At the Beach

Our first family trip to the beach with our new video camera. fun fun.


As you can see, Josie continues to eat sand. Nothing has changed in that since having a new brother. My mom was taking pictures, hence the modeling poses:)

big sister love

keeping Josie away from her brother is a full time job! She LOVES him and constantly wants to give kisses, scratches and hugs. Here is an example.

First week with two

I am a mother of two. That's a strange and wonderful reality. One little one is at church with Dave and my parents-- who have been such a God-send to me this week. The other little one is curled up in a bassinet with the blanket I made for him snugly tucked around him, sleeping. These children are so precious to me. And I remember that in the middle of the night when Josie cries out to be with us and wants to snuggle with her parents and little brother at 1 am. True to form, she is the one who is keeping me awake more at night, Asher eats and sleeps. The first few nights he was up a lot eating, but the last 2 I have been so impressed. I've gotten 3-4 hour stretches of him sleeping after eating! This is an entirely new experience for me! And when he's awake, he's rather happy to look around him and make funny faces. I experimented by putting him in his bed completely awake this morning while I bathed. He just looked around him the entire time, wide awake. No crying. Unbelievable!
Yesterday I turned a bit of a corner in the pain arena. Thankfully this week I've been so blessed to have my parents here able to help out. I don't think I've changed Josie once this week, and she's warmed up completely to her grandparents. This allows me the chance to heal, though I'm still sitting on ice, the pain from 3 sets of stitches isn't nearly as breathtaking as it was the first couple of days. There were definitely some rough moments of trying to get out of a chair, or walking. I'm so so so glad that things are on the upswing in that area!
The family who lives upstairs and whose son Dave tutors have stepped in with lots of help. I called them a couple days ago when Josie was really needing to get out and play and they came right down and got her and took her for a few hours! It was wonderful. They also showed up 2 nights ago with 5 DOZEN EGGS for me. As well as an entire chicken in a bowl of broth. And I mean ENTIRE. Feet and head included. A very common Chinese dish. So in China, it's apparently healthy for the mother to eat 100 eggs after giving birth. We're working on it. We already had 3 dozen in the fridge so if anyone is in need of eggs, let me know!

Having grandparents around to help makes me realize just how helpful they are! We lived with my parents during Josie's first 6 months so I kind of took that for granted. Truth be told, I'm a little worried about what life will be like when they leave. Thankfully wonderful friends have offered help and support so I will certainly be taking them up on that. And our neighbors.
Yesterday my parents friends Rick and Marci Everson came again for the day and it was lovely to see them. Also good for my parents to have some people to get out of the house with:) And we actually went out to dinner. I was a little dubious as to how I would do out, but everything turned out aok and we enjoyed an evening of yummy Malaysian food and fellowship.
And now I've had the morning to myself with my little precious bundle to just sit and cuddle with him and look out the window and eat eggs and toast and take a bath. It has been lovely. I'm sure the family will arrive soon so hopefully I can post this and some facebook photos of this week. Last Sunday at this time I was in church, having strong braxton hicks contractions that were causing sciatic pains down my legs and trying to keep an eye on my little Jojo who loves to wander around the climb the stairs and eat the cookies in the lobby. And now my life has changed once again, completely. Two beautiful children are in my care from now on. Wow.

Midnight wakings

We're at the end of day 4. I'm about to go to bed. So far, Asher like to be up at night and has 4 hour stretches of sleeping during the day. Ugh. We're working on getting the days and nights worked out. Here he is last night sometime late. Here's hoping for some sleep tonight... uh oh, he's waking up!

Asher and Grandpa

40 weeks

Asher's birth story

Asher David Coons

born October 18, 2010

3:47 am, Vancouver Canada

7 lbs 10 oz

It's hard to believe that this little bundle snuggled in a sling on my tummy was in my tummy less than 2 days ago!

As far as I can remember, the birth story goes something like this. Sunday night after dinner Dave and I were reading on the couch and I started getting contractions that were different than the Braxton Hicks I've been having regularly for the last 2 months. And by that I mean they would sometimes come every 5 minutes if I was walking around! So though I wasn't sure that the dull ache in my lower back and front would be anything different, they were uncomfortable enough that I would have to lean up against the couch or walk around and stretch. This was about 9 pm. I suddenly became very exhausted as well and went to bed with a hot pad. Around 11 pm the pain started becoming worse and I was tossing and turning so much that Dave decided to sleep on the couch in case these were legit and we had a long night ahead of us. I called my midwife to tell her what I was thinking (that I was going into labor) and then got in the tub by 11:30 pm with contractions 10-12 min apart. By 1 am, they were more like 6 minutes apart and by 1:30 more like 4-5 min apart. I got Dave up, called our friends who we had lined up to watch Josie, and said we needed to go. To be honest, I don't think he really believed it was the real thing--- we spent 9 days waiting and walking and contracting and finally inducing for 30 hours with Josie so this was all a little surreal. Plus, it was 2 days BEFORE my due date!

We left the house at 2 am, and by the time we got to my friend's house 15 min away, I was doing labor breathing in the car every 2-3 min. Josie was so excited in the back seat- copying me! It was pretty humorous indeed. Dave quickly dropped Josie off-- our saint of a friend Jenn met us at the door and Josie was more than happy to go to her- waving "bye bye" to us and off we went.

When we checked in at the hospital, I had to sign papers in between labor pains. My midwife, Carole, met us there and evaluated us-- I was 7 cm dilated and the sac was bulging. I think we arrived at the hospital at 2:30am. I was wheeled up to the delivery room and got in the water asap. I don't remember the rest all that clearly, at this time I had waves of pain without much break inbetween-- no break actually. Somewhere in the night I got on the delivery bed and my body took over. There wasn't much time for pain meds so I didn't have anything. I remember the midwife, nurse, and Dave all rubbing my back and then I pushed Asher out with a couple of heroic pushs-- I could hear them telling me not to push so I tried not pushing but he came out with a vengeance anyway and I ended up with 3 different tears requiring stitching. I was hoping that wouldn't happen, but oh well. Now I'm sitting on pillows and packed with ice. At least I know what to expect with the pain this time around!

Asher sure is a beautiful little boy. He looks a lot like Josie at birth, with darker skin and hair. He's got Dave's shaped face and my nose. He was 21 inches long with the same long legs and arms as Josie and 7.8 lbs- Josie was 7.2. So far he's a good little sleeper during the day and likes to be up all night-- our one night experience:)

Our reunion with Josie has been fun. Somehow hanging out with a bunch of kids has trippled her vocabulary and spunk in the last 2 days and she's sooo excited about her new brother. But she thinks she can handle him like a doll and flop him around so we'll have to be careful with her:) She's anxious to handle him "gently" but that includes rough grabs to the face and scratches to the head. "Baby" is her new favorite vocabulary word, she says it constantly!!!

Similarities?

I got this pumpkin yesterday. Thought there were some similarities here:)

39 weeks today! And oh boy, these last couple weeks are full of anticipation. No sleep, always heartburn, going about each day with a question of "is he coming today?" My midwife appointment yesterday showed little change from last week, so it's anyone's guess. With Josie, I went to BJ to wait at 39 weeks. And then we waited and waited and waited. My mom came and we continued to wait, touring Beijing more than I had ever before. I honestly felt like I had a last hurrah as as tourist in China! And then the 30 hour induction.... oh, I don't really want to remember it all! But the result was a beautiful and healthy baby girl and happy parents so it all turned out alright.

And now we wait for Asher. But somehow the waiting is a lot busier than leisurely walks around the Summer Palace. Actually, as I think about it, this entire pregnancy has been vastly different from Josie's. All pre-natal care in English for one. A 10 minute drive to the midwife's office. Knowing what taking care of a newborn involves and having anxiety about the knowing, and also knowing what taking care of Josie involves--- rather than just anxiety about the unknown. Staying in the same country and not moving across the world 3 weeks post delivery. Although, we will be moving homes in a couple months, at least we'll stay in the same city and have the same community around us pre and post delivery. It will be nice not to be in transition for a year!

I think we're as ready as we can get. Our friends here have been soooo generous with us, to the point where I don't really think we need anything! We have a pack n' play set up in our room, as well as a Moses basket for sleeping, plenty of clothes and bottles and pumps. (Does anyone need any? I've got more than enough!) We've got a car seat, a double stroller... am I forgetting anything? Diapers are ready, blankets to spare. Food from friends lined up for us as well for when he comes. Parents coming in a week. Dave has been extremely busy getting work done ahead of time during this week (it's reading week here) so he won't feel overwhelmed or behind when the time comes.

So, just waiting for that time. God's time :)

Momma on the move

38 weeks and counting the days!A couple images of our daily routine. I'm out and about as MUCH AS POSSIBLE these days. Josie and I drive each other bonkers if we are inside too much-- mostly because she makes lots of messes and at this point, bending over to pick them up is a never ending, always annoying process. So, we've had fun hanging out with neighbors, playing on the playground and going for long walks. We went to the UBC's Botanical Gardens today--- so lovely! But my 2 hour morning walk needed 4 hours of rest this afternoon to be able to be on my feet again!

Here's our friend Matthew as we try to get Josie to sleep on an afternoon walk.

And playing in one of the neighborhood playgrounds

And the end of a long day-- finally Dada comes home!!!

push!

I laughed so hard, Josie had no idea what was going on!

Thanks for the link Nancy!

We'll call him the Ash-man

Or maybe Asher-Dasher, as it seems from all accounts that this little guy won't ever stop moving!

Asher David Coons

The name we've chosen for our son. It means, Happy, Blessed, and Beloved by God. Notice we're strategically naming him-- a happy son would so be a blessing, don't you think?

Asher is a biblical name, one of the son's of Jacob. That also makes him Joseph's brother- which is rather fitting as our little Josanna is the feminine form of Joseph, meaning "the Lord increases".

David is also a biblical name, from Israel's beloved King. Also, it's Dave's name (duh) and my brother's first name and my father's middle name. So, this is our family name as well.

Now is the waiting game, only weeks to go till we meet our little Asher. We can't wait!!!