Sleepily adjusting

Asher will be three weeks old tomorrow! We are all adjusting well to having him in our lives. It has been a real blessing to Heidi and Tatiana especially to have Jon home all this time from work. He will be heading back on Monday to work 3 1/2 days next week, then he'll be off of work again for all but 1/2 a day the following week. Heidi has really appreciated the help and Tatiana has loved having lots of extra time with daddy as mommy is occupied with Asher a majority of the day. Next week will be the real test for Heidi to see how she can handle both kids on her own!

Asher is now past his birth weight! It was a struggle to get him past that point but through some successful nursing (praise God!) he has now made it to 8 lbs. 1/2 oz. as of Friday. It's good to see some chub on his face and a double chin forming.

We were all excited to hear from Jon's brother, Steven, on Thursday as our niece, Jasmine Christine was born to Steven and his wife, Tamika. She is beautiful! We can't wait to meet her and introduce our little ones to each other.

We are still waiting to finalize everything on the house. The sellers have agreed to fix everything found in the home inspection, delaying the closing and move-in dates. We probably won't be moving in until sometime around mid- to late January.

Asher/Heidi update continued

Here's the link to Asher's first photo shoot: www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=21568be1-a4e5-4555-ba99-35c83fc7ef6e&babyid=f533add2-ca04-4502-b7c8-99b2d2873dce

Also, it seems that as of now Asher and Heidi will be able to go home tomorrow. Heidi's liver tests are heading in the right direction. She will probably have to have a follow up appointment with the doctor to check her levels again in about one week.

Asher/Heidi update

Asher had a busy day yesterday. He had his circumcision (ouch), some shots and plenty of feeding on mommy. He also had his first photo shoot

Asher Cole Zapolski has arrived!!!

This morning Heidi woke up with lower abdomen pains (labor pains) and she started having contractions which got closer and closer together. She called the after hours doctor's number and they told her to come in. While in the hospital, she got the results from the test for the ICP and they came back positive, so they said it was "baby time".

Asher Cole Zapolski was born into the world today (11/29/09) at 1:08pm. He weighed in at 7 lbs 15 oz and is 20 1/2 inches long. Asher and mommy are doing fine. Asher is breathing good and his vitals are good as well. His first poo was a good one (the nurse said it was one of the biggest she has seen). He has a decent amount of hair but not as much as Tatiana when she was born.

Heidi was having some issues with her blood pressure being too low but it has gone up but still needs to be higher. She is now just trying to get some sleep.

Pictures to come.

Itchy for a reason

So Heidi has been itching horribly for several weeks now. We thought that she was allergic to her medication that was used to slow down the contractions. She has now been off of the pills for over a week and has continued to itch. To make a very long story short, Heidi was doing some online research to try and determine the cause of all of her itching and came across some info about a condition called Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP). This is a condition that only happens in 1-2 out of 1,000 pregnant women. She saw the doctor today for a previously unscheduled appointment to discuss this issue. The doctor had the same feeling and ordered another non-stress test as well as some blood drawn to confirm the condition. After about 20 minutes with the baby being hyperactive with a very high heart rate during the non-stress test, he calmed down for the next 20 or 30 minutes to a normal heart rate. Heidi continued to have contractions as usual with nothing to be of concern to report.

The blood tests will take several days to come back, probably sometime between Monday and Wednesday of next week. Once they come back positive, the c-section will be done. We asked the doctor what would happen if the test results came back negative. He just shook his head 'no' and said that Heidi was a textbook case of this condition.

ICP can result in stillbirth if the baby is not taken in enough time. It is important for the doctor to have confirmation of the condition so that the mother and baby can be monitored and treated properly, especially right before and after the birth. Please check out this website for more detailed information about the condition: http://www.itchymoms.com/ It was the best source Heidi found about ICP.

Please keep Asher and Heidi in prayer as we await the test results. For now Heidi is supposed to do kick counts twice a day as well as just generally paying attention to how Asher is moving and if there are any general changes in the pregnancy. This is especially difficult to handle with our loss of Xander and the problems during the pregnancy with Tatiana. Please pray for continued peace and fast test results.

We're Homeowners, sort of, & the latest baby news

Well as a lot of you know, we have found a home in Lebanon! We're very excited. This comes at both good and bad timing. Good because our current lease will be up December 31st and we have to let them know by December 1st if we want to renew or not. Bad because, as you all know, we're expecting Asher to arrive anytime between now and December 10th. Now all we have to do is the inspection and appraisal and we're good to go. Both of them should be done this Friday. The current homeowners have agreed to be out of the house by December 29th. Needless to say, we'll have a busy few days of moving, cleaning and possibly even some painting! We're so thankful for God's provision and we know that his timing is perfect.

On the baby front, Heidi had an ultrasound and appointment this morning. Everything looked good. Asher was very active and we were told that he has a lot of hair. Heidi continues to have regular contractions but they don't seem to be putting her into labor. She'll be 37 weeks along on Thanksgiving which is considered full term. This may be the first baby to make it to term! We're happy that Asher is doing great and that Heidi's contractions haven't gotten to the point that they were a few weeks ago. The countdown continues...

Still Waiting

On Thursday, Heidi had her usual appointment and ultrasound. Everything looks good! We found out that Asher is measuring at an estimated 8 lbs. 3 oz. at 36 weeks in the pregnancy! We know that this is only an estimate and can be off but Heidi sure feels like he's bigger than Xander or Tatiana ever were. Heidi stopped taking her anti-contraction medication Wednesday night and so far so good! She has continued to have contractions but not like the ones that she had earlier. Now she is farther along in the pregnancy than she has ever made it with the previous two children. It's a blessing because we know that at this point in the pregnancy, each day in the womb is one more day to mature Asher's lungs and improve his chance at life outside of the womb. We're excited to know that we will be holding him in our arms in less than three weeks!

On the house hunt, today we looked at a few houses, including one that we had looked at twice before. We have really felt that God wants us to make an offer on that house which we will be doing this weekend. If it all goes through we hope to move in by the end of December. However, the house is occupied with people who don't yet have another home to move to. Please keep this situation in your prayers as our current lease is up on December 31st and we have to let the office know by December 1st whether or not we'll be moving. They also increased the month-to-month rent by $50 this week so we would really rather not stay here if at all possible.

Less than 4 weeks!

It has been a busy week for us as we prepare for Asher's arrival. We now have a c-section scheduled for December 10th.

Since the regular contractions began on November 6th, Heidi has been told to take it as easy as possible and to continue on the medication until next Thursday, when she'll be 36 weeks along. Unfortunately she is allergic to her medication and will have to deal with constant itching all over her body until then.

Asher is doing great through all of this. At each weekly ultrasound he automatically shows the technician what she needs to see to show that he is thriving inside of the womb. He seems to be a very active boy. We'll have to wait and see if that continues outside of the womb!

Tatiana has been showing us just how grown up she is now. We have been amazed at how her language has continued to develop rapidly, how she seems to hold onto so much knowledge and how great of an imagination she has. She loves to draw, sing and use everday objects as musical instruments. She is as excited as a two-year-old can be to be a big sister. The other day Heidi was watching The Biggest Loser when Tatiana went up to the tv screen, pointed and asked what show it was. Heidi told her it was The Biggest Loser. She then came over to Heidi, lifted up her shirt to expose her belly, pointed to it and said, "The Biggest Loser?" She clearly saw a resemblance between Heidi's stomach and those of the contestants on the show. How sweet.

Please continue to pray for Heidi and Asher. Our concern is that she will go into labor when she stops taking the medication next week. Please pray that when Asher comes, he will have strong lungs and that his blood sugar will not drop (a possibility with Heidi being diabetic). Please also pray that if Heidi does go into labor that her uterus will not rupture, due to previous c-sections, and that she will recognize it as labor since she has been having strong, regular contractions for awhile.

Contractions and continued house search

As Heidi is now 34 weeks along in the pregnancy, Asher is trying to get out early! On Friday, Heidi went in to see the doctor for a scheduled appointment and ultrasound. Each week she has a non-stress test which monitors any contractions as well as the baby's heart rate and his reaction to the contractions. During this week's test she was regularly having contractions. She was sent home to rest but ended up at the hospital later that afternoon with increased contractions of a much harder intensity. After some IV fluid and medication she was sent home, despite continued regular contractions. We're now home with Heidi taking medicine to decrease the intensity of the contractions and using the weekend help from Jon to rest. Please keep she and Asher in your prayers as well as the doctors making the decisions. The major fear would be that Heidi's uterus would rupture due to the intensity of the contractions and two previous c-sections.

As far as the house search goes...we're still looking. We had put an offer on a house last week but the offer was turned down with no counter-offer from the seller. We're disappointed but know that it's all in God's hands and that that house was apparently not the right house for us. On a good note, the first time homebuyer tax credit made it through the House, Senate and now has the President's signature as well so we have through this spring to make that deadline!

Boy Oh Boy!

We are busy getting ready for baby, due in less than 2 months! Heidi is now seeing the obstetrician once a week with ultrasounds each week. On Friday, the ultrasound measured Asher at 5 lbs! That's huge for only being 32 weeks along. We know that ultrasounds aren't always completely accurate but by the size of Heidi's basketball-shaped belly, we're pretty sure that he's on the large side. Please keep Heidi and Asher in your prayers as Heidi's diabetes has been a real challenge this pregnancy. As the pregnancy progresses, it is now especially important to have the diabetes under control. Please also pray for wisdom for the doctors as we discuss each week how far to continue the pregnancy.

In addition to getting ready for Asher's arrival, we are also looking to buy our first house. We hope to make the first time homebuyer's tax credit deadline of November 30th but aren't sure whether or not that will happen. We don't want to rush into a purchase that we will later regret just to receive the $8,000 tax credit. Please keep this matter in your prayers as well.

Tatiana is busy being an active 2-year-old. She's a smart girl with a lot of personality! We recently had the chance to visit Heidi's family in Indiana as well as to briefly visit the pumpkin farm. Be sure and check out the photos!

Summer fun & baby update

Summer has gone by really fast! In August, we headed to the Gatlinburg area for a family vacation with Jon's extended family. We had a great time climbing in the Smoky Mountains, eating at the Apple Barn (Jon's favorite), shopping and spending time with family. Now whenever we're near any type of tree-filled hill, Tatiana chants excitedly, "Smoky Mountains!"

We also had the chance recently to go to Kings Island with our friends, the Lawsons. Tatiana did really great at riding every ride available for her height and had a great time, despite the blank expression in all of her pictures. After almost every ride she wanted to go right back on again. Now she always asks, "Ride rides?" whenever we're near Kings Island or a ride at the store or mall.

Now for an update on Asher: So far, so good! Heidi had a doctors' appointment as well as a fetal echocardiogram this past Thursday. Heidi always has this test done during pregnancies. Because of her diabetes, the baby is more prone to heart defects than most babies. Thank God everything looked really good! Asher even gave us an a-okay sign with his hand letting us know that all is well. Heidi is now 25 weeks along in the pregnancy. She will have the next ultrasound and doctors' appointment on September 25th. Starting at that point she will be seeing the doctor every 2 weeks as well as having multiple tests done at those appointments to check on the baby. Please keep Asher and Heidi in prayer as Heidi has been having regular contractions for the past two weeks. The doctor seems to think that everything will be okay and that labor will not begin with the contractions.