Well we checked in on Friday and I stayed at the hospital and the family went home to get a good nights rest... they pumped me full of fluids and prepped me for surgery for the next morning... Asher's big day! The plan was for me to wake at 6am and take a shower and then wait for some additional prepping from the nurses and then at 9am we would head to the operation room. So Blake and the clan came at 8am to spend some time with me (which was a blessing bc I was feeling a little nervous and a lot of excitement).
We had wanted to hire to a professional photographer to come on that morning and take pics of the family before and after Asher's arrival. This was ViVi and Grandad and Daddy would not have to take pics and also we could give our family and friends back home the step by step playbook of this special day... We did have a professional photographer but it turned out to be a gift from some new friends Kevin and Hanah. What a blessing! So enjoy the pics... and it was really hard to pick out just a few but hopefully you will get a good feel of what it would be like to get ready to give birth in South Korea.
Here is our family of 3... about to be 4.
All of this because we fell in love... God is Good...
Big Brother ready to meet Little Brother
My surgery gown and drip... some of the pics are a little cheesy but I do have to say it was distracting me from getting to nervous... which was good.
This little corner was downstairs and where I waited every week to see the doctor. Also the nurses did not want me walking around in my pink surgery gown so they gave me this lime green robe... which just added another 10lbs...
Meet Kevin and Hanah... what a huge blessing they both have been... starting in Feb. with our initial visit, Kevin works for StopKorea who is the agent for Noble that helps you with everything from finding a home to finding a hospital if you are pregnant... and he was amazing and really helpful. His wife Hanah teaches the Noble guys Korean and she helped me with some doctor visits as my translator. They are such a blessing and we are so thankful for all of their help during this whole process... we could not have done it without them (and they are still helping us... Hanah just called the pediatrician today for me). They will forever be a part of Asher's story.
Back in room and almost time... more checks and more nurses...
There are so many things that were different about having a baby in Korea vs. the US... and a lot of them have to do with what to do and what not to do before and after you have a baby. I have been addicted to eating ice during this pregnancy (sorry teeth) and I needed one more ice cube before they took me away (even though they said nothing to eat or drink). The camera man is Korean and he has three kids and when he saw me eating ice he almost had a heart attack and was telling Hanah and Kevin in Korean that this was a no no and that I should not have anything cold (only hot). We had a good kick out of it bc in the US... ice is about the only thing you can have :-).
Now its time to roll... here the nurses are handing over all my jewelry to Blake
Kisses from my boys...
And here the nurse needed to change my pony tail holder... I had to use a real rubber band. Also during this time they had to take off my nail polish... and I just had a pedicure for the first time since I had arrived in Ulsan just a couple days prior... I was really sad about this.
We said our "see you laters" and off I went through the glass doors and had to leave everyone in the hallway... I do have to say that I was a bit overwhelmed at this point and remember just praying the whole time. I turned about 2 corners and then we were meet by an entourage of doctors and nurses. I did feel like I was on an assembly line and they all had their part to do to me and it was a very efficient process. I was very sad that Blake could not be in the room this time and that was something we both had to process and come to terms with. The feeling of being in a surgery room awake and listening to nothing but a language I could not understand was a little overwhelming but once again God was so gracious. The biggest part I remember was getting the epidural and not even feeling a thing, when I was rolled from my side to my back and then a man looked me in the eye and said do you feel tingle... I thought wow that was fast and easy. And then he would poke on my belly and say "pain?" and then I would need to say yes or no and then he would pinch my shoulder, knee, etc... we played this game for about a minute and then Dr. Jung showed up and said I would have my baby in 7 minutes.
More of the story to come... stay tuned.
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