TansEmpire

May & June 07

We’re having a baby!! 

Sorry for the delay in posting May & June’s happenings but it was going to be hard to not mention the pregnancy and we were awaiting firstly confirmation of the pregnancy and then our first trimester ultrasound. So now that we have all of that cleared up I can fill you in on what we have been doing the past 2 months.

We found out I was pregnant at the beginning of the month in what was a huge shock. We had been trying for a few months but given we had been told by specialists in Australia that we had a 1:16 chance of getting pregnant we did not expect things to happen so soon. My reactive arthritis had flared again which in hindsight turned out to be due to the pregnancy hormones so the last thing I was thinking was that I was pregnant. But on a Sunday night I suddenly thought I should at least do a test and low and behold it was positive. My reaction was “Honey, we have a problem” as all I could think about was the medications I was on plus the MRI I had during the week. We had trouble comprehending what was happening so we sat up talking all night and strangely enough by the end of the night we even had names picked out!

So over the coming days the news was settling in and we began to feel excited and happy. I initially had many cravings but then out of nowhere the morning sickness settled in and since then it has been awful. I struggled to begin with to keep not only food but fluids down which lead to a couple of visits to the ER for rehydration and treatment for constipation. Now I am on a stronger medication which has helped me keep fluids down but eating is still a problem and at 17 weeks I have lost over 7kgs. I am hoping this will reverse soon and that I will be able to eat in order to feed this growing baby.

Our OBGYN here is great and we are pleased with the care we have been receiving. We had first trimester screening for chromosonal abnormalities and received the all clear for that. They also confirmed the due date which at this stage is December 25th although as I am considered a high risk pregnancy it is likely that I will be induced early. I have been referred to a specialist whom I will see in a few weeks time as to whether my care needs to transfer to them and if so that means I won’t be able to give birth at our local hospital but at one in Baltimore. I will also have my second trimester ultrasound where we will find out the sex of the baby, however we will be keeping this to ourselves.

So in general that’s where things stand with the pregnancy at this stage. My arthritis is still causing problems and I am fatigued all of the time so combined with the morning sickness I am still quite unwell and spend a lot of time resting or in bed. The belly has started to emerge and I actually feel pregnant now and growing out of my clothes and underwear. In the photos are our ultrasound pictures plus a latest picure of me and my stomach. As I continue to grow we will add photos as well as additional ultrasound pictures.

At the start of May Andrew had a weeks work in Buffalo NY so we travelled together and planned to spend the Memorial Day weekend in Toronto Canada. The day prior to our departure my cold took a turn for the worst and I was placed on antibiotics for a chest infection. So I spent the better part of the week in bed resting. We visited Niagara Falls (see photos) but only managed to see from the USA side as we planned to visit the other side on our way to Toronto. But we had to go to the ER late one night with me in pain, fearing the worst for the baby. It turned out to be one of the dehydration episodes and I was released with the advice to go home which we did, missing our trip to Canada. During the stay I also manged to get stuck in a lift which was a little frightening as it was very stuffy and I had no fluids with me. Thankfully the stay was brief and all is well that ends well. 

As we were now home for the Memorial Day long weekend, we went to a picnic at the Wicher’s home. It was a humid and muggy day but fun was had by all. I have photos of the moon bounce (jumping castle) in which the adults seemed to have more fun as well as them fooling around with hoola hoops. The weather turned quite foul not long after with gusting winds, rain and thunder. By that stage everyone was safely inside continuing to eat from the variable feast of foods.

During May Andrew went and had a sleep study performed as I had noticed many symptoms similar to what my father suffered before his sleep apnea was diagnosed. Sure enough he has a severe form of sleep apnea and now sleeps each night with the aid of a cpap machine. He doesn’t awake each morning as tired as previously which is a start. The other strange behaviour from Andrew is that he has started to watch baseball games! I never thought I could get him to watch sports, let alone USA based ones so this is strange. Thankfully I can still access football via the internet and with Geelong doing so well I really wish I was there to see the games in person. 

Andrew was required to be in Chicago for a weekend to assist in establishing an exam for colleagues in his field and as it was a fully funded weekend I was able to travel with him also. The weather in Chicago was extremely hot and humid so spending the days seeing the sights was very tiring, plus I was unfortunately relying on crutches that weekend as my arthritis was severe. It is an extremely beautiful city, and the architecture is amazing. The only down side to the weekend was the hotel. It is a 5 star hotel, beautiful rooms and food etc but on the Saturday night the lobby turns into a nightclub and despite being on the 30th floor, our room was shaking and no sleep could be had. It is a ridiculous notion for a hotel to become a nightclub so a very strong email was sent by Andrew to management at 4am. Their response has been sorry and here are some points for you to spend future stays for free. Yeah right, like we are going to trust that hotel or any others in the chain again. Bloody ridiculous.

There has been even more crime in our complex and we have finally decided that enough is enough, we are out. During May & June we had to call the police several times and on one occassion a couple of guys were arrested with over 1,000 rounds of M16 ammunition. Goodness only knows where they intended to use or sell that! But the worst of it was one night where we are nearly 100% positive that Andrew was shot at. There were a couple of cars idling in the car park around 3am so the police were called however for some reason they did not stop and speak to them so Andrew went out to see what the deal was and it looks like a warning shot was fired towards Andrew as he stood there waiting for the policeman to return. I was in the bedroom and ran quicker than I ever have when I heard the gun shot, fearing the worst. That sealed the deal for Andrew who is concerned about leaving me at home so often whilst he travels. So we spoke to the manager here and pretty much demanded to be released from our lease which she agreed to with 60 days notice. We are moving to a gated community which will help with our safety and it’s located across the road from the main mall and 2 minutes from all of our doctors and hospital plus there is no difference in travel time to work for Andrew. The apartments there are set out better plus we will purchase our own furniture which will help to make us feel more at home. We will also establish the nursery so that then we can sit back and relax during the last trimester.

In June I joined a mothers group called Stay at Home Moms which using the internet site called Meetup.com to arrange outings. They are primarily for moms with kids 1-5 years old but as they also have mom only events as well as family outings I joined now so that I could start to get to know people. This has made a huge difference to how I have been feeling about living in the USA. The group is based across Maryland and Virginia so some events are as close as 10 minutes away but could be as far as an hour away. They have several organisers based across the 2 states which enable a variety of events. I have been to some play dates in local parks, Bunco nights (dice game), dinners plus book groups. Some of the other events I wanted to go to but wasn’t well enough was a visit to the National Zoo, days out in Washington DC and pool outings. They have several events every day of the week so if you want to get out of the house there is always something you can choose. This will be an invaluable group for when the baby comes to enable me to get out and about regularly as well as socialisation for the baby.

So that’s where things stand now. We are thrilled about the baby but taking things one day at a time. Hope everyone is well and we look forward to hearing from everyone. Don’t forget to check out the latest photos.

Add comment June 30th, 2007