Jack's Birth Story

I had said all along I would be ready for Jack to be born as soon as Roger and I did our language evaluations and finished our Thai classes for the year. Well, on Friday the 17th I did my evaluation, on Monday I finished class, on Tuesday Roger finished class, on Wednesday Roger did his language evaluation and by Thursday morning I was having contractions.

The last pregnant picture at 39 weeks and 4 days.
Thursday morning I woke up early and noticed I was having a few contractions but I pretty much just ignored them. I was assuming that Baby Jack would take his time getting here just like Asher did. On Monday I had been to the doctor and she had told me that I hadn't made any progress yet. I had resigned myself to wait until I had to be induced.

Asher and I had a Christmas cookie decorating party to go to on Thursday morning so I started making graham cracker Christmas cookies as soon as I got up. The contractions definitely continued, but I was busy and didn't really have time to see how frequently they were coming.

Asher and I went to our party and the whole time we were there I had contractions and I thought they were pretty regular and a little painful. I didn't feel too great, but I still just thought the contractions would stop after a few hours. I had told Roger I was having contractions and he asked me if I thought that Jack would be born that day. I kept telling him no pretty much up until the time we went to the hospital.

Finally around noon Asher and I left the party and headed home. I could tell the contractions were getting more painful and I was anxious to get home and time them. After Asher went to sleep I sat down and thought they would stop. They didn't. For the next few hours I had contractions every 7-8 minutes. At 4 pm Asher woke up and as soon as I stood up to go get him they started coming more frequently.

Roger and I decided to go ahead and move the crib out of Asher's room and into our room just in case Baby Jack was on his way. We didn't want to have to deal with that after we brought a newborn home from the hospital. By the time that project was finished I was starting to consider that maybe this was the real thing. I sent a text message to our friend that was going to watch Asher just to give her a heads up and tried to get a few things done around the house. I got about half of the dishes done before I needed to sit down. While I was on my feet the contractions were about 4-5 minutes apart and lasting about a minute.


I sent Roger and Asher up to the park to play for a little bit and we decided that they would pick up dinner and after dinner we would probably go to the hospital. While they were gone I sat down and the contractions got more painful. I called our friend to come over and told Roger to head home from the park so we could get ready to go. After the boys got home they ate dinner and we got Asher settled down watching a movie. Around 7:15 pm we headed out the door to check out the traffic situation and decide how we would go to the hospital.

We got in a taxi and figured we would just see how far we could get. If traffic was really bad we figured we could jump onto the train and be at the hospital in a few minutes. Praise the Lord there was not much traffic. It only took us 25 minutes to get from our house to the hospital. At 7:45 we walked into the emergency room and told them I was in labor.


They called my doctor and sent me up to labor and delivery. For the next hour they monitored my contractions and checked to see that I was 2 cm dilated. I was obviously hoping to be farther along, but I was excited that I went into labor on my own and before my due date! After an hour of being monitored my contractions were getting into the really-hurting-don't-talk-to-me range. They walked me across the hallway to a delivery room and Roger and I finally realized that this was the real thing.

Soon after my doctor came by to check on me and I think I was about 3 or 4 cm, but I don't remember. We talked about what had happened when Asher was born and she kept reassuring me that this one would be much easier. At some point we had to fill out a form with all of our names written in Thai. The nurses of course loved that Roger could speak, read and write Thai and they started talking to both of us in Thai. I was just sort of nodding and not listening and not understanding (I was in labor, not exactly the best time work on language comprehension). I refused to answer them in Thai, I didn't care what language they spoke to me I just answered in English.

Around 9:30 I told Roger that I would wait another hour and then I wanted an epidural. After the hour was up I was more than ready for it. Around 11 pm I had reached 5-6 cm and I got the wonderful epidural. My doctor stopped by again to check on things and let me know she was going to be near by. She told me to rest and she thought that Baby Jack would be there around 3 am. She broke my water and also went ahead and gave me a little pitocin because everything slowed down once I got the epidural.

I did rest for a little while and Roger was able to take a little nap as well. But soon after that I started to feel the contractions on my left side. They were getting stronger and stronger and very close together. I could tell that things were happening quickly. I told the nurse I was starting to feel more pain and she called the anesthesiologist. He did something and I felt relief for a few minutes, but I also started feeling a lot of pressure. I knew that Baby Jack would be there soon.

The nurse checked and I was almost ready to push. They started getting the room ready for delivery (including making Roger go change into some silly looking scrubs). I'm not sure what they did with the epidural but I could feel the contractions to know when to push. It was so much better than when Asher was born and I couldn't feel anything.

They called my doctor and I started to push. A few minutes later they were still waiting for my doctor. They called her again and Roger and I smiled at what they said. Loosely translated they said "he's gonna be born now." My doctor walked in a minute later and said she was surprised it had gone so fast. I pushed a few more times and felt Jack's head start to be born. Wow. It hurt. Another push and he was out. It was so fast. I couldn't believe it was over.


They cleaned Jack up a little and brought him over to me. He was making a lot of gurgling noises so they kept coming over to suction him. The nurses helped me to start feeding him and he actually made an attempt to eat. I was so surprised because Asher had so much trouble learning to eat. I held him and the nurses took some pictures for us while my doctor finished up everything.


My doctor told us that I had a horrible scar from Asher's birth and that Dr. Pujo had done a very poor job sewing me up. We weren't really surprised to hear that and finally two years later we had an answer to why it had taken me so long to recover from Asher's birth.


Soon after that Baby Jack and Roger headed off to the nursery. Turns out Jack was having a little trouble clearing out his lungs and they needed to keep him in the NICU for a few hours. I think they brought him back to me first and he had another chance to nurse. He was still making this weird gurgling noises, but they said he would be fine.


My recovery this time has been amazing and easy. I feel so good and really after a day or so I was moving around almost normally. I attribute it all to having a wonderful doctor this time and lots of good care in the hospital. I can't believe what a difference it made having a great doctor and great nurses. Jack ended up getting booted out of the NICU after about 2 hours (much sooner than they had planned) and spent most of his first day laying in bed with me eating and sleeping. I was really worried about how Jack would nurse, but he has done a great job. It also helped that every single nurse in the newborn nursery knew how to help me feed him. I would call them when it was time to feed him and they would make sure we were doing everything the right way.


We did have to spend Christmas Day in the hospital which meant there was no Christmas morning with Asher opening his presents. The day after Christmas we were back at home adjusting to being a family of four. So far it's been good. We are, of course, a little tired, but Asher has done great and Jack is a pretty easy baby.

Look to the Right

You can look to the right of this post and see our twitter updates. Hopefully soon we will be updating to let you know Baby Jack is on the way. You can also follow me on twitter.

39 Weeks

Only a week before Christmas and still no Baby Jack. I go back to the doctor on Monday and we'll see if anything has changed (I'm guessing it hasn't). At this point I am predicting a post-Christmas, pre-New Year's baby.


Let's try to guess when Baby Jack will be here. And for some background: Asher was 11 days late and weighed 3.4 kilograms (7 lbs 8 oz.)

I say December 30, 8 lbs 2 oz.
Roger says December 28, 3.54 kilograms.

Leave a comment, facebook message or email me with your guess. Of if your name is Granny or Mimi you may call on skype and tell me what you think.

Here's a picture from 39 weeks.


We are ready for Baby Jack to get here. I did my language evaluation this week, Roger and I will both finish our Thai class at the beginning of next week and most importantly Baby Jack's stocking arrived yesterday.


Our family of four is almost complete (except for the fourth family member...)

38 Weeks

Because a picture of my big belly is always better when accompanied by a picture of Asher's little belly.


We are waiting for Baby Jack, but really not expecting him too soon. Not that I can really complain, compared to most pregnant people I think I have it very easy. I still sleep all night and I sleep good. The heat really has never bothered me, I guess this is a good thing since I have been pregnant only in places that are hot year round. I will admit that I am a bit more tired and those Sky Train stairs are just a little harder to climb up, and the heartburn...oh the heartburn...

I've been going to the doctor every week and she keeps telling me that all is well with me and with Baby Jack. I'm having an ultrasound on Monday. During the last ultrasound we could see that the umbilical cord was loosely around Jack's neck and so we are going to check and see if it's still there.

I feel like we have everything ready around the house. The only things we really have left to do are make our language evaluation tapes and finish up the Thai classes we are currently in. I have had my evaluation scheduled and cancelled for three straight weeks, hopefully I can get it done this week and not have to worry about it anymore. Classes at our school end on December 21 although I wouldn't mind if Jack made us miss our final tests.

37 Weeks

In theory Jack is ready to come out. But don't worry, I think he is following right along in the footsteps of Big Brother Asher. The doctor says he's not coming anytime soon, so I have resigned myself to once again be pregnant for close to 42 weeks while everybody else around me has their babies early.

There is an upside. It's looking like Roger and I will both finish another Thai class and hopefully do our language evaluations before Jack gets here. Also, I forgot to pack all of those cute "Baby's 1st Christmas" outfits when we moved, so I won't feel guilty about him missing out on that experience.

The belly at 37 weeks.


I hope I look like I'm relaxed and wearing make-up because it was massage and make-up day at MOPS. I got a free back massage and a bit of a makeover. And we had breakfast casserole. It was an all-around good day in MOPS land.

34 Weeks

I went to the doctor this week (and took my best little buddy Asher with me) to find out that I need to eat more. Every pregnant woman's dream! Evidently I actually lost weight the past two weeks, so per doctor's orders I need to eat more. I promised I would try my hardest, although I feel like all I do is eat because I am always hungry.

The doctor says baby boy is growing even if I'm not and he is still head down although he hasn't actually dropped down yet. Asher helped the doctor find the baby's heartbeat and I think it's finally starting to click with him that there is a baby, and not a ball, in my belly.

In other baby boy news, the great name debate has not yet been settled. Actually we both like two names and we just can't decide which one we like best. We tried asking Asher what his opinion was. He told us the baby's name was Braco Bob

Just to explain: braco is what Asher calls broccoli. One day I made some lame joke about Asher having braco in his diaper. Unfortunately it stuck and now Asher loves to point at his diaper and say braco. And then Daddy and Asher suddenly had these two new friends, Braco Bob and Diaper Dan. They are a pretty important part of our day. And now Asher has decided the baby's name is Braco Bob.

Lovely.

Here's the belly at the end of a very long day. One of those days that has you counting down the minutes to bed time and praising the Lord that your 2 year old really loves to go night-night.


I'm off to enjoy my evening. My homework is already half-way done, the house is clean and Roger is on his way home with some chocolate!

Update: Roger did better than chocolate...he came home with Cinnabon. He's the best!

32 Weeks

So it begins...


I've finally started getting ready for Baby Boy. The baby clothes have been sorted and the first load has been washed and dried and is now laying in a pile in Asher's closet.
I thought getting started on the laundry would make me feel more prepared for the baby's arrival, but I think it's had the opposite effect. Now I'm just realizing that I really need to clean out Asher's closet.


And here's the belly, 32 weeks big. Everything is still going great, I feel fine and Baby Boy is kicking around as I write. I have to go to the doctor every 2 weeks now. I think this is normal? With Asher I think I just went once a month up until his due date and then I might have gone every week after that. I think my doctor here might be a little more on top of things than good 'ol Dr. Pujo was.

The poor boy almost has a name. It's down to the final two. I have my favorite (it's been my favorite from the very beginning) and Roger changes his mind pretty much every night. The good news is Asher can say both names and he sounds very sweet saying them. I guess we will decide eventually and until then he will just be the poor second child that doesn't even have a name.

30 Weeks

We had an ultrasound this week and were happy to see that Baby Boy is still a boy and still very healthy. With 10 weeks to go he is weighing in at 3 lbs 2 oz (1431 grams). Who knows, maybe he will even be here sooner than that. The measurements they took had him at anywhere from 30 weeks 3 days (his big head) to 28 weeks 5 days (his little legs). So again it looks like I'm going to be having another baby boy with a big noggin'.


Here's my other baby boy and his big head showing off his little belly along with my big belly.


I pointed to my belly and asked, "What's this?"
He immediately, and confidently, answered, "Ball!"


Who thinks he's going to be disappointed when December rolls around and we end up with a new baby instead of a new ball?

27 Weeks

The strangest thing that happened to me yesterday:

I was at school and another student walked up to me and asked me a question. Given that my first language is English and her's is Korean our conversations tend to take place in Thai. Meaning that yes, we have talked before.

So, she asked me something that to me sounded like, "blah blah blah blah blah married blah blah kha?" I didn't quite follow what she was asking, so she asked again. I still didn't get it, so I did what any seasoned language learner would do. I said, "ok." She looked stunned. I figured that I must have done something wrong. Then she asked me one more time. This time I understood.

Her question...
"Are you planning on marrying the father of the baby before the baby is born?"

My answer...
"Ummm, I am married. To the father. For five years. I have a two year old. Thankyouverymuch."

(I told Roger this story later and he asked if she looked super embarrassed at this point. I said that she didn't look nearly as embarrassed as she should have.)

Anyway, back to the conversation. Several of our teachers are now watching this. They all know me and Roger and Asher. And they are all trying not to laugh. The lady continues with her comments on me and my pregnancy and lets me know that she was only asking because I looked too young to be married and she was concerned about the baby. So she just assumed I was an unwed teenage soon-to-be mother studying Thai full time at a language school for missionaries. Because, really that happens a lot around here.

And with that I give you the belly at 27 weeks.

My Baby Wish List - Update

Yesterday morning I woke up to a wonderful email from the VERY generous folks at Cotton Babies:

Dear Roger & Courtney,
Your family has been approved to receive a Diaper Grant from Cotton Babies.
Your package will include:

* 15 bumGenius One-Size diapers (3 white, 4 butternut, 4 twilight, 4 grasshopper)
* 2 packages of Cotton Babies flannel wipes
* 2 extra one-size inserts
* 1 XL Bummis Tote (purple)
* 1 S Bummis Tote (red)
* 1 bottle bum Genius! Bottom Cleaner

Praise the Lord! I was blown away by this company's generosity. When I applied for the grant I was thinking I would just get a few diapers, but instead they are setting us up so that we can easily cloth diaper this new baby boy.

I also got an awesome deal on a travel swing on Ebay. It is currently sitting at Mimi's house waiting to be packed up and brought to us when she comes to visit this new little guy.

And to top it all off Mimi went by one of our favorite consignment shops to find that all of the summer clothes were $1 each. She loaded up on newborn and 3-6 month clothes. Asher and I spent a long time on skype last week checking out her purchases. The newborn clothes are actually already here in Bangkok (they came in a box with Asher's birthday presents) and the rest of the clothes will come with Mimi in January.

I am getting so excited about this new little guy joining our family and watching the Lord provide for our family.

And of course I am always excited about spending my days with this big guy!


He will be two next week. I can't believe it!

23 Weeks

I had another check up this week and the doctor tells me that everything is going well. It's always so fun to me to go and actually get to talk to my doctor at these appointments, it's so much different than the check ups I had when I was pregnant with Asher.

This is one of my new skirts. I kept all of my maternity clothes from last time, but I really didn't have any dressy clothes. We never wore nice clothes in Indonesia, so I really had no need for them. Bangkok is like a fashion show all the time, so I figured I should try to fit in. I looked at what kind of clothes they were selling at The Gap and then went to China Town (with Asher on a hot day, not a good idea) and bought some fabric that looked the same. Three meters for $3 and that was enough for two skirts! I dropped off the material at the tailors, told her I was pregnant and she worked her magic to make me two lovely skirts. Of course now my problem is that I hate riding motorcycles in skirts. When I wear a skirt I have to ride side saddle and I really don't like doing that.



And just for fun here's a picture from about the same point of my pregnancy with Asher.


Anyway, our second son is doing great. I heard his little heart beating at the doctor's office and I feel him kicking around all day and night. He still doesn't have a name, but we are working on it.

20 Weeks

We are maybe halfway to meeting our new baby. I'm just going to go ahead and assume this one will be late like Asher, so really I think next week will be the halfway point. Either way I am now 20 weeks which I guess is 5 months.

Baby Boy is kicking around in my belly and thankfully not making me too nauseous these days. I eat a lot of spicy food, so I get a lot of heartburn. Oh well, the food's good and I guess I could always start eating bland stuff.

Here's the picture I finally had Roger take for me.


The belly is growing, but not too fast. I can still wear some of my regular pants, but most of my shirts are too short. Unfortunately most of my maternity shirts are too big, so I just rotate through the same shirts over and over. Really I'm looking forward to the baby bump growing so that I can have more clothes to wear. And when the bump gets bigger the Thai people on the train will get up and give me their seat. Sweet pregnancy perks!

And here's the sweet big brother looking a bit frightened and confused.


My neighbor made this carrier for her daughter-in-law and Asher and I were testing it out. He wasn't a big fan of it (and no he never wears clothes around the house, it's too hot).

Boy Oh Boy

That's right, there's going to be another boy at the Hampton House.


The ultrasound today showed us a healthy, growing baby boy. This one is a bit more modest than Asher, but we managed to get the proof we needed.

While this does mean I need to stop perusing Baby Gap for dresses I do finally feel justified in lugging every bit of Asher's baby clothing from Indonesia to Kentucky to Vancouver to Bangkok.


Trucks, snails, cars and dirt. I think having two boys is going to fun!

17 Weeks

I'm pretty sure by this time in my pregnancy with Asher I had probably posted 17 separate belly pictures. Oh well. Here's the first and hopefully they will come weekly after this...we'll see.


I'm feeling good and everything seems to be moving right along. I'm still just wearing my regular clothes and waiting for my belly to get really big. I did wear a maternity shirt today, but I admit it had more to do with a lack of clean clothes than a need for a bigger shirt.

I think I have felt this new baby kicking a little lately, but I'm never quite sure. Soon enough I know I will be feeling kicks and pokes all over my belly.

I've started vaguely thinking of where everyone will sleep, but I can't really decide what will be best. Asher's bed can become a toddler bed, but then I need another crib. If Asher gives up his crib to the new baby I need either a toddler bed or some other bed for him to sleep on. Any suggestions from you all that have added another baby to your family? Either way Asher and the new baby will be sharing a room, we only have two bedrooms so this is a bit of a necessity.

In a little over a week we will hopefully find out if this is another precious boy or a sweet baby girl coming to join our family. We can't wait to find out!

Catching Up and Bubbles

Our computer has been in and out of the repair shop lately, so I haven't been able to keep everyone updated quite like I like to.

Asher is still all boy. He is obsessed with anything that has wheels. Good thing for him we live in Bangkok where we see cars, taxis, trucks, busses, motorcycles, tuk-tuks, and bicycles everywhere we go. He has recently learned to say truck and tuk-tuk. He won't say taxi, he just calls it a car, but every time he sees a taxi he holds out his arm just like Roger and I do when we need one to stop and pick us up.

Asher has also gotten really good at doing a "wai." A wai is the Thai greeting that is done by putting your hands together in front of your body. When we tell him (in Thai) to say hello, goodbye or thank you he will do a wai. We love it and the Thai people love it, too.

I haven't taken too many pictures lately, but here are a few from this week. Asher and I were enjoying a morning playing with blocks and cars.



Our newest toy is Asher's bubble maker. We bought it at the weekend market recently (for $1!) have spent many hours sitting on the front porch making bubbles. Asher loves to chase the bubbles and yell "Bubble!" when they go off into the yard.



Baby #2 is still doing great. We got to see the little one last week, but really it looked more like blob than baby. The due date is December 22 and I am just praying that this one will not be as late as Asher. I am hoping for a December baby. For now I am looking forward to this first trimester being over and hopefully getting some of my energy back and getting past all of the nausea.

The Hampton Baby (#2)

So far there's not much to update with Baby #2. I'm really less than 8 weeks along, but I have already reached the point of not feeling too great. Food is my biggest enemy and biggest love. I only feel good when I am eating, but thinking about food makes me feel nauseous. It's a sick cycle.
And the cravings...
I never really craved anything when I was pregnant with Asher. Now there is always something that I want. I just wish it was Thai food. My cravings are getting a little bit expensive because they only thing that sounds good to me is beef and Mexican food. Not exactly cheap options around here. Thai food is wonderful, but suddenly it all tastes bad. Considering that two weeks ago I ate Thai food at least once a day (usually twice a day) this has been quite a change. Roger and Asher are still eating their rice while I gag and try to figure out what in the world actually sounds good to me.
Luckily Thailand has my wonderful Xylitol gum. I discovered Xylitol a few months before Asher was born and it is amazing. I'm not sure why but it makes me not nauseous. As a result I chew gum from the time I finish breakfast until I go to bed everyday. It works so I'm not complaining.
Next week we have an ultrasound and a check up scheduled. Roger has a day off of school so he will get to go with me and since we have a new house helper Asher will not have to go with me. It's like a date...at the hospital!

New

New haircut.

New shirt.

New baby.

We are expecting Hampton Baby #2 on Christmas Day.