Baby Paige

Paige was born on Monday, October 29, 2012 at 11:07 a.m.  She weighed 3.54 kg (7 lbs 12 oz) and was 48 cm (18.9 inches).  She was delivered via Cesarean in Okpo, South Korea by Dr. Lee.

Because of my previous Cesarean our doctor recommended another Cesarean.  We scheduled the delivery in my 38th week of pregnancy.  We arrived at MizMom Clinic around 9 a.m.  The doctor performed an ultrasounds then sent me upstairs to prep for the procedure.  I was in a room with one other Korean lady also being prepared for the Cesarean.  After some preparation they allowed Ben to come in the room to wait with me.  At about 10:30 the nurses came to get me and take me into the operation room. In Korea Cesareans are done under general anesthesia but they did give me some sort of epidural for minor pain relief.  Not long after the epidural was in my doctor arrived (he being one of the only staff to speak English more than a couple words).  He explained they would put me 'under' while he made the incision because it was very painful.  He said they would wake me up when the baby was born.  The anesthesiologist asked me if I knew the song "Gongnam Style", which of course I did.  He turned it on his phone and that was the last thing I remember.

They woke me up after Paige was born but I could hardly open my eyes.  They kept saying, "Baby" but the drugs were too strong.  I was shortly out again.  I guess at this time they got Ben out of the waiting area and brought him to the edge of the operating room (because he was not allowed in during the procedure) to see his girl.  They then took her to the nursery to get her cleaned up and had her under observations for about 4 hours.  This is the first picture Ben got of her.

While under observation Ben assisted the nurses with getting me into a room.  Let's just say I was a little loopy.  Ben said I asked the same questions several times (about her size and what she looks like).  Although Korea is different with their normal delivery and recovery practices it probably worked out well that they had Paige for several hours so I could have time to get back to reality.

At about 3:00 p.m. the nurses brought in our little bundle!  In Korea the baby usually stays in the nursery for about 2 weeks while the mother recovers.  They have a room where the mother can feed the baby but the baby does not stay in the room with the mom.  After a few days of recovery in the clinic the mom stayed in another part of the facility where she participates in yoga, gets massages, does crafts, etc.  Very different.  We opted to have our baby in our room and get home as soon as we could.

Paige came with adorable chubby cheeks, a head full of dark hair, long fingers and toes, and a couple fused toes (2nd and 3rd toes) on her right foot.

That evening we had my parents and big sister E visit.  I'm not sure they were supposed to come into the room but we had them sneak in.  E was a little nervous at first but quickly got more comfortable with her little sis.  It was great to have them all come and for us to be a little family!

We stayed in the hospital until Friday morning.  It was nice to have some quite recovery time but even better to get home.  We loved our daily visits from Grandma and big sister.

We are loving this little girl!

Last Hurrah of Single Childhood

We took one last trip to Seoul before E loses her title of only child.  The actual purpose of us going was for Ben and I to visit the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea) because our previous tour was cancelled.  E got to spend the day at the history museum with the grandparents while we were gone.  We also ended up going to Everland (similar to a small Disneyland) and had a blast!  At 36 weeks pregnant I was exhausted after this busy weekend!

Everland was beautiful.  It was set up in the hills with all the changing leaves.  It was heavily decorated for Halloween, which I loved!

Our day focused around rides that E would enjoy...and boy did she enjoy them!  She wanted to bounce from ride to ride without stopping!

One of Ben's favorite places was the ball room (E enjoyed it as well).  They had several ball shooters which I can see ending up in our home someday.

We enjoyed a Madagascar Live Circus show (E's favorite part was collecting the confetti).

Ben and Grandma went on this crazy roller coaster (which got rave reviews from them both) while Grandpa and I took E to the petting zoo where we got to feed the sheep and birds.

We enjoyed the last part of the park by walking through the zoo before E and I crashed from exhaustion!  It was a wonderful day!

The next day Ben and I had our DMZ tour.  It was very interesting and we're glad we were able to make it (no children under 10 can attend so we knew this was our last chance)!

The best part of the tour was the Joint Security Area which is part of the military base operated by the U.S., U.N. and Republic of Korea (ROK).  There is a 2 kilometer 'grace' area on either side of the actual border where there is no military presence.  There are actually village from both countries (although North Korea's is a fake village) within the DMZ!  At one point in the JSA there are buildings side by side which are both North and South Korea's.  Here is where we saw the staring contest between the North and the South.  Inside the Conference Room we were actually standing in North Korea!

Here we are standing in South Korea looking to North Korea's building (notice the North Korean soldier on the stairs looking at us through binoculars.  The olive green soldier by the blue building is a ROK soldier (South Korean).  The actual border is in the middle of the blue buildings (you can see a concrete border).

Inside the conference room with the ROK soldiers (they look fake) and standing in both North and South Korea.

This is Ben with North Korea's village (which is called Propaganda Village) which is inside the DMZ.  This village is completely fake (buildings with painted on doors, etc.) with a huge flag pole!

We learned of several attacks that have happened here as well as the purpose of the Bridge of No Return (the location after the war where Koreans had to pick and side and cross the bridge never to return).

On our tour we also walked down one of the 4 tunnels the South has found which the North has dug to to be able to attack Seoul (no camera's were allowed inside the tunnel).

Our last stop was to the train station the South built in hopes of unifying the North and South at some point.  This station never gets used, although President Bush did ride a train into North Korea on a visit with Kim Jong Il.  They also had a toll booth and road leading to North Korea which also is never used.

It was a very interesting day!  It is crazy to imagine these countries are technically still at war!

While we enjoyed our DMZ day, E got to enjoy the museum with her grandparents!

We had a great weekend...now let the real fun begin!

Baby Mittens Update

I haven't blogged much about baby girl #2.  That is probably because there isn't much to report.  Things are going very smooth, which is a relief considering my water broke with E at 28 weeks and she was born at 30 weeks.  I am now creeping up on 35 weeks and things couldn't be more normal!

In Korea the doctor performs an ultrasound each visit.  So, I have several ultrasound images of this babe.  We have lots of the 3-D images as well, which I didn't have with E.  I think this babe will look at lot like her sister!  Here are a few pics of her progress (and my progress....although I hate to share belly pictures).

16 Weeks

20 Weeks

28 Weeks

32 Weeks (check out those chubby cheeks!)

34 Weeks (hoping the image is a little distorted around the nose area...)

As for me, well, I'm feeling huge.  I didn't come close to this big with #1.  My feet and ankles are usually pretty swollen by the end of the day and my hips are so sore in the mornings!  I've been going for 2-3 mile walks most nights which has really been great.  Most days it is hard to make it through the day without a nap, so I'm glad E is still sleeping.  I wake up every 1-3 hours during the night either to use the potty or because I'm uncomfortable.  I don't have any real food cravings but have noticed eating too much at one time is painful!  Despite my moans and groans I am feeling pretty good.  Feeling ready to fit in my old clothes again (kind of sick of the same 5 maternity shirts I have).  I will have a scheduled cesarean delivery sometime between 38-39 weeks so we are getting excited for the next 3-4 weeks to pass!

More Adventures in Seoul

We planned a quick weekend trip to Seoul so Ben and I could go to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea) before this baby came.  Unfortunately we got a notice that the Joint Security Area was to be closed later that weekend for a 'mission'.  We decided to make the trip anyway.

Ben and I took advantage of the grandparent babysitters and went on a date to see Nanta!  It was a wonderful show similar to Stomp or one of those crazy music performances.  The show follows the story line of several chefs preparing for a wedding.  There was food flying, sharp knives, loud music and tons of humor.  We were more than pleased with the show!

Mom and I have been talking about a fish pedicure since we went to Thailand.  We found a little shop in Myong-dong market near their apartment.  Hilarious!  The fish eat the dead skin cells off your feet.  At first it tickled intensely then we started to get used to it.  I'm not sure words can describe the feeling but after 15 minutes we had some incredibly smooth feet!

One more things on our 'Seoul to-do list' was get glasses from the market.  Ben and I both got an exam, frames and lenses for under $90.  Not a great picture but aren't we just Korean cute?

Gyeongju

We took advantage of being with my parents for E's birthday bash and went on an overnight visit to Gyeongju, a historic city about 1 hour 45 minutes from us on the east coast of the mainland.  This city was the capital of the Silla dynasty in Korea from 57 BC-935 AD.

We started our day by visiting the Shilla Millennium Park.  This park was set up like an ancient village.  They do several performances here.  We watched a horse/warrior show as well as a historical battle.  They had a craft village where E and her grandma both got to make their own ceramic pots.  It should arrive in the mail any day!

From there we drove around town an admired all the burial mounds.  These were incredible!  While E and dad took a nap in the car I walked around the park with my parents to see a few.  Some oddly resembled my current profile.

We then made it to Bulguksa Temple, which is one of the most famous in Korea.  Although it was pretty similar to all the other temples and palaces we've seen it was in a beautiful location up on the hillside.  In one are there were several rock piles which I think are made as a form of worship.  All of us (including E) loved trying to get a perfect picture of them.

E couldn't wait to get to the hotel where she and her best friend Snuggles got to sleep.

The next day we were hit by Typhoon Bolaven so decided to spend our morning at the museum before heading home.  The typhoon only brought rain and intense wind to the east coast where we were.  The museums were full of artifacts discovered in some of the burial mounds and ponds.  At the children's museum E got to make an imprint of an ox, her Chinese Zodiac.

Great trip...thanks mom and dad!  (See their blog post here).