Dear Baby Girl...

Dear Baby Girl,

It's me, your mama. I'm writing you again. Right now I am sitting in Istanbul in my hotel room. It is silent and I am alone. I can do anything I want to do right now. I am choosing to do nothing. I know that when I get back to Riyadh things are going to get crazy. In just a little over 8 weeks daddy and I get to meet you and then things will get really crazy. Because of that, I have decided it is totally ok to sit on the computer in a bed while on vacation.

Speaking of vacation, I have to apologize to you for yesterday. Overall, this trip has been great so far. Daddy and I have been doing just a little bit each day so that I don't get too tired. Aunt Krystle, Uncle Zach and Tristan are here and we've been spending lots of time with them too. It has been a great last vacation before we welcome you into our lives.

Yesterday was rough on me though, and I it felt like it was not very easy for you either. Daddy and I ventured out a little farther west to see a few more mosques and to try and make it to Chora Church. Daddy warned me that it was a lot of walking and much of it would be going uphill. He was right. Poor guy had to pull me around for most of the morning. After a few hours and almost 10,000 steps before lunch I was done. It felt like you were trying to get out and my back was screaming at me. I never did make it to the church, but did see some gorgeous mosques and cool parts of the city.

We then headed back to our hotel area. We took the tram for part of it and it was so packed I felt like I was going to pass out. I was squished in there and so you were too. Sorry about that! After a delicious Turkish lunch I went back to the hotel to rest for a bit. I am certain you were really happy that I was finally laying down.

It didn't last long and soon we were off again. This time we walked around the Topkapi Palace. It was huge. You tried to get out again and punched and kicked me a few times. I took the hint. Daddy and I went to sit for a bit before we went to the Asian side of Istanbul. It was a short rest though.

We took the tram to the ferry station and then headed across the river to see the Asian side and eat. It was quick, but there were no restaurants near the port. We walked some more. I'm sorry. I really am. Daddy was pulling me once again. Luckily, the Winters were with us and kept us occupied. We finally found a restaurant and loved the view walking to it. Unfortunately, the restaurant had no beer and the food didn't look too good. After a short sit, we walked again. This time we took the metro under the river. It was quicker. I think you were pretty mad at me though. You decided to push on my bladder and made me pee three times in a matter of about 45 minutes. We made it back to our hotel area and had a delicious dinner. Then finally I went to bed. I don't plan on making you walk that much again. 20,000 steps was just too much! Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed the city of Istanbul. In your short little life inside me you have already been to Jordan, Michigan, Bahrain, Lebanon and now Turkey. When we return to Riyadh, your flight count will be up to 12.

We can't wait to take you around the world, although we know our vacations will be significantly different and much more work. We have your first trip planned to Michigan for the summer and then your second trip will be to Prague in September. I hope you are a good traveler and like to be out and about like your Daddy. He is currently exploring the city without me and is perfectly fine doing that. I have a feeling you are going to be adventurous, just like him.

Love you!
mama

Less than 10 weeks to go...

It’s all going downhill now…I have read and heard a million times that the second trimester is the best and you feel the best you will throughout your pregnancy. Wow, is that true! I feel like I woke up one day and my body said, “Hey, you are in the third trimester now. You are going to feel like crap from now until the baby gets here…and maybe a little after that as well!” It’s like I went to bed one day feeling on top of the world and then woke up the next as if I was hit by a truck.

Let me tell you about my current complaints:

• My back- OH.MY.GOSH. It is so painful. It hurts when I walk too long. It hurts when I sit too long and it hurts when I stand too long. Oh, and it hurts if I am laying in the wrong position for too long.
• My stomach- this one has two issues. First, I feel a bit nauseated at times, not like the first trimester, but it’s not too fun. Second, it gets in the way. It’s getting hard to lean over, to bend down to pick stuff up and to put clothes on.
• My head- I now get headaches a few times a week. Luckily, they are not too bad.
• My lungs- Yep, my lungs bother me. It seems that baby girl is pushing on them every now and then. Because of this, I have a hard time breathing every now and then.
• I’m sleepy- I know it’s a difficult time in the year (we just finished report cards, are about to go on spring break and grade 2 had their assembly this week), but I feel like I could sleep at any time of day if I just closed my eyes.

So when people ask me how I am doing and I respond with, “Good!” I am either lying or they happen to catch me at a good time. I can’t believe I still have more than 9 weeks to go…

On a happy note, baby girl is moving like crazy still! She loves to move to fast music. The movements always increase when I am listening to music and a faster song comes on. I am not really sure when she sleeps because she moves so much. Travis has felt her move a lot now and we laugh at how crazy some of the movements are. We had a trip to the doctors last week and he said she is already head down, which makes this mama really happy! I now know when I am being kicked or punched because I know where her body parts are located.

Not too much else has been happening around here lately. Tomorrow we go to Istanbul and we are really looking forward to it. I will be going to the NESA conference for a few days and then both of us will have some time to do sightseeing. I think this is our first spring break when we haven’t gone to a beach. I am missing the beach a lot and am really looking forward to our summer on the lake. This trip will also be our last trip before baby comes!

Here are my 29 and 30 week photos.

Mama, Daddy and Baby this week:

• Mama is feeling tired and can feel baby girl a lot!
• Mama has swollen ankles and a very sore back.
• Mama eats too much junk food!
• Daddy loves to lay with mama and keep his hand on her belly to feel all the crazy movements!
• Baby is close to 3 pounds.
• Baby is the size of cantaloupe.
• Baby is about 17 inches!
• Baby may be able to recognize mama’s voice.

I wonder...

Dear Baby Girl,

I was just watching a short clip on Facebook from Swan Lake. It was a beautiful piece with some unbelievable dancing. As I was watching, you were moving around in my belly as you usually do. It made me think about you and what you will be like, or more specifically, who you will be like.

I wonder if you will be a dancer like your mommy. I loved dance and most of my favorite memories growing up comes from dance class, dance friends, dance competitions and just dancing for fun. Will you be a soccer player like your daddy? He loved to play soccer and is much more of a sports person than I am! Will you enjoy drawing and painting like mommy? I am not very good, but always loved to pick up a paint brush. Will you love to swim like both mommy and daddy? I absolutely love being in the water to play around. Daddy was a swim teacher and knows much more than I do about real swimming. Will you play the piano or another musical instrument? Daddy and I are always amazed with anyone who can play the piano. We love piano music and could listen to it live for hours! Will you be a singer? Your Aunt Jan and Aunt Jennifer have beautiful voices. Mommy loves to sing for fun or to entertain her friends, but she should really keep her mouth closed! You probably know that by now. Sorry that you are trapped inside of me and have to listen to my voice all the time.

Then I wonder about your personality. I am pretty sure you will be a lot like you daddy. You have not stopped moving much in the last 10 weeks! Your daddy doesn't sit still either. Mommy loves to have some down time. On rainy days, I could sit and watch TV or read a book for hours without a problem. Daddy would go nuts. He needs to get out and move a lot. It seems you will be taking after him on that note. Will you be a neat freak like mommy? I try really hard to keep things neat and organized. I am sure that will change in the next few months. Your daddy is becoming more organized, but if you could have seen his desk last year at work, you would understand that he doesn't need everything organized to know where it all is. Will you be brave like daddy? He is not afraid of much. I, on the other hand, can be frightened of my shadow at times. Will you love to travel like mommy and daddy? I hope so. It looks as if you will have many plane rides and many exciting adventures all over the world!

Who will you look like? Will you have your daddy's gorgeous eyes? I sure hope so! When I first met him, I could not stop staring at those sparklers. Sometimes they are green and sometimes they are blue. They are always beautiful! Will you someday have the crazy curves your mother has? They aren't so bad after all. Will you have long legs like both mommy and daddy? What color hair will you have?

As it gets closer and closer to the day we meet you, I grow more and more anxious. We are so excited and so nervous at the same time. No matter who or what you are like, we will love you like crazy!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy
March 8, 2015

Weeks 27 and 28

Weeks 27 and 28

It’s officially the third trimester now! I am feeling more tired lately and simple tasks are getting to be a bit more difficult. I can still put my own shoes on, but not in the same way. Getting up from a couch or chair is a little more difficult too now that I don’t have stomach muscles. I am finding that I am walking a bit slower and it’s not as comfortable. I have had a pain in lower left back and it is slowly creeping down to my butt and hamstrings. My walk has a slight limp to it! However, thanks to our AIS-R Get Fit Challenge, I am still getting around 10,000 steps a day. Some days I can get it without going for a walk after work, other days require a 30 minute walk around the compound. I haven’t done yoga since I learned I was pregnant and I am really missing it (and needing it). Today I decided to start it up again. I logged onto yogaglo.com and signed up. They offer all kids of yoga classes. I am eager to get at it again!

Baby girl is moving a lot! I can feel bigger movements now and Travis was able to feel her again. I find that she likes to move the most when I lay down to sleep. She also wakes me up in my sleep sometimes. I really like feeling her, but it is still such a strange sensation!

Here are my 27 and 28 week photos.

The last two weeks have been quite a blur. We had Week Without Walls at school, which really tired me out. Everyday we do different activities. It’s a break from the curriculum for the students, but is much more physically demanding. It was a great week!

Then this past weekend we went to Byblos, Lebanon. We planned this trip back in October and have been looking forward to it ever since. I really can’t describe what a great city it is, so I will let the pictures do all the talking. I will tell you that we walked a lot, ate a lot and really enjoyed the city and people.

Port Byblos

 All the buildings were gorgeous! The city was built in the 12th century.

 There were churches all over the town. They were beautiful!

 Loved this view each day! It was right across the street from our hotel.

 Lunch at Feniqia, loved, loved, loved this food!

 Tracy and I smiling after eating our delicious fish sandwich.

 Byblos Castle

 Byblos Castle surroundings

 Krystle and I enjoying the view of the Mediterranean Sea from the castle grounds.

 The amazing view from the top of the castle

 Port Byblos

This sunset was amazing!

Mama, Daddy and Baby this week:

• Mama is feeling tired and can feel baby girl a lot!
• Mama has swollen ankles and a sore back.
• Mama craves ice cream and all kinds of sweets right now.
• Daddy felt baby girl move again.
• Daddy does just about everything to help out mama.
• Baby is close to 2.5 pounds.
• Baby is the size of cauliflower.
• Baby is about 16 inches!
• Baby’s sleep now includes REM phases.

Weeks 25 and 26

I am now 26 weeks (almost 27 since I am WAY late in posting this). Although I am ready for it to be May (actually June), the time is flying. Overall, I feel really good. My ankles are swollen almost all the time and I have to move my body a little different lately, but I feel good and have a decent amount of energy. I am still walking around 2 miles four times a week, but would like to do more. It is becoming a challenge to put on socks since I am just not use to a big belly in my way! Sleeping comfortably is getting a little difficult. Baby girl uses my bladder as a trampoline, so I pee a lot and I seem to require more food lately. She is still a mover and daddy finally got to feel her! He was getting a little frustrated that he couldn’t, but last night he could feel her kicking or punching and was VERY happy! It is such an amazing feeling.

My belly and boobs have continued to expand quite a bit. This past week I got a lot of comments that I now looking really pregnant. As I was talking to Travis last night, I just felt huge! I still can’t see my belly when I look down because there are two other giant mountains blocking my view, but when I see a side view it’s a little shocking now!

Here is what has happened over the past two weeks.

I had my glucose test on February 7 and I was really nervous about it. Mornings are not easy for me still and the thought of not eating, getting in a car and getting my blood drawn four times before noon, scared me a bit. Luckily, the night before we had a girl’s movie night where we ate CPK and watched a chick flick. I ate a ton of food to prepare for the next day. 

The morning of, I felt good when I woke up. I was not hungry or nauseated. However, we got on the road and right away there was an accident. I don’t deal well with accidents. I usually freak out or cry. This was a bad one, so I freaked out AND cried. It looked a little dusty or smoky ahead of us as we got on the first main road and we couldn’t see very well. In front of us was a giant dump truck. Apparently he couldn’t see well either. We all tried to pass through the dust. The dump truck did not succeed. He tried to avoid a truck that was stopped in the road (unseen by all) and swerved to avoid hitting it at the last minute. He failed. Not only did he hit the other truck, his truck flipped over to the left side and dumped his gravel all over the road. As the dust cleared, you could see the truck that was hit was pouring fuel onto the road. The other truck was turned on its side and I thought for sure that the driver would be seriously injured or dead. I panicked immediately. I felt like we were trapped on the road and fuel was everywhere. I was convinced that there would be an explosion. Travis calmed me down and was able to drive around the mess. As we passed it all, we saw the driver out, limping around. He was alright after all. It was very scary and really shook me up.

We drove on and got to the doctor’s quite quickly. Travis dropped me off since I was going to be there for three hours. I went in, got my blood taken and then drank the orange drink, which was not bad at all. After that, I went out into the waiting room and read for an hour, until they needed to take my blood again. At the end of three hours, my blood was drawn four times and my fear of needles was nearly overcome. Travis picked me up and took me home so I could eat. I didn’t feel sick and hungry until we got in the car. I was shocked. There must be a LOT of sugar in that drink! Overall, it went really well and I was happy it was over.

Here are my 25 and 26 week photos.

A highlight of the last couple weeks was ordering Indian food with a group of friends. We had all been craving some delicious Indian food. We got it delivered to the compound and had a FEAST! We had so much food. Check it out!

Then on Friday I had a ladies brunch at my house. We all brought some kind of food to share. It was amazing! It was so nice to start the weekend with friends and food. I can’t wait until the next one.

On Valentine’s Day Travis and I went back to the doctor’s office. We found out that I do not have gestational diabetes and I can continue to eat my pasta and ice cream! I was so relieved. The doctor did another ultrasound and took some measurements. He said everything was perfect, which is always nice to hear! He also told me that baby is very active. This is not news to me. There is a party every day in my belly. Anyways, the appointment went well and we ended the day with a homemade fancy steak dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Then I had another Book Club meeting. This time it was at a restaurant that I have not been to, Lusin, which is Armenian food. It was a nice night with some new interesting food.

The next night we made dinner for our friends Amy and Rob who just welcomed their baby boy into the world! She went to the same doctor I go to and had a wonderful experience. It was great to hear a little bit about what to expect when our day comes.

Finally, I was a judge for the high school talent show on Wednesday night. It was so much fun to watch all the talent of the high schoolers and to see their friends cheer them on as they took the stage. The winner was a rap singer! I was really impressed with his abilities. The second place winner was a dub stepper that was quite entertaining!

As you can see, we have been really busy! The next month should be the same. We have Week Without Walls this coming week which is a week of non-curricular activities with the students. I am sure I will be worn out at the end of each day. The we have report cards coming up after that and spring break starts March 18! I am so ready for a nice break.

On a side note, I am totally jealous of all my Shanghai friends that were vacationing at a beach for CNY. I miss the beaches of SE Asia SO MUCH!!! I hope you are all enjoying your vacations. That’s all for this post.

Mama, Daddy and Baby this week:

• Mama is feeling good and can feel baby girl a lot!
•  Mama has swollen ankles.
• Mama craves pasta and ice cream more than anything right now!
• Daddy felt baby girl move for the first time!
• Baby is 850grams (almost 2 pounds!)
• Baby is the size of a butternut squash.
• Baby’s eyes are starting to open.
• Baby is over 14 inches!

My birthday, book club, craft sale and another doctor visit

I just finished cooking a gourmet meal for dinner. It was grilled cheese with tomato soup. You should be jealous. It was amazing! The soup even had macaroni noodles. That’s very fancy of me, I know. You are probably drooling as you imagine dipping that sandwich dripping with cheese into the creamy soup. Yep, it was creamy. I made it with milk, not water.

Speaking of food…I LOVE food lately. Well, most of the day. Breakfast continues to be a nightmare. My staple foods are one fried egg done to perfection thanks to Chef Travis and a bowl of instant oatmeal. I seemed to be able to stomach that the best. It may take me 20 + minutes to eat, but I do it. Shortly after I get to school I am hungry again. I can’t seem to eat enough lately. My morning snacks keep getting larger and larger, as do my lunches! So for the time being, food is my friend most of the day and that is how I want it to stay! Um, also, I think I am addicted to ice cream, even more than I use to be.

Here I am at 24 weeks. My belly is growing out more and has surpassed my boobs! Although they are working hard to catch up…

And here I am on my 34^th birthday.

My birthday was fantastic this year. Over the past few years I have dreaded birthdays because I just get older. But then the day comes and I feel so special and loved! All the messages on Facebook made me smile. At work the whole staff got an email about birthdays, so everyone said Happy Birthday. It was a great start to the day. My team also celebrates each of our birthdays. At the end of the day we all gathered in Krystle’s room and ate cupcakes, donuts, lots of fruit and chips. It was delicious!

That night we went to dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. I had gone once before with a large group of women. The food was amazing and it was so nice to order lots of different foods and then share them. I wanted to do the same for my birthday. There were 10 of us and we had a great time. Everyone came to our house first for a little gathering and some tea. Then we took a bus to the restaurant so we didn’t have to worry about driving in the traffic and parking. We ate tons of food and had wonderful night.

Here are a few pictures from the night.

Allison, Krystle, Liz, me and Tracy

Here we are outside the family entrance section of the restaurant. That’s my gorgeous Abaya. Single men have their own entrance and section of the restaurant. Don’t go in the wrong door, they will stare you down and make you feel awkward, so I hear.

Oh, I almost forgot…last year for my birthday we had a PJ Pub Crawl on Yongkang Lu. We dressed up in some great jammies. Krystle, Zach and I got to wear ours again this year on my birthday because it was pajama day at school!

This year Tristan joined the outside world! He was the cutest batman!

The next day was our book club meeting at Marcelle's house. We had a delicious meal and I had a special seat. The group gave me a balloon, a card and I got to blow out candles. Here are a few pictures.

That weekend there was a craft show at another compound. I went with Tracy, Josiane, Josiane’s mom and another friend Jessica. While there, I got the first piece to baby girl’s nursery. I LOVE elephants and I wanted the room to be pink, gray and turquoise. I found a woman there who custom makes art. She had an adorable elephant that I had to have. She is making me a pink and gray one. I can’t wait to see it and get going on decorating the room!

It ended up being really hot that day and I was feeling quite ill by the end of our shopping trip. I sure hope that it was just because I didn’t eat and drink enough and that it is not a sign of the future. It doesn’t seem to be cooling down, just getting warmer. I hope my pregnant body can handle the heat that is coming, because baby girl is not making an appearance for quite some time still.

And finally we had another doctor visit. This one was pretty pointless. We went in, the nurse weighed me and checked my blood pressure and then talked to us about the glucose test and sent us home. Seemed kind of silly to go all the way there, just for that. Anyway, I learned that I have to go in next week for the three hour test. This is to see if I have gestational diabetes. I have to fast for 10 hours before and that is going to make me feel really sick. Then I will go, drink the stuff three times and get my blood taken four times. I can’t wait! Ugh. He said I have to do the three-hour test instead of the one-hour test because my dad had diabetes. So, I guess I will deal with it. I have a good meal planned for before the fast and after the tests! We will learn the results and have another ultrasound on Valentine’s Day.

That’s the scoop over here. I hope everyone else is well and that all you Michiganders enjoyed your snow days! I sure am jealous of all that white fluffy stuff.

In case you were wondering, after I post this I will be getting a nice big bowl of ice cream...

Mama and Baby this week:

• Mama gets swollen ankles and feet after a long day of standing and walking.
• Mama has very vivid and strange dreams.
• Mama craves tomatoes with salt, cucumbers in Wishbone Italian Dressing, ice cream, fruit and sour candies.
• Mama’s belly button is getting closer and closer to an outie.
•  Baby is the size of a foot long sub!
• Baby weighs a pound and a half.
• Baby’s lungs are getting better at breathing
• Baby’s face is almost fully formed, with eyelashes, eyebrows and hair, which is all white since there is no pigment yet.
• Baby likes to dance around in mama’s belly, especially after long walks.

Our Trip to Bahrain

Last weekend was spent in Bahrain for assessment professional learning. When I first signed up for it, I opted to take the bus. I was under the impression that it was only a 3-4 hour bus ride over there. It seemed doable and I thought that was the better choice. At that time a plane ticket didn’t cost much, but it seemed silly to spend the money if we could take a bus for free. Then, a few days before we left I learned that it was actually going to take 5 hours to get to the border and then going through customs and immigration could take a while as well. I immediately regretted my decision, but tried to look at it as a fun road trip with friends. It started fun, but ended in tears.

We boarded the bus at 3:15 on a Thursday afternoon, right after school. I had my kindle, a large bag of snacks, my iPod and a water bottle for emergency use only. We were told that we would only be stopping once during this journey and that left me a little stressed out. I normally pee every one to two hours (TMI, sorry), so I was a little concerned. To prepare myself I barely drank anything during the day and certainly wasn’t planning to drink on the bus, unless absolutely necessary. The ride started out great. Krystle, Allison, Lindsey (another teacher) and I passed the time by playing Heads Up. We were laughing and enjoying ourselves for quite awhile. We stopped once to use the restroom, and as you can imagine it was not a pretty site. The squatty potties reminded me of China and only the brave used those rather than the western toilets. I had to go and didn’t want to wait, so I squatted with my pregnant belly. I was successful and quickly got out of the dirty, wet restroom. In Saudi there are water hoses in every bathroom to squirt yourself down. As you can only imagine, it makes for quite a wet floor. This just adds to the already difficult task of peeing with an Abaya on. Not only do you have to hold up your Abaya, you also have to take care not to let anything drag on the floor at the same time. You become pretty multitalented. Oh, and there are not just sinks, there are usually washbasins for your feet. Many Muslim women wash their feet, pray and then wash again (I think). So water is pretty much everywhere!

The second half of the ride began with sharing food, more laughs and fun. We seemed to be making good time and I was actually thinking that it was fun and I was glad I took the bus. Those thoughts did not last long. As we entered customs and immigration everything took a turn for the worse. We were moving along and seemed that it would only take an hour or so to get to the other side. However, we quickly learned that we were supposed to switch buses before going through. Our bus did not have clearance into Bahrain. Somehow the bus drivers didn’t communicate and after waiting in a line for about an hour (I may be exaggerating a little) we had to TURN AROUND and get to the other bus! This was a process and by the time we got back in line in the right buses, the line was much longer.

These new bus drivers were not very talkative. No one was explaining what we were doing, why we could only be in one line (the longest) and why we were not moving AT ALL. I was starting to get uncomfortable. At this point, we were on the bus for at least 6-7 hours. I was tired, cranky and ready to punch someone. I finally asked the driver what we were doing and why we were moving. He just smiled at me. This is when I began to really lose it. I asked again, demanding an answer. Finally, I learned we had to be in the bus line and it was a slow process. We would have to wait our turn, get off the bus, take our passports, get them stamped, then return to the bus. It was a long time until our turn. While waiting our turn, we were able to get out and use the bathroom, which again was not very nice, but I was thankful to walk and pee. After showing our passports twice, once for Saudi and once for Bahrain, we were off. But the damage had been down. I lost it. I had cried, yelled and thrown a fit, you name it, I did it. Luckily, everyone on the bus was very understanding and I did not lose any friends.

We arrived to our hotel at 1:30am, 9 hours after we left school! The conference started the next morning at 8:30am, but the bus was leaving at 6:45. I went straight to the room, Travis brought me some food and then I went to bed. We were all pretty tired all weekend, but survived. I apologized many times for my craziness on the bus, but most people said I had only vocalized what everyone was thinking. I hope that is true!

Here are two pictures from the weekend. It was nice to be out in public and not wear an Abaya! The first is of Allison, me and Krystle posing with the I love Bahrain sign near a restaurant we went to. The second is Travis and I at the restaurant, The Meat Company.

When it was time to go back to Saudi, Krystle, Allison and I decided to take a car back. It would be much quicker and much more comfortable. The customs line was like a drive through since there were only three of us and we had an SUV to ourselves. Here is another Saudi fun fact, women can’t ride in the front seat of a car unless it is their husband. That means we would have had to squeeze in the back for our journey back. However, our car had a third row, I went in the back so I could put my feet up when needed. I didn’t want swollen ankles and feet again!  It ended up being totally worth the cost. We got home at 9:30pm and thought we had to work the next day. Travis took the bus and didn’t get home until 11:30. Unfortunately, the King of Saudi died over the weekend. Fortunately for us, we got the day off of school on Sunday because of it. We were able to recover a bit. If we didn’t get that day off, I don’t think I would have survived the work week!

It really was a nice weekend though. It was great to get out, do some learning and get some good work done. My next professional learning is in Istanbul! I love working abroad! How many teachers get to travel to other countries for work? It’s one of the many perks of leaving the USA!