Thursday, April 29, 2010

A question for you

Just a quick hey. Hey.

Feeling ok and just very hopeful that all will continue to go well with our superbaby. God how I hope...

Change of plans for my ultrasound on the 12th. Super S and I will be traveling on the 10th or 11th for about 10 days.

So here's a survey for you....

Should I go for an ultrasound before we leave or wait it out until we return? I am not sure, I'm leaning towards waiting, but at the same time kind of want to go before hand to confirm all is ok. Give me your opinion guys.

 


Monday, April 26, 2010

Nuchal Scan Results 13w2d

Well, the title of my blog is completely suitable now, we are really Wishing4One now.

One of our superbabies stopped growing around 10 weeks...

Our Superbaby that  IS growing looks and measures great! All measurements are at normal ranges of what they should be and Dr. K was very pleased with what we saw. We also decided to forego the blood tests for now as scan looks promising.

We are both ok, Super S and I. There is a reason, I believe that this baby did not continue to grow. God is the best of Planners and that belief eases my pain a little.

Now we just hope, wish and pray that our little Superbaby will hang in there and continue to grow and be a good little guy or girl.

Dr. K suggested initially we come back back at a later date for the next ultrasound, but I told him I could did not want to wait that long, so being the very cool doctor and friend he is, we will see him again on May 12th.

One thing I was surprised about, he said the baby that stopped growing, we do not have to do anything about it. Like we do not have to remove, nor will it miscarry. It will get pushed against uterine wall, and be absorbed or something like that. He said it may pass as something light when our other baby is delivered. Like a small, white sac may be seen on top of the delivered baby's placenta.

Anyway I want to write more, but am so drained. I am going to bed now and don't worry I am ok, really. So sad, but ok, thank God.




Thursday, April 22, 2010

Rockin my bands

So FEDEX calls and says my package will be delivered within two hours. Cool. The customs due is 87LE, approx. $16.00. OK.... for what i ask her? She says customs are decided by the government and not FEDEX and she will include the invoice and a number for customs I can call.

See here's the thing. A few years back my Dad sent me a few items via FEDEX, a pair of sneakers he bought for me, some spices, nothing really. They assessed a customs fee of like 300LE, about $55.00. So anytime I get anything via FEDEX they assess fees. Sucks man.

My things are always marked gifts, low dollar value, because they really are, but it never fails. I always pay something to get my items. This is why I do not use FEDEX much for anything, as they stick it to me each time here. Not big time money ok, I know, but its the principle.

Generally, the things I need from the States I wait for someone to bring them to Cairo, like friends or family visiting or have them sitting at my Dad's house for me to collect when I visit.

I can understand if I were getting like quantity of an item, like I am in business here or reselling, but these things are small, no value items for my personal use. I complained once to the FEDEX office here where I live and she smiled and said " So sorry, but this is how things work here..." Thanks sweetie, I know but thank you for reminding me again.

So I await my bellabands and some documents my Dad sent along, lets see if they custom the documents, I just can't imagine them assessing a fee to a few pieces of cloth, i.e. my bella bands, too funny!

You may be thinking, "Man Wishy, you shouldn't complain about paying a little to get something all the way from the US..." ok, maybe not. But, these are items that are gifts, have barely any dollar value and I am not reselling them! Sorry it is not fair.

While searching online about customs and FEDEX in Egypt I came across this response to a person who asked about paying customs when sending something to Egypt, too funny but so true.

dude the only way u can ship ur gift to egypt is through companies like fedex and UPS and they send it to anywhere u want door to door u can also do it with the post office but its not safe .

u have to go to fedex or UPS website to check the weight and the prices they gonna charge u alot and after u recieved it u will pay egyptian taxes on it thats what happen when isent my mom agift from USA to egypt in mothers day they asked her to pay around 30 dollars egyptian taxes lol and ifelt so bad cause ididnt know that she have to pay, so u gona end up paying twice the price of ur gift so the easiet way is to buy it from egypt or send the gift with someone u know wherever the gift located good luck

UPDATE:
Package arrived. Two bellabands (which are the shizit man, i just tried them awesome awesome awesome), two documents from my Dad and a few coffee pods and three button extenders for pants from my friend. Called the customs phone number they wrote for me on invoice, rings for a while then goes to a busy signal, tried calling three times! Super S read the customs invoice and said it says nothing as to how they arrived at duties. Surprised? I'm not! Anyway I'm happy and so ready to rock my bands, wow they are magic indeed!




Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: Bloomin in Cairo

















More Wordless Wednesday posts here .

Oh and happy first day of April's iclw too.




Monday, April 19, 2010

IF the eternal waiting game

hey. nothing exciting here to report really. hot as heck in Cairo, like 95F i think today.

one week from today, next Monday the 26th, we will have our nuchal scan and i am so anxious. i really can't wait and do pray, wish and hope that all is good in my uterus. God how i hope what we see is good.

so i guess i have officially made it through the first trimester, today is 12w2d. yeah for that. its a scary time for me, i try to not worry, not to read too much into anything and just wait to see our babies.

infertility is a bitch man. from a cycle start to finish we always have to wait. we wait for one thing or the other and the waiting nver stops does it? oh well, not complaining just thinking about patient we all should be, LOL right.

sad news.... i am still completely crushed about Clare's heartbreaking news, just crushed. i know so many of us have ups, down, disasters, heartbreaks and they are all devastating, and it sucks. Clare was so excited, so careful, health conscious and to have it all come crashing down like it did, broke my heart. i think of her and mr. t everyday. if you haven't visited her, do so, she's an amazing woman who could use all of our support.

oh my bellabands are in route via fedex but stuck in England due to the ash cloud. tracking says they should arrive here tomorrow by 8pm, we'll see. i think the delivery will be delayed, oh well.

anyway thats it for this monday, have a great week.



Thursday, April 15, 2010

Bargaining for my blood

I called Dr. K yesterday. I wanted to ask him about getting some blood tests (HcG and PAPP-A) right before I come in for nuhcal scan on the 26th. He told me to wait, that he will do my scan, send me to a genetic specialist who will run some blood tests and calculate my risk. Ok then perfect.

I am 37 now, I'll be 38, God Willing, when I deliver my babies sometime in the Fall so I fall into that beautiful high risk category don't I? I read that a woman giving birth at age 38 her risk factor for Down's Symdrome is 1 in 259. So what does that mean? I know it means I have a 1 out of 259 chance that my baby could have Down's, I get that. But am I looking for my risk to be lower than that after they calculate my nuchal measurements and blood tests? That I am confused on.

 It's all good though. I have decided to take things as they come and pray all will continue well. I am so glad Dr. K and I are on the same page and he is so easy to talk to and admires my self-education. Thanks Dr. Google, even though I've been dissin' you lately.

So the bargaining for my blood... A few days ago I went to a few labs here where I live to get prices and time it would take to get results for the HcG (I knew that would be just a few hours and not expensive) and the PAPP-A (pregnancy associated plasma protein A) which i did know how long results would take nor how much it cost.

The first lab I went to, the one I have used for all my betas, gave me their price and said it would take 4 days for PAPP-A results. The second lab gave me their price and said it would take 3 days for the results. This second lab would have cost me less for both tests than my usual lab who's price for just the PAPP-A was more.

Anyway turns out I won't need to go to either now, but I thought it was funny as the second lab I got her to go down for total costs, LOL. Not only can you bargain for fruits and vegetables here but blood tests too. Love it.

So I have been doing alot of reading about what is looked at and measured in this nuchal scan. I think I have a very good understanding of what we should see and some typical numbers or measurements that are good. I am so excited and a bit nervous for the 26th, and it can't get here fast enough.

A question on the triple test, this should be done around 16 weeks, is that right? So blood tests for the upcoming nuchal scan should be HcG and PAPP-A right? Anything else?




Wednesday, April 14, 2010

One word, no explanation

I saw this on Kristin's blog who saw it on Calliope's blog and wanted to play along. Even though its one from the 2006 archives, its a first for me and is fun.

You can leave your answers in the comments section or play along on your own blog. Be sure to let Calliope know you played though.

Simple rules...

You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
One.
Word.


No.
Explanations.

Here goes....

1. Yourself: Complicated

2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend husband: Patient

3. Your hair: Covered

4. Your mother/stepmother: Amazing

5. Your dog: Absent

6. Your favorite item: Sandals

7. Your dream last night: Shameful

8. Your favorite drink: Brown

9. Your dream car: Big

10. The room you are in: Dark

12. Your fear: Complications

13. What you want to be in 10 years: Happy

14. Who you hung out with last night: Husband

15. What you’re not: Brave

16. Muffin: Blueberry

17: One of your wish list items: Jogger

18: Time: Flying

19. The last thing you did: Eat

20. What you are wearing: Comfy

21. Your favorite weather: Cold

22. Your favorite book: Miraculous

23. The last thing you ate: Hommos

24. Your life: Lucky

25. Your mood: Happy

26. Your best friend(S): Few

27. What are you thinking about right now? Dream

28. Your car: Tan

29. What are you doing at the moment?: Typing

30. Your summer: Fat

31. Your relationship status: Solid

32. What is on your TV?: Anubus

33. What is the weather like?: Warm

34. When is the last time you laughed?: Noonish

 
Not as easy as you might think…



Monday, April 12, 2010

Perfect Monday Moment: Healing









Just three days after his jaw surgery, Charlie is eating soft foods from a bowl on his own, taking a bath as you can see above and really healing well. That's our boy and that's a perfect moment indeed.

Check our more Perfect Monday Moments at Weebles Wobblog.




Saturday, April 10, 2010

11 weeks

Today is 11 weeks for me and my babies.

My appetite has lessened quite a bit, a little scary I must admit, but then again dealing with poor Charlie the last few days, maybe that could be it? I sure hope so.

On the syptoms front, nada. Still no sickness. My belly is pudging out and I love it. I feel great. I sure hope all is well and of course I can't wait until the 26th for the nuchal scan. So for now, I will assume all is well and try to start eating more. Oh but I am still running to the bathroom pretty frequently.

Charlie is ok. Of course its just a day after having his jaw fixed. We tried to syringe feed him some soft food and some water, not happening. Super S took him the vet here where we live, had him give him his antibiotic injection and two injections of saline, one on the right and one on the left so he will not get dehydrated. When they got home he had like a burst of energy really. Its so hard to see him recovering, but we know he will be better with time.


He is sleeping as I type this...

We put him in one of the bedrooms at night and close the door as I am scared he is not yet ready to go exploring at night and go up and down the stairs. He has everything he needs in the room, water, soft food (hopefully soon he will try them- he will I know), his comfy bed, litter box and a nice lamp. When we woke up and went to him this morning, he was sleeping peacefully in his bed, so that was good to see. Then he came went right to the couch.

While we were eating dinner tonight, I happened to look over at him and he was looking right at us. We got up went to him, petted him awhile and talked to him. That was so cool for us, he was saying like "um, i would love to join you, but damn i just can't yet..." poor little guy. We have to be patient and know it will just get better for him.

It was so hot here in Cairo today, an unusual 95F with a very hot wind, kinda crazy. Not complaining, but man it was hot! How's the weather where you are?


Friday, April 9, 2010

He's home

Wow what a day!

We went to pick up Charlie about 1:30pm from the vet here where we live. They do not do the type of surgery Charlie needed there.

We took him to an International pet hospital in Cairo recommended by one of Super S's friends. The vet checked him out, gave him some nutritional injections and said they do not do that type of surgery there but recommended a very good surgeon in a place called Maadi.

He called that doctor for us and on our way we were. Driving across crazy Cairo not knowing exactly where we were going. Super S stopped a bunch of times to ask directions and to make sure we were headed in the right direction.

We made it and what a great place and great vet!  Alot of expats and foreigners use this vet. It was the guys day off but he was in his clinic and ready to go. He said lets fix this poor little guys jaw right now. Super S stayed and observed while I of course sat in the lobby. Didn't take too long and we had him neutered as well. No more outdoors for our baby.

He is still groggy and coming out of the anesthesia slowly, and is like "what the hell is in my mouth..." Poor baby. Its hard again to see him in his groggy state, but so good to know he will be so much better soon. But I have to tell you both Super S and I are so relieved, like a huge weight and a huge amount of grief has been lifted.

We will have to feed him liquids for a few days, the doctor said after 4-5 days he will start slurping from a bowl. So it'll be a slow recovery and we are so happy to have him home and know he will be alright now.


Here he is now on the couch...

Thank you for all your kind comments, isn't it amazing how much love you can feel for an animal? It's a fairly new feeling for Super S and I, we have never had pets and in the last two years we have learned how special they are.


Thursday, April 8, 2010

Poor Charlie

***UPDATE 11:40pm***
Charlie will spend the night at the vet. They gave him a bunch of shots, I assume antibiotics and stuff, they took x-rays and looks like he has a broken jaw. Not sure of all details, he asked Super S to call in tomorrow late afternoon. I am besides myself. Will try to sleep now, we'll see. I can just picture him, he must be so scared...


Hey guys.

Our little guy Charlie is not doing well. We woke up to a very scary sight this morning. We went outside to our terrace where he usually waits in his chair for us in the morning and he was on the floor with his mouth covered in blood.

The blood is dry so its very hard to clean, and hard to see his mouth, we have no idea what happened. But it looks like he cannot close his mouth. He can walk though so thats a good sign I think.

The vet is not available until 7pm, its just after 4:30pm now. He has been upstairs with us all day, i set up a blanket on the couch and he has been sleeping.

You know until you own a pet you can not imagine how heartbreaking it is to see them sick. They are so helpless and it just breaks my heart to see him like this. I could not control my emotions this morning and have felt so sad all day, we both have. A day of tears for sure man.

We love this little guy so much and he is the baby of the three kittens, meaning he loves to be held and cuddled and he is the one who spends the most time indoors with us.

So please keep Charlie in your thoughts and I'll update after Super S takes him to the doctor later. I will stay home as I cannot bear to see him like that and then to be at the doctor where I know he will be so scared... Super S is so good with him he will take good care of him.

Our baby Charlie a few months ago...



Monday, April 5, 2010

Perfect Moment Monday: Who needs a bouquet?



Yesterday Super S brought these upstairs to me. They are from our rose bushes. Who needs a purchased bouquet huh? Perfect indeed.

(And by the way Super S said "I wanted to give these to you and let you enjoy them before they are gone". See people here snatch them off as they walk by, I know...)

See more Perfect Moments at Weebles Wobblog .




Saturday, April 3, 2010

10 weeks

I'm amazed that I am able to type "10 weeks" as a title for this post. This is really amazing and I am so excited and pray that everything continues to go well. We are so happy, Super S and I and are just besides ourselves really.

April 26, will be 13w2d and thats when we will go in for the nuchal scan. Its an important day and I pray too that all will turn out well.

I'll be honest I have stopped consulting Dr. Google so much. It makes me crazy when I find something and then I tend to read more into it and of course not fully understand everything and it makes me nervous. This is in regards to everything from size of fetus to heartbeat rate and so on.

But, I did come across this site, it has videos of fetal abnormalities from nuchal scans and is quite interesting. I only viewed one video and just saved it in my bookmarks. It is very interesting though.

I am not knocking being informed, I am all for it and cannot stress how important it is to be informed. I mean I credit the internet and your blogs and my research into immune/implantation issues for my successful pregnancy. (after the Will of God of course first)

So I guess I want to say that while I will continue to educate myself, I am taking alittle break from researching every little aspect of being pregnant and just letting things take their course.

Still waiting for my Bella Bands from the States, my friend should be FEDEX ing them this week, I can't wait. I can still button most of my pants but they are a bit snug now.

I feel hungry all the time. Really, I want to eat everything. I watch myself and don't give in always, but I must say I know I put on some weight from my weigh in last time I was by Dr. K. I will not divulge what it was, but when I saw it I was like damn! He said it was good, LOL ok then.

So Super S's family knows we're pregnant. OMG can I tell you how excited they were! We started by telling his brother, who is not doing well, actually he's pretty sick. Super S said he wanted to give him something to feel good about and boy did he.

See this brother waited 11 years to have a baby back in the day. His son is now like 22 I think. They did not use any medical intervention back then they just kept trying and it finally worked for them. So this was a special thing for him and his wife to hear and they were very happy.

Then we told the rest of his brothers and sisters and his aunt and they are all so so happy and excited too.  It was wonderful to see their faces and share this awesome news with them.

I had told my mom and dad awhile back but couldn't get in touch with my sister. I finally got her the other day and told her. She is so happy! She was like "maybe you can give me one.." we laughed so hard, she was joking of course. So now all the important people in our lives know the amazing news.

You guys of course are the privledged ones, the first to know after Super S, cause you're special like that, and I love ya! Oh and maybe because the internet is public domain too?

Another HOT day in Cairo today, forcasting 91 degress for today and its just beautiful. We had our morning coffee, (Super S had coffee) sitting in the garden and it was just perfect. I wait for the day we are able to take our kids outside and watch them run and play, then it will really be perfect.