29 April 2008

Like Father, Like Son (20 Weeks)

In case you didn't know, Coldplay released the first single from their new album earlier today. We have already downloaded it (free on www.coldplay.com) and listened to it. In fact, we have all listened to it. First, daddy got out the big headphones to listen.

Then baby that has not yet been named got his turn.

In case you were wondering, we all enjoyed the new song. Baby Boy even danced around a little bit while he was listening to it.

We have now made it to the half way mark! In just 20 more weeks Baby Hampton will hopefully already be here. At this point he weighs about 10.5 ounces and is 10 inches long, he's about the size of a banana. Here's a picture of my belly at 20 weeks.

22 April 2008

19 Weeks

After last week's excitement of finding out we're having a boy, I'm not sure what to write about. I am now at 19 weeks and growing.

I've traded in most of my running for walking and swimming. It's just too hot here to do much running. And I'm enjoying wearing my new clothes, although the shirts are still a little too big.

We are sort of working on naming the baby, we really had a lot of good names for a baby girl, but are having to work a little harder to come up with boy names. We have some ideas, well, actually I think we have it pretty much narrowed down to two names...but you still have to wait. I'm sure we'll get around to naming the baby sometime before September.

We have started shopping for some baby stuff around here. It's sort of overwhelming trying to what to buy and how much to pay for it. We need a stroller, car seat and something for the baby to sleep in. I guess this baby stuff can get sort of expensive.

Anyway, we have been busy around here working and hanging out with Surabaya's newest attraction, Baby Jabin.

Jabin was born at the same hospital where we will have our baby and he turned out alright, so we are feeling pretty confident about having our baby here. The main problem I have with the hospital is their use of pink blankets. Boys and girls alike are wrapped up in pink blankets the entire time they are there.

17 April 2008

We're Thinking Blue!

We went to the doctor tonight and could very clearly see that we are having a son! We are excited and so are the grandmas. Last we heard Grandma Susan was running through the halls of Lone Oak Elementary making sure that everyone knows she is going to have a grandson. Doesn't she look excited?

Everything looked good with the baby boy. We actually got to hear the heartbeat for the first time tonight and could see that he has grown a lot since our last ultrasound 4 weeks ago. In fact, we could even see him starting to take after his Uncle Mel by sucking his thumb!

We went to a new doctor tonight and really liked him. He said that he thought my due date should be September 9 instead of September 15 because, "09-09-08, that would be a good birthday to have, you know with all of those 9's." So, yeah, the power of modern medicine is not to be out done by the doctor thinking that having lots of 9's would be great thing.

14 April 2008

18 Weeks

My trusty tank top is dirty, so this week's picture is actually from my recent trip to Sulawesi. While I was there we went up into the mountains to see a tea plantation and I thought it would be a great spot for a picture.

I left Roger at home and took off for a girls weekend. Besides the tea plantation we went to see a waterfall and took a trip to a nearby island to sit on the beach and get sunburned.

On Thursday we are going to a new doctor. We have decided to stay here in our city to have the baby and I am going to start seeing a doctor at the hospital closer to our house. Hopefully Baby Hampton will be wide awake and ready to show the world if he/she is a girl or boy.

09 April 2008

17.5 Weeks

After hearing stories from friends at home who are having babies I am starting to realize that it’s just a little different to do it over here. So, I thought I would let you know a little about prenatal care here and how it seems to be a little different than America.

1. I must be proactive.

After talking to doctors in the States and reading my borrowed copy of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” I think I have a good idea of what a doctor’s appointment in the states would be like. It’s sort of different here. I walk in to see my doctor and she just stares at me. At first this was unnerving and awkward, I kept waiting for her to talk and I guess she was waiting for me to say something. I figured that she was the doctor, it’s sort of her show. Not true. After my first opening line of “Well, I’m pregnant,” was met with an odd stare and more silence I realized that just to get the appointment started I have to take charge. I tell her what needs to be done and she does it. I ask the right questions and she always has an answer, I just have to know what to ask. When I want blood tests or any other tests done I just write down what I want on a piece of paper, walk over to the lab and hand it to them. They run the test, no questions asked, and usually have the results back to me in an hour. Don't worry, my doctor is wonderful and knows what she is doing. It's just that most people that live here don't have the money to run all of the tests and get the same kind of care that we expect. Now that she knows what we expect (and that we can pay for it) we don't have to be as proactive during our appointments.


2. Ultrasounds, ultrasounds, ultrasounds.

From what I hear most of the time in the States you don’t have an ultrasound every single time you go to the doctor. The doctors here love to do ultrasounds and we love to see our baby kicking around. So far we have had an ultrasound every time we have been to the doctor, even when I was only a few weeks pregnant and all you could see was a little black dot. Ultrasounds are super cheap here, only about $5 unless I want a print out and then it’s closer to $15. It’s great to be able to see our baby every time we go to the doctor and not worry about our insurance company telling us it’s too expensive.

3. It’s so cheap!

It’s just cheaper here. It only costs around $9 to see the doctor (plus the cost of the ultrasound), so even if we didn’t have great insurance it would be cheap. I did once go to a different doctor that charged a whopping $15, but I think that’s about as expensive as it gets.

4. Making an Appointment

This should probably go under the proactive section. At the end of each appointment my doctor tells me to come back in about a month. So, about a month later I will pick up my phone on a Monday night and call the hospital. I tell them my name and that I’m coming in the morning. They say okay. The most difficult part of the whole thing is that the lady that answers the phone at the hospital doesn’t speak English, so my vocabulary has recently expanded to include all kinds of doctor and appointment making words.

Now for another belly picture. I really can't tell much of a difference from last week, but I guess it is getting bigger.

Next week we will go to the doctor again and of course have another ultrasound. Hopefully this time the baby will be awake and we will be able to see if it is a boy or girl. Make sure you vote because this week might (hopefully) be your last chance.

01 April 2008

16 Weeks

I forgot to take a picture last week, but this week I made sure to get one.


I think I am showing just a little bit, but it shirts like this I think you can really tell I am pregnant. I have been slowly breaking out the maternity pants. The Belly Band still works, but the stretchy maternity pants are a lot more comfortable.

While we were in the States Baby Hampton got his (or her) first teddy bear.



Hopefully at our next doctor's appointment we will find out if the baby is a girl or a boy and then we can hit our city's newest attraction, Baby Gap, and do a little shopping.

According to all the experts (the internet) Baby Hampton is now 4.5 inches long and weighs 3.5 ounces. She (or he) is about the size of an avocado.


Coming next week: the baby will be the size of a turnip and will have toenails!