Check-in Friday

Warning... Objects in Picture may seem larger than they actually are (or maybe not)... wow is all I got to say.  There is a reason why I had stayed away from the camera ... or looking in the mirror.  It seems like yesterday people were telling me that I did not look pregnant and then it was all over with... no more nice comments... I would get looks and once a friend said "wow you really popped out from the last time I saw you (which was like a week)" and then I will never forget every time I would walk into my weekly doctor visit she would draw a breath through her teeth and just smile every time she saw me.

They do things a little different here from our experience in Houston with Pierce... and one big one was I had to check into the hospital the night before (4pm check in on Friday).  So Friday morning was full of excitement (I was so excited that we made it to the 4th of Aug) and lots of last minute packing.  Before we knew it it was time to go... so we got all the bags (and pillows, snacks, heating pad, etc.) and headed out.  Here we are in the parking garage ready to go...
 

Once at the hospital we had to check in and Pierce was so excited... I think he thought we were going to show up and they would hand us baby Asher... but before you go to the next picture... check out that profile... wow... 

One of the most interesting things about having a baby in a foreign country is the language barrier.  All the staff have been very accommodating and took very good care of all of us... they were very kind and many times all we could say to each other was hi... and this sweet nurse smiled every time we saw her and here she is trying to give Pierce a high five.  After we checked in we had to wait here to get my blood pressure and weight... then we headed off to another room where they did a contraction and baby movement scan.

 

Then we finally made it to the doctors office... Dr. Jung... she is amazing and very kind.  She speaks some English (enough for us to understand what is going on) but for the important visits I would bring a translator (the lady in the white shirt) which was a huge help and I know we could not have done this without her.  And a huge blessing she did all of this for free just out of the kindness of her heart... she will forever be a part of Asher's story. Can you find Pierce... he wanted to be close.

Lots of excitement... we are getting close... the big day is tomorrow...  everyone is standing with excitement.

Translator Hanah, me, and Dr. Jung.

Next stop... blood draw... we are all still excited... this is a great shot of the lobby of the hospital... it is brand new and very nice... 

After all that we finally made it to my room... there were a lot of people that needed to get us settled in, say hi and get the ball a rolling.

 

Our big man... handling all of this like a champ... he was so patient and did a great job and even left me that night in the hospital in good spirits and told me when he left he would be back in the morning to see me and baby Asher.

Before everyone left they had me change into the "moo moo dress"that I would have to wear for what I thought would be just that night... but oh no the entire time... so you will get to see this lovely pink daisy moo moo in a lot of pics.. flattering don't you think.

We are so thankful that ViVi and Grandad were there (are here) what would we have done without them.  What a blessing to have parents that can come all this way and help take care of Pierce and I (and Blake) with love, support, food and more.