pregnancy test that morning, I was ecstatic.  I was bouncing around the rest of the day.  I surprised myself at how excited I was, knowing the difficulty that was to follow- morning sickness, back pain, and then three children under the age of 4.

第三個寶寶雖是個意外，但不知為什麼，從一開始她就帶給我們好多快樂…

2011年2月4日早晨，我起床驗孕。從我確定自己又懷孕的那一刻起，我就非常開心。

那天，我蹦蹦跳跳地過了一整天。

明明就知道接下來我會想吐，背痛，然後要同時帶三個四歲以下的孩子…

但是，連我自己都很驚訝，不知道自己為什麼會那麼興奮。

Jordan was at school when I took the pregnancy test, so I sent him a text message with the picture of the positive pregnancy test.  I'm sure when he received a text from me, he was expecting to see "hi, honey, what time will you be done at school today?"  

至於我先生喬登…

那天早上他在學校，收到我的簡訊外加一張驗孕棒的相片…

我非常確信他收到我的簡訊時百分之百會以為我寫:

”親愛的，今天幾點回家?”

Right now I am 21 weeks pregnant, and feeling good.  But I can't say the same for the first 8 weeks of this pregnancy.  I was sicker with this baby than with my other two pregnancies.  It was so bad I couldn't go to the grocery store, couldn't go in my kitchen, couldn't watch food tv shows, without throwing up.  

現在我懷孕21週，感覺良好。

但是前8個星期我可就沒法這樣說了。這次的懷孕比前兩次難過太多了。

不能去買菜，不能走進自己家的廚房，不能看電視上的料理節目…

我隨時會吐。

The worst part about the first 8 weeks was not just the physical discomfort, but the emotional one as well.  I felt guilt every single day and cried every single night, because I felt like I couldn't give my children the love and attention they needed.  I realized during these 8 weeks though, that children have an amazing quality that we should probably all strive to have.  They are completely forgiving.  While I was thinking I probably traumatized them forever and they think their mother doesn't love them,  they were probably thinking "wow, I really like playing with cars" and "can I have a bottle?" 

在這8個星期裡，比身體狀況更糟的是我的情緒。

每個白天，我都有罪惡感。每個夜晚，我都痛哭失聲。

因為我感覺到自己沒有給孩子們他們需要的愛和關注….

但是這8個星期裡，我發現孩子們表現出我們努力追求卻常失敗的特質….寬恕。

他們對我，做到了完全的寬恕。

當我深深為自己的疏忽可能造成他們心理上永遠抹滅不去的傷痛擔心時，

他們想的是:

“哇!這部車子真好玩”….

“可以給我一瓶奶嗎?”…..

 I have good days and bad days, which makes me wonder how I'll be able to handle three young children.  But I know that if I have a good attitude, each day can be a good day.

我的日子，有很順利的時候，也有很混亂的時候。

這不禁讓我懷疑自己要如何面對家裡有三個年幼孩子的生活。

但是我知道，只要我自己努力去保持一個好的態度….

每一天，都可能平順無比。

Showers 洗澡

In college, it took me 30 minutes to get ready, which included washing my hair, drying it, and putting on makeup.  I wanted to look cute, but I never wasted any time.  I was also under 100 pounds then so there wasn't much body to wash.  Haha!

讀大學的時候，要出門前我通常花30分鐘作準備。這30分鐘裡還包括洗頭，吹乾和化妝。雖然我希望自己能看起來可可愛愛的，但是我從來不浪費時間。也許是因為那時我連45公斤都不到，沒有那麼多東西可以洗吧! (哈哈。)

After I met my husband, the time cut down to 20 minutes.  I still wanted to look cute for him, but I was always so anxious to see him.  I didn't have the patience to blow-dry my hair completely before I wanted to run out the door to spend time with him. 

遇見我先生後，雖然我還是希望自己能為他打扮的可可愛愛的，但是因為太想早點見面，我把我那準備出門用的30分鐘減成了20分鐘…在跑出去見他之前，不再有耐心去完全吹乾頭髮….

Right after we got married, it took me about 15 minutes to get ready.  We were so excited about being a newlywed couple, and he always told me"you look pretty" even if I was wearing sweatpants.  So, sweatpants and no make-up was fine with me!  I was also 21 years old, so my face didn't need makeup then.  Wish I could say the same now...:)

新婚的時候，我那為出門做準備的時間再減少，只有15分鐘。因為第一，我們為我們的新生活感到太興奮，第二，我的先生，就算是我穿著一條運動褲，他動不動還是會告訴我”妳好漂亮”。於是我開始滿足於穿運動褲配上一個不化妝的素顏。也許因為那時我才21歲，我的臉不需要太多的修飾吧! (多希望現在還能如此….)

After Malakai was born, I spent about 10 minutes in the bathroom to get ready.  I always felt I needed to hurry because my newborn wasn't in my line of vision, and I thought something would happen if I wasn't right next to him all the time.  I also cut my hair short so it would dry without any effort. 

凱凱出生後，我花在洗手間的時間變成了10分鐘。我總是盡快的在趕，因為擔心我那剛出生的孩子不在我的視線範圍內會出事。
同時，我剪短了頭髮，可以不必多花時間去處理。

Now I have two young kids and I'm pregnant with #3.  I spend about 60 minutes in the bathroom these days.  Not only is it time for me to be alone and to be actually able to hear my own thoughts, I have come to realize that the more people I have to take care of, the more I need to take care of myself first.  I need to have hobbies, I need to spend time out alone with my friends, I need to keep learning and filling my life with interesting information, I need to go on date nights with my husband so we can make sure our marriage is strong, and I need to take care of my appearance and feel good about myself on the inside and on the outside.  I need to find my own interests and passion, and even indulge in my favorite foods or go shopping sometimes. 

Being a good mother doesn't mean you sacrifice who you are to take care of your beautiful babies.  Loving yourself and improving yourself makes you a better mother.  It has taken me almost three children to learn that lesson, but I have finally learned it!

現在，我有兩個年幼的孩子，肚子裡懷著老三。

這些日子以來，我花在洗手間的時間大約是60分鐘。

這段洗澡的時間不僅是我獨處的時間，更是我可以聽自己聲音的時間。

我發現在我需要花更多時間來照顧更多人的同時，我需要把自己照顧好。

我需要有自己的嗜好，我需要有時間跟我的朋友相處，我需要繼續學習有趣的事物，持續餵養我的生命。我需要跟我先生單獨約會，以經營我們的婚姻關係，讓它確保強壯。我需要照顧我自己的需要，不管是內在或外在。我需要尋找自己有興趣和有熱情的事物，甚至包括吃我最愛的食物和出門逛街。

做一個好媽媽並不代表要完全犧牲自己去照顧可愛的孩子。

愛自己，讓自己不斷進步能讓我們成為更好的媽媽。

這個功課，在我經歷將近三個孩子的過程中學習…

好不容易，學到了。

First Post! 第一篇!

 I have been wondering how to start off a new blog. Life has been crazy with the boys and I keep waiting for the perfect time to start writing. But with motherhood, there really isn't a perfect time to do anything.

一直在思考要怎樣開始寫我新的部落格。
我的生活因為兩個活蹦亂跳的兒子，經常處於一片混亂之中。
而我也一直在等一個”最佳時機”來開始我的部落格。
但是，我是一個媽媽。
”當媽媽”這個角色讓我永遠也找不到那個所謂的”最佳時機”。

Motherhood is a lot like this situation Eli is in.  He was eating bananas at breakfast and one piece somehow ended up on his head.  He had no idea and was looking around for it.  He saw Malakai and I laughing at how cute he looked with the banana on in his head, and started laughing uncontrollably too, not really knowing why. 

我真的覺得"當媽媽"這件事跟我家一歲小凱弟目前的狀況很像。
有一天早上他在吃香蕉。吃著吃著一塊香蕉跑到了他的頭頂上。
當下的凱弟完全搞不清楚狀況，茫茫然地四處張望找尋。
當他看見我和他哥哥凱凱，因為覺得他頭上頂著那塊香蕉模樣可愛而捧腹大笑時，他也開始笑個不停。
當然，他完全不清楚我們笑的原因。

With motherhood, I don't ever really know what I'm doing.  I don't ever really know if what I'm doing is right.  I don't really have an idea if what I'm doing is the best.  But I just have to find the humor in every day life with the kids.  I just do my best, try to teach them correct principles, make sure they know I love them, have fun with them and laugh the rest of it off.

當媽媽的我也一樣。
從來沒有真正知道自己在做甚麼，
從來不知自己做的是不是正確，
也從來不知怎麼做是最好的。
但是，我期待自己在和孩子們相處的每一天裡盡量找尋幽默，
盡我最大的努力的去教導他們正確的人生原則，
確保他們知道我愛他們，
並跟他們開心的玩在一起。


其它的，一笑置之。