def initial_log(self, orders):
    with self.conn.cursor() as cur:
        row_ids = []
        for order in orders:
            cur.execute('INSERT INTO orders (order_num, order_amount)
                        VALUES (%s, %s) RETURNING order_id;',
                        (order.num, order.amount))
            row_id = cur.fetchone()[0]
            row_ids.append(row_id)
        self.conn.commit()
        return row_ids

def update_log(self, row_ids, updated_orders):
    with self.conn.cursor() as cur:
        for row_id, order in zip(row_ids, updated_orders):
            status_list = order.messages
            encoded_status = encode_status(status_list)
            cur.execute('UPDATE orders SET (final_order_amount, order_ack,
                        order_time, status) =
                        (%s, %s, current_timestamp, %s) WHERE order_id = %s',
                        (order.final_amount,
                         order.ack_num, encoded_status, row_id))
        self.conn.commit()