hospital – Shay Thomason

Today could very well be our last full day in the hospital here in Czech as we’re hopeful that some time tomorrow morning Bethany and the baby will get released. Czech hospitals require a 72 hour stay from the time you give birth and that time would be up tomorrow around 10:30am. Even though we’re excited to get home, our stay here has actually been very enjoyable. I though it would be good to write a bit about our experience here and maybe some of the differences we have noticed between Czech and the States.

Above is a photo of the room that we’ve been in the past three days. On Monday and in to Tuesday, Bethany and Karis were sharing this room with another mommy and baby. They were released yesterday and the room was given completely to us and that’s why I was able to sleep here last night. The past few days have been very warm outside (mid-high 80s) and there is no AC in here, so we brought our own fan that has been running non stop. At times we have been sweating in here, but we’re thankful for the moving air. The sun is setting as I type and I’m feeling the cooler begin to blow which is a nice break for the warm day. Over all this place has been a nice, temporary home.

In the States we only really remember seeing the pediatrician a few times during our stay at the hospital. Here we see her daily, if not a few times a day. Today the doctor and nurses came early to check on Karis and they gave us the task of weighing her before and after every feeding. Our room has a little scale and they gave us a chart to keep track of Karis’ weight and at first we thought this would be burdensome task, but it’s been just fine. Occasionally the doctor or nurse has come in to check her progress. Any staff person entering our room has the potential to be difficult because of the language barrier, but we have done pretty well understanding what’s going on. We have been super impressed with the kindness of the staff here and their willingness to try and speak whatever English they can to us. They are kind, sweet, and in general just have a love of babies. It’s great to hear them talk to little Karis in Czech and we have felt very cared for by everyone here.

Karis’ crib on wheels (shown above) is pretty nice. It has a little heart monitor that we have to turn on and off when we lay her down or pick her up. We have forgotten to turn it off a few times and it begins to beep loudly! I actually like the crib better then the plastic, bucket-style one that we had in the States because it’s a little more spacious and seems quieter in general when we are picking up or putting Karis down. Since she’s mostly just sleeping right now I’m glad she’s got a queen (baby) size mattress.

Like most Czech homes and schools, you’re asked to not wear shoes inside and that’s true here. We brought our own house slippers and every day they clean our floors and the floors of the entire hospital. You are also given a mug and a glass cup, along with your own silverware. They leave the silverware with you and just bring food, which I think is pretty smart because you can just reuse your silverware and it cuts down on the dishes they have to deliver and do on a daily basis. I also figured out how to hook my computer up to the TV in the room so we could watch a little American baseball (Go Dodgers!), so that was fun this afternoon. Our room has a wardrobe for your clothes and a full shower in the bathroom (not something I remember us having in the States).

It will be a joy to take Karis to our home tomorrow but as I’ve written we have been really blessed here. Part of learning a new culture is having experiences like this one and I can honestly say we’re thankful for it. I’ve even been thinking about all the women throughout the globe who give birth in so many different facilities and locations. For us, this has been similar to what we call home but for others this is quite different. We’re thankful for modern medicine and well trained people who can care for us despite a language barrier. There’s no other way for me to express it than to say it’s all grace.

It gives me great pleasure to announce the birth of our third child, Karis Debra Thomason, born today this first day of the month of June two-thousand fifteen at precisely 10:27am. At the time of birth she weighed 7lbs 13oz and measured 20.5in in length. Her first name, Karis, comes from the Biblical Greek word meaning “grace” and Debra is her Nana’s (grandma’s) first name. Mommy and baby are both doing very well and we’re so excited about this this little gift form the Lord!

We honestly thought things were moving quickly last night and that we would be heading to the hospital, but it wasn’t until early this morning at about 4:30am that I packed up the car to leave. We left the house close to 5:30 and got in to the hospital around 6:30. Bethany would really like to tell her part of this story in a later post so I won’t share every detail, but things moved pretty quickly today at the hospital here in Czech Republic. With the help of our friend, doula and translator, Lauren, we were able to get everything in order and get settled in the delivery room. Bethany’s contractions were moving fast at some points and becoming more intense, but I really didn’t think we would meet Karis until later in the afternoon.

To our surprise, however, things really got moving at 9:30. After only a few hours Bethany was ready to push and that’s exactly what she did. She actually had to pause in order to get all of the nurses and doctor in the room and prepped for delivery. The whole delivery was significantly more painful for Bethany than the previous two kids, but my amazing wife literally pushed through the pain and in what seemed like ten minutes our third child was born. As with both previous births, I teared up at the sight of little Karis, not only because she was beautiful it was a joy to hear her cry, but also because I was blown away by Bethany’s courage and strength, especially in regards to having a child in a foreign country. While tears were filling my eyes the doctor quickly turned around and shook my hand as if to say, “Congratulations” (he didn’t speak English, so it was a silent but meaningful exchange).

A photo posted by Shay Thomason (@shaycam) on Jun 1, 2015 at 7:51am PDT

One of the differences between having a baby in Czech versus the States, is that in the States they would clean up the baby right away and then give her back to Bethany. But the Czechs only wipe the baby down and then give them quickly back to the mommy. Then they require a two hour waiting period where Bethany laid on her back with the baby. I don’t know the significance, but that’s what she did. During that time I had the opportunity to hold Karis which was a special time for me. As soon as that time was up we were packing our things and heading down to the recovery room.

Again, a difference between the States and Czech is the availability of private rooms for recovery. Today there were no private rooms available (they call them “non standard”) so Bethany and Karis were put in a room with another mommy and baby. It’s a bit strange and it also meant that I wasn’t able to stay the night tonight with them because there was no room for me in there. This was not part of our plan, but the Lord knew it and we’ll just continue to trust His sovereign plan in it all. Bethany will be in the hospital for a minimum of 72 hours so we’re hopeful or a Thursday morning release.

This afternoon I was able to come back home, pick up Nana, Papa, and the kids and bring them back to meet baby Karis for the first time. It was a really special time for us and it was so much fun to watch Titus and Avery meet their new baby sister. It was also an opportunity to grab a bunch of photos. I took a ton of photos today, so here’s a few from the day with captions to help fill in a little of the story.

This is the outside of the maternity part of the hospital. It doesn’t look like much, but on the inside it’s very nice and clean and we were so thankful for the nurses and staff there. In so many ways, it was no different than a hospital that we’re used to in the States and we just feel like the Lord was gracious in the entire process today.

This is Karis as they were cleaning her up after the two hour waiting period. I had the opportunity to go with her to where the nurses have a legitimate cleaning station. The woman doing the work must’ve done thousands of babies, because the way she was handling Karis was so crazy and so natural all the same time. The nurse put her under the sink and rinsed her, washed every crevice, and was almost tossing her around in her hands as she did the work. They also did this crazy baby oil thing where she was doused with baby oil and rubbed down from literal head to toe. In the end Karis was shiny, squeaky clean, and bundled up in a special wrap and then laid under one of this baby heater thingys. The next two photos below show the rest of that process. It was actually really fun to watch!

This is Titus and Avery holding Karis shortly after meeting her for the first time. I love Titus’ genuine smile. They were both so gentle with her and were so excited to meet her.

Like Titus, Avery was just smiling at Karis while we were there. At first both Titus and Avery were a little skittish because it was a new experience, but by the end of the time they had warmed up to the idea of this little baby sister and were enjoying her just like we were.

I loved this photo of Nana holding Karis and Papa getting a photo of her on his iPhone.

This is Karis’ little name tag in her crib that sits next to Bethany’s bed. Let’s hope she fast asleep right now!

I have many more photos from our time today, but this last one is of Papa holding her and I’m taking the shot from above. I just loved her little hands coming out of her wrap and seeing her tiny face.

It was an incredible day! We are so thankful for the many prayers of those of you who have followed our story and what God has been doing in our little family. As Karis and Bethany rest tonight please continue to pray for healing for Bethany’s body and for continued growth for Karis. There is still much to do in the days ahead but we’re excited to welcome this little life in to the world. All we can say is praise the Lord for this wonderful gift and for His grace!