What a wonderful Mother's Day!!

As you all now know, I was blessed with one of the most special Mother's Day gifts this year (even though I wasn't able to spend it with my little E), a new addition to our family...little Cooper Price!! As I posted in my last entry, I did end up making that trip to the hospital Saturday night, or rather very early Sunday morning. After I wrote on the blog, I headed to bed to try and get some sleep and from about 10:30 until 12:30, I was having fairly intense, consistent 10 min. contractions. While I thought it was still too early to head to the hospital, Andrew insisted we at least go in and get checked out (we'd been hearing too many stories about people arriving at the hospital too late to receive an epidural and having to go all natural....there was no way I wanted that to happen!!). So, we headed out about 1:15am and when we arrived at the hospital, they hooked me up to the monitors to observe the contractions and noticed they were down to about 5-7 minutes apart (we were so glad we had made the decision to go to the hospital at this point!). But then, when the nurse checked me, I still hadn't even begun to dilate!! She made a call to the Dr. who told them to go ahead and admit me. They should observe me overnight and that he would be in to check on me in the morning. The rest of the morning, the contractions seemed to lessen (but mind you, still painful enough!!!) and space themselves out....great, I thought....now I feel really silly! So when the Dr. arrived around 10am, I still hadn't made any progress, so he told me to go back home and that we would just keep our appointment for Thursday and we'd see where we were then. I told Andrew there was no way I was going to make it until then with the contractions I was having. Nevertheless, we headed back to our temporary home and thought we'd just see how it went! Now, I was thrilled that Andrew had been here with me....I would have hated to get him up here and then have to send him back to Melaka had it been on a weekday!! Anyhow, we went and had lunch and then headed back "home". I decided to take a shower as I was still having these fairly consistent contractions and feeling really crappy and drained from being up all night. While we were home from about 1:00 until about 3:30 (as I tried to nap.....while Marte was being an absolute savior and taking great care of Evan!!), the contractions only seemed to intensify and get closer together. By about 3:45, they started coming every 5-6 minutes....so, yes we headed back to the hospital! I told Andrew they were going to have to do something to make the baby come this time if he wasn't on his way because there was ABSOLUTELY no way I was going to make it another day with the pain I was having. When we arrived at the hospital this time, the nurse didn't even have to monitor me to make the decision to admit me because she saw how intense and frequent the contractions were coming (and how painful I must have made them look!!) and told me to go ahead and get into that "oh-so-nice" hospital gown. By the time she did get me connected, she was already getting all the "stuff" ready and I was telling her that I would like an epidural...STAT! She checked me and said I was at about 3cm, but that I was progressing quite quickly. By the time the anesthesiologist arrived and got the epidural in me at about 5:30(which by the way, was almost as painful as the now 1-2 min spaced contractions!), I was already about 6-7cm dilated! He told me I should have asked for it sooner...ha!...if I'd the strength he might have gotten a real earful from me!! After the epidural....ahhhh....now I was ready to have little Coop! Prior to that, I had told Andrew to remind me how I was feeling right then and there (as I was digging all my nails into him every couple of minutes....you forget, I didn't practice those breathing techniques that the natural childbirth mothers learn, as I always knew I was going the painless route!) if I ever told him I wanted a 3rd child!! You ladies who go natural are my heroes!! I have absolutely no idea HOW YOU DO IT!! Had I had to endure that sort of pain any longer, I might have passed out...ouch!! Anyhow, by 7pm I was about 9cm along and just waiting for the Dr to arrive....yet again!! By 7:30, I was fully dilated and ready to start pushing. After about 10 minutes of pushing, Cooper was in my arms and it was all over.....WHEW...what a day!!! Everything went beautifully from that point on. Cooper Price Thompson arrived on May 11th at 7:40pm (Malaysia time). He weighed 6lbs, 10 oz and was 19.5 in long. It was amazing how much he looked like Evan. And believe it or not, I think he had even more jet black hair on his head than Evan did! I wouldn't have thought that was possible! He is an absolute doll and has been a wonderful baby thus far. He and Mom pulled through everything with no problems at all. We are so thankful to God that everything went so smoothly and that there were no complications! We did find out today though, that the only pediatric surgeon in the hospital would not perform Cooper's circumcision because she was concerned about how it was bent down a bit. She said she would like to wait and observe him again when he is about 8-10 months old and look at doing the circumcision then. Given that we would really rather not have to have him go under local anesthesia at that age, we are looking into getting a 2nd opinion. So we'll have to see what happens with that. With the circumcision not being performed today, they went ahead and discharged us earlier this afternoon. We are now back in our temporary home in KL, and ready to make the trip back home to Melaka tomorrow. I have no idea how we are going to get all our stuff, the 2 kiddos and Marte, Andrew and myself into one car!! I'll let you all know how that goes! Anyhow, I thought you might like to see a few pics of the new guy. I have to go and feed the little man right now, so I'll have to post Evan's reaction to his new baby brother in my next post. It was so cute and sweet, as you can tell from a couple of the pictures below.

Cooper Price Thompson

No..... he hasn't arrived yet, but yes...he finally has a name!! We've been back and forth between Cooper and Maxwell (Max) for awhile now, but finally decided today that he feels like a Cooper! And just in time because since about 4:30 this afternoon I've been having some pretty consistent contractions. They haven't been terribly painful yet, but are causing alot of back pain and cramping, so I'm fairly certain these could be the beginning stages of labor. Since I never really experienced any early labor pains with Evan, I've been a bit unsure what I've been feeling for the last few hours. I'd hate to show up at the hospital and them tell me, "listen lady, you are having normal "practice" contractions and nothing else....just go home and come back when something real is happening!!" So, we'll continue to time them a bit longer and see what happens. I may just be making that trip to the hospital tonight though. So glad Andrew is here and I don't have to go alone and wait for him to get to KL! Wouldn't it be so appropriate if little Coop showed up for Mother's Day! What a fantastic Mother's Day gift! We've even had E practicing his new little brother's name...it sounds more like "coo coo" than Cooper, but he's been working on getting it right.

We'll be sure and keep everyone posted. And in case tonight is the night...Happy Mother's Day out to all the mothers!! Have a fantastic day!! To Mom and Nita...hopefully Andrew and I can make your day a little more special by sharing the news of your new grandson! Please keep us in your prayers. While I'm confident that the Drs. are knowledgable and the hospital is well-equipped to handle any problems...we are still in a foreign country and that makes us a little less as ease.

And the wait continues.....

As suspected, the little guy is quite comfortable in the womb and not making much of a move to make his way out. The Dr. did say my cervix was starting to thin, so our little man is at least thinking about making his appearance, but no dilation at this point. It was another 2 hour wait for my appt. again this week....the last 3 weeks I've gone the Dr. has had to attend to deliveries, therefore backing up the waiting room...ugh! I go back again next Thursday to continue monitoring my progress, but the Doc says everything is looking great and I should enjoy this time with Evan before the new one arrives. He did mention that his practice is to only let his patients go 1 week passed their due dates, assuming all is looking okay and fluid levels are normal. The little guy is still weighing under 7lbs so it doesn't seem as though he'll be too much bigger than E, but he sure does look to have some chubby cheeks in the ultrasound. I do think this one has my nose again though....we originally thought he may have a straighter nose like Andrew's, but looks like this one may look more like me too!! I can hardly wait to see what he looks like!!

In other news, my darn camera that was supposed to be fixed 2 weeks ago has still yet to be repaired. You can probably tell by my lack of pictures. I have taken some pics on my old camera, but it is just so dated and slow that I hate to even use it. I sure do hope they get it back to me in time for the birth. Don't worry, I'll still have one to take pictures with, but I sure would like my new one. It sometimes just seems impossible to get anything done in a timely manner in this country.

I go for my scrapbooking lesson tomorrow, so at least I'll get a few more pages done of Evan before the new one arrives. I swore I was going to use this time to catch up on the last year and half of photos I wanted to get scrapbooked (I at least have them all printed and filed nicely in photo albums!!), but I just never got to it. You know, so much to do and all!!

Anyhow, that's the latest. We'll keep you posted!! Maybe I'll be getting an extra special Mother's Day gift...you never know!! I so wish we were closer so that we could share this special time with everyone. We miss you all dearly and think of everyone often!!

14 days and counting....

So another weekend with Andrew here and nothing. I think the little one is going to make him make a special trip up here in the middle of the night one of these nights. We did have a nice time with him here - I know Evan was especially happy to see him...he managed to go to sleep on his own and sleep through the night all 3 nights he was here! Maybe he felt safer with his Daddy nearby. It is pretty precious to hear Evan say "Melaka" when you ask him where his Daddy is now during the week...no longer only in the "golf cart"!!

And no, we still haven't finalized a name like I thought we would. We are now down to 2. We did take the Evan challenge and thought about just going with the name Evan picked up, but we are now starting to think that maybe we'll have to see him before we can actually give him a name. At this rate, he probably will be here before we land on one anyhow. I have another appointment tomorrow morning, but I'm expecting a bit of the same....nothing happening and waiting for another week to pass. I've been feeling pretty good lately...sleeping through the night without too many aches and pains. I guess my daily naps when Evan naps keep me from getting too worn out. Oh, the rough life I lead!! I'm looking forward to having my parents here in a couple of weeks....they may actually be here for the birth at this rate. Problem is they are flying into Singapore and we are here in KL, so we might be having a driver go collect them and bring them up here if "no-name", in fact, doesn't show up by his due date. I was just sure he was going to be an early baby like his big brother! Guess I'll find out tomorrow the Dr's thoughts on how far past my due date he'll actually let me go in case that happens. I've had mixed feelings lately. I'm sometimes so ready to have this little one, especially when I'm aching all over and little Mr. Soccer Player won't stop with the non-stop kicking!! Then, during the times I'm feeling pretty good, I think I could stay pregnant for much longer. Since this will probably be the last time I will ever be pregnant again (I'm sure Andrew will say I could leave out the "probably"!!), I'd like to enjoy every last minute of it....maybe that's why he's in no hurry to get here.

I'll let everyone know how the appointment goes tomorrow.

So this is how big I've become at 38 weeks. I'm officially the fattest I've ever been! This really isn't a picture I'd like to remember, but I thought I should capture a few since I haven't taken nearly as many pregnancy pictures with #2 as I did with Evan!

Playing the waiting game...

While we seem to be able to keep busy each day, it seems like we are just playing a waiting game now. I'm sure the time would go by much quicker if we were back at home in Melaka with all our everyday things around us, but here it seems like we are just sitting around, finding ways to pass the time and waiting to have this baby. Technically, I guess that is the case!! We do manage to get out of the apartment at least once a day to do something, like go to Gymboree, go across to the KLCC playground, go swimming at the apartment's pool, and today we made a visit to the KL Zoo. When Andrew was here this weekend, we drove out to this area that had tons of monkeys along the road and fed the monkeys....which E thoroughly enjoyed and can't quit talking about! I've also managed to use this time to get some other things done, like getting waxed, a mani/pedi, I need to get a haircut and I took another cooking class on Tuesday. Yes, you read correctly....I'm trying to become a better homemaker since I've lost the title of full-time career woman. Not like it was the class I needed to be taking - we made our own doughnuts and cinammon rolls!!! So, yes, I've indulged in every last bite that I brought home with me!!! We also made our own pita bread for some delicious spiced chicken pitas. Also, a friend from Melaka and I have a scrapbooking lesson setup for next Thursday....so hopefully, I can make it that long since I've already paid for the course.

We are still deciding on a name...which I think we've narrowed down to about 3. So hopefully, when Andrew is here this weekend we can finally agree on something. One of his ideas to finalize a name (tell me if this doesn't sound just like Andrew) was to put the names down a small pieces of paper, throw them on the floor and let Evan pick one up - the first one he picked would be what we'd name him!! That way, if he hates his name later in life, he could just blame it on his older brother!! Needless to say, we won't be taking that approach!

As for how I'm feeling....just fine!! Like I'm several weeks away from giving birth actually. I had those few contractions on Monday evening, but since then not much of anything. I thought maybe all the walking we did at the zoo today might set some more off, but nothing. I actually felt pretty good today! I guess I'm not really in any hurry, I am still 19 days from my due date, so I probably shouldn't be expecting anything right now anyhow. But as of tomorrow, I will be more pregnant than I ever was with Evan. I guess that's why I think something should be happening soon. I'm starting to feel like I might go full term. Oh well, maybe it will give me time to get over this stuffy nose and sore throat I have. Evan had it for a couple of days last week and then it went away, so I thought it might have been just allergies or something and then on Monday, I started feeling a little crappy myself. Nothing serious, no fever or anything, but enough make my head feel nice and congested. It already feels like it's starting to pass...thank goodness!

Alright, off to bed after I watch the latest Grey's Anatomy episode I downloaded off of Itunes. Keep you posted!

Proof of me actually in a kitchen!

One of E's favorite things to do when we are at the mall!

In no hurry to make an appearance

Between the last posting and this one, we have moved into our new temporary pad in KL, had 2 Dr. appts...one last Monday and one yesterday, and finally gained Internet access.

We are settled into our new place now and it is going well. The apartment is nice and spacious, so we are quite pleased with the accomodations. It has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a nice-sized living area and dining area, and a small kitchen with a stove top and microwave (but no oven!). So we are making do quite nicely. We try to eat in as much as possible, but we are only about a 5 minute walk from KLCC (huge shopping mall with a big food court and tons of restaurants, including our favorite...Chilis! Strange how your preferences change when you have limited Western food options! We never used to go to Chilis back in Houston!), so we eat out every now and then. There is also a large park, with a huge playground area, outside KLCC so we've taken Evan there a couple of times to play when the weather has been nice. I think he has more fun standing around watching all the other kids than he does actually playing on the swings and slides!!

As I mentioned, up until Sunday, we had no internet access (or actually just problems with my computer connecting to the internet), so sorry I've been terrible in keeping this blog updated. Luckily, Andrew was able to get it up and running, so I can now keep everyone posted on how things are progressing. Unfortunately for the grandparents, we are still unable to get Windows Messenger working, so they've not been able to see E on the webcam for the last week and a half like they are used to....sorry guys!! I'm still working on it!
Also, my digital camera broke before we left Melaka, so I probably won't be posting many pics for awhile. Although, I do have my old camera as backup just in case the little one comes before I get my new one back. They said it would be a couple of weeks and we are going on 3+ now, so we'll see!!

As for our Dr. appt....we had our 36 week appt last week, where they did the Group B Strep (I think that is what it was) test, so he went ahead and did the internal exam, but said nothing was happening. The baby still seemed pretty high and didn't seem to want to make a move just yet. We then had our 37 week appointment yesterday and the same thing. He did an ultrasound to see that things still looked good (which they do!), but said it wasn't even necessary to do another internal exam because he could see on the ultrasound as well as feel on my tummy, that he still wasn't moving down. Of course, it was this appt with Evan that Dr. Thayer told me nothing was happening and then 3 days later Evan was born....so who knows!! The Dr. is out beginning tomorrow through the 5th of May, so we won't have another appt until the 7th. Sure hope I don't deliver while he is away....he is one of the main reasons we decided to come to KL to have the baby in the first place. As for the baby, the Dr. said he is weighing about 6 1/2lbs now, so if he is right he'll definitely be bigger than Evan. The pictures we got yesterday showed him with some pretty chubby cheeks, so we may have a little chunk on our hands! We also saw more hair on the ultrasound this time, so looks like we are going to have another full-head of hair on this one too!!

I did seem to have a few real contractions yesterday evening (but nothing last night or today), so maybe he is starting to prepare me! I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.

Baby No-Name Update

***I actually finished this posting on the 20th of April, but left Melaka without getting it posted to the website and have had Internet problems up until now, so I thought I'd go ahead and get it out there. The more current posting (which I hope to get posted soon) will have more up-to-date info on the progress of our newest little one.

As you guessed from the title of the posting...we still don't have a name for #2. Andrew and I have casually thrown out names over the past few weeks, but still haven't seemed to land on one we both agree on! Hmmmm...sounds vaguely familiar to the process we went through with naming Evan. Hopefully, we'll have one soon! As for how the little one is progressing...we have our 36 week appt on Monday so we'll see. I've been having several Braxton Hicks contractions over the last few weeks, but nothing consistent or too painful. I just asked Andrew last night if he thought I complained this much when I was pregnant with Evan, and of course he said "yes"...or was it "ohhhh yeah, you did!", but I just don't remember being this uncomfortable at this stage with him. Oddly enough, I'm about 7 lbs lighter with #2, but I'm about an inch bigger around the belly than I was with Evan at this point. It also seems as though the baby is about a pound heavier than E was at 34 weeks. I have alot more indigestion this time, but I haven't had any swelling, so thankfully no cankles.... yet! We'll be moving up to KL this weekend to stay in a serviced apartment until the baby arrives. I start my weekly appointments on Monday, so we thought it best to go ahead and make the move so that we'd be closer to the hospital. I hate having to leave home for so long, but it is probably for the best. Andrew is planning on coming up on Fridays and leaving on Monday mornings for the time being. I know Evan and I are going to miss him tremendously. I think this will be the longest we've been apart since we've been married! It's funny to think that the next time we come back home to Melaka, I'll have two little ones and not just one!! Once we are settled in our temporary home in KL, I'll try to get more frequent in my updates to keep everyone up-to-date with the latest and greatest about #2's progress for making his appearance.

As for an E update, the little guy surprises me more and more each day with the things that he learns. We made a list the other day of all the words he is saying and he has a vocabulary of about 60+ words now....of course, not all of them distinguishable to anyone other than Andrew, Marte and I who are around him all the time!! Nevertheless, we really have to watch what we are saying these days because he such a little sponge. The other day I spilled something on the floor and said "crap" and what do you know, he picked up on it in a second and he was even at the other end of the kitchen! Another list we made was of all the hotels he had stayed in since he was 5 months old (which is when we made our first househunting trip here to Malaysia) and we came up with 18 (which doesn't even include the times we have stayed in the same hotel more than once!). So this apartment in KL will be his 19th new place to sleep in the last 14 months!! It's amazing how well he adjusts to each new place. He just goes with the flow, which makes it so nice for us!! Hopefully, the same will be true of our upcoming move.

We have had a bit of trouble with sleep times lately. For some reason, he has been requiring a bit more attention in order to get him down for naps and bedtime. We have to read more books and sing until he is almost asleep, otherwise he starts to cry when we try leaving the room. When before, I simply laid him in his bed and walked out of the room. I'm not sure if he senses the new one coming along or is just preparing me for the new one!!! Wow, am I really ready for those sleepless nights again....sure hope I am - I don't have much of a choice now!!! I hope this phase E is going through is only temporary and that he gets back to his old sleep habits soon, especially with the new one arriving any time now. Oh and did I mention....as of about 3 weeks ago, E has been "bink" free!!! We think this could be contributing to his sleep issues....although they started even before we took it away. He was only using it for sleep times the last year or so, but now he doesn't even ask for it. He says they are "gone" and that the neighbor's dog, Nadia, has eaten them! Believe it or not, this was actually something he came up with and not me....all I told him when he woke up (after I cleared them from his bed while he was sleeping) was that they were gone and didn't know what happened to them!! We sure hope he is okay with it when the new one starts using one!! That is why I tried to take it from him several weeks before #2 gets here...hope it works!!

Well, better go now and get finished packing up for our move....I sure am taking a ton of stuff so I hope we don't get there and then have the baby just a week later!

Below are a couple of pictures from a recent birthday party we went to. Evan had a great time and enjoyed every minute of it.....even in the Malaysian heat (as you can tell from his rosy red cheeks!!). The other picture is of the 3 of us...with little brother, that is!! I hestitated in posting this pic since I look huge in it, but I thought everyone might like to see just how big I've gotten....as well as my belly button (that the nurse at my Dr.'s office seems to laugh at everytime I go!!)