Merry Christmas

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was good and the best part about it, is that it is our last one away from home! (That knowledge kept us from getting too home sick.) Only 1 1/2 months until we're back! We can't wait to see everyone! Our Christmas was pretty laid back. We just hung out at home for the morning, eating breakfast, opening our gift, skyping with family, and then went to some friend's house for the afternoon to eat and play scrabble. We have really loved our time here in Thailand, but the holidays are always the hardest things to miss out on. Our hearts are at home with our family and we wish we could have been there in person to celebrate with you all. But the reason for the season is Christ and to honor Him. And we know that our obedience in being here for as long as He's asked us to, is honoring to Him. So that gives us some comfort. But next year we're planning to celebrate like crazy and make up for the 2 Christmas' Days we've missed! Here are some pictures from our holiday.

Looking "our best" on Christmas morning!

Jackson, always looking cute and ready for a photo.

Trying to High-Five his friend Brody.

This must have been the tenth or so photo. I think Jackson was getting a little tired of modeling.

Two Months & Quite the Chunk

Jackson was two months old on Christmas Day. He had his 2 month check up this week and weighs a whopping 15 lbs and over 24 inches long already! We're hoping he's going to be really tall like his Grandpa Joe and Uncle Kale. He's grinning and making little giggle noises on cue now. It is so fun to listen to the little noises that burst out of him occasionally. Sometimes he looks as shocked as us at what he can do now! A couple weeks ago we had some family portraits done. Here are a few of the best.

Our little angel

He didn't like wearing the hat!

Learning to Smile

Jackson is over 5 weeks now, and has traded in those sleepy-time grins for real gurgling smiles when he is wide awake. It is so fun for us to see him developing in these small ways because we're seeing glimpses of his personality coming to life. The best part of his smiles, is the timing in which he chooses to give them. One of the best smiles I (Stacy) have received was after tickling him to stay awake while he was eating, he grinned really big, gave a little giggle, and let a mouth full of milk go all over himself. Another one was after he had been screaming from his bed and I went in to put the pacifier in his mouth, he instantly stopped crying and gave me a very mischievous grin like he was proud of the control he has over me. And the best grin so far came at 4am, right after he sprayed poo-poo all over me while I tried to change his diaper. He was either smiling because it was funny, or because it felt good to get that out. Probably the latter. I did not think it was possible for him to get any cuter, but I must admit he is even more so while he's grinning. Here is a picture and some video of him grinning at the couch for no apparent reason.

1 Month old

Jackson is 1 month old now and growing so quickly. He's already over 12lbs! This last weekend he had his 1 month check up and his first shot (he did not like that!) He is healthy and thriving but does have a bad case of baby acne right now. We're trying to get him on a good schedule and he seems to be doing well with it. He has slept really well (for several longer stretches) the last two nights, which mommy REALLY appreciates! And, he's sleeping in his own bed and putting himself to sleep (most of the time). He loves bath time and this week he had his first real bath in his own tub. Here are some pictures from this past week.

(Sleeping soundly in his own bed)

I tried this hat out, but he's not quite big enough for it yet.

Loving bathtime

Our little towel-head monster

Jackson is wearing Kit's old baby outfit that he wore home from the hospital.

Jackson's 1st videos

Jackson 1 day old

Jackson 5 days old

Jackson working out (2 1/2 weeks old)

Back to Chiang Mai

Contented with his full tummy and his mommy!

Jackson is 2 1/2 weeks old now and we're all back in Chiang Mai. He had his first plane ride and slept through the whole thing! We were a little nervous about how he'd handle the air pressure change, but he didn't show any signs of it bothering him. He'll have two more short flights to practice on before we head back to America and have to make that 30 hour trip. So hopefully he'll be a pro at it by then.

We were so excited to get him back here to Chiang Mai to meet all of our friends and co-workers. Everyday has been pretty eventful so now we're trying to slow down, rest up, and get on some kind of a schedule. Jackson is sleeping good at night but doesn't like his pack-n-play bassinet bed yet. We bought a sleep supporter to help him feel more snuggled, but he still prefers the nearness of mom and dad, so he's been taking up 1/3 of our bed for now. We're going to slowly try some new tricks to get him more comfortable in his bed, but we don't mind it so much since he's sleeping well.

We are really enjoying the "getting to know him" part of being new parents. All his cries, grunts, and other cute baby noises are starting to show patterns that give us a clue of what he wants. For example, when he's hungry and "rooting" for the food source, he makes little piggy snorts. When he's being burped, he does this cute little "motor boat" sound, and when he's stirring in his sleep, he makes little mouse and puppy-like wimpers. He has a great "poo" face he makes too, where he grunts/cries and sticks out his tongue. He really only cries when he needs a diaper change or can't fall asleep on his own and needs some cuddling. He's a really great baby and we love having him. Here are some photos from over the last week. Enjoy!

"Just hanging out in my recliner chair."

"This is my "poop" face. I hate having soiled diapers! "

1 Week old

We can't believe he's already a week old. Jackson is eating a lot, sleeping well (mostly during the day time though), and has been such a blessing to us. It is still hard to believe he's ours and we get to keep him, but now that we have him, I can't imagine life without him. He's such a precious baby. All those cute baby noises and faces they make are suddenly so much more special when they come from your baby. Oh, we love him so much!

He didn't have a very eventful first week, but we did brave a couple outings with him so mom could get a little exercise and we could all have a short change in scenery. His first outing was to the hospital for his and mom's checkups. Both went well, although Jackson didn't much like having his heel pricked for his PKU test. His weight was increasing and he wasn't really jondice, so we were all happy about that. All the nurses and many people at the hospital wanted to look at the cute little foreigner baby. Most asked "How many months is he" and were completely shocked when we replied "only 5 days!" I think he'll be getting that kind of response for a long time with the way he is eating!

We went to one of the malls on Halloween so grandpa could buy him some "dangley" toys for his stroller at Toys R Us and so we could get some icecream. He slept the whole time though. I don't think he's ready to be impressed with Toys R Us yet. And last night (grandpa's last night here) we went to the Hard Rock Cafe and the big Night Market here in Bangkok. He slept through both and got spoiled with an extra long nap. (Mom and Dad later regretted this at 3 am :) )

The three of us will be here just a few more days before we get to go home to Chiang Mai. We have lots of paperwork to fill out and turn in so he can get all his US citizenship proof he needs. We head home on Friday and hopefully Jackson will sleep through that short flight home like he has his other "outings". Here are a few pictures from his first week adventures. Enjoy!

Mommy's MVP

Haning out with daddy. They watched the world series together this week. Jackson is already a sports fan!

"Riding" a Tuk Tuk with Grandpa. (They just posed with it, but the driver really wanted to take them for a ride. "It's OK" he said...yeah right!

Jackson's Arrival!

Jackson (1 day old)

Most of you already know now that Jackson was born Saturday, October 25th at 5:14 pm (Bangkok time). But some have been asking to hear more about the birth, so I thought I'd share some of the details.

After having a check up on Friday, I didn't feel good the rest of the day. That night we went to bed about midnight and I finally woke up at 2am realizing this might be the "real thing". So I woke Kit up and we tried to think back to all we read in the baby books and in birthing class about how to determine if it is early labor or not. Around 4am, I couldn't rest at all and we knew that this was probably it. So I showered up, ate, and started packing. I didn't want to go to the hospital too early, so I waited until the contractions got to be intense enough that I had to really think about breathing through them. We headed to the hospital around 9:30am, and my doctor told me I was 3 cm dilated.

We went up to the birthing center where they did another non-stress test to monitor how well the baby was handling the contractions. He was doing fine and I quickly dilated to 4 cm and had my water broken to make sure it was 'clear'. Things progressed pretty quickly after that. Kit and I moved into the natural birthing room so I could try to find comfortable positions to labor in. The contractions started to get much more intense and difficult to handle, but what was really hard was the bottom and back pain I was having. I had been having lower back and bottom pain for about a week already and now I know why. Jackson was head down, but face up, so his big old head was putting a lot of pressure on that area.

I just want to brag for a minute on Kit. He was awesome the whole time, but especially during this really difficult period for me. He kept making suggestions on positions we'd planned to try in advance and he was such a comfort to me. The best labor partner ever!

I could only bear the contractions in 2 positions, one of which was just standing and holding him. I couldn't lie down, squat, or eventually even kneel. I was dieing to get into the tub, but had to wait until I was at least 6cm. So once I could, I got in and felt some relief for a little while.

The pain got so bad when I was in the tub and the contractions moved so close together that I had a hard time catching my breath. But during this part, I felt so much emotion. Kit had some of my favorite Christian songs playing and was trying to comfort me by playing with my hair and reading me some scriptures I'd looked up to help me through this day. I felt God's presence and peace so strongly during this time. I was in so much physical pain but in so much spiritual comfort at the same time.

The pain became too much for me and I finally decided to get an epidural. I knew it was now or never and that it was only going to get harder, so I decided that was the way I wanted to go. After the epidural (not fun getting because of the constant contractions while trying to hold still) I felt great. I even slept a little off and on for a couple hours. My labor seemed to slow a little bit after this, maybe because of the epidural, maybe because of the problem we soon discovered.

I sat at 8cm for a little while and we just rested while waiting for the doctor to come back and check me. She soon came rushing in because the midwife told her Jackson's heart rate was consistently dropping. She said she thought he may have a short umbilical cord and that is why he wasn't progressing down and his heart rate was dropping. She told us not to worry, but within seconds it was obvious she was concerned because she told me to start pushing. Even though I had some feeling still, it was really difficult to push because of the epidural. I didn't know if I was really making progress or not. I pushed for a while and then they all rushed out of the room and back in with all the delivery supplies. It got really intense after that because the doctor discovered the cord was around his neck and that's why I couldn't push him out and his heart rate was dropping. I pushed for what seemed like an eternity and she ended up having to use forceps to help him out. At that point I told her to do whatever she had to do because his heart rate monitor had gone silent.

When he came out, they laid him on my lap while they tried to suction him a bit and rub him to start crying. His body was so blue and still so they rushed him out of the room and into the hall to try to get him breathing. Those few seconds of silence felt like forever! Kit and I were both so terrified and then incredibly relieved when we heard his cries. I know things like that happen all the time, but when it is your baby (especially your first) it is terrifying to feel so helpless.

But, God is so good and has blessed us with a beautiful, healthy, baby boy. He is perfectly made and we are so happy he is here. I just can't stop thanking God for this precious gift that we couldn't ever deserve. Even though I didn't have the all-natural birth I wanted and we had some terrifying moments, we wouldn't change a thing about that day. God just gave us another opportunity to put our faith in Him and to accept whatever He decides to give us. The doctors we had, the midwives, the nurses, and the hospital were wonderful! We felt so spoiled and so well taken care of. Thank you all so much for your prayers, encouragement, and your congratulations! We can't wait to move back home and have you all meet our sweet boy.

At 4 cm dilated
Feeling good after the epidural

Just born! So cute, even with his big cone head!
So happy to be a family!

40 Weeks ++++

Our due date came and went and still, no baby! Oh the waiting was tough. Our doctor had to go out of town again, but was planning to be back for the weekend. So we kept telling the baby to hold on until she got back. He listened! We went to the doctor on Friday for a check up and she did a non-stress test to make sure he was still doing well. The test showed he was fine and she told me I was 1 cm dilated, so he'd be coming soon. She was right too, because labor started that night.
Here is my last belly shot at 40 + weeks!

39 Weeks...hopefully only 1 more to go!

One week from today is our estimated due date (Oct. 21), so we're anticipating his arrival anytime now! We went to the doctor two days ago and had a good check up. Jackson has descended down even further so hopefully he won't make us wait too much longer. Stacy still has not had any contractions that she knows of and is feeling pretty good besides some cramping and pressure. Unfortunately, our doctor is going out of town this week, so we are praying Jackson does not decide to come until she gets back, but if he does, we have a good back up doctor to use. Our doctor was really encouraging, saying she thought I would have a good and relatively short labor (because of the baby's size and position now), so we hope she's right and everything goes well and fast! Thank you for your prayers so far. We have been so blessed by God to not only have a healthy and safe pregnancy so far, but to get to be parents soon! We can't wait to welcome this little guy into the world. The next time you hear from us on this blog, we should have shots of our little man, outside the belly! But for now, here are some last belly shots at 39 weeks...

The biggest it is going to get...yeah!
(and yes, my belly is VERY white! Don't stare too long, it might blind you!)

37 Weeks & Almost there!

We went to the doctor yesterday for our weekly check up and had a 4D ultrasound. The doctor who performed the ultrasound was really thorough and checked all of the baby's major organs, measured his femur & chest, checked his heart rate and umbilical cord, and gave us an estimate for the baby's weight and age. All his parts seem to be healthy and normal, his heart rate and position are good and he's approximately 6.17 lbs right now. The doctor couldn't get a more accurate weight measurement because the baby's head has already started to drop and engage, but that is good news too, because it means he's on his way! He's right in the center of normal weight and size for his age and should be here in 3 weeks or so and weigh in about 6-7 lbs! The coolest part was getting to see his squished little face. Here is a picture and video of his chubby facial features. (The quality is not super clear, because he was moving so much.)

Just press the play button to watch the video.

36 Weeks and We're Off to Bangkok!!

It is finally time...at least it's time to go to Bangkok to wait some more! We leave tomorrow to head down south until the baby decides to arrive. Hopefully we'll only have 4 weeks until his arrival and then another week or two to get all the paper work done before we can come home. We're really excited for the time away, even though we know we'll get bored of the big city and miss our friends. We'll be staying in a really nice hotel/serviced apartment for our stay and will thoroughly enjoy the amenities of such a nice hotel and not having to clean up after ourselves for a while. Bangkok is very hot place, even in the "cool season," so I'm sure we'll have lots of pool time and walks through all the air conditioned malls.

Stacy's dad plans to visit around the time we're due, so please pray for his travel and that the timing works out for him to be here after the baby has decided to arrive. Please also pray for the labor/delivery; that everything goes smoothly and as "painless" as possible. (At least that it is bearable!) Kit has a big project he's trying to get done by January, so please pray that this time spent away is as productive for him as possible. We know once the baby comes, he'll have less motivation and desire, so please pray for him to be a good time manager while in Bangkok and to be able to focus on this project.

Thank you for all your prayers so far. This has been a good pregnancy for Stacy so far (but she's still more than ready for it to be over with!) We will definitely send out an email announcement once he's born! Oh, and we decided to name him Jackson Anthony Klein!

30 Weeks!

As of Monday, August 11, Stacy will be 30 weeks along! The end is in site! We just got back from a trip to China and are very thankful both the baby and I did well along the way. Unfortunately, Kit got really sick (again) but he was glad to "take one for the team." He was glad it was him and not me. (What a sweet guy huh?) I have felt really great all through the 2nd trimester and even now into my 3rd. The only thing that has ailed me is a muscle spasm in my back that seemed to get worse on the trip, but I feel is getting better now that we've returned home.

On our way back from China, we stayed one night in Bangkok so we could go meet the doctor we plan to deliver with. We really like her (all 4ft 11in of her) and feel like she is on top of everything and is going to take good care of us. We are excited to go down to Bangkok on Sept. 22 to stay until the baby arrives and while we're there we plan on taking a birthing class at the hospital. Hopefully having so much time to read baby books and taking that class while we're there, we'll feel fully prepared (as much as you can be) for the big day. For now, we're enjoying this month and half of the "slow" life here in Chiang Mai by resting lots (getting in as much sleep as possible), working (Stacy is weening out of work), reading baby/birth books, and buying the last minute essentials for this little guy. Here's a picture of the belly at 30 weeks. I don't see how I can possibly stretch anymore, but I guess I will have to!

25 Weeks...15 to go!

We went for another check up at 25 weeks and both Stacy and the baby are doing well. The baby is right on target in size and is kicking up a storm. We love this party because it is pretty much our only communication from him. We can't believe we are well into the second half of this pregnancy and that he'll be here before we know it.

We leave this week for 2 1/2 weeks in China. Please pray for our safety and for plenty of opportunities for Stacy to rest. We are so excited for this trip and think it's great timing since Stacy is feeling so energetic right now. It's our last trip as a family of 2! Traveling will get a little more complicated for the next one. We'll stop in Bangkok for a day on the way back from China and visit with our delivery doctor. Stacy will also have to get some injections and a gestational diabetes test while we are there, since we'll be 28 weeks along by then.

We're still not fully decided on a name yet, but here are our top 3:

Jackson- means "God is gracious"
Paxton- means "Peace"
Kallum- means "gentle; peace"

Let us know what you think about these or if you have any other suggestions. Here are some belly pictures at 25 weeks!

Kit likes that my belly is getting bigger...which makes me feel better when I'm trying to squeeze into clothes!

Half Way There!

Today we hit our 21 weeks mark, so we are now over half way there! We can't believe how fast it has gone so far, and how quickly he'll be here! We can't wait to meet him. Besides our half-way milestone, we also felt the baby kick for the first time this week. Stacy hasn't been sure whether she's been feeling him on the inside or not, but now we can feel him on the outside too, so we're sure it's not just gas, it's him! He's a really active one too. He must be constantly doing flips in there. Kit says he's kicking a lot b/c he's going to be a great soccer player!

Now that the belly is really poking out and we can both feel him, it makes this even more real (I know we said that about the ultrasound too). God's design for creating human life is such an amazing thing, and we are so lucky to be included in his process. I think He gives us just the right amount of time to prepare for the baby and each little milestone we hit along the way, builds up our joy and excitement.

We're still taking baby boy name suggestions! We have a couple we like, but have not set our minds on anything yet. When we get closer and have a few narrowed down, we'll post them for feedback. Here is also an updated belly picture at 21 weeks! With the way he's making Stacy eat now, and the way her belly is already poking, we'd say he's going to be a little chunk like his dad was!

It's a BOY!!!

We had our 18 weeks check up last night (we're about half way to the finish line!) and had another ultrasound. You could tell our doctor was trying to encourage us to wait one more month to try and find out the gender, but Stacy wasn't leaving until we tried our hardest to find out! The ultrasound was amazing! We could see so much more detail this time, including the 4 sections of his heart, his brain, every tiny finger, and YES! his little man parts! We weren't sure if the ultrasound technician was planning on telling us, so Kit finally asked her if she could tell the gender. She said "Oh I think so, do you want to know?" and of course we said "yes!" He was twisting and turning the whole time but while he was laying on his stomach, he jumped up really high and you could see his little parts clearly flap up and down! She got a pretty good shot of the "proof" (below). There were a few other funny moments when he seemed to be giving us a "high five" and then a "thumbs up" at one point! So I'm sorry to those few who were really crossing their fingers for a girl (Chris), but we're really excited to have a little boy (we would have been for a girl too) to carry on the Klein name. Stacy is just really happy to know one way or the other, so she can start shopping! Enjoy the pictures!

HIGH FIVE!!!

THUMBS UP!!!

This is my cute bony body! I weigh 1/2 lbs. right now!

16 Weeks!

The belly at 16 weeks! We're nearly half way there!

Baby Registry Update

We totally changed and updated our registry and have narrowed it down to what we really think we need and want from America. We're now registered at Target and Walmart, not because we wanted more things, just because the two stores didn't have the same items. So you can check it out at Walmart.com and Target.com (Just click on the underlined links).The arrival state is New Mexico and the date is October 2008. You can also find our baby registry in the registry kiosks in both stores.

First Ultrasound

We thought that once we actually saw the baby with our own eyes, the reality that we're actually going to have a baby would settle in. We were right, seeing the baby was an amazing experience and made this feel more "real". But even though we could see it with our own eyes, it was still hard to believe that is what is actually going on inside of me. We had to do the ultrasound twice because the baby was positioned head down at first, so we couldn't see much. So we waited 15 more minutes or so and tried again. This time the position was better (laying long-ways) but he/she was lying face down so we still couldn't see the right parts to determine whether we're having a boy or a girl. So we'll have to wait four more weeks to find that out, but we did get to hear a healthy heart beat (which was way faster than we thought it would be!), and the doctor said the baby looks like he/she is developing well with a very low risk to down syndrome. The baby is about 89 millimeters from head to tail bone (3.5 inches). Here are two of the best pictures that we got last night. You can see the spine, legs, arms, and a profile of the face. Pretty amazing huh? The pictures aren't near as cool as seeing the live movement on the big screen, but they are our baby's first pictures! (To enlarge, just click on the picture and it will open in a new window so you can see better.)

First Check up!

We had our first real checkup last night, which was quick and easy. We just talked with the doctor, got a blood & urine test, and then she tried to hear the heart beat. Unfortunately, we couldn't hear it...I'm only 10 1/2 weeks though, so she said it's just a little too early. We go back for our next check up on April 24th and will have our first ultrasound. She'll do this to check and make sure the baby is developing well and hopefully to find out the gender! (It may be too early) We really want to find out so we can start shopping and picking names out, but we may have to wait a little longer. SO pray our child will not be modest (just this one time) and will bear-all for their picture! My morning sickness has turned from "all-day" sickness to just "night-sickness" plus my morning gagging/puking routine! So please pray it will end soon! It is a blessing though (I've read) because morning sickness is one sign that your pregnancy is progressing well. But still, I'd rather it go away soon! Only 2 1/2 more weeks until the 2nd Trimester!

10 Weeks!!

We're 10 weeks along now! Only 30 more to go?? Oh man! So right now we've got a 2 1/2 inch long baby, with real toes and fingers (no more webbed feet!). His/her head makes up half the size of its body (we hope that ratio evens out before delivery!) and its male (or female) parts are almost fully formed and showing! I'm not really supposed to be "showing" much yet, but I am! It's probably mostly bloating but either way I look the part. Nikki wanted some belly pictures so here's the first ones! I'm trying to get Kit to work on his too; so I won't feel so fat and sorry for myself in a few months! (He's pushing out much harder than I am!)

Boy or Girl???

Put in your bets now! We'll hopefully find out the baby's gender on April 17th, so let us know what your guess is before then. We'll think of a prize for the winners! Maybe an annoying wood carved croaking frog from the night market or something! You can also put in your input for possible baby names here. We are open to suggestions!

Our New blog!

Welcome family to our baby blog! Add us to your bookmark tab to get all the latest and greatest updates on the pregnancy and birth of the new member to our family. We want you guys to be involved as much as you possibly can, so we'll keep you updated on doctor's appointments and post pregnancy pictures. Once the baby is here, we can put up pictures and video! Feel free to post comments and make requests! Give us your input and advice!