Is Mama okay?

Adalia came to visit in the hospital again today. Her primary concern seems to be whether I'm okay. She put on a mask and glove, pretended to be the doctor, and asked, "Mama, is your 'owie' a big big one?" Hmmm, what should I say? ;) Indira is still in ICU, and we all miss her terribly. This morning when I went down to feed her, I got to stay for her bath...

Jaundice

Indira has the jaundice levels of a six day old baby, and she isn't even 24 hours old yet.... So, she's been put in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit under the lights... They are supplementing her feeding with a dropper so that she doesn't get dehydrated. It's amazing how empty the hospital room feels without the baby...

Introducing...

Sophia Indira Rubesh

Born June 25,2009
12:42 am
3520 grams

Sophia means "wisdom" and Indira means "beauty." More on her name soon and why and how we chose it! We will be calling her by her middle name, Indira.

We have welcomed a new baby. . .

Dearest Friends and Family,
We are so happy to inform you that our new one has arrived safe and sound. 9:00pm we arrived at the hospital. 12:45am birth. 7lbs 12 oz. A girl indeed--even came out pink. Now it is 1:15am and we are going to get in some good family time.

Come back for her name shortly. . .

Kris and Steph

Breathe. . .

Poor Stephanie got the contractions around 2pm. She insisted on going swimming, walking to the mall, eating out, walking back, putting Adi to bed before we finally took a taxi to the hospital. We are happy to inform you the baby is on the way, come back for the latest news. Go Stephanie!

Father's Day

Tonight we went out to dinner to celebrate Father's Day... We are still enjoying all the amazing food options available to us with childish delight after being away from "restaurant diversity" for so long! While we were waiting to be seated, Adalia and were walking around the mall and as we walked past a bookstore, I just had to go in and see for myself our Zhilam Hostel listing in the most recent China Lonely Planet. What an unbelievable life dream to actually see our hostel listed along the Sichuan-Tibet Highway... I couldn't help but say a "Yahoo!" outloud - and get a few stares from the other shoppers. But I was happy and I couldn't care less. ;) I recently asked Kris, "In the last 6 months, what do you feel the most proud of?" Having just opened the hostel, something we've been dreaming of for years, I was surprised and loved his answer... Instead of all the other amazing things he has to be proud of, he said, "Adalia. We made such a beautiful and sweet little girl." I hope she always knows that even when her father had just achieved a major life dream, he was still more proud of her than anything else.

Lightening in Bangkok

Today Adalia and I flew to meet Kris in Bangkok and begin the wait for the baby! We were so happy to see Kris again! We flew down in the morning, got moved into our new apartment, went for a doctor's appointment and then got in a taxi to meet Kris when he flew in to the airport. Unfortunately, because of Friday evening traffic, the whole taxi ride to pick Kris up and back took almost 3 hours -- ugh, but Adalia did great. From the expressway in standstill traffic we had front row seats to some dramatic lightening storms over the city... And when we returned home that evening, I realized that I too had experienced "lightening"... My lady has dropped and now that we're all together again, we can all breathe a little easier and enjoy however many days we have left before she makes her grand appearance.



Adalia pretending to call Kris on the phone when our plane landed in Bangkok.

Pregnant in Bangkok

This weekend my sister-in-law flew down and met me in Bangkok to help me... But I think together we were quite a site, both very pregnant, and trying to help each other. The to do list? Visit the doctor for only about the 3rd official time in the pregnancy, get an ultrasound to see if the slight brain abnormality detected earlier in the pregnancy had corrected itself, find and secure an apartment for the time of the birth, take care of Adalia in the heat and try to negotiate a stroller on sidewalks and over sky bridges not at all conducive to strollers...or two pregnant women! And finally, get ourselves and luggage on a flight back to her home in Chiang Mai.