Baby Notes

Beans and Bath Paints

2009-03-31T03:18:00.000-07:00

As Abi is getting older, it seems I'm always on the lookout for new activities for her. She's such an active little girl and really needs alot of stimulation to be happy. I recently started following this blog in which one mom shares about homeschooling her toddler (Tot School). I'm really excited to try out some of their intentional play ideas and will keep you posted as I am able to get going on these. But for the time being we'll have to be content with the few games I've run across that require little or no planning... like this bean game. A few months ago, Abi was bored out of her mind and I happened to have a couple bags of black beans (that were several years old!) and thus was created the bean game. This is by far Abi's favorite activity. She absolutely loves dumping the beans from one container to the other, or spooning them back and forth!

Another favorite game recently has been bath paints. I ran across this blog and I realized that we had all the ingredients in the house. So I whipped up a quick batch of bath paints and into the tub she went! She loved it! So this one has definitely gone onto the rainy day list.

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Abi's Time in the Hospital

2009-02-18T23:19:00.000-08:00

Well, Abi has been home from the hospital for about a week and a half and she is certainly back to full health! If it's possible, it feels like she is healthier and has even more energy than before!

The final diagnosis was "food poisoning," though we're not sure where she was infected. By the time we got her to the hospital, her potassium levels were depleted from all the vomiting and diarrhea and she was quite dehydrated as well. They treated her with IV electrolytes and antibiotics for three days.

Everything went pretty smoothly. Our normally very active little girl was generally pretty content sitting in her hospital bed watching Sesame Street on the laptop. Even being tethered to the IV was not nearly as difficult as we anticipated. We explained to her that her hand was drinking the water in the bag, so she would hold her IV hand up to her mouth and "sluuurp". (So darn cute!) In fact, she became so accustomed to having the IV pole follow us around everywhere that she actually cried when they were wheeling it away!

All that being said, the time certainly had it's difficult moments as well! The worst being the several times they had to draw blood and/or insert the IV. To begin with they had to swaddle her to keep her immobilized, which she absolutely hated. Then, her tiny veins were apparently impossible to find so the nurses had to poke her and "dig around" in multiple locations to find a suitable vein. Meanwhile, Abi screamed and cried at the top of her lungs! And to top it all off, the whole process always left looking nasty looking bruises on her arms and legs as reminders of the traumatic experience!

The other difficult thing was the matter of sleep. Abi is really not a very good sleeper to begin with, so the constant flow of nurses in and out made it pretty hard for her to sleep. The first night she woke at 2am. When 3pm arrived and she hadn't slept for more than about 45 minutes, we decided to ask the doctor for some sleeping medicine. Boy, did it do the trick! She slept like a rock from about 4pm until midnight. She woke up, went potty, had some dinner, took a walk around the ward and then slept again from 2am to 8 am. (Without a doubt, this was the BEST nights sleep I've had in 2 years!)

All in all, we're thankful for God's healing hand and for the availability of good health care in Chiang Rai. And, of course, we appreciate the prayers of so many during this tough time!

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Abigail is in the Hospital

2009-02-05T06:38:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, just a quick note.

Abi has been sick for the last three days with vomiting and diarrhea and a slight fever. This morning she got even worse and was admitted to the hospital here in Chiang Rai. Her blood work has shown no infections, but a severely low potassium level.

Please join us in prayer that she will return to full health completely and quickly.

Best Buds

2009-01-04T00:34:00.000-08:00

Oh, how I wish this picture wasn't so blurry! But it is so cute, I'm posting it anyway! This is Abi and her best friend Mary (or Ma-li in Akha) who is 3 years old. Ma-li lives across the road from us in the village. Her and Abi have become great friends in the past few months since Abi has started walking. If Abi is ever out playing in the village common area, she will always head strait to Ma-li's house to look for her! We're thrilled with this friendship; Ma-li is an absolute sweetheart and loves Abi like a sister! Also, she holds a special place in our hearts because she was the first baby born in the villageafter we arrived.

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EC Update: 1 Year

2008-09-12T21:31:00.001-07:00

Well, things are still going great with our Elimination Communication. Since Abi is a busy little bee lately (and is keeping me busy chasing after her), I'll keep this update short and simple!

The Potty: As you can see from the picture(taken at around 9 months old), Abi is already using this little potty and is loving it! At about 8 months she started getting fussy when we held her in position over the big potty, and for a few days we couldn't figure out the problem. Well, it turned out she was just getting bored and didn't like the confinement... yes, she is a very independent little creature! Now, on her little potty, she can sit and play with toys on the floor for as long as she likes!

Going #1: Abi totally understands the connection between her potty and her elimination. Almost every time that we sit her on the toilet, she pees. Even when she doesn't really have to go, we usually find a tiny little dribble showing us that she at least tried!

Going #2: Abi is like clockwork with her poos! She goes poo in the toilet every morning upon waking! Most of the time, we only have to worry about catching the pees for the rest of the day! The only "misses" (that's EC lingo for going poo or pee in the diaper/pants) that we have had are when she's had teething related diarrhea (and really, who can blame her for that?!)

Diapers? In the city, we have started using disposables as a bit if insurance during the day; partly because we're generally a little busier in the city and less able to "tune in" to Abi's potty cues, and partly because she out grew her cloth diapers and we just never got around to buying the next size up! But we try to stick to a one-diaper-a-day goal (both for budgetary and environmental reasons) so potty times are still a big part of our routine. Of course, in the village, she only wears thin cloth pants (like the ones in the picture). We are still using disposables at night both in the city and the village. However, I'm happy/amazed to report that in the past month or so we've had four mornings where she woke up COMPLETELY DRY. So I'm hoping that's a good sign for the future.

Potty Trained? Not quite there, but we're moving towards it! (Although, I guess it really depends on how you define "potty trained". Eighty to ninety percent of Abi's elimination happens in the toilet. I bet that is better than some "potty trained" toddlers.) For me, "potty trained" implies that the child initiates going potty. Since most of our potty times are still parent initiated I don't think I would say Abi's potty trained yet. However, she is catching on and several times we have noticed her walking towards the bathroom when she needs to go. I'm betting she'll be pretty much on her own by 18 months, but we'll just have to wait and see!

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Abi: 12 Months

2008-08-28T23:16:00.000-07:00

Well, it's time again for another Abigail baby book entry! Luckily, we're still in month 12, so it's a bit easier to remember/observe all of her little tricks! We're really loving this time; she's such a busy little girl and it's a joy to watch her learn.

Took her first steps: 3 days before her 1st birthday.
Abi Likes: Animals. You name it, dogs, cats, horses, cows, chickens... she loves them all! She's even developed her own animal "call"... she makes this wierd coughing/gagging sound. We have no idea how she came up with it, but she fervently believes this is the way to get animals to come.
Abi Dislikes: Being restrained in any way, shape or form! Diaper changes come to mind; she absolutely hates to be stuck on her back against her will! Even hugs and snuggles from Mom and Dad are usually met with unhappy screams and an arched back. Needless to say, she is already quite opinionated!
Favorite toy: Clothes or a dish rag. Pre-walking, she could entertain herself for 20 minutes or more with just a pile of clothes, "sorting" and "folding" them. Now as a walker, she loves to carry around a pair of pants or a dish cloth, all the while "trying it on" by tucking it under her chin or wrapping it around her neck like a scarf!
Favorite Snack: As much as we hate to admit it, Abi's favorite snacks are cheap little (unhealthy, I'm sure) squid flavored snacks that we get for a baht a bag in the village. Of course, we always have plum tomatoes in stock and she loves to chomp on a whole one. She also likes Cheerios and goldfish, but since those are "American" imports she gets those a little less frequently.
Favorite Foods: Abi's a great little eater and rarely turns down anything (unless she does so for reasons of boredom.) She loves spicy foods and even if her eyes are tearing up, she'll still ask for more!
Introvert or Extrovert? Hmmm. Extrovert... hands down! She loves people and becomes friends immediately with everyone we meet, from co-workers to the lady who sells us khao soy. Whenever someone leaves, she simply *has* to say good-bye. Much crying ensues if a proper good bye is not observed! Also, she's totally into kids right now. Whenever she sees another child she gets excited and wildly signs "want want!"
Akha Language: Her first word was "mam-mam" which is Akha baby talk for "food" or "eat". She's totally figured out this eating thing. Where ever we go, she's constantly pointing to the food on the shelves or in peoples hands proclaiming "MAM-MAM!" She also says "tsa-tsa", short for "La tsa tsa ma", which is a greeting you say when shaking hands.
English Language: As I mentioned earlier, Abi loves animals, and her favorite, by far, are dogs so, appropriately, her second word was "dug-dug". She can also say "all done"... well it's really more like "ahh-duh"... but it's still pretty darn good for a 12 month old!
Favorite Game: Peek-a-boo. She loves to stand at the doorway and peek her head around and yell "BAA" at whoever is inside. (The Akha say "ba" instead of "boo".)

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Abi's First Birthday

2008-08-10T23:59:00.000-07:00

So our little girl is now 1 year old, and a wonderful year it has been.

We celebrated a few days early at Aje and Nancy's home and to put an exclamation point on the party Abi took her first (completely unassisted, or spotted) steps!

The party had most of the usual American trimmings (food, birthday cake, and the song "happy birthday"), but we did miss our family from America on the occasion. To make up for it we had people from (at least) 4 different nations - Thailand, Burma, America and New Zealand. It seems like this international audience will be the norm for Abigail in this strange, wonderful life we lead.

Here is a video of the party, some antics at home leading up to the party and of course those famous first steps. Enjoy!

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Abi: 6-8 Months

2008-07-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

Abi just turned 11 months old, so I figured it was about time that I finally post her 6-8 month photos that have been sitting on my desktop awaiting a blog of their own. Also, since this blog is really our digital equivilent to a baby book, I thought I'd share a few milestones and interesting tid bits about Abi's life during those months:

Favorite toy: Other than big people toys (cell phone, laptop, mouse, remote, etc.) which she's not really allowed to play with, she loves the foam letters in the ABC puzzle mat, and also she loves these squirter ball toys that we got in four packs from the dollar store!
Her first two teeth showed up when she was: 6 months & 10 days old
Her biggest fear: the blender!
Biggest hurdle in life: huge gag reflex... even just a pacifier can make her vomit!
First foods: Rice cereal, mashed pumpkin and tomatoes and cucumbers in a mesh feeder.
Nicknames: Boo, Tomato head, Frog Face, sweetie, sweetheart, sweet thing (or any other variation on sweet-something that happens to come to mind!)Of course, her Akha name is Yeh-mi, but all of our Akha friends have different nicknames for her too, including Bu-Tsa (pretty girl) and Bu-ga (Loved Girl) or just A-mi (Girl).
She crawled for the first time when she was: 7 months & 13 days old
Teeth #3 & #4 popped through when she was: 8 months & 10 days old

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Abigail Dancing (Video)

2008-07-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

I know I said I would put a video of the house tour up next, but I lost that video so instead you get more video of the baby :)

Lori shared with you a while ago that we have been showing the Signing Time series in the village to teach English and Sign Language to the Akha children. Well, it turns out that Abi loves the movies as much as anyone, especially the theme song.

Back at home she will watch it over and over, dancing and "signing" as she deems appropriate.

We put a video together of her dancing, but that's really all it is. So unless you are a grandparent, family member, friend or stalker that really wants to watch the baby for three minutes, it will be pretty dull for you. All of you can go check out a slightly more interesting video.

For those of you who are still on this page, here's Abi!

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Isn't she cute?

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It Takes a Village...

2008-05-16T23:17:00.000-07:00

This is more than just a cliche or ad campaign! Abi is constantly being passed around to her adoring Akha family! ...And she loves it, what a people person she is! (She must take after her mother!) Here is a little glimpse into Abi's life in the village.

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Abi: 4 - 6 Months

2008-05-03T22:29:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since we've posted anything on the baby blog that I have to go back in time to catch up a little bit! Here are a few cute pics of Abi during our trip to America.

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A Day With My Sister

2008-03-03T04:04:00.000-08:00

Last week I took my sister Esther to Myanmar without my parents.

She did very good and walked exactly where I told her to. She didn't cry and neither did I.

After we gave money to the policeman for a special stamp we went back to see my parents in Thailand.

They were very excited to see me again, but I was indifferent.

I think I will take Esther to Myanmar again next month. Maybe my dad can make a better movie about that trip, because the only thing I like about this video is the song.

Click To Play

Goodbye, I love you all!

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Teething and Crawling

2008-02-29T21:20:00.000-08:00

Yes, the days have come. Abi has one little bottom tooth and is "army crawling" all around our little house. Here's a brief glimpse:

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Abi's First Word

2007-11-30T01:38:00.000-08:00

Unlike Lori, I never promised myself that I wouldn't write mass amounts of posts about my children. That, combined with the fact that much of our recent ministry tasks have been less than blogworthy (really great, just not exciting on a monitor) and the fact that the Broncos have also been less than blogworthy gives me complete freedom to put up another post about my baby girl.

The other day Abi said her first word, and John caught it on camera. You might not believe she said anything after you see this video, but to everyone in the room it was clear as day (we even had a Dr. in the room and HE heard it, if that ain't proof I don't know what is...)

I also added a blip at the end of the clip that shows how much I have embraced this "talking about my kid" thing.

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Learning to Laugh

2007-11-30T01:15:00.000-08:00

Abi changes so much every day. She is much more aware of the world around her, she is starting to play with toys on her mobile (which is worthy of a full post in itself - that one can be yours Lori) and really knows her Mom and Dad.

She recognizes us and smiles at us. It just melts the heart, it does...

Just recently she has started laughing, or maybe learning to laugh is the better way to explain it. She will only laugh for her daddy. This is to guarantee that he will love her forever and ever.

Click To Play

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Big Blue Eyes

2007-11-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

Abi's "baby blues" are sticking around, and are even lightening to "people blues" - much to the delight of her mom and dad. The other day on the drive up to Mae Salong we stopped for a few pictures of the gorgeous flowers that grow on the side of the mountains. Abigail really liked the flowers, but the thrilling thing was that we finally caught a good shot of those blue, blue eyes.

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Go Broncos!

2007-11-20T04:15:00.000-08:00

We love Monday Night Football games because every once in a while everything is aligned and we are in the city, our internet is working and we have no other commitments.

If, on those rare occasions the NFL schedule works in our favor, we can even occasionally watch a Broncos game Live!

As you can see, Abi is already a huge Broncos fan - she can barely take her eyes off the game

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Diaperless Update

2007-11-07T13:23:00.000-08:00

You may remember a post a few months back about our plans to "go diaperless". Many of you have been asking how it's going, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to fill you in.

First of all, "diaperless" is actually a bit of a misnomer for us. I guess that's why so many people using this method prefer the term "Elimination Communication". While we're at home in the city, we use a combination of cloth and disposable diapers; cloth during the day and disposables at night. The cloth diapers (without plastic covers) allow us to really tune in to Abi's timing, since we can feel immediately when she is wet. Also, the cloth diapers provide a bit of extra motivation for us to pay attention to her signals and give her plenty of potty opportunities, because, let's be honest here, no one likes to get peed on! When we're in the village, Abi doesn't wear diapers at all during the day, only a loose fitting pants. We use these because all our laundry in the village is done by hand and absorbent cloth diapers would be a real pain! However, even in the village we put her in disposables at night, because we all like sleep just a little to much to be fussing with anything else!

We started sitting Abi on the toilet for her morning-pee when she was just seven days old, so, as you can see in the pictures, she's pretty comfortable with the whole process. In fact, we suspect she even likes it! Paul and I really like it as well; it's such a good fit for our lives, especially village life! It is so amazing to practice EC in the village where it is second nature to everyone (except us, that is!) For example, whenever I'm letting Abi "go potty" in the village, one of the young girls will automatically run to the well for a pan of water to wash her bottom with. Honestly, I probably wouldn't even think to ask for water, but theses little girls totally know the drill because it's absolutely normal for them! So many aspects of our lives seem odd to our friends in the village, so it's really nice to do something that's viewed as completely normal!

Beyond enjoying the cultural relevance of the EC method, we have to admit that we really love not having to deal with too many poopy diapers! By now, I would say that we catch about 90% of "twosies"; in fact, in the last two months I can only think of 4 instances where we had to change a poopy a diaper! And now that Abi is starting to have stinkier, sticker grown-up-baby poops (I know you all wanted to know that), we're especially happy that most of that poo goes directly in the toilet!

For those of you who are still skeptical, here's proof! I think she's about 6 weeks old in this video.

Click To Play

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Abi's First Boat Ride

2007-11-06T20:17:00.000-08:00

We were helping out the sponsor team from Denver yesterday, showing them some of the Tourist sites of Northern Thailand. At the end of the day we took a longboat over to Laos for a little shopping and site seeing.

Abi had been doing great all day, but we wondered what she would think about the boat ride. It turns out we did not need to worry - she loved it. She sat the whole time taking in everything she could - and she especially liked the wind on her face.

Here are some images from the ride:

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A Village Baby

2007-10-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

Abi's first week in the village was a tremendous success. She is a great village baby and our friends in Mae Salong were thrilled to finally have some extended time with her.

Music is an important part of Abigail's life.
Nana wrote her a lullaby.
Daddy makes up songs for and about her all the time.
The Danny Kaye classic "Little White Duck" is her official bath time theme song.
Then there is the beautiful Danny Oertli song that Lori wrote about.

Well the theme continues in our home in Mae Salong, here we have our Akha Mom (one of Abi's Akha Grandmas) singing to Abi in the traditional Akha mode:

Click To Play

We also captured (in still life) some of Abi's other experiences in the village. Following are some shots of her in her beautiful Akha hat, the crowds that gather around her, her Akha family holding her, and bundling up for the "cold weather" in Mae Salong.

Take a close look at that last picture. We are weighing her on the chicken scale at her Akha grandma's home. This is the first time we weighed Abi since she was born. We knew she was healthy, so we didn't bother with weighing her every week and following the percentage charts. After two months she weighs 5.4 kilograms (11 pounds 14.5 ounces).

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Like Mother Like Daughter?

2007-10-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

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Thank You Hope Chapel!

2007-10-12T03:26:00.000-07:00

We just want to take a moment to send out a huge "Thank You" to our home church, Hope Chapel Northglenn, for the awesome care package they sent in honor of Abi's birth. It was filled with adorable onesies, toys and all sorts of other great "baby stuff" (not to mention the goodies they sent for Mom and Dad like black beans and Starburst candies.) We feel so blessed to have a home church who remembers and cares for us so well, despite the distance that separates us!

Nana and Papa

2007-10-04T02:23:00.000-07:00

We're so happy that Nana and Papa (Lori's parents) were able to come visit us in Thailand just 13 days after Abi's birth! I say they came to visit "us," but let's be honest here, the main focus of this trip was, of course, little Abigial!

Just days after their arrival, they accompanied us up to Mae Salong for Abi's dedication and Akha naming. What a joy it was to have them there for such a special event! Next, we made the first of three trips to Chaing Mai to apply for Abi's passport. We decided to make a vacation of it and had a great time just hanging around the hotel and eating out at the wonderful international restaurants in Chiang Mai, like The Duke's and Arcoba'leno. Later on, Nana and Papa were a huge help for the Clinic Day in Wiang Pa Pao. They helped us to prepare all the medicines ahead of time and made outstanding "assistants" and "cameramen" on the clinic day!

When we weren't traveling about, we had some great family time at our home in Chiang Rai! Nana pampered us all with some American home cookin' and Papa helped us with a few projects around the house. And of course, we all took turns holding, burping, watching and generally fussing over Abigail whenever we got the chance!

Thanks for coming Nana & Papa! We miss you already!

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She Sees Angels

2007-09-28T05:52:00.000-07:00

Lately Abi has started laughing in her sleep. It's one of my favorite things in the world right now. She's not really laughing during waking hours yet and even her smiles are pretty rare, so I'm always amazed by the laugh-out-loud giggles that she has during naps! I wonder what she's dreaming about that's so funny. Her life experiences are relatively few at this point, and it seems that nothing she's seen in this world has been worthy of a laugh, so my thoughts easily drift toward the things "not of this world". I wonder, is she sitting at the feet of the Jesus, while he regales her with tales that delight her little heart? Or is she sitting in the High Court of the Lord, watching the angelic court jester perform his worship? Is she dreaming of heavenly things that make the things of this world pale in comparison?

I'm reminded of one of our favorite songs by Danny Oertli:

She Sees Angels

I've seen this before
So I turned out the light
And walked across the room
The wind played its song through the trees in the yard
The shadows were chased by the moon
I stood in the doorway and I let out a sigh
And watched the small little girl
who was there in the moonlight
Tossing her head in a whirl

And she sees angels dancing in the sky
She sees angels in the night

Do they whisper sweet words,
Do they sing her a song.
Do they light up her eyes with the stars
Do they touch her soft skin as she sleeps late at night
Does she even know who they are
Floating in air they perform their ballet
Lifting their praise to above
For sweet little girls bathed in heavenly light
Learning the ways of God's love.

And she sees angels dancing in the sky
She sees angels in the night

Listen to a clip of She Sees Angels by Danny Oertli

* I know it's almost a sin to make a post on a baby blog without including a picture, but you'll have to forgive me this time! I promise we'll post more pictures soon!

Abigail

The Girl without a Country

2007-09-10T04:07:00.000-07:00

Thailand doesn't want her.
America doesn't know she exists.
So what is the first thing you do when your baby is born overseas? Get her a passport of course.

Unfortunately for us, that means at least three 6-hour round trips to Chiang Mai.
One trip to get the forms, and send her Thai birth certificate to Bangkok for translation.
One trip to pick up the translated birth certificate, take a passport picture and submit the applications (and the US$).
One trip to pick up the passport so she can travel to her home country this Christmas.

Two of those trips are now behind us, and were relatively easy. Actually the most difficult part was the passport photo.

According the the US requirements, the passport photo must be perfectly straight-on, showing both of the child's ears. Many parents accomplish this photograph by laying their tightly swaddled, sleeping baby on a white sheet and they just click away.

But we encountered three problems when we tried to take her passport picture:
Our first problem was that Abigail hates the swaddle. I mean she absolutely loathes it. Little Abi wants her arms to be free at all times, and preferably over her head.
Second, when Abi was brought into the studio, the lights and contrasts were so engaging that she spent the entire time flailing back and forth to make sure she did not miss anything.
Finally, it seems that Lori's milk is incredibly nutritious, because we found it to be almost impossible to see both of Abi's ears behind those round little cheeks.

We tried everything we could think of to capture the perfect shot, and the photographer was incredibly patient with her.
He took dozens of pictures.
We tried holding her head and moving all our hands away at the count of three.
We even tried stuffing tissue paper behind her ears to make them stick out (which actually worked but made us so sad to see our beautiful baby girl's Dumbo impression)

Finally the photographer captured this shot on the left. She's doing her best Elvis impression, but you can see a hint of each of her ears - and those beautiful blue eyes!

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Yay for Yeh mi!

2007-09-10T02:18:00.000-07:00

Our little Abigail has been given the name Yeh mi by the Akha of Mae Salong, and has been widely accepted as the newest little Akha girl in the village.

On August 26th we were able to go up to Mae Salong to introduce Abigail to our village family and to ask the elders to give her a name. In the most traditional Akha villages, the children are named by a grandparent, great-grandparent, village elder or a spirit priest. We wanted to continue in this tradition, but the problem we faced was that there are so many elders in our village who have adopted us as their own and to choose one of them to give her a name would have been a very difficult and delicate process.

We were blessed, however, to have Aje and Nancy join us in the village for the day, and after talking with Aje about our dilemma, he suggested that we pose the question to the whole village in church on Sunday morning.

So, we did. Five or six names were suggested from some of the most important people in our lives, but one name was suggested by a man who is very dear to our hearts. If Lydia is our Akha mother, than this man and his wife are our Akha grandparents.

The name he suggested, Yehmi, literally means "daughter of God".

We loved the name right away, but - determined to let everyone have a part in the decision - we put all the names to a vote, with Yehmi ending up with the overwhelming majority.

Right after the church had named her, we took some pictures with our Akha Grandpa, and his wife brought a traditional Akha baby hat as a gift for little Yehmi. This was another very special moment, because the silver coin used on the hat was given to our Akha Grandma by her mother.

After some prayer and teaching, it was time for the whole village to get a closer look at their newest little girl - and Yehmi was right at home, sleeping peacefully as she was passed from person to person and gripped her gifts of sa da and ya u like a pro (the Akha give money and hardboiled eggs to newborn babies as a blessing to the family to purchase new items for their child and to ensure the mother has enough protein in her milk).

* We know that these posts are late in coming, sorry about the delays. Hopefully over the next week we will be able to catch you all up on our last month. Thanks for your patience!

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Shhhh... i am sleeping.

2007-09-07T05:43:00.000-07:00

We've had our bad nights, but all in all, Abi is a great little sleeper...

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The Birth Story

2007-09-05T01:49:00.001-07:00

Today, Abi is 4 weeks old. They weren't kidding when they said "Time flies!". How is it that I still haven't written about the birth!? Well, read on for the whole story if you're interested! Warning: Slightly graphic birth details ahead!

Thursday Evening: 10pm Returned from our nightly "baby walk" to The Big D and the infamous bloody show. Although I was having no contractions, I had a feeling that I'd be in the hospital by the next day. I finished a final bit of packing and made it to bed at about 11:30

Friday Morning: 4 am After about four hours of sleep. I woke to another bout of diarrhea and some pretty good contractions. I headed back to bed hoping to get some more sleep, but no luck. By 4:30 contractions were getting intense, and I spent the next few hours in a hot bath.

6:00 am Paul started timing the contractions. They were already 3-4 minutes apart and 45 -90 seconds long. "I'm in active labor already? Start packing the car honey!"

7:00 am We drove to the hospital and almost missed the turn. (I guess that cliche about expectant fathers getting all befuddled is not so far from the truth after all!) Upon arriving in the maternity ward, we clumsily tried to communicate with the Thai nurses and get all the paper work filled out...all the while enduring really painful contractions!

8:15 am I was finally checked in and moaning through excruciating contractions in the labor room. One of the nurses checked my dilation: only 2 centimeters. "Are you kidding me?! I'm only 2 centimeters dilated?" The nurse informed me that it usually takes about one hour to progress one centimeter. Facing 8 more hours of pain like that, it was pretty easy to abandon my hopes of a natural birth and say "I want an epidural!"

9:00 am The anesthesiologist arrived and performed the epidural. By then, my OB, Dr. Pitsanu, had arrived. He checked my dilation and we were all surprised to find out that I was already at 7 centimeters! I had progressed 5 centimeters in just 45 minutes (so much for that "one centimeter an hour" thing!) While normally a huge advocate for natural birth, Dr. Pitsanu said that it was actually quite good that I had demanded an epidural because, at the fast-rate that labor was progressing, it could have been dangerous for the baby and the epidural slowed things down a bit.

9:45 am The epidural was supposed to last for an hour and a half, but after about 45 minutes of glorious, painless relaxation, the epidural started wearing off and the contractions were coming back in force. By 10:00 am it seemed like the epidural was completely gone; the contractions were coming hard and fast and were, of course, much more intense than they had been before! I started having an almost irresistible urge to push, so one of the nurses checked my dilation. Sure enough, I had reached 10 centimeters! Unfortunately, Dr. Pitsanu had stepped out, assuming it would be several hours before I was ready. So, the nurses gave me another dose of the epidural to tide me over until the doctor returned.

10:15 am Dr. Pitsanu returned and we began the push for the finish line. Paul was such an amazing support! Thanks a ton honey, I couldn't ask for anyone better!

10:36 am Abigail Hope Vernon was born! Just six and a half hours of labor; I couldn't have asked for a better experience! Thanks Dr. Pitsanu and all the nursing staff!

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The Big Winner!

2007-08-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we set up a fun little game so that everyone could get in on the excitement of trying predict all the vitals of our new arrival! Well, now that Abi has "arrived," we have a winner!

Drumroll please ... and the big winner is: Gary Crouch, Abi's Grandpa! To see the complete game results click on the image below!

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Baby's First Video :: Welcome Home

2007-08-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

We all had a pretty good night of sleep last night in our own bed as we are back in our home in Chiang Rai. With the "extra rest" we have put a little video together for those of you who are interested (ok, mostly for the grandparents) sharing some of her first moments in our home, her first "bath" and some special time with mom and dad.

Hey, it's a baby blog - if we can't be proud, bragging parents here, where can we?

You can also click here to view this video on your full monitor screen. Thanks for watching!

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Introducing Abigail Hope...

2007-08-10T03:13:00.000-07:00

That's right,everyone - as of this morning Abigail Hope Vernon has been officially welcomed into the family. Lori did amazing and things progressed pretty quickly: we left for the hospital at 6:00 am and were holding our baby girl at 10:30. I will let her share all the details with you over the next week, but here are the vitals:

Date: August 10th, 2007 - 10:30 am
Weight: 3,550 grams :: 7lbs 13ounces
Length: 55 cm :: 21.5 inches
Everything Else: PERFECT

We are overjoyed, ecstatic, awestruck and amazed. Praise God for this beautiful baby girl!

Here are a couple of pictures to hold you all over until we are back home with a camera and computer (sorry, no thumbnails and I didn't resize them so they are pretty big. If you want easy pictures wait for our next posts)

Picture 1 :: Picture 2

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Here She Comes!

2007-08-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

This is it - we're heading to the hospital. It looks like she'll be born on the 10th :)

Call my cell if you want to - I won't answer it if it's a bad time

The Final Countdown

2007-07-28T02:24:00.000-07:00

As I've done a few times before, I wanted to share just a few random thoughts as we move into the home stretch!

Basketball Belly: This seems to be the consensus regarding my belly of late. Everyone exclaims how round my stomach is and how it looks like I've simply shoved a basketball up my shirt! Sometimes, that's how it feels too... well, not up my shirt, but it does sometimes feel as if I've got a basketball stuck in my belly. It's so big and tight, stretched to the max!

Feeling Pretty Good: I've been feeling surprisingly good lately. I've had quite a bit of energy, allowing us to complete all those little "nesting" projects on my checklist! I even feel pretty agile (that is, considering the above mentioned basketball-in-the-belly syndrome) and able to go about life as usual. My only complaint is the nearly constant rib pain caused by those tiny feet jabbing upwards as space in my womb gets increasingly tighter! My ribs will certainly be happy to be rid of the little intruder when the time comes!

Changing Cravings: During the second trimester I was surprised (and somewhat proud) that a majority of my cravings were for "healthy" foods like milk, yogurt, fruit, eggs and tuna. Well, recently that has all changed; I've developed a serious sweet tooth. In just the past month, I've made three cakes, a batch of brownies and a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Even at breakfast, my sweet tooth takes over! Lately the only two things that sound good for breakfast are French toast (with plenty of butter and syrup) or a chocolate protein shake with frozen strawberries and extra Hershey's syrup! Since the doctor says my weight gain is right on track, I've decided not to feel too guilty about these cravings and am thoroughly enjoying myself!

Trying to be Patient: At my appointment the other day Dr. Pitsanu said, "Well you're full term now, so the baby could come any day!" Both Paul and I have really tried not to get our hopes up for an early delivery date. However, after hearing a comment like that, it's practically impossible to keep from waking up and excitedly thinking "Could today be the day?" For some women the physical discomfort is the main motivation in impatience for delivery, but for us it's simply that we're so ready to meet our little girl and welcome her into our life! Nevertheless, we're trying to proceed with life normally, knowing that she will come when the time is right!

Speaking of timing... Have you made a due date prediction yet? If not, you'd better do it quick... time is running out!

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pregnancy

Bet on our Baby!

2007-07-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

OK, all you experts. We've gotten your opinions on Baby Gadgets, pregnancy cravings and the philosophical question "To diaper, or not to diaper?", now it's time to put your online personas to the ultimate test.

We want You to make the vital stat predictions on little baby Vernon.
Think it's not really a girl? Think it will be the biggest baby ever born? The smallest? Well, here's your chance to make your predictions with a chance to win... well, absolutely nothing actually. But come on, surely you participate in friendly NCAA brackets and penniless poker nights, right?

Just click the image below to make your predictions, Good Luck!

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just~for~fun

Surprise Baby Shower

2007-07-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Recently someone asked me how difficult it was to decide to have our baby in Thailand. I replied that it was a "no-brainer" for us and went on to eloquently explain how having children on the field had been our plan all along. However, after several minutes, I had to go back and amend my original answer; while the initial decision to have the baby here was easy, it has not come without certain sacrifices along the way.

Months ago, after the worst of my morning sickness had passed and I was just beginning to process this whole pregnancy thing, I realized that I probably would not get to experience one of the major American rituals of pregnancy: a Baby Shower. After a good cry and a bit of a pity-party, I gave myself that "God-is-in-control-and-everything-is-going-to-be-OK" talk that has become a regular part of my life since coming to the field. After all, every decision comes with certain sacrifices that we deem to be acceptable based on the positive outcomes of the decision. For us, the opportunity to raise our child on the mission field among the Akha people is so amazing that missing out on a baby shower really is a minor sacrifice!

So, having made peace with the fact that there was no baby shower in my future, you can imagine how blindsided I was when we arrived home last Saturday evening to shouts of "Surprise!!" from the living room. I dumbly responded by saying to my friends "Oh, you're all here." Then, as I glanced over to the dining room and noticed the table brimming with pizza, salad, cookies and fruit, I continued my brilliant commentary by saying, "And you've brought food." It had already been 30 seconds and I still had no idea what was going on. Finally, someone said "It's a baby shower!" and I caught on!

It was a rare treat to have some good ol' fashioned "girl time". While we did not play the traditional silly baby shower games, we had a great time chatting about all the ins and outs of pregnancy and motherhood. Not only were the Chiang Rai ladies there, but it was a special blessing that some friends from America and one from Bangkok happened to be in town as well.

Of course, I can't forget to tell you about all the wonderful gifts we received! The Satterfield girls from America graciously brought an entire suitcase full of gifts sent from friends and family back home. So, we are now fully stocked with adorable, teeny tiny onesies... so cute! I also received a few more practical gifts, like American nursing bras and nursing pads. (Thank goodness! I've only seen one nursing bra for sale here in Thailand and let's just say it wasn't really my style!) The most special present we received, however, was a Peter Rabbit baby quilt that Paul's mother sent over. This particular quilt is especially meaningful because it was made for Paul when he was a baby by his great-grandmother who recently passed away.

It's times like this when I'm reminded of the beauty of God's Upside-down Kingdom. Just like Abraham with Isaac, so often God asks us to surrender something only to give it right back again. However, when the thing is returned to us, it becomes a gift far more precious than it ever was. We cease to be rightful owners and become instead humble recipients of God's goodness.

Oh Lord, thank you for this baby shower. I'm in awe of Your character as You continue to pour out Your love in extravagance. You not only meet my every need, but You satisfy the desires of my heart.

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And the answer is...

2007-07-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

After four ultrasounds yielded no conclusions as to the sex of our baby, we had all but given up on the idea of finding out before the due date and have focused our baby clothing and accessory purchases on the neutral yellows and greens.

However, last Friday as we were in for the monthly checkup, Dr. Pitsanu pulled out the ultrasound once more, saying he wanted to measure the babies abdomen (something about determining the current weight). Since we were already paying for another ultrasound, we asked him to check one more time to see if the little one had abandoned previous shyness.

It turns out that she was not playing hide-and-seek anymore! As our doctor said: "It's a boy - maybe 1%, but 99% a girl!"

We were so excited that we wanted to come home and let you all know right away, but Lori (being the wisest of the two of us) said she wanted to make sure the grandparents knew first. So, unless you picked up the clues from this post (the first letter of each paragraph spells out "IT IS A GIRL"), or have already heard it through the grapevine, you are now included in our big news - It's a Girl!

As excited as we are, learning that it is a girl is kind of stressful. As this little life becomes more and more real to us all those names we've been talking about are now getting attached to a real baby girl, all that kicking and jumping is our baby girl. I don't know, it's just kind of crazy. Miraculous, but crazy.

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A Million Butts Can't Be Wrong

2007-07-04T05:09:00.000-07:00

Recently, many of our friends and supporters have been asking us whether the Akha use diapers. Of course this question is inevitably followed by the other pressing question on people's minds, "What will you do for diapers when the baby comes?" If you had asked me this question two years ago, I would have said "Disposables!" with out hesitation, but two years on the mission field has significantly changed my answer!

To answer the original question, the Akha, in general, do not use diapers at all. When I first arrived in the village I was somewhat disgusted at the thought of babies without diapers. However, after living in the village for several months I began to realize that I never saw the horribly messy situations that I had envisioned when I thought of a world without diapers. For some time, this was a great mystery to me. Then, one day, I saw it. Right after feeding her son, one of the young mothers in our village, stepped aside to a nearby bush, pulled down the baby's pants, held him in a bit of a squat and made a "shushing" sound. Magically, as if on cue, the baby, who was just a few months old, peed.

Over time, I continued to observe this phenomenon with awe. I even began to notice that it not only applied to "number one", but "twosies" as well. While impressed and amazed, I was also baffled. How did that mom know her baby needed to go just then? How did the baby know to hold it until mom got his pants off? When I asked the mothers these questions, they were even more baffled at my ignorance in the matter. Unfortunately, they usually couldn't come up with an answer to my questions; often saying things like "I just knew that she needed to go".

As the reality of having a child set in, I began to toy with the idea of trying to mimic this diaperless style with our own children. After all, it does seem almost cruel to put diapers on a baby in this heat; I'm certain we would be constantly battling diaper and heat rash! However, the whole concept seemed pretty "out there" to my American mind, and I doubted that I could actually pull it off.

Recently, however, I ran across a small community of westerners who have embraced a similar diaperless method, which they've cleverly dubbed "Elimination Communication" or "Natural Infant Hygiene." I began to read up and found that most of China and India (and many parts of Africa) use similar diaperless techniques! Seriously, that's a LOT of undiapered bottoms out there!!

I also found that these western mothers were able to put into words things that my Akha friends could not. This method of caring for babies is so much a part of Akha culture, that Akha moms don't need to discuss all the ins and outs of when, where and how to allow their children to pee on cue. However, for westerners this information is vital.

I know that by now many of you are feeling intrigued, but skeptical. This post is already getting quite long, so I'll try to quickly sum up how this whole diaperless thing actually works! There are three main techniques that facilitate the process:

Rhythm and Timing: This is as simple as recognizing certain times when the baby usually pees and offering an opportunity to "go" (in a toilet, bucket or bush) at that time.

Infant Signs: This involves watching the baby for subtle signs (body language) that usually precede urination or a bowel movement... often, a facial expression. This allows mom or dad to give the baby a potty opportunity whenever he/she notices those signs.

Parental Cuing: When the parent notices the baby "going", (either in the toilet or otherwise) he makes a particular sound like "pssss" or "shhhh". The baby learns to associate this sound with the release of the muscles that control urination. Then, when "potty opportunities" are given the parent can make this sound and if the baby has to go, she will!

So, there you have it folks! The Vernons are going diaperless... or at least they're going to try!

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Random Thoughts in the Third Trimester

2007-06-22T00:03:00.000-07:00

As of this week, I'm thirty-two weeks along. For some reason, thirty-two weeks seems like a milestone to me, so I thought I'd commemorate it with a quick post and picture. Here are a few random observations about pregnancy and life...

Questions from Strangers: Whenever we're out and about in the city, women are always asking me if I'm pregnant, how far along I am, and if it's a boy or a girl. I'm sure some would find it annoying to be constantly asked these "personal" questions, but I think it's pretty fun. The only drawback is that my Thai is pretty limited, so while I can answer these three questions adequately, any attempt at further conversation inevitably ends in a "Kort hort kha, mai kao jai kha" ("I'm sorry, I don't understand.")

Hotter than You Know Where: Someone recently told me that for pregnant women temperatures feel about 10 degrees hotter than they would for anyone else. Lately, we've been consistently having highs in the 90's and the heat is killing me! Normally, the weather doesn't bother me too much; sure it's hot here, but I usually cope just fine. Lately, however, if I'm not in air-con during the heat of the day, I sweat like a pig, risk getting really nauseous and generally am completely "wiped out" for the rest of the day.

The Pregnancy Waddle: I know it's a natural consequence of all the physical changes that happen during pregnancy, but somehow that notorious pregnancy waddle is one of those things that I've been dreading. Unfortunately, the time has come and I must admit my gait has begun to resemble a duck. I try to hide it and walk properly when I'm out in public, however when relaxing at home "the waddle" definitely shows up pretty frequently!

Humbled by a Helping Hand: The other night, Paul and I were sitting in bed watching our new favorite TV show, Heroes, on DVD. As I tried to get up to take one of my frequent trips to the bathroom, he actually had to give me a little shove to help me get up! I've always thought of myself as a pretty fit person, but somehow those stomach muscles that I worked so hard to develop as a vain teenager are suddenly non-existent! Ah well, I guess these are the first of many sacrifices we'll make for this new little person in our lives.

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pregnancy

Birthing Class and Our Final Hurrah

2007-06-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

As if the prospect of giving birth isn't scary enough, doing the whole process in another country can be quite daunting! You can imagine how relieved I was to hear about "American" birthing classes available in the city of Chiang Mai, just a few hours away.

So, a couple weeks ago, we packed up and headed off for three days of classes in Chiang Mai. The classes were taught by two missionaries who had both been labor and delivery nurses in the States. They were amazing and not only gave us some great information to chew on, but they also gave us that "tender, loving care" that can be missing when facing such a momentous occasion so far away from friends and family. There were two other couples in our class; both were American couples working in other South East Asian countries who had come to Chiang Mai to give birth because of the superior medical facilities and services available here in Thailand. It was great to spend time with them, comparing pregnancy stories and our lives in the different countries we live in. The only downfall was that both couples were due to have their babies this month, which, of course, made it feel like our August 13th due date was an eternity away!

Normally, when we go to Chiang Mai, we stay in a great little guest house called the Ban Kaew. Unfortunately, this guest house, like every guest house in Thailand, has rather hard beds! Having lived in Thailand for over two years, we've actually adjusted quite well to the custom of rock-hard beds. However, as I am 7 months pregnant and finding it much harder to get comfortable in a soft bed (let alone a hard one), we decided to splurge on this trip and stay at The Amari Rincome Hotel. The beds at the Amari are much friendlier to American backs and since it is off-season we were able to stay for only about $30 a night in this normally $100-a-night-hotel.

While the soft beds were really the deciding factor in staying at the Amari, there were certainly other benefits as well! Paul and I thought of these few days in Chiang Mai as our "Final Hurrah" before the baby comes! We lounged by the pool, watched Yankees games on cable TV and ordered burgers and shakes from the burger stand down the road!

All in all, it was nice to have a few "American" days in Chiang Mai before jumping back into our travels to and from the village.

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Baby Dreams

2007-05-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

Both Paul and I have started having the notoriously odd dreams that expectant parents often experience. It all started with a dream a few weeks back...

"I dreamed it was several days after I had given birth. We had just gotten home from the hospital with a new baby girl when I realized, with horror, that I had forgotten to feed her... not just that day, but ever since she was born! However, just as I was getting ready to feed her, my mother, aunt and cousin arrived announcing that the baby and I were expected at some sort of party or baby shower being held in our honor. When I protested saying that I needed to feed the baby, they all said I could simply feed the baby at the party. I conceded, but as we were getting ready to go I had another horrible realization; I had not purchased any diapers or any baby supplies at all, so I began frantically running around the house trying to find a towel or something that would work as a diaper in case I needed to change the baby at the party. Somehow, through the magic of dreams, this obstacle was overcome and we ended up at the party. However, even at the party, I was constantly having moments of panic where I realized that I didn't know where the baby was. I would forget that I even had a baby and walk away with out thinking, only to realize, 15 minutes later, that I had left the baby unattended in another room! "

While I don't normally give much thought to my dreams, I think this one was definitely a peek into my subconscious thoughts. I had this dream just after some friends of ours announced the birth of their daughter. Something about the birth of their baby made the approaching birth of our baby seem so much more real. Up until that point, I had mostly been thinking about "me" and the "pregnancy", thinking that there was plenty of time to prepare for the baby later. But this unnerving dream threw me headlong into baby-preparation-mode and made me want to avoid, at all costs, that horrible feeling of being unprepared to care for this precious new life!

My dreams, since that first one, have been far less detailed and, I think, much less significant. Although, they are still just as odd! For instance, the other night I dreamed that I was in labor at the hospital. When the nurse came in to check my dilation, I got a bloody nose! It wasn't painful, and I wasn't scared, but no one could seem to make the bleeding stop. Then, last night I dreamed I gave birth to triplets, three boys. It was completely painless and all three just slipped out effortlessly. My only thought was "It's not possible. The ultrasound would have shown triplets!" Even Paul is getting in on the fun. The other night he dreamed that we had a baby girl. However, we didn't pay close enough attention and in twenty minutes she had grown up and was herself pregnant!

Like I said, I don't normally give too much thought to my dreams. I'm sure someone could tell us all sorts of deep things about our mental processes from these examples, but I'm content to be entertained by the weird things that our brains come up with while we're sleeping!

Pregnancy Cravings

2007-04-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

Everyone always wants to know what pregnant women crave. I think this is because it makes for great conversations at parties! Someone says "Listen to this, I once knew a woman who craved jalapenos stuffed into chocolate cake while she was pregnant!" and the crowd responds with exclamations of disgust or amazement! Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately) I haven't had many exciting cravings thus far.

Since my appetite has returned in the second trimester, I've been craving fruit (mostly mangoes and watermelon since they are in season right now), dairy (milk, yogurt and ice cream), smoothies (which are, of course a combination of the fruit and dairy), eggs and cheeseburgers. Luckily, all of these things are pretty readily available here in Thailand. Even the hamburgers are not too hard to find, as there are a couple restaurants here in Chiang Rai that serve a decent burger. However, what really satisfies my burger-craving is a McDonald's Double Cheeseburger... which can be obtained with a mere 3 hour drive to Chiang Mai! We had to go to Chiang Mai a few weeks ago and the Micky-D cheeseburgers almost made me cry, they were so good!

I've always been a "chicken girl". So much so, in fact, that my husband teases me about how every recipe I make calls for boneless-skinless chicken breast! But lately, I've really had an aversion to chicken. While I can eat it, I don't really enjoy it and can't usually finish a full serving. So, my standard lunch meal of Khao Mun Gai has been replaced by the tofu, eggs and bean sprouts of the famous Pad Thai. In the past, Pad Thai was never my really one of my favorites, but today's lunch was the third day in a row where nothing but Pad Thai would do!

All in all, I'm really enjoying food lately (that is, aside from spending last week in the hospital with an over-glorified stomach bug; I was not enjoying food last week!) And Little George seems to enjoy food too! After almost every meal the kicking and punching starts up with vigor. I'm know it really has to do with increased blood sugar levels giving him that extra energy to move about, but it's so much more fun to say things like "Oooh, George must really like mangoes!" Anyway, it seems like there's something about pregnancy that brings a whole new meaning to the word "satisfied"! After some meals, I just sit and bask in the glory of a happy mouth, a full tummy and a kicking baby!

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What is your #1 baby gadget?

2007-04-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks, the reality of having a baby in a little over 4 months has started to set in. Maybe it's the recent arrival of our friend's baby girl, or maybe it's the fact that we have crossed that half-way mark, but either way, those notorious pregnancy-nesting-tendencies are starting to appear!

Up until now, I've avoided thinking too much about "preparing for the baby". I'm sure, in some ways, there was an element of self-protection involved; if we had another miscarriage, I didn't want to have too many "baby things" hanging around making the grieving process that much more difficult. However, on a lighter note, probably a larger part of my procrastination was just that - procrastination; nine months really feels like a long time and it's easy to say to yourself,"There will be plenty of time for that later." But like I said, with just four months to go it's time to start getting ready for the baby!

Now, the process of "getting ready for the baby" can mean very different things depending on what culture you're in! For instance, when an Akha baby is born, the only "supplies" needed are a few sets of clothes and some fabric for an Akha baby sling. Sometimes the Akha will make a baby hammock out of an empty rice sack strung between two bamboo poles, but other than these few simple items, the arrival of the baby doesn't require too much preparation. In our two years living in a village, we've seen many children grow up happy and healthy with just these "bare necessities" to carry them through their first months of life. In America, however, "getting ready for the baby," takes on a whole different meaning! Just look at everything included in a traditional American nursery checklist, not to mention all the fancy gadgets & accessories available to today's parents, like baby-wipe warmers, cribside mp3 docks and even "pee pee tee pees"!

During the past few weeks, I've been feeling really caught between these two drastically different worlds! On one hand, there's no denying the fact that I'm an American. When I think about preparing for a baby, my mind immediately finds itself in the land of cribs, changing tables and rocking chairs! On the other hand, we are working with the Akha and we desire to understand the Akha culture and way of life not only through observation, but through experience. So, we find ourselves in that familiar, yet tricky, situation of finding a balance.

Right now, we're trying to narrow down all the options out there and decide what items will really be useful in simplifying our life with a baby. This is where you come in! I want to hear from all you parents out there, those of you in America as well as any missionary parents on the field.... What is your #1 "must-have" baby item?

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Too Modest

2007-04-04T06:18:00.000-07:00

Our 21 week ultrasound appointment has come and gone, but we still don't know if it's a boy or a girl! While we did see the heart, spinal cord and kidneys, apparently George was a little too modest to reveal those other organs that would let Grandma know whether she should buy the pink or the blue onesies! Of course, we were just a tiny bit disappointed that we weren't able to learn the sex of the baby, but we are honestly just happy to know that the baby is healthy and everything is progressing normally. And since ultrasounds are so cheap here (around $12), we can certainly try again later!

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20 Down, 20 To Go

2007-03-27T01:48:00.000-07:00

Well, we're half way there! This week marked the completion of my 20th week of pregnancy. This being a sort of milestone, I couldn't let it pass without writing a new post. So, I thought I'd just take a minute to fill you in on some random observations about the pregnancy thus far!

Today, I started the process of packing away some of those clothes that just will not fit anymore, and getting my "pregnancy wardrobe" in order. I've been trying to get as much wear out of my normal clothes by keeping the maternity clothes packed away, but getting dressed in the mornings has become increasingly more frustrating over the past couple of weeks. So, I think it's time to start making the switch!

So far, the second trimester has been very good to me! The horrible nauseousness that accompanied the first trimester hung on until about the 14th or 15th week, but since then, I've had more energy, no nauseousness (to speak of) and have been feeling pretty great all around! Oddly, I still do vomit every once in a while for no apparent reason, but usually there's no nauseousness before or after, so I'm happy to chalk it up to one of those quirky pregnancy things!

Speaking of "quirky pregnancy things" a couple of weeks ago I had the hiccups for two days straight. Apparently, hiccups are somewhat common in pregnancy due to the relaxation of the body's muscles, including those in the diaphragm. I'm just glad I didn't have to endure hiccups for 5 months, like this woman. My other weird pregnancy quirk is sore taste buds. If I eat certain nuts or pineapple (even the smallest bit) I'll get one or two swollen and inflamed tastebuds on my tongue. Sure, it's a little annoying, but I can think of far worse to suffer from during pregnancy!

Little George started kicking a couple weeks ago. Many pregnant women describe the baby's first movements "like butterflies fluttering," however that has not been my experience at all! While it certainly isn't painful yet, there is no mistaking that little left jab. I didn't think much about it until I was recently reading the baby blog of our friends, the Byers. Bill wrote this about their brand new baby: "Rachel and I are enjoying watching our little girl express her gentle personality. It is fun to see how her disposition is the same as it was in the womb; she was always fairly docile..." That got me thinking, what does all this activity say about George? Is he a rough and tumble boy? Or maybe she is just a tough and spunky girl. Well, I guess we'll see; our next ultrasound appointment is just two days away!

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pregnancy

You Be the Judge!

2007-03-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

"Are you showing yet?" asked my mother eagerly during a recent Skype call. Well, that is a tricky question of late. On one hand, I can certainly tell a difference in my belly. The email I received this week from Babycenter.com says that right now the baby is about the size of an avocado. That seems about right to me; I can certainly imagine an avocado in my belly causing this little bulge.

However, on the other hand, no one else seems to see any change whatsoever in my physique. All of my clothes still fit and I think they even tend to hide that little avocado that I'm carrying around. The other day I found myself sitting with two other pregnant women who were 5 and 6 months along.

They were very vocal about how I was not "showing" yet (especially in comparison to their own recent progression) and concluded that it was because this is my first, and they each have one child already.

It seems to me that "showing" is a very subjective term (especially at week 16), so I thought I'd present you with the evidence and let you decide for yourselves! Here are two pictures taken on the same day in different clothes to show you how I'm both "showing" and "not showing" at the same time.

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My Akha Pregnancy Guru

2007-02-27T02:08:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we took our first trip back to the village after having been gone for a little over three months due to the complications and morning sickness of the first trimester. One of my biggest fears in returning was that none of our Akha friends would understand why we had been gone so long. Akha women are extraordinarily strong; I've seen women work all day in the fields while battling a full blown case of the flu! Traditional Akha medicine has no concept of rest as a treatment for sickness and it seemed to me that this cultural precept might very well apply to pregnancy as well. As further support to my theory, the other day I was reading What to Expect When You're Expecting and I ran across this statement: "...morning sickness is unknown in some societies where lifestyles are simpler, more relaxed, and less demanding". I was certain that I would return to the village, announcing that I was pregnant and had been very sick for the past few months only to be met with baffled silence from our Akha friends.

Luckily, this was not the case. On our first night back one of the older women came to visit me and asked where we had been for so long. As I explained, she nodded knowingly and replied, "Yes, for the first three or four months of pregnancy it's common to lose your appetite and want to sleep all day. After about 5 months you'll get your appetite back, feel stronger and may even start to feel the baby moving!" I pulled out the ultrasound to show her and a teenage girl who had wandered in asked if it was a boy or a girl. This wise Akha grandma piped in saying, "Oh no, it's much to early to tell if it's a boy or a girl yet. You have to a wait a few more months!"

Even though, much of this pregnancy will reflect an "American way" of doing things, there's something so special about getting to experience even just a little bit of it in an Akha village.

I don't know why I was so shocked to hear her say these things. After all, this woman has delivered most of the babies in our village; she, of all people, should have expertise on the subject. I guess, it's just that during the past few months I've been educating myself about pregnancy in the American way (with weekly emails from Babycenter.com and of course, with the ever-popular book What to Expect When You're Expecting) and it had not really crossed my mind that there was any other way! However, when I heard this grandma, who can't read and has probably never even seen a computer, giving me an accurate time line of pregnancy symptoms and fetal development, I was reminded so clearly that the American way is not the only way!

Even though, much of this pregnancy will reflect an "American way" of doing things, there's something so special about getting to experience even just a little bit of it in an Akha village. Although, I certainly like my regular OB/GYN and consider him a great doctor, when I think about all the women he sees each day and all the babies he delivers, I can't help but feel like I'm just another face in the crowd, barely a blip on his radar. However, when I was sitting with this Akha elder talking about the pregnancy, it was so intimate and personal. She was invested not simply because she is the village mid-wife, but because a village is a family; and just like any family, our Akha family eagerly awaits the arrival of this new member!

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Houston, we have a monkey...

2007-02-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

Baby's Second Picture: Curious George

I had a doctor's appointment a couple days ago. Dr. Pitsanu did another ultrasound which was, of course, very exciting. Our little "Tumnus" now measures 7.1 centimeters from head to tush. I can hardly believe it; he has more than doubled in size in just 3 weeks! Also, though I can not feel it yet, he appeared very active on the ultrasound, waving his arms about and moving his torso. I'm happy to report that he seems to have lost his faun-like traits (the beard!) , so Paul has now re-nicknamed him "George" (after Babe Ruth). However, I think this most recent ultra-sound looks quite "monkeyish" so instead of George short for "George Herman Ruth", I think it should be short for Curious George! Plus, curious George is sooo much cuter than The Babe! Did you see the Curious George Movie? Super cute, people!

The Real: Curious George

Dr. Pitsanu is very sweet and always makes cute little comments from the baby's perspective during the ultrasound, saying things like "Hi mommy! Mommy, look at me I'm waving!" Like I said, very sweet, but seriously... this guy probably does a hundred ultrasounds a week! Does he do the baby voice for everyone? If I were him, I would totally get annoyed if I had to do the baby voice for every single pregnant woman who came in! Or maybe he just does the baby voice for us farang because he knows we're suckers for that sort of thing!

As for me, I'm still not showing yet (we'll be sure to post pictures at the first sign). In fact, I've lost a few pounds since my last appointment, but don't fret, the doctor assured me that I needn't worry about gaining weight just yet. The morning sickness does seem to be abating a little and we hope to test my progress with a quick jaunt to Chiang Mai this weekend. We'll let you know how it goes!

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Investing for the Future

2007-02-07T03:27:00.001-08:00

We have always thought that raising a family in Thailand among the Akha would be an incredible gift. Other than the broad cultural exposure our children will experience, they will likely be familiar to fluent with English, Akha, Chinese (Mandarin) and Thai. This has always seemed like an amazing benefit, as it will equip our children to do so many things with their lives, but a recent study out of New York University introduces another long-term benefit:

Bilingualism may delay onset of dementia

Bilingualism may help to stave off cognitive decline because of the mental agility necessary to juggle them in day-to-day life, researchers said.

"Our study found that speaking two languages throughout one's life appears to be associated with a delay in the onset of symptoms of dementia by four years compared to those who speak one language,"

How cool is that? One of our child's first gifts might help them most 75 years after they are born.

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Visiting Our Baby

2007-02-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

Other than the nausea, the obvious physical changes of pregnancy come slowly at first, after all there's no kicking or waddling yet, so the only time I really feel like Lori is pregnant is when we go visit the doctor or, in my thinking, when we go visit the baby. We have another appointment with Lori's OB/GYN tonight. On the agenda: Listening to the Fetal Heartbeat. I don't think we'll be able to podcast this one, so you all will just have to take our word for it.

In Morning Sickness News, Lori has continued to improve. She was able to spend much of Friday and Saturday at House of Joy while I helped our director work on his dissertation. Yesterday, however, was another rough day for her so we're not completely out of the woods yet. Keep her in your prayers!

We'll fill you in with more news as we learn it.

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Three out of Four Ain't Bad

2007-01-27T03:56:00.000-08:00

As of today, Lori has gone three of the last four days without losing any of her meal portions to the porcelain. While that might not seem very good (most of us would not celebrate if we had vomited once in the last four days), this is the best she has felt in over two months and we might be starting to glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps the second trimester will be easier on us after all.

This wonderful news, combined with moving forward in the business of selling our home is making life much more relaxed and allowing us to start thinking about getting into our village again. No plans yet, we have to get her more active first to see what she can handle, but whatever our tomorrows bring we are thankful today.

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Awww, Look at the Baby!

2007-01-23T01:34:00.000-08:00

In our last adventure we talked about 2am feedings, dealing with unpleasant fluids, and figuring out how to keep her happy. Not much has changed, Lori's still plugging away preparing me for fatherhood. Distracted by all of these things, I hadn't yet gotten around to posting the results from our ultrasound here on Baby Notes. So for all you clamoring fans (or to you few relatives who are interested) here are the results from our first (official) ultrasound:

Baby's First Picture: Our little baby Tumnus

In this corner, weighing in at under an ounce with a height of 2.9 cm and a confirmed head, heartbeat and butt - it's Tumnus!

It was really cool to see the baby, but an ultrasound is still just an ultrasound - unless you get one of those nifty 3d ultrasounds. The doctor pointed out the head, heartbeat and butt, measuring from the foremost to the latter, and we were just happy that everything is continuing to progress well. On the printout, however, I think the resemblance is more similar to Tumnus than to Lori or I. Not that I think it's a boy (necessarily), I just think it looks like a faun.

We go back on the 5th of February to listen to the fetal heartbeat and take another ultrasound (at $10 a shot here they do them pretty often)

We'll keep you posted!

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In Like a Lion...

2007-01-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

This first trimester has been really rough on Lori. From bed rest to being limited in travel to all-day & all-night sickness she's been a real trooper in keeping positive. It's meant a new focus for us as we've been forced to face our priorities. It's easy to say that family is more important than ministry, it's more of a stretch in practice.

So, we've been out of the village for a while. Lori will go see her OB/GYN later this week and we'll find out more about what she can and can't do. We're hoping that the next trimester will be much more pleasant.

On the bright side, I'm already learning about 2a.m. feedings and dealing with unpleasant fluids so I feel quite prepared to have a baby. This has also been a time where we can focus on city life. From helping where we possible at House of Joy to working with A-Je on his Dissertation as he finishes his Doctorate to household duties we're keeping busy.

Babies change everything, and this little one is looking for all kinds of attention already - and we're very happy to give it.

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