Time to Introduce...

Tawm and I are the proud new parents of 9.1 pound baby boy. Braan Owen Rosendal was born on Thursday, November 22 here in Chiang Mai. Thailand requires mothers to be in the hospital for at least 3 days after birth, so that is where I am emailing from. Will be posting lots more pics over the days and weeks for all the fam and friends to see.

Twins!! ... ;)

NOT REALLY, however everyone we meet, wherever we go, the question people is, "Are you having twins?" The other day, a young mother told Tawm that she felt sorry for Tawm because her belly was so big. All Thais think that Tawm's belly is huge whereas most foreigners don't think it's very big. Since being pregnant, people always stop to talk to Tawm and many ask if they can touch her belly too. Everyone we talk to gives us their opinion of whether the baby is a boy or a girl. Being pregnant has been a great conversation starter but we hope it will end soon because yesterday was the baby's due date. We are at 40 weeks and counting.

Still Waiting...

We are still waiting for the birth of our little one.... Tawm is now in her 39th week and as a result the doctor wants to see us every week. At the last check up, the doctor said that the baby's head hasn't dropped as much as he'd like for this point in the pregnancy. His remedy - walk, walk, walk. Since then, Tawm and I have been taking evening walks. The doctor said that if the baby's hadn't lowered more by our next check-up, he might have to jump start "mother nature" so to speak.

Guess the little guy or little girl (still don't know what we are having) is enjoying life in Tawm's womb.

1 Month to Go

Well, according to the doctor's calculations, Tawm's due date is November 17th. That means only one month to go until I am a real father. Although technically I am a father already, I am sure the job will get much harder and much more hectic once the baby meets the real world. Exciting days ahead.

Tawm is doing good. We praise God that she hasn't had any difficulties throughout the pregnancy.

We Survived!!!

Well, it is hard to believe that our parenting class came and went so fast. We had a lot of fun. We learned all about the birthing process, what kind of diapers and milk we should buy. We learned about some exercises for pregnant women but they never taught us how to breathe. I thought that was strange.
The nurses took us on a tour of the hospital. We visited the delivery room and the room that people stay in after giving birth. Thailand requires mothers who give birth naturally to stay in the hospital 2 nights, those that have c-sections 3. Not only are we now excited about having a child, it will also be like staying in a hotel because the rooms are so nice. Do I think I am a better father and know everything I need to know about being a dad? Probably not, although I can give a better massage and we did get some free stuff.

To end the day, there was a surprise diapering competition using cloth diapers. However, the mothers didn't compete as the nurses didn't want any mothers going into labor. Instead, the fathers were put on the hot seat. Before the competition, I practiced the diapering techniques and was doing great, even better than Tawm I might add. But when the competition began, old butterfingers returned. To make things worse, the electricity went out, so we had to try to do it in the dark (real life situations eh?). I don't know if it was a power outage or if the nurse turned the lights out to make it more difficult. Anyways, I was proud of the outcome. Out of the 8 fathers competing, I finished in .....
......................... 8th place!!

Way to go Brent!!!

Learning to Parent

Tomorrow Tawm and I will be attending an all day seminar at the hospital on how to be better parents. I am excited about going because I have absolutely no experience in being a dad, but my one concern is, will I be able to learn everything in a few hours???

I sure hope so. :)

Coping with the Classics

Having never raised a child or been around a pregnant woman in North America, I have no idea what the pregnant culture is like there. I am learning a lot about that culture here.

Thai people love to touch Tawm's tummy, even people we barely know or don't know have no quams about touching Tawm's bulging tummy. Tawm has been doing great during the pregnancy and has done well resisting various pregnant woman temptations. I must admit, that being a man, I haven't had to give up near as much as Tawm, but I am struggling with the daily influx of classical music into our lives. For those that know me, you know that my musical tastes are anything but classical. However, Thai people (maybe others too) believe that listening to classical music during pregnancy will make one's baby smarter. As a result, our truck has been bombarded with Mozart, Tawm has started putting earphones on her tummy for the little one to listen to Mozart too. It is hard to believe that this really works.

The one thing that I think is funny, is the advertising gimmick here in Thailand. Stores sell music specifically for pregnant women who want to have smarter children. But the cd's cover has a child that looks like it is half crazy and foaming at the mouth... Is that what a smart kid looks like? Questions, Questions, Questions....


My biggest question is, what if I want my kid to be a rocker?

Gettin' Baby Fever

Yesterday we went to the doctor for Tawm's monthly check-up and the doctor said everything looks good. Tawm is almost at the 7 month stage. The baby weighs 1.1 kilos or 2.42 pounds. We still don't know if it is a boy or a girl yet which makes buying certain things a little more difficult but keeps the fun going.
As we approach the due date, both Tawm and I are getting more and more excited. Next month we will be going to a prenatal class at the hospital and everytime we see a baby, both of us smile and get more excited. We have bought a few things and everytime we go somewhere that sells baby stuff (there aren't that many places in Thailand, mainly department stores only), we browse through everything saying, "How cute". I guess that is what it feels like to be a dad.

Mother's Day

This past Sunday was Mother's Day here in Thailand and I wanted to start off by wishing my mother a belated Mother's Day too. You are the greatest. We had a mother's celebration where everyone sang the traditional Mother's Day song. The kids made their mothers cards in Sunday School and they presented their pictures to their mothers after the services. All the mothers really enjoyed their time. After that, all the families got their pictures taken together and Tawm and I also got our pic taken as Tawm is the newest mother in the crowd, even though she doesn't think she's a mom yet.

 

Saying Hi!!!

Yesterday Tawm and I went to the doctor for Tawm's monthly baby check up. As always the doctor checked all Tawm's vitals and checked the baby's health too. The highlight of the trip, as always, was the ultrasound. Last time we went, the baby was moving all around in Tawm's stomach that we couldn't see much. This time the baby was still for the most part, but as the doctor was wrapping up, he did one last check and the little guy or girl waved goodbye!! All of us laughed, even the doctor thought it was funny. I guess we are going to have a baby genius. The baby is only 19 weeks and already knows how to wave bye! The baby must be taking after his or her father.

First Gift

Here is Tawm modeling her first "pregnancy gift". Thanks to the Jones' who are working in Udon. Although the clothes are still a little bit big, Tawm still makes it look good. We went to the doctor this past Monday for our first monthly check-up. The doctor said everything looks good. We both got to see the baby on the monitor for the first time, who knew that a black and white picture could be so exciting!! The baby is now 3 centimeters big. Tawm's due date is November 17th.