sMilestone :-)

Yesterday, we hit a major milestone - one that every parent can't wait for... Asa flashed his first real smile (not a fake "I'm about to poop" smile). The first smile was followed by the second, third, fourth, and so on - Mom and Asa had a great time together. It wasn't captured on film because we were just having so much fun and we were alone, so there wasn't a photographer around. But today, Dad got to see Asa's big smile and Mom got a great shot of it. He is clearly a happy baby!

A Week Full of Thanks!

This Thanksgiving, we have SO MUCH to be thankful for. Obviously, the latest addition to our family, Asa, has us thanking God daily. He keeps us amazed and in awe every moment. We got the wonderful pleasure of spending this week with the entire Zbeeb family - everyone was in town! Aunt Andrea and Uncle Vic moved back to Atlanta on Monday (yippee!), Ya-Ya Mary arrived to spend a couple weeks in Atlanta on Tuesday, and Jiddo Andrew and Grandma Jane spent a few days here, too. We only missed Aunt Kiki and Cousin Alexander this go round... but we hope to see them soon! We ate Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Alex and Uncle Reese's house - and Uncle Ryan (the only Clarkson that didn't go to Lexingon this year) came to hang out, too. Of course, we took plenty of good pictures. We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Can you believe Christmas is just around the corner?

Tummy Time

Today marked 4 weeks since Asa joined us here in the real world and the doc told us to start "tummy time" with him to help develop his neck and upper body muscles. So, here's a few shots of his first go at it. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long - he wasn't a big fan. But we'll keep working at it daily - even if only for a few minutes at a time - until he starts to love it.

F2D goes to the Hirsch Academy

Last week, Frogs to Dogs visited the children at the Hirsch Academy. Andrew and Barnibus went to show the kids how the Frogs to Dogs Emergency Transportation vehicle helps our pet community in their time of need. The visit was a lot of fun and Frogs to Dogs hopes to go back with other animals in the future.

So you wanna understand the name...

After all the struggles that we had for 39 weeks in naming our son, many people wonder how we came up with Asa James. We find it interesting because the reactions we are getting are pretty funny. It's obvious the folks that LOVE the name because their face lights up and they tell us, "I LOVE that name!" And it's also obvious the folks that are a little less than in love with the name. Their general reaction after we tell them the name is, "Oh, Asa, okay - pronounce that again for me." We're sure everyone goes through the same process when naming their own child - that overwhelming feeling of responsibility to make sure the name is one that will be strong and memorable (and not made fun of by kids at school!). So, it's time to help everyone understand the background of the name.

Of course, if you look it up, you'll find Asa is of Hebrew origin meaning "doctor" or "healer." It is our wishful thinking that leads us to believe Asa will one day be a doctor! :-) But, truly, Asa is a family name - in Andrew's family. Try to follow me...

Asa is Andrew's father's father's father's name - that would be Drew's paternal great grandfather's name on the Syrian side. Asa is actually one of three brothers that came to the United States and each brought three Syrian rugs with them - the rug Asa brought over happens to now be in our house! How cool is that?

James is a name that is found in both Andrew's and Melissa's family. If you look it up, you'll see that James also has a biblical background. But, our family background is the following...

James is Melissa's mother's mother's father's name - that would be Melissa's maternal great grandfather. Doubly adding to the interest we had in James is that it is also the name of Andrew's mother's father's middle name - that would be Andrew's maternal grandfather on the Greek side.

Did you follow all that? We love the name Asa James and how it holds such incredible family meaning. We know our son will appreciate that his namesakes (3 great grandfathers!) will always watch over him and make sure he lives up to his remarkable name.

Asa's 1st photo shoot

We plan to send out birth announcements, so Mommy got a wild hair up her ass and starting taking a million pictures of Asa. Of course, being the true photographer she THINKS she is, we had to set up backdrops. Enjoy a few shots that won't make the announcement, but are still cute...

Visitation Rights

If you've ever had a child, you know the first couple of weeks are, well, HELL! And I say that in the most loving parental way possible. Still, that seems to be when everyone wants to visit and show their love for the new addition. While parents enjoy the time spent with friends (and often the food they bring with them!), visits in the first couple weeks can get a little rough after a while (all you really want to do is SLEEP when you have a chance). Well, now we are past the first couple weeks, and everyone keeps telling us, "it gets better, I promise" and we are truly starting to see that for ourselves.

For starters, Asa is such a good baby! He really loves to eat, so nursing hasn't been a problem from day one. He also doesn't seem to mind if food comes from Mommy or a bottle, so Dad has taken over the late night feeding for the past week or so (thankfully!). Asa is not a fussy baby - he doesn't scream unless he is really upset, which we've only seen a couple times (namely after his first bath). His crying can be better described as whimpering and he doesn't really mind if you get to him right away or not. He is really good at self-soothing, especially when he has his paci. And Asa is a good sleeper, too. He's still trying to figure out the night from the day, but we are working on that and he had several good nights. (FYI - I'm ending this entire paragraph by knocking on wood... we are still only 19 days old!)

So, we are happy to show off the boy when we aren't nursing or napping. This past weekend, Asa met Clint, Sloane, and Marshall. We know we'll see many more folks over the holidays - and we can't wait!

Daddy Time

Drew quit working for a bit during this insane holiday season of scheduling pet care and training to spend time with Asa. Taking a break with the boy is so much more fun than working!

The Story of Asa

So many of you want to know the story of Asa's birth... so here goes. On Wednesday, 10/22, I left work a bit early not feeling to hot. The whole ride home was pretty miserable, but I chocked it up to the tight maternity clothes (everything is tight at 39 weeks pregnant) and my seat belt around my waist. But I did call Andrew and warned him that I thought something wasn't quite so right. He had a bit more work to do for the day, but said he'd be home in a couple hours. I got home, ate lunch, and relaxed by the TV, and all was well. In fact, I was feeling so good, we went out to eat with Zsolt for a burrito at Coyote's! They teased me and said that the next day (Thursday) was an extremely busy day for F2D, so to hold off in delivering the baby until Friday, at the earliest!

God decided otherwise! At around 1am, Thursday, 10/23, I began to feel yucky again. Around 4am (only about an hour and half after Drew came to bed), I woke him up and said that I thought we should time what I could only assume were contractions. I wasn't sure if they were contractions, but I was sure I was in pain every few minutes or so. Drew found a stop watch and we began - sure enough, I was feeling this back pain every 2-3 minutes and they lasted around 30 to 45 seconds each. But since it was back pain and not belly pain, we still weren't convinced I was in labor. I tried to lay down again, but at 5am I went to the bathroom. (Warning: graphic stuff next...) As I sat on the toilet, a huge gush of blood and water flew out of me. Immediately, I said, "uh, this is definitely it." In the moment, as panicked as I was, I was still very excited that my water broke while I was on the toilet - no clean up for later!!! Yippee! :-)

Drew got up and out of bed and started running circles around me. He is very good under pressure and he wasn't running out of stress (although, I'm sure he was) - he was running because we finally knew these were true contractions I was feeling and we both knew that they were VERY close together - much closer than we were expecting this early in labor. He spent quite a bit of time gathering all our stuff, putting it in the car, and leaving the house in order for the pet sitter and cleaning lady that was due to come that morning all while I just breathed through each contraction that came and went. We were in the car for the hospital by 5:40am-ish.

I didn't want Drew to speed - for some reason that wasn't going to help me get through each contraction. I wanted him to go slow, actually. That kind drove him nuts, but he got on the phone to call my Mom to let her know that we were in route and she might want to come sooner than later. We arrived at the hospital around 6am and the check-in was pretty quick because we were pre-registered. They took me to a triage room - they wanted to be sure that this first time Mom was really experiencing labor and not Braxton Hicks. The nurse that worked with us in triage hooked me up to a monitor that showed my contractions immediately - how strong they were and how close together they were. Then, she examined me and said, "Well, I don't think you're going to be pregnant for too much longer - you're 4 cm dilated." Both Drew and I were pretty shocked, but I didn't have time to worry about the number - I was well into breathing through my next contraction.

Now, for those of you who have never had a contraction before - it is true that you have to experience it yourself in order to know if your own pain tolerance can handle it. However, I wouldn't necessarily use the word "painful" to describe them - although, they were very painful. I would more likely use words like "intense," "serious," and "deep." It is true, however, that the ONLY thing you can do to get through them is breathe - and breathe hard! The nurse immediately asked Drew if I was going to want an epidural. I couldn't respond (again, in the middle of a contraction). Drew said, "Well, we had been on the fence about it before, but I'd say now she definitely wants the epidural." I didn't have the energy to dispute that answer. My mind really wanted to go on without the drugs, but my body was calling for that epidural STAT!

They hooked me up to an IV, which is necessary before you get the epidural. Then, I was transferred to my labor/delivery room. When I say transferred, I mean, I walked around the hallway to my room. I was offered a wheelchair (just like when I arrived at the hospital for check-in), but both times I knew walking was easier for me. Sitting through those contractions sucked. I got to the labor/delivery room and my Mom was able to come see me then. Andrew went to get her and told her the rules - no talking and no touching during contractions! Just like her, Mom walked in and immediately came directly to my bed, grabbed my hand, and started talking to me. She learned how to read the contraction monitor and started to even talk through those. I did have to tell her that I didn't need to know when one was coming on - I was feeling them!

I'm not sure how long it took before I got the epidural - seemed like not too long, but Mom says it was well into the morning (like 10am-ish maybe). I'm not sure. The administration of the epidural was by far worse than my contractions - and not because it was a problem feeling the needle stick me in the back, but because I had to endure the administration DURING my contractions. Since my contractions were still a couple minutes apart and the epidural took about 15 minutes or so to administer, I had to withstand at least 6-8 contractions all while hunched over my pregnant belly as much as I possibly could AND being completely still - not an easy feat during active labor!

Finally, drugs went into effect instantaneously. I was pain free - and very tired - so I took a nap! Yeah, a nap during labor! I woke up to visitors and enjoyed spending time with them for a good part of the day. The contractions monitor showed I was still contracting every couple minutes, but the intensity of each contraction was going down over time. So, in the afternoon, the doctor decided to give me pitocin to increase the "quality" of my contractions - the quantity remained the same throughout. He gave me the lowest dose possible of pitocin and things started to progress again. The doc wanted to have the baby by the 6 o'clock news.

Around 4pm, I was 9 1/2 cm dilated. I needed to get to 10 cm and even then, I needed to get to a point where I felt the pressure of the baby before I could start pushing. So, I took one last hour long nap and at 5pm-ish, the doc and the nurse agreed, I was ready. Drew was, of course, with me, and ready to get the show on the road. However, the nurse went out in the waiting room and asked my Mom if she'd like to join us. She came in and had no idea what we had in store for her... she and Drew became the "human stirrups." Each grabbed a dead leg (still numb from the epidural) and WE ALL began the workout of a lifetime. I had the task of pushing during each contraction and they had the task of holding my legs while I pushed against them. And this lasted an hour and a half!!!

After an hour of pushing, I was convinced I wasn't getting anywhere, but the nurse assured me I was doing a good job. She had to keep telling me how to push because I couldn't really feel much of what I was doing. Then, Drew took over the coaching. And listening to him was the best thing for me. About 20 minutes later, I heard my Mom let out this "Yesssss... hoohoohoo," and I knew something was happening - FINALLY. She saw the baby's head crown. The doctor was in the room by this time (yes, he only entered at the last minute). He told me I missed the 6 o'clock traffic, but I was definitely going to deliver next (he had 4 of us in labor at the same stage of pushing around the same time). I knew I needed to work hard because I didn't want another patient to call him out of my room before my baby came!

At 6:34pm, Asa James Zbeeb was born. I was an emotional wreck - I had just worked so hard and the baby was finally here! Drew left my side and went over the baby. His cord was wrapped around his neck, so the doctor had to cut it. And the baby was then put in the warmer for all his newborn quick tests. In the meantime, Mom was still on my right and the doc was under me, trying hard to deliver the placenta. (Again, this story isn't for the weak-stomached). He was pressing on my belly (that sucked!) and I could tell the placenta was giving him trouble. I asked if I needed to push and he said, "Yeah, that might help." I guess it was only minutes later, but it seemed too take a good bit of time, I delivered the placenta. Then, he needed to work on my tear... yes, my 8 lb. 14.2 oz. baby ripped me open. I believe he started to sew me up, but my Mom could tell he had a worried look on his face. This being my first baby, I assumed all was normal, but it had been quite a bit of time and no one was bring the baby to me - I didn't really like that. But I kept hearing Drew just love all over him and I was reassured by that. Still, I was a bit out of it. But I knew the doc had asked for a couple shots to be given to me. And then I heard, "Okay, we've got to get her to the O.R."

I was like "WHAT??? I just pushed this baby out of my hoo-ha and NOW you want to cut me open???" Almost within seconds, all these nurses rushed in my room and took over. My eyes were closed, but I was somewhat coherent. I heard Drew ask if he could come with me and the doc say no. I could sense he was concerned. Then, I felt myself get wheeled away. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I had arrived when they transferred my body to another table. I could hear the anesthesiologist tell me that he was going to use the epidural to administer medication for the surgery. And I could also hear all the nurses being somewhat frantic. Then I heard music to my ears - the doctor said, "Okay, she's looking better." And then, I was out.

Must have been a couple hours later when I came to. I asked Drew what happened. He said thankfully, no surgery was needed. Whatever medicine the doctor gave me while still in the delivery room finally kicked in while I was in the operating room. Drew said the doctor told him I was losing blood "like a faucet." In the end, I lost 3 pints or so. The doctor said my uterus wasn't contracting after the delivery, so it was difficult to deliver the placenta and also my uterus wouldn't close even after the placenta finally was delivered - hence, the loss of blood. Doc finished sewing me up in the O.R. and I was knocked out for the duration.

But all is well that ends well. I finally met Asa for the first time around 9pm. And, of course, he was gorgeous! We spent a couple nights in the hospital - went home on Saturday - and Asa's been a joy ever since. Unfortunately, I had to return to the hospital for a short stint on Tuesday, 10/28, for some fluids (I wasn't taking care of my breastfeeding body and was severely dehydrated and malnourished). But I came home late Tuesday night and am now, one week later, on the mend in large part thanks to my husband and mom. Both have been helping me take care of myself and the baby.

Almost two weeks in and I can say that I am so in love with my child - but more in love with Andrew than ever before. He is truly amazing and I am so happy with my FAMILY! So, there you have it, the story of Asa. To be continued... for many years to come.

First Bath

It was an exciting night in the Zbeeb household. Around 8pm, we were all set to give Asa his first bath when a stranger appeared on our door step with a dog that had just been hit by a car - he was begging for help to get the dog to the vet. Andrew doing only what he knew best, threw the man, his pregnant wife, and the severely injured dog in the Frogs to Dogs ambulance. He hooked the dog up to oxygen because the dog was in shock and had some internal bleeding going on.

In the meantime, Melissa with Asa in arms decided bath time must go on! Luckily, Nana was on hand to capture some pics.

It started out not so bad...

But things quickly turned for the worse and Asa decided he was not a fan of the tub!

But a froggie towel came to the rescue...

And life was good again.

And Daddy came home to a clean baby boy!

Asa is CORDLESS...

Talk about 'cutting the cord'... on day 11, Asa is officially cordless. He proudly shows off his belly button, which appears to be an 'innie', not an 'outie'. We'll see. But now, we can start bath time!!

Asa's first ride...

Day 10 - Asa took his first stroll around the 'hood - in style! It was such a beautiful day and Asa enjoyed the weather.

Will Work for Boob!

Here are some truly unstaged shots of Asa - milk drunk!
Already - he resembles his Daddy after a night out on the town!

Mom and Dad love on Asa

It's not hard for Mom and Dad to love on the little one these days. He has brought us so much joy - and entertainment! :-)