Caution: Labor and Delivery Story

Here is a run down of my labor and delivery with Asher as best as I can remember it. - This is long and detailed.

We were at a friend’s house (The T’s) on Thursday, July 23, having lunch. The power was out for all of lunch and then we went up stairs to chat a bit and then the power came back. So we decided to try out their Wii. This was the 2nd time that I had played. I had read the night before on my brother-in-law’s facebook that he was playing Wii Fit to loose his belly. I had wondered at the time if it would help me go into labor too – (aka –loose my belly). So maybe that was already on my mind. Anyway, Caleb and I played a little tennis and did some bowling. Then Caleb headed off to the gym to workout. I stayed at their house and did the Wii fit. Well besides my Wii Fit age being absurdly old and them calling me overweight I enjoyed the experience and I was beginning to get good at the Hula-hoop. That is going in the clockwise direction. I will never know about counter clockwise because after I hit 300 twirls we started laughing and I had to make a b-line for the bathroom. Well, I realized then that my water had just broken. The time was 5:30 pm. Thanks, Wii Fit-otherwise my doctor was going to break it the next Wednesday.

Our friends drove me and A back to the guesthouse and I put the finishing touches on all of our packing but was not in too much of a rush because I hadn’t really felt a contraction yet. Then Charlie went to get Caleb because he was in the middle of a work out and didn’t have his phone with him. I took a shower and that was the first time I felt something that I thought might be contractions. We got some grilled chicken and rice for dinner and left about 6:30. By this time I really didn’t want to eat but thought it might help me to have some strength for the long night ahead. I also brought an apple along and that was what I really wanted to eat. We thankfully got to the hospital within an hour, which was a blessing because the traffic could have been much worse. I was feeling contractions in the car on a regular basis (3-6min) apart but was still able to talk. I was checked into the labor room by 7:45 and by then was 4cm dilated. My friend Stephanie came around 8:15 complete with some Ipod Christian tunes, which was perfect time because Caleb was help up in Admissions for 45 minutes. During that time the contractions were getting stronger and we got to see the chicken and rice for the 2nd time. Dr. Gozali got there at 8:30 and asked if I was handling the pain. I think all I could do was mutter a shy “yes”. 8:30-9:30 was the by far the hardest time with Stephanie counting the length of the contractions, me trying to breath and remain calm, and Caleb trying to comfort me by allowing me to clutch/pinch his hand until he lost all feeling I am sure. I was up trying to walk around, squat, sway, etc….. Then one of the later contractions totally exhausted me so I got in the bed to “rest” a little. Then I could focus and breath better because the contractions were not so excruciating. The doc came in at 9:30 and said I was fully dilated but the baby was not totally engaged. He said it would be about an hour before I was pushing. I could feel a strange pain in my lower back and in my lower hips. I felt like the baby was just stuck there. I didn’t want to move but knew I had to do something to get this baby down. However, every time I moved the pain got worse and I wanted to push. With C and S help I got up and stood on the floor and tried to rock. Well, I got things rocking and wanted to push – but just a little bit. So I got back on the bed this time on my hands and knees trying to relieve the pressure off of my back. Thankfully, it worked. There was this 3 min sense of calmness and I asked S why I hadn’t had a contractions. It was the calm before the storm. There is a special name for this breathing period before you are getting ready to push. Dr. Gozali was in the room given me reminders on how and when to push. I was trying to listen in between contractions and then they were shouting. “We see his head.” I was exhausted so I lay down on my side. I thought I had kept it all together until this point. But it was as if I went to another world. I knew I was holding on for dear life on the nurse’s shirt – partly because I didn’t want to fall out of the bed ☺. I could hear them saying things like, “Oh, we see his head, he’s got hair, you can do it, and just a little bit more.” But their voices were in the distance. Then, I felt Asher come all the way out and it was heaven on earth. Of course, being able to hold him and see him healthy was a great joy too. He came out very purple but after a minute of cuddles with mom he was given some oxygen and quickly gained his color.

I could not believe how incredibly smooth everything went. I was so afraid, nervous and scared about delivering in a developing country. Especially, knowing the nurses do not like to deviate from their norm and wondering if the baby was going to be healthy. But God’s word says that perfect love casts out all fear. I was relying on His care for me and remembering a verse that one of my teammates from WFRMS told me when I was getting ready to deliver Alethia.
CSB 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.
God provided just what I needed right when it was needed most!!!!

We praise Him that we had a healthy baby boy born at 10:45pm that night. Only 5 hours from when my water broke and without any complications. He was so faithful to see us through and give us a 9lb and 20 inch long super cute little man or “baby bruder” as Alethia likes to say.

He is Here!

Asher Raymond Coppenger made his appearance on July 23, 2009. He weighed 9lbs and was 20 inches long. I will post more labor details later but here are some of the pictures.

Still pregnant

As of Sunday, July 19 at 10:15pm - I am still pregnant and 2 days past my due date. We may go to the zoo tomorrow to do some walking. I am also getting a pretty bad cough and cold - not a good combo for a pregnant lady. I have to post this pic of Alethia since all my facebook friends liked it.

Also - A just got a dress up outfit from some sweet folks who are in America at the moment. It is a Fancy Nancy dress and she loves it. I think she has worn it for the last 4 days. Her friend Jess, in the big city, let her borrow a book about Fancy Nancy. She just informed Caleb that she is going to do the cha-cha with Grandma Gladys when she gets back to America. Grandma, I hope you are ready.

Happy Birthday Gagee!

Gagee,
We were really hoping Baby Asher would come on your birthday but it does not look like that will happen only 1 hour and 15 minutes until this day is over on our side of the world. Gagee we wish you a Happy Birthday and hope to give you another great grandchild within the next few days. We love you and miss you!

Who are my friends?

Alethia loves having friends to play with. There is usually someone new staying here everyday. So she asks in the morning "Mommy, who are my friends today?" Here are some of her friends.

From our time with the Webels in their city

We can Post Again.

We are now in the big city - awaiting the birth of our little boy. His due date is July 18th. I think he may be a view days early - but hopefully not too early. We still have some things to do. Just got a recent diaper grant from cottonbabies.com. Thank you all so much. They are going to be wonderful - 12 free Bum Genius cloth diapers. The new baby will not have to use Alethia's old nasty ones nor use the ones that are purple and hot pink. He should feel blessed.

We are staying in a nice place - sort of like a guest house. We have our own sleeping quarters and bathroom with microwave and fridge. Then there is this community area for cooking with great cooking facilities and even hot water for washing dishes. The whole place is air conditioned so I am not even sweating that much inside.

There is a pool we can use but it has a habit of turning my hair green. Not cool. Alethia is enjoying seeing so many folks and having "friends" to play with. She loves blowing bubbles and running around kicking the soccer ball. We often find her in the common area sitting amongst a big pile of books that she is "reading". She is also a big fan of puzzles and can do some pretty difficult ones with the help of mommy or daddy. She is convinced that we are having a boy and a girl - then she proceeds to count to 10 - as if her parents are planning on having that many children. I will leave that to the other J.Coppenger family and to the Lanfords. Will try to post some pics.