Jason's Birth Story

Wow, it's been over two years since I've posted anything. I wanted to document Jason's birth story before too much time passes. He is 2 months tomorrow.


He was due March 7. Exactly two weeks before his due date was when everything started. It was a Monday and I worked that day. Came home and that night started contractions. I told Will, baby is going to be born tomorrow! All night contractions were on and off, but by morning they decreased in intensity. Will wanted me to put Caleb in daycare but I thought I would be okay, and I was. I spent all day with Caleb, took him to the museum and the library, two of his favorite places. In my heart I knew this would be my last day one on one with him in awhile.


That night, Tuesday night, the contractions started again. This time I called the midwife to give her a heads up. I thought, he's going to be born tomorrow for sure. I didn't get much sleep. The contractions were painful but they weren't progressing as I knew they should. And again in the morning they died down. I googled some stuff and learned about false labor. I called the midwife and she confirmed that I was indeed in "false labor". I asked her how long this could go for - she said two weeks - up until my due date! I was scheduled to work Friday and wondered how I could work in this physical state. Even though I wasn't in active labor, the contractions were still painful and I was tired.


That night, now Wednesday night, all of a sudden the contractions got super intense at around 8pm. At 9:11pm I called the midwife I had talked to in the morning and she immediately told me to come in. We asked our neighbor to watch C and packed our stuff and hurried to the hospital. On the way there I felt a super intense contraction, like I was pushing.


We checked in, went to triage. While waiting for the midwife, I had a surge of bloody discharge. She came, checked me, and I was 7cm, I think 90% dilated. Yes! They took me into a room and hooked me up. They asked me if I wanted an epidural and I said yes. They hooked me up to the fluids. A few minutes later my body started pushing. I pushed 4 times and he was out. He was born at 10:18pm (just an hour before that I was at home!).


Everything is different with a second. More on that later.

Reflections on the last 4.5 months

Life has changed so much for us and I feel that I've changed a lot as well. 4.5 months have flown by and in two weeks I will begin work.

The first 2 months were really challenging for me, and I took motherhood a lot harder than I expected. There were days when I longed to work so that I could have some excuse to be untethered from baby and have some freedom. I felt tired and alone - alone mainly because we are the first in our group of friends locally to have a baby - I was undergoing so much change and even a mere two weeks after baby arrived I felt like a completely different person. How was I to explain that?

My mother in law was here for 3 weeks, then my mom came for 4 weeks, then W had 2 weeks off. So I had 9 weeks of support, which I feel grateful for. After family left I became pretty homesick, especially because that time coincided with the holidays. This is the first time since we left LA five years ago that I really missed LA. Having family nearby is huge when you have a kid.

Breastfeeding was one of the hardest parts of motherhood. It got better after 6 weeks, even better after 2 months, and somewhere between 3 and 4 months it finally became natural. In the beginning, he would feed for an average of an hour each feed. It was brutal and there were so many times when I wanted to give up. Now I get bummed when he feeds for short periods and I want him to eat for longer! Ha.

I also experienced a lot of anxiety in the first 3 months. I've never been a worrier but I seriously worried about everything related to C. Whether I was producing enough milk, whether he was eating enough, whether I was creating bad sleep habits for him, and the list goes on. It was exhausting. I still have bouts of anxiety but it's decreased significantly.

I feel a huge need to connect with other new moms. My sister in law had a baby a month after me and it's been great - we facetime with each other every day and talk about mundane stuff like how they're eating, how they're sleeping and every little new development they have. But in terms of connecting locally, it's a Catch 22 because I really want to connect with new moms but I also value protecting his naps. Since he doesn't sleep well in the car seat anymore, that means I'm kind of stuck at home.

I make my life as a mom sound so tough but in reality C has been an "easy" baby. By 2 months he started waking 2 times a night for feeds. At around 2.5 months he got on a pretty regular schedule and has been since. At 3 months he started sleeping in his crib. He's a good napper - on average naps for 4-5 hours each day. A week ago he started sleeping through the night from 8pm-7am.

There are so many emotions around going to work. First, I feel immensely grateful for my new job. I couldn't have asked for a better one - I got my #1 choice hospital, the start date gave me 5 months at home, my commute is 10 minutes and I will have lots of support because in the first year I'll be in a program for new grads.

We also have a great setup for childcare. A good friend will be his nanny. And since I'll be working three 12 hr shifts, we won't need care 5 days a week. W will watch him on the weekends I work.

BUT, it feels so difficult! We had a practice day with his nanny last week and it went really well but after she left I cried my eyes out. It just felt so wrong to leave him when he is still so young. A baby really needs his mom. I wish I could stay home for a year, but I know even 5 months is such a luxury. I've never left him for more than 2 hours in between feeds, so this is going to be a major transition for me. Working moms tell me it gets better and that it will be worth it. Also, pumping is no fun!

Okay, this post has gotten way too long and I need to go to sleep. Major props to all moms out there!

My favorite items for baby

I can't believe our little one is almost 4 months! I wanted to quickly document my favorite items for baby up until this point. Here they are, in no particular order:

Bouncer: It doesn't really matter what brand. We have the Fisher Price Snugabunny and we used it a lot for him to chill in and sleep in for about 3 months. It's nice to have something upright to put them in after feeds too.

Tiny Love Mobile: We were gifted this mobile and I didn't set it up until he was about 6 weeks because I didn't like it at first. But it's a lifesaver. After I nurse him, I put him in his crib and turn this on while I pump. He'll be entertained by it for 15-20 minutes.

Fisher Price Piano Gym: I think any type of play gym works. I like this one because he can kick the keyboard with his feet and later sit and play the keys with his hands. At first he would just lie under there but over time he swatted at the hanging animals and now he grabs them and plays with them.

Fisher Price Jumperoo: He loves this thing. It's hideous, but he can exercise his legs on it and play with the various toys around it. I put him in here while I'm cooking and eating downstairs.

My Brest Friend: I have the boppy but I ended up just sitting on it to relieve pressure during my post partum recovery because it didn't work for me with nursing. My neighbor gave me her brest friend nursing pillow and I love it. Super comfy and I have an extra one in the car in case I need to feed him while out.

Miracle blanket: We just stopped swaddling him, but I loved the miracle blanket. It makes swaddling easy and I found that I didn't have to make it as tight but it still kept him from breaking free.

JJ Cole BundleMe: We just got this but I wish we had gotten it earlier. It's great for cold climates. We used to put a blanket on top of him in the car seat but this is snug and keeps him warm.

Mother's Milk Tea: I drink a few cups of this tea every day and I think it helps with my supply.

That's about it! Let me know if there are other items you found useful during the first few months of your little one's life.

My birth story

Thoughts on Labor & Delivery

Before getting pregnant, I knew that I wanted as natural a birth as possible. In my ideal world, I wanted a home birth or at least one at a birth center. However, W was not down with that. So we compromised and I went to a midwife practice where I would deliver at a hospital. During the pregnancy, I relaxed a bit in my thinking and decided that I didn't want an epidural, but would not be opposed to one if I got desperate.

My midwife knew my birth plan, and highly recommended that I take a laboring class if I didn't want an epidural. She said I needed to learn how to manage the pain with breathing and other useful techniques. Unfortunately, I kept getting waitlisted to the classes at the hospital and I didn't want to pay for a more expensive class. So I didn't end up going to one. As my due date approached, I began to become increasingly anxious about the laboring and birthing process. So I watched some YouTube videos of techniques, talked to a friend who delivered without an epidural, and watched a documentary about Ina May's midwife practice called The Birth Story. Also, friends told me that I would only not get an epidural if I set my mind to it in advance - that if it was an option I would use it. Great, I thought.

The Day Before

On Friday, October 18 I had an uncharacteristically socially busy day. An appraiser came to the house in the morning, then I had lunch with my mom's friend. In the afternoon I went to a get together with my nursing school classmates. W and I had dinner with friends, and then we went to an event at our church that night. So I pretty much saw almost everyone I know in Denver that day. 

Also, I woke up that day and noticed blood in the toilet. I had some bloody discharge throughout the day and some mild pain with contractions. I had a feeling labor was coming!

Laboring at Home

We got home from the church event at 11pm and at 11:30pm I knew I was in labor. I told W to get some sleep and I went downstairs. I was up all night, using an exercise ball, leaning on the counter and trying to sleep between contractions. Also, pretty early on in the night I decided I was going to get an epidural. Ha. It's the first thing I told W when he came down in the morning.

At 7am I called the midwife to check in. She told me that based on how my voice sounded I probably wasn't in active labor and that if I went into the hospital they would check me and send me home. She said I sounded tired and suggested I get some sleep between contractions. I continued laboring and called again at 11am when I felt I couldn't bear it any longer. She said I still sounded normal and to wait. But then I began to have increased fresh blood and felt that my body was starting to push during contractions. We called our friend Elaine who happens to be an OBGYN at the hospital where I was delivering and told her the status. She said to come in and get checked.

At the Hospital

We got to the hospital and I was so scared I would be 2 or 3 cm dilated. I really thought I would be because the midwife said I sounded normal. But I got checked and I was 7-8 cm dilated and my cervix was 90% effaced! I was ecstatic. They sent me up to a room. I went into the hot tub for about 20 minutes. During this time Elaine, my OB friend came and asked if she could come in. I'm normally a super modest person, but that all went out the window and somehow I let her come in to see me in all my glory sitting in the hot tub. The midwife asked if I wanted an epidural and I said yes, but when we told her my original plan of not getting one, she said let's wait and see, that I was really close already. It never came up again and I didn't end up getting one.

I got out of the hot tub and they checked me. I was 9 cm and pretty much 100% effaced. I did some pushing on my knees leaning against the back of the bed. That did it, and I started the real pushing. I pushed in 2 positions, mainly in the traditional position on my back, and some in a squatting position. I pushed for THREE hours. Elaine and Will took turns holding one leg up and the midwife and nurse the other leg. And the baby finally came.

After Thoughts

I'm so grateful for my birthing experience. I couldn't have asked for a better one. I got my wish - I didn't get an epidural, I labored at home as long as possible. I had the best experience with my midwife and nurse - they were excellent coaches and I knew exactly how I needed to push, when and for how long. They helped me with breathing as well. And they were super encouraging. Lastly, my friend Elaine was there. Elaine and her husband have been casually marriage mentoring me and W over the last few months. They have 2 adopted daughters. I had thought about asking a friend to be there during labor to help me, but never ended up asking anyone. So it turned out perfectly that she was there. She was really encouraging and there is a new bond between us as she was there during a really vulnerable and important event in our lives. She also ended up helping suture my two tears. Ha. I thought she was just visiting me but she was having a slow night and stayed with me through the whole delivery, even brought us Thai food after.

Also, I feel blessed that I saw everyone the day before. And I got some awesome prayer and words over me for me and for baby that night at the church event.

Next I will post thoughts on post-partum...when I find the time. ;)

Almost ready

I have lots of updates! I finished nursing school in August, and passed my boards 2 weeks ago. Since then, I've been finalizing preparations for baby boy. I'm due in 2 weeks! One surprising thing I discovered about myself is that I'm not a huge nester - I think it's the part of me that is not detail oriented. Or maybe I was busy with school during the nesting instinct period. At any rate, I'm glad I've been able to muster up the willpower to get things ready. Here are some shots of the baby room:

crib: IKEA
mattress: Naturepedic Organic Cotton (brand new from Craigslist)
dresser: local antique store
kilim rug: gifted by my friend Allison, from Turkey
humidifier: crane drop humidifier
blue blanket: knit by cousin
rocking chair: local yard sale
sheepskin: IKEA
fleece blanket: made by friend

I also just ordered everything I need for cloth diapering. Big thanks to Charissa for sending me the diaper covers! That gave me a head start. Here's what I ordered to complete the cloth diapering system:

1 dozen prefolds - size 1
1 dozen prefolds - size 2
4 dozen wipes
2 pail liners
1 wet bag
1 pack snappis - size 1
1 wipes solution
2 spray bottles

W and I went to a class on cloth diapering on Sunday and were pretty overwhelmed, but I finally bit the bullet and got everything. For those with experience, let me know if I'm missing anything. We'll see how this goes!

As for prepping for baby, here are the books/resources we used:

The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems
Brain Rules for Baby
Bringing Up Bebe
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
Birthing from Within
The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD

Again, I thought I'd be a big reader/researcher, but it turns out I wasn't. Most of the above books are anecdotal/stories as opposed to how-to's.

I'm due in 2 weeks! It's weird not knowing when I'll go into labor and thinking that all of a sudden we will be parents. I guess you can never be fully prepared for this kind of change.

End of summer

Summer has come to an end here in Denver and the weather is cooling down. This summer I very much enjoyed cold drinks of all varieties. I'm normally a hot drink person, even in the summer, but the pregnancy tipped my preferences towards cold drinks. I wanted to share a quick recipe for iced coffee that I found and loved this summer. I've never been an iced coffee person (more of a hot black coffee with nothing added type), but this one hit the spot for me.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh ground coffee
2 cups cold water

How to:
Put the coffee grounds and water into a french press. Do not push down on the press. Put the french press into the refrigerator and let sit for 12 hours (I let it sit overnight), then press down. When you are ready to drink, mix one part coffee concentrate with one part milk (I use soymilk). Add ice, and enjoy!

I found that doing it this way takes longer than using hot water and adding ice, but prevents the acidity, giving way to a smooth taste.

Gardening

We've expanded our gardening slightly as we have a small side yard, front yard and sidewalk lawn at our new home. It's been a learning curve - this spring we learned how to de-winterize the sprinklers (thanks to W's coworker), set them on a timer and fertilize the lawn. W also learned how to prune rose bushes by watching videos online. Big steps for us! We also didn't want to get a lawn mower just to mow our little patch of grass, so we cut a deal with our neighbors where they will mow in the summer and we will shovel in the winter.

We don't have a lot of maintenance to do because the spaces are smaller, and I think it's been just enough for us to manage. The previous owners did a great job with the landscaping so it's been nice for us to step into something set up so well.

Here are some of the roses in the front. We had fun watching and waiting to see what color roses the various bushes produced:

These are my favorite

These blossomed first

I cut some roses over the weekend from the different bushes...

We also discovered lilac bushes and lavender in the front. I didn't get any photos of the lilac (they bloom in the spring), but was very happy to find that those bushes belong to us.

Next time I will post some photos of the side yard. We have a little veggie garden growing there.

Preparing for the baby

I've slowly started to get ready for the baby. I bought a few things on Craigslist and my goal is to keep things to a minimum. My cousin in LA has been giving me some tips, and I'm pretty impressed with how simple they have kept things. He lives in a small 2 bedroom in downtown LA and so space is limited.

In terms of diapering, ideally I'd like to do a combo of going diaper free and cloth diapers. But I feel pretty overwhelmed about it. I read Diaper Free Baby last year and it changed my paradigm about diapers. I really like the idea of it, but it seems like a lot of work. Does anyone have experience with this?

Another book I read last year that shaped my view of parenting is Bringing Up Bebe. It's an American journalist's thoughts about parenting in America as compared to France. It's very interesting and paradigm-shifting. I've been thinking a lot about how parenting has developed in the U.S., especially in our generation, compared with prior generations and other countries as I think about how I want to parent.

In terms of the birth plan...I'm going to a midwife practice at a hospital. I'd like to go natural, but I'm not opposed to getting an epidural if I can't bear the pain. But since that's the plan we'll need to take a class and also think about getting a doula to help me manage the pain.

I've been getting lots of questions about whether I will work. As a new grad, it will be nearly impossible for me to find a part-time job, so I will have to work full time. Also, nursing is such a hands-on profession and it takes about a year of full-time work to become proficient at your job. The nice thing is that it will be shift work so I'll work 3x/week. I may work nights and weekends too, so that helps as well. The job market for nurses is pretty tight in Denver, but I feel less stressed about it now that the baby is coming. If it takes me longer to find a job, that will give me more time at home with the baby.

I'm doing my senior practicum rotations at Childrens Hospital in the emergency department, so I think I'll get lots of preparation for the baby there. 7 weeks of school left. I'm ecstatic.

20 weeks

I guess it's time to break the news on the blog: I'm pregnant! I'm currently 20 weeks pregnant, and my belly is really starting to show:

20 weeks

I finally broke down and got maternity clothes this week. I'd looked around at Gap, Target, Old Navy and Pea in a Pod but maternity clothes are expensive. For the last few weeks I trolled Craigslist and most people were selling L and XL. This week someone was getting rid of XS, so I jumped on it. Luckily, her style was similar to mine so I got 15 pieces of maternity clothes for a great deal - mostly shirts, a few pants and dresses as well. I must say maternity clothes are much more comfortable!

I had started another blog for the baby so I could have a place to jot down thoughts, but now that I'm public with it I'm debating whether to keep it going or just update here. At any rate, there are a few posts up there if you'd like to take a look:

www.team-oh.blogspot.com

I'm grateful for the timing as I'll be just done with school when the baby comes.

Cousins came

My cousins came to visit at the end of January. It was fun to see them, show them Denver and go skiing together. We usually do a cousins trip every December, but with lots of babies in the family 2012 was the first year we didn't do one. So this was kind of a mini cousins trip.

Hiking at Chautauqua

Skiing at Copper Mountain

I'm so grateful to have people in my life who've known me my entire life. They've seen me through all seasons of life.

Janice got married!

W's sister Janice got married in February! She asked me to be the day-of coordinator so I nervously said yes. My cousin Tim came to back me up since he had experience coordinating and I had none. Everything went well and I really enjoyed coordinating.

At the salon: getting ready

With the beautiful bride

At the reception

Anniversary, V-day & B-day

Three separate events, but as you can see I'm catching up on a backlog of blog posts!

Our anniversary is late December, so it's always tough to celebrate then. We're usually in LA visiting family. This year we celebrated with a quiet dinner at home made by W. He made paella and it was really good.

4 year anniversary dinner

For v-day, per our tradition, W cooked dinner.

V-day dinner by W

 My birthday is in March. I wanted to just do a nice dinner, but W got together a group of friends from our small group at the last minute and we went out to our favorite Thai restaurant, and then came to our place for games and cake.

W wanted to make my cake. We attempted a Korean style light fluffy cake...

W making my cake

I decorated it

 It didn't come out quite as planned, but I still enjoyed it. Had a great time with friends - am grateful for the community God has provided for me here.

Skiing

I learned how to ski this year! Last year, I just tagged along with Will and went shopping and hung out at coffee shops while he snowboarded. Denver has such an outdoors culture, and a big part of that is skiing in the winter. I figured I should give it a try. I was really nervous about how I'd do because I always struggled with snowboarding. But I ended up really enjoying it!

My first day of skiing: Ski Cooper with my friend Grace. We took lessons together while the others hit the slopes.

One of the biggest barriers I felt with skiing/boarding was how expensive it is. It turns out that skiing can be pretty affordable for locals. We got a 5 pack for $130. Will switched to skiing this year too. We had a great time skiing with friends and out of town guests. It's a fun bonding activity, and something to look forward to in the winter, especially for someone like me who isn't so fond of winter.

Family visit

My mom's annual spring break was a few weeks ago, so she and my brother came out to visit. It was my brother's first time visiting us since we moved out here. It's been nice to have the house to be able to host out of town guests.

Hiking at Chautauqua

Garden of the Gods

Now that I don't live near family anymore, I really cherish these times. It's a gift to be able to be together.

Finding our home

I haven't had time to take photos of the home, so I hadn't written about it, but thought I'd share a bit about how we found it.

We looked for a home off and on for about 8 months. I started looking in March of 2012 when I had more time since school hadn't started yet. At the time, I looked mainly in the Highlands and Sunnyside areas, which are just northwest of downtown. These neighborhoods are sort of like Eagle Rock (LA) 10 years ago or Grandview (OH). The homes in that area are older, mostly built in the 1900s. I love the charm of older homes, and the neighborhoods are fairly walkable. I also liked that it was close to downtown. Since we don't know where I'll end up working, I thought it would be good for at least one of us to have a short commute.

I had difficulty finding homes in that area because prices were fairly high for Denver. The homes in our price range either needed major renovation, or were flipped, but in a way that didn't preserve the original charm of the home and used cheap materials. I did find one home in Sunnyside that I really liked - the owner had done a lot of work to it over time, and it had a really large yard. We were pretty close to making an offer, but that was around April and we had just moved to Denver in January. It felt like a lot of moving for us, and a little bit early to settle on something. So we let it go.

In August we started looking again. Up until this point I had contacted the selling agents and we didn't have a realtor of our own. We looked at one place in the condo building where we were living and liked the realtor, so we started working with her. As I looked around, I noticed prices had gone up 10-15% since I had looked in March. The more we looked, the more we regretted not buying that one home. Around that time, some friends of ours suggested that we look in another neighborhood, Stapleton.

I had resisted Stapleton because I felt like I'd be "selling out" to the burbs - even though it's only 6.5 miles from downtown. Stapleton has a unique history - it is the site of the old Denver airport. 10 years ago they decided to move the airport to another location, so a big piece of flat land was left in the middle of the city. Most of the homes in Denver proper are old, but Stapleton homes are new within the last 10 years, and they are still building new homes. It's one of the few neighborhoods in Denver where you can live in the city and live in a newer home without moving out to the burbs. Also, it has really good schools.

We'd never looked at homes in Stapleton, so we decided to go take a look one day. We looked at a few homes, and looked at model homes as well. And one week later, we found our home.

So we ended up living in a neighborhood that was completely different from where we had been looking. It just ended up being the best value. W's commute is about 20 minutes, or he takes the bus. My commute to school is 10 minutes. We've been happy with our decision. We're not very handy so we would have struggled or had to shell out more money with an older home. Sometimes I miss the energy and vibe of being closer to downtown, but I can easily drive there in 20 minutes. Another thing about Stapleton is that it's a master planned community - so it feels a bit like Irvine (CA) or New Albany (OH) - which to me sometimes feels sterile and cookie cutter. So those are the downsides. Upsides are that Stapleton also has lots of parks and paths because most of the homes don't have yards. It's different from an Irvine in that the planners had a urban development in mind when thinking about the ethos of the community. So homes are pretty close together to make neighborhoods more walkable, and most homes don't have big yards. Instead there are parks, dog parks, pools and trails throughout.

So that's how we found our home. I'll give you more details about the home in another post.

Feeling grateful for community near and far today. A photobooth shot of some small group peeps at a Christmas party back in December.

Happy new year

Quick update:

We moved into our new house!
I did my labor and delivery rotations last month - decided OB is not for me.
I start pediatrics on Monday.
Caught the flu in LA, so going to bed early tonight.

Talk later!

Homeowners

It's official. All of the papers are signed and as of today we are homeowners!

It also happens to be the day of our wedding anniversary. 4 years today.

It's hard to be in the thick of things with school. I just want to pack and be in our new home. But for now, I'm studying. I have my OB and Peds exams tomorrow, and then we will pack and move Saturday. I'll update on the home later.

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving meal

Pumpkin pie & Rooibos tea

Hiking at Dakota Ridge Trail

This year was the first year we thought about going to LA for Thanksgiving because one of my good friends was getting married, but after much consideration, we decided to stay here.  My mom was supposed to fly out but she got sick so she stayed in LA, and it ended up being a laid back weekend.

We had friends over again for dinner this year. Thanksgiving has become a friend holiday for us, and we have enjoyed hosting and sharing the meal with friends. This year I'm grateful for the new friends we've made in our new city. W and I were talking last night about how we have turned a corner in friendships just in the last 2 months. We were in a very different place in terms of friendship/community even in early September. I'm also grateful that I got into nursing school here and that W and I could be in the same city. I'm grateful for our church and the ways we are both growing. I'm grateful for the prospect of being in one city for awhile.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving!

Update on Denver...

OK, so I think I scared everyone with my venting about Denver. But I've turned a corner and I need to update you guys on that so you don't hate Denver! ;)

Evidence of my change of heart: We bought a house!!!

More on that in a later post. Back to 10 reasons to love Denver:

1. Mountains: A 1.5 to 2 hour drive and you're in the beautiful mountains. Hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, whatever suits you, you can do it here. Or if you're a winter sport person, a two hour non-windy drive and you can snowboard or ski in what I hear are amazing slopes.
2. Outdoorsy culture: I can guarantee that you will become more active, get fit and have a healthier lifestyle just by the mere cultural force that exists here.
3. Seasons without extremities: I have come to love seasons - switching out the blankets, pulling out the fleece sheets in the winter, putting away my winter coats in the spring, the changing foliage in the fall. You have all of that without the super cold or super hot of Chicago, and without the humidity of the East Coast.
4.  Affordable housing: It's not as cheap as Ohio, but compared to California, housing is very affordable here (that's how we were able to buy), and schools are good. Most families could probably live off of one income, whereas that would be tough in LA.
5. Short flight to LA: Just 2.5 hours, or a 15 hour car ride and you're there.
6. Downtown: Denver has a substantial downtown with shopping, cute eateries and a free shuttle that you can ride up and down. 
7. Growing city: Denver has a light rail, and they are continuing to expand their transportation system. The average age of the city is 30 - so many young people are attracted to the city and move here. 
8. Many transplants: Along with the above, most of the people I've met didn't grow up here. So everyone is looking for new friends.
9. Jobs: I think jobs are easier to get here than in California. With the experience you built up in California, you could probably move a few steps up here.
10. Slower pace of life: Less traffic, shorter work hours, and laid back personalities make life and work more manageable.

When I vented a few months ago, I was at a low point from having done nothing for 6 months, transition fatigued (3rd new city in 3 years of marriage), and then having a hard time going back to school (feeling old, freshman jitters and insecurities). I also didn't have a good community or good friends back then. Now that I'm really enjoying school, more plugged in with my small group community (we meet at our place now), met a few more Asians, and had the summer to enjoy some of the unique perks of Denver, I think I have a healthier and balanced perspective.

Denver is not LA, but there are also some benefits to living here. Also, I forgot to mention that W loves his job. He told me he has 95% job satisfaction!

This was my not-so-subtle attempt at trying to convince someone to move here. :) You know who you are!

There are definitely certain friends that I know would love living here. We've already targeted 4 couples who we can see living here, and 3 of them are seriously considering it (looking for jobs here, etc...)!

So don't let my previous negative posts deter you. :)