I went to my second ob appointment on the 8th. Obviously being here, going to the Dr. is a little different than my usual appointment in the USA. The biggest difference is my Dr. is not in a practice with other Dr's. She is the only one. Maybe that's why the C-section rate is so high...more convenient for the Dr. Don't worry I'm not having one, unless there is an emergency! The wait to see the Dr. however, is not different. I feel completely at home waiting in the waiting room.
When I finally get in...now here's the best part, I think....I lay down on the Ultrasound table...and I get an ultrasound. My Dr. talks to me the whole time the ultrasound is done and all my questions are answered then. Last time we brought the kids with us and she did an ultrasound for almost 25 minutes. I must admit that I love every minute of it. This little bugger is really active, even though I haven't felt it yet. We sat there and watched the baby move their arms up and down and cross their legs and even do flips.
I have only had an ultrasound in the beginning for viability and then at 20 weeks in the past. It's been so fun to see the stages of the baby and how fast they grow. From 6 weeks (viability in the US) to 10 weeks (here) the baby gained a head and two arms, and two legs and was moving all over the place, dancing. Then from 10 weeks to 14 weeks (here again) the baby got huge! It actually looked a real baby! As the Dr finished the last ultrasound the baby looked liked it was waving at everyone and the kids started waving back. They got as excited as I did!
The Dr. did give a guess on gender both times we were there. The 10 week guess was based on how active the baby was...so no scientific basis at all! Then at 14 weeks she looked between the legs and said 80% boy. I'm not sure what 80% means...I get 95% sure but 80% to me, is still a shot in the dark...so I'll find out for sure on October 5th!
Another difference one of my friends noticed was that she doesn't get weighed. Don't worry though...I am being weighed...even though I wouldn't mind not doing it.
A perk of my Dr and being here is a free 4D scan. These happen between 27-32 weeks. Then I can be for sure,on the sex of the baby too. I've even heard that you see who the baby looks like in these. My friend went to hers and she said the tech told her about how some women come and say, Will my husband be able to tell if the baby looks like him or not....and she said, usually it's pretty obvious who the baby looks like and these women were disappointed because their husbands were not the father...YIKES! I still can't over that story!
All I can say is that I'm so excited right now! When I feel well I want to get tons done and get things organized and do some spring cleaning. So pray that I keep well and can get things done.
The kids are doing really great. Kylie loves "practice" kindergarten. She is learning so much. Every day she comes home and tells us the sound of a new letter and what words start with it...the only catch. She can't tell us what letter it is. Another one I'm going to have to figure out. There are only two girls in her class, including her, and a total of 10 kids. I love the small class and I think she does so much better this way...but then again what kid wouldn't. She is really loving Spanish class too. She comes home and asks me the meaning of words all the time and we can actually greet each other in Spanish now. I love that!
Josh is doing great too. His reading levels went up a lot during the summer and keeps going up now that he is in school. He loves chapter books and learning books. In fact he stays up too late at night reading and I have to tell him to put the book down and go to sleep. This is after about 1 1/2 hrs. of reading. He is also doing karate and tennis as after-school activities. He seems to really like them too.
In case you didn't hear this summer Aaron was promoted at work. Which is really good. He is getting busy again and I can tell! He is really starting to experiment with the braai (grill). Back home we have a gas grill but here, it's all charcoal. He really takes over the meals on the weekends and that helps me huge! This last weekend he even took over kitchen duty and did all the dishes all weekend...which has taken me almost 9 years to get him to do.
Me...I am not working at the orphanage as much anymore. They have changed things a lot recently and they will only have 6 babies. When I left back to the US they had almost 20 babies. Plus I've been sick in the morning and I haven't been reliable. I am however, throwing myself into the second grade. At least until March! So holiday parties...get ready...this is going to be fun!
Hope everyone is having fun and getting adjusted to school. Remember we would love to have visitors! Love you all!
