Asher is Home!

We just wanted to let everyone know that we made it to Kentucky. It was a long trip, but Asher was great and we didn't have any problems. We are all jet-lagged (especially Asher), but we are recovering and adjusting to the icy conditions in Paducah. It is great to be home with our family and we are looking forward to spending lots of time with them over the next 6 months.

We did have a great send-off from Surabaya. As soon as our friends arrived to take us to the airport it started raining. It wasn't just a few sprinkles, it was a full out rainstorm. Everyone was soaked by the time our 2 suitcases, 4 duffel bags, 2 carry ons, diaper bag, car seat, and stroller were loaded into the car. During the whole loading process our electricity went out and the street and house began to flood. We jumped into the car and took off for the airport before it got any worse. Luckily we made it just fine, but we have been told that our street flooded quite a bit after we left.

No new pictures for now, we forgot the power cord for our computer in Surabaya (since we were leaving in the dark). Hopefully it will be here soon and we will be able to post some pictures for our last days in Surabaya and our first days in America.

Asher is Going to America

Tomorrow afternoon Asher will leave the land of his birth to go to the land of his parent's birth. It's strange leaving here because we know that more than likely we will never return to this city. Although Asher is very excited to get to Kentucky and see Granny and Mimi there are some things he will miss about Indonesia.

From the time Asher came home from the hospital he has slept in a Moses Basket next to our bed. When we get to Kentucky he will be making the move to a big crib. When we first brought Asher home from the hospital he fit nicely in the middle of the basket, now he takes up the entire basket. It's a good thing we are moving now or we would have to find him a new place to sleep.

He takes up almost the whole basket.

Sleeping away the day in his cozy little basket.

Behind our bed are some beautiful, blue, polyester curtains. While Roger and I are not a big fan of them, Asher loves them. In fact, he loves them so much that sometimes he would rather smile at them than eat.

Oooh! Aaah! Asher loves those ugly curtains.

In the late afternoon it cools off enough that we can take Asher on walks around the neighborhood. While he will be able to still go for walks in Kentucky he will miss all of the exciting things our Indonesian neighborhood has to offer.

Checking out the neighborhood becak.

The neighborhood goat. We didn't want to get too close.

One person Asher will definitely miss is his Ibu. She comes to our house several times a week to clean, do laundry, cook, etc. One of her favorite things to do is to hold Asher and look out the front door. Asher loves to talk to her and smile at her while they check out what the neighbors are doing.

Asher and Ibu hanging out by the front door.

Of course Asher will miss his Indonesian friends, too. Whenever we go for a walk everybody comes running out of their house to say hi to Asher. They all think he is the cutest baby in all of Indonesia (we agree!). And they always tell us that they hope he will one day be president of the United States (just like another famous American that once lived in Indonesia.)

Visiting friends.

Last, there is our family here. These are the people that were with us when Asher was born, spent hours at the hospital teaching us how to take care of him and spent even more hours at our house taking care of us. They have been with us through everything the last two years. Even though Asher will not remember them, they are definitely the thing Roger and I will miss the most about Indonesia.

Our Indonesian family. We love these guys.

Rolling Around

Last Tuesday (December 2) Asher surprised us and himself when he rolled over. He was enjoying some tummy time before bed and just flipped right on over. Luckily we had the video camera out and were able to capture the whole thing. Turn on your speakers if you want to hear Roger get really excited.



Asher had been trying to roll over for a few days, so we had been watching and hoping that we would be able to catch it on video when it happened. Since then he has rolled over several more times. Now he is working on rolling from his back to his belly. He's a strong little man!

Thanksgiving

In Pictures - Asher's First Thanksgiving

Waking up in his big boy pajamas.
Thanks Aunt Jessica!


Hanging out in the sling.


Sleeping in Daddy's arms.


Watching everybody eat way too much food.

Asher needed some Mommy time after his busy day.

Sleepy baby, worn out after all that fun.

Asher's Top 10 @ 10

Asher is now 10 weeks old and he would like to share with you his top 10 @ 10.

1. Milk
I love Milk, I like to drink it at least 7 times everyday. I like it so much that sometimes I spit it back up.

I don't get the big deal with Starbucks. $3 for a cup of coffee? No way! Give me some milk.

2. Mommy and Daddy
This one is pretty self-explanatory. They pretty much do everything for me. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't get clean diapers or milk. I really like milk.



3. Eating
I love to eat milk. Most of the time Mommy feeds me, but sometimes Daddy gives me a bottle and when Mimi was here she would give me bottles, too.

Yummy, yummy!

4. Sleeping
I like to sleep so much that I go to bed at 7:30 pm and sleep until 6 am. Mommy still makes me wake up at 11 pm, but it's okay because I get to eat milk.

I love my basket, I'll miss it when I move to America.

5. Smiling
When I smile Mommy and Daddy get so excited, so I smile a lot because I like to make them happy. I didn't used to smile at Mommy and Daddy, I liked to smile at the curtains and the air conditioner (trust me, it's hot here, you would smile at an air conditioner, too). Now I smile at people I know.

I'm adorable and I know it!

6. Milk
I just like it so much I had to mention it again. It's really good.

7. Play Gym
I have a play gym with a red bird, I like to hit the red bird with my little fists. When the music is playing I get so excited I kick my legs and hit my red bird as hard as I can.

The star at the top plays music and I have a great time hitting the birds.

8. Milk
One last time, this stuff is good.

9. Pacifier
When I get really tired and Mommy or Daddy is rocking me I love to have my pacifier. It helps me to calm down and go to sleep.

After a long day of eating and sleeping, I can't wait to get home and relax with my passy.

10. Head Control
I love it now that I can hold up my head and look around. It scares all of the Indonesians when Mommy lets me hold my head up all by myself, but I'm strong and I know I can do it.

I love to lay on my boppy and watch Mommy play with my toys.

Well, that's Asher at 10 weeks old. He's still growing and changing everyday. He's makes us laugh and smile so much and we are so excited to see how much he changes in the next 10 weeks.

Two Months

Next time we take a picture like this we will be in America!

Asher is two months old. I can't believe how fast the time has gone and how much he has changed and developed.

Check out that smile! Asher really started smiling while we were in Bali.

Asher now weighs 12.5 pounds and we think he is probably about 24 inches long. He is very good at smiling and cooing and he loves to play with his Baby Einstein gym. He eats good and sleeps great at night. He usually goes to bed around 7:30, I wake him up at 10:30 to eat and then he will sleep until 6:30. Asher still sleeps in our room (mostly because there's no other room for him to sleep in) and must be swaddled in order to sleep for a long time.

UPDATE!

We are happy to report that with three weeks to go before our trip to America Asher has an Indonesian birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (proof of American citizenship), an American passport and an almost finished visa. Last week we went to Immigration to get pictures and fingerprints done for his visa. I'm not sure if you've ever tried to fingerprint a 2 month old, but it's hard to get those little fists open and even harder to get those tiny fingers onto an ink pad. I think we ended up with two thumb prints electronically and finally had to make fake fingerprints using ink and my pinkie finger.

I Flew on an Airplane!

My Crying Baby

I've got a lot of short videos of Asher. I thought this would be a good place to post them for everyone to see.

Although he is the perfect baby he can occasionally throw a good fit. Usually this happens in the afternoon when he is tired, but doesn't want to sleep. Turn on your speakers and enjoy!

One Month Old

Asher is now one month old. We can't believe how fast this month has gone by. At his last doctor's appointment he weighed about 9.5 lbs and he has definitely gotten taller, too. He is outgrowing some of his newborn clothes and starting to look even cuter in the 0-3 months clothes. He is a very content baby, he doesn't cry very much and he likes to sleep at night. In fact, last night he slept from 10 pm to 5 am. Roger and I were very excited!
Here are some pictures from Asher's first month.

Asher's Birth Story

I'll try to keep this short, but it was an amazing day and pretty hard to sum up.

3:00 am
Woke up with contractions about 7-8 minutes apart, at one point they were only 4-5 minutes apart.

8:00 am
Went to the hospital for the scheduled induction, internal exam showed I was still only 1 cm, contractions had slowed down to 15 minutes apart, spent the next several hours prepping for the induction and doing a non-stress test.

11:00 am
Pitocin started and contractions picked back up to 6 minutes apart and not too painful. Dr. Pujo stops by to check on me and says he will be back later in the afternoon.

12:30 pm
Internal exam showed I was at 3 cm and could get the much desired epidural, contractions were becoming more and more painful, pitocin was stopped.

The rest of the times are pretty fuzzy...

1:00 pm
Contractions are coming one on top of another Roger is helping me breathe through them and try to relax, our friend Raegan was also there to show me how to breathe and to translate for us and generally try to encourage us.

Maybe 1:30 pm
Another internal exam and I am now at 6 cm, but still waiting for the epidural.

Sometime Later
The anesthesiologist finally arrived and began the epidural, I had to curl up on my side and try not to move during contractions, it was excruciating. Roger was amazing and ended up with some wounds from my fingernails.

An Hour After That
I can tell something is going wrong with the epidural and I'm starting to doubt whether or not I can make it through the pain, Roger continued to breathe with me and do everything he could to help me get through each contraction. At this point I was only getting about a 1 minute break between contractions. The epidural was actually not painful at all, just scary. Finally the epidural is finished and I start waiting for some relief.

10 Minutes Later
The epidural didn't work, I'm getting no relief at all and after waiting another 10 minutes the anesthesiologist decides to try again.

Maybe 15 Minutes Later
Sweet relief! The contractions had mostly been in my back and I could finally feel them start to lessen. I could still feel my legs, I was only numb around my waist, but it was wonderful. It was at this point we took a picture. I remember feeling so good for about 10 minutes...

As soon as the epidural started working the nurse did another internal exam and I was at 8 cm. I was looking forward to a little rest before the pushing.

3:30 pm
I start feeling the overwhelming urge to push, but I'm not completely dilated yet. The nurse checks and I'm at 9 cm and Dr. Pujo is called, I have to pant to keep from pushing every time I have a contraction. The poor nurse keeps telling me to stop pushing in Indonesian, I keep telling her I can't help it in English.

4:00 pm
Dr. Pujo arrives and suits up, I'm completely dilated and I can start pushing. Raegan and the anesthesiologist coach me on how to push and I feel like I am making good progress. Even with the epidural I can feel the contractions and feel the urge to push.

4:40 pm
Dr. Pujo announces that Asher is stuck and that he wants to do a C-Section. We are all shocked because Raegan had actually seen the top of his head a few pushes before and Asher's heartrate was still great. He gives us the choice of vacuum extraction or C-Section, I'm beyond being able to process anything, but definitely don't want to have a C-Section. Roger says we can try the vacuum extraction and Raegan gets Dr. Pujo to agree to 15 more minutes of pushing.

5:00 pm
Dr. Pujo starts the vacuum extractor , but it doesn't work, he is now telling us we have to have a C-Section. Praise the Lord Raegan was with us, she told him no and told me to keep pushing. A few minutes after that he decided to try to the vacuum extractor one last time.

5:18 pm
With Dr. Pujo using the vacuum extractor and all of the nurses and the anesthesiologist pushing on my belly Asher's head finally started to come out. One more big push and an episiotomy his head was born. With the next push he was out and Dr. Pujo put him on my belly and Roger and I got to see our son for the first time. As soon as he came out he gave a good cry to let us know he was okay.

This is our favorite picture. It was taken just seconds after Asher was born. I just love the look on our faces as we meet our baby boy. There were definitely some tears and some big goofy smiles.

And this is one of our first family photos. We were so happy and so tired and glad to finally have our baby boy with us.

A Crazy Week

Baby Asher is now one week old. We have been working on putting photos on zenfolio, but we've been a little busy, so it's not done yet.
Asher is doing well. We are a bit sleep deprived and occasionally overwhelmed, but we are surviving. Everybody here is taking really good care of us, they are bringing us food and coming over to check on us everyday, sometimes several times each day.
Mimi (Courtney's mom) will be here in the morning and we are looking forward to getting a little rest while she is here.
On Friday Asher went to the doctor for the first time. He got a shot, but only cried for a minute and then went right back to sleep. His weight is now 3.6 kilos (his birth weight was 3.4 kilos). I'm not sure it should really have been that high, but they weighed him with his diaper and sleeper on. Either way, he is still close to his birth weight and will go back in two weeks for another weight check.

He's here!!!

Asher is here!!!

He was born on September 20, 2008 at 5:18 pm (local time), 6:18 am (East Coast USA).

He is 7lbs. 8oz., 21 inches long...blonde hair and blue eyes! It's too early to tell who he looks like.

We'll update with pictures and details when we get home from the hospital.

Game Plan

Well, I think today might finally be the day. At 8:00 am (Friday night US time) we will go to the hospital and hopefully check in. I have been having contractions for the past few hours, so I am hopeful that I have made some progress and Dr. Pujo will be able to get Asher here sometime today.
Depending on the internet access at the hospital Roger (or somebody else) may be updating the blog, so check back to see what's going on.

Still Not Here

We went to see Dr. Pujo tonight and were expecting to be admitted to the hospital. We had all of our bags packed and were ready to go. Unfortunately, Dr. Pujo feels like Asher is still not ready to go. So, we are back to waiting.

He did an exam and said I was 1 cm and it would be best to wait until Saturday to induce. I told him we wanted to stay and he said we could if we wanted to, but Roger in all of his infinite wisdom asked Dr. Pujo what would be best for me and for Asher. Dr. Pujo said to just give it another day.
We are so disappointed, but hopeful that labor will start tonight or tomorrow and we will be able to avoid being induced. I am having some contractions now, so pray that they continue and get stronger so we can repack the car and head back to the hospital before Saturday.

We were able to pick up a few last minute things today. We got a nice mosquito net to go over Asher's bed and some window shades for the car. Normally we don't use mosquito nets, but if Asher is anything like his mom he will be the target of every mosquito in Southeast Asia. During this time of year it's impossible to keep all of the mosquitos out of our bedroom. The window shades are pretty self-explanatory...it's about 100 degrees everyday and the sun is bright and strong, we've got to protect our baby boy from that. As an added bonus I think it will also help keep people from staring inside our car at stoplights.

Asher Watch - Day 8

Dear Asher,
Consider this your eviction notice. I've enjoyed having you grow in my belly for the past 9 months (maybe a little longer...), but your time is up. Tomorrow is the day, either come out or Dr. Pujo is coming in to get you. Your father and I are tired of waiting on you.
Sincerely,
Your Mother

So, here's the plan.
Tomorrow night (Thursday morning in the USA) we will go see Dr. Pujo. We think he will admit me to the hospital and induce. I'm not really sure if he will induce Thursday night or Friday morning, he was sort of vague on the details and really I didn't think to ask.
This is the final Asher Watch, but we do plan on updating the blog from the hospital. We hear there is wi-fi at the hospital, but we will wait and see if it works.
So, be sure to check this website or your inbox for any news. Or maybe check facebook.

For the final Asher Watch quote:
"My brother were forced to borned."
Roger was discussing the possibility of inducing labor with one of our friends. He shared with us that his mother was also induced when his brother was born.

Asher Watch - Day 7

Still no baby boy, but Roger and I are enjoying laying around tonight feeling Asher squirm and kick inside my belly. We're trying to talk to him and tell him to come on out.
I guess the end really is near, if nothing happens tomorrow then Thursday night we will go back to Dr. Pujo and then finally Asher will be born!
We are so excited! Every night we go to sleep thinking that just maybe tomorrow is the day.

And finally, the pregnancy quote of the day...
My friend Indah always sends me text messages that say, "Gaimana kandungannya?"
The first time she asked me this I grabbed my dictionary because I had no idea what she was asking.
The translation: "How's the uterus?"
I guess that's one way to see how I'm doing...

Asher Watch - Day 6

Today is Asher's original due date, but I guess he is late for that one as well.
I walked another 2 miles today plus we went to the mall and to Carrefour, I hope all of this walking is helping.
There's also a full moon tonight, I'm still holding out hope that it will somehow help labor to start.
While at Carrefour we came across our quote of the day, although it has nothing to do with when I will born Roger's baby.
It was written on a t-shirt: "Little Miss Old Digger"

Asher Watch - Day 5

Today we continued our wait and did some cooking and took another trip to Starbucks. We keep taking the one last trip to Starbucks before the baby is born, but unfortunately the baby has yet to be born and we keep going back to Starbucks. Maybe today really was the last time...

I've gotten increasingly grumpy when people (a.k.a. our national friends) ask where Asher is. They evidently don't use due dates here so I guess it's my fault for telling them that Asher would be born on 9 September. Therefore on 9 September they all started freaking out because there was no Asher. They all think my doctor must not know what he is doing and that something is going terribly wrong. In fact they make sure and text message either me or Roger several times a day to let us know that something has gone wrong and that we should go to the doctor immediately. One of our friends even told us that his uncle would "born my baby" if my doctor was "wrong again this week."

So, in honor or my cultural frustrations the quote of the day comes from Roger's cell phone, "Were there any sign yet?"

Asher Watch - Day 4

We're still watching and waiting.
Only 5 more days for Asher to come on his own.
I walked another 2 miles tonight and got stared at by all the neighbors...again.

Quote of the day comes from the world famous (or at least Surabaya famous) Dr. Pujo:
"If no baby by next Thursday I think better to terminate the pregnancy."
I promise, we really are in good hands over here.

Asher Watch - Day 3

Nothing to report today except that nothing has happened. I don't even have a funny quote. By this time next week Asher should definitely be here, so I suppose the countdown can begin again.

Asher Watch - Day 2

We went to see Dr. Pujo tonight and he once again told us that Asher is healthy and that I am healthy. So healthy in fact, that there is no reason to do anything besides wait another week. He did a non-stress test and we got to spend an hour listening to Asher's heartbeat. It was good and strong, just like it's supposed to be and we got to check out the labor and delivery room.
The good news: if Asher is not here by next Thursday Dr. Pujo will induce me. We are happy to know that the end is finally in sight. I can handle another week knowing this.
We are still praying that Asher will decide to come before next Thursday, we really want to avoid being induced.

Finally, for the bad English/having a baby overseas quote of the day...
"I wish your baby have a Indonesian style on his attitudes, as like as Obama."

Asher Watch - Day 1

Well, there's not really too much to watch or report. Still no Asher. Roger says tomorrow is the day, I'm not that optimistic. We do go back and see Dr. Pujo tomorrow night (Thursday morning in the USA) and hopefully we will have some word from him about what happens next.

I have been walking every day in hopes of helping Asher get here sooner, but so far no luck. I am really sore and he has dropped down even more, so maybe the walks are helping some. I have also read that eating spicy food can sometimes bring on labor. I have been eating super spicy food for about a year and a half now...and we're still waiting.

So, for the funny part of waiting for a baby to be born in another country...
Roger gets about a thousand text messages a day and they almost all say this:
When Courtney will born your baby?

40 Weeks

Today is the day that Asher should be born. Evidently somebody forgot to tell him that because instead of pictures of a sweet baby boy, I only have a picture of me with an even bigger belly (by the way, there will be no more belly pictures, me and my tank top have reached the end).
Actually, we have read that only 5% of babies are born on their actual due date. So, I guess we shouldn't be too surprised that he's not here yet.

I think we have everything ready. I have most of my hospital bag packed (at least the important stuff like a new book, The Office Season 4 and snacks for Roger), the camera is charged and the
"Welcome Home Asher" sign is complete*.
Asher's bag has been packed for a while (umm, maybe since July...) and this week Roger put the car seat into the car. This is Asher's coming home outfit courtesy of Mimi, check out the cool monogram.
We are trying to be patient, but we can't wait to meet our baby boy. Hopefully soon we will be blogging about contractions and going to the hospital, but until then we will just be waiting.

*Bonus points for anyone who knows what television sitcom inspired this sign.

No News Yet

I just got back from my appointment with Dr. Pujo. Asher and I are both perfectly healthy and he told me to come back next week, which will be 2 days after my due date. He said if Asher is not here by next Thursday he will do a non-stress test to make sure everything is still okay.
For now we are continuing to wait. I will try to update the blog when something starts to happen and since there is wi-fi at the hospital we should be able to post some pictures soon after he is born.

For now, here are some pictures of stuff Asher has gotten in the mail recently.
All the orange is from the Record family and these are Asher's first pair of shoes.
These pajamas and this bib are from Aunt Jessica. She should be here to welcome Asher into the world, but unfortunately because of her Thymus gland she is already back in America.

Thank you all so much! I love getting mail, especially when it's for Asher.

39 Weeks at the Buffet

There's not too much to update this week. Still no Asher and I haven't been to the doctor again. I do go back to Dr. Pujo on Thursday night, hopefully he will tell us something really exciting like, "It's time for Asher to be born!" So, check back on Thursday and see what we find out.

While we have been sitting around sweating and waiting for Asher we have had some fun. Yesterday we went to the Shangri-La Hotel for a little breakfast buffet action. It was heavenly and we managed to eat enough that we were not hungry again until dinner time.

This is what gluttony looks like. They told us the buffet was closing so we all went back and loaded up our plates with one last round of bacon, pancakes and other goodies. For some reason I also ended up with several pieces of cheese. I guess that's just what happens when you take a very pregnant woman to a buffet.

After we rolled out of the restaurant we went outside to take a few pictures.

Roger and I wanted to compare our bellies. Since I've been pregnant Roger has lost 20 pounds and I have gained 20 pounds.



I made Roger pose for a few pictures with me. Who knows, these may be the last pictures we have together before becoming a family of 3!

And of course, Roger couldn't be serious for all of the pictures. I think in this picture he is giving Asher a little pep talk...
"Get out here boy! I'm tired of waiting around to meet you!"

By the way...check out that countdown on the right side of the screen. We are in the single digits now!

38 Weeks

Today Asher got a big box in the mail, it came all the way from Louisville! It was filled with clothes, books, toy and diapers.

This was Roger's favorite thing.

Sapi Cat felt like he needed to check out everything.

Look at all the stuff! Thanks Mandy (and family), we really appreciate you sending us such a wonderful package. Besides all the baby stuff, there were some Reese's Cups and Kit Kats for me and Roger.

Today was definitely a good day all around. Besides getting a package, we got hot water. Yay! After a week of cold showers it felt so good to take a hot shower. I was starting to worry that Asher would be taking some cold baths when he got here.

Nothing new to report, no doctor's appointments or anything this week. Roger got his haircut, so he's ready to take pictures with Asher. I'm just ready to trade in belly pictures for baby pictures. Here's me at 38 weeks, enjoying some Indepence Day festivities.

37 Weeks

Today marks Asher being a full-term baby. That means we are ready for him to get here. We have moved past looking cute and being patient and into being hot and round and ready for our baby to arrive. Actually, there are still three weeks until Asher's due date, so really there's not too much to get excited about quite yet. But we are excited and hoping that just maybe Asher will decide he's ready to come on out.
Here's a hot and sweaty picture of me in our miniature kitchen. Excuse the scrubby look, we are once again without running water in our house and I am having to resort to bathing in our laundry room with a bucket and some cold water.

Here's to the possibility that by this time next week we will have a baby (or at least running water!)