Tuesday, June 22, 2010

June 2010 ICLW... Welcome

Happy ICLW. If this is your first time visiting via the ICLW list for June welcome!

You can see my summarized journey in my profile to the right, but in short we are finally pregnant after many failed IVF cycles. We spent the last 12 years sort of TTC and the last 5 years doing IVF. So we are very excited and very cautiously happy, despite the fact I am 21w3d today. Still amazing man I swear.

So what's been up... well my feet and ankles are a bit swollen. So you know I am off to check my blood pressure today and praying that it is ok. I read that the swelling along with high blood pressure and protein in the urine is a sign of pre-eclampsia. Last appointment with Dr. K. confirmed that my placenta was fundal, so thats good. My pressure has always been good too. So for now I am attributing the swelling to being on my feet alot and the fact that here in Cairo it has been like 150 F for the last three days, insanely hot.  I just got back from checking my blood pressure 110 over 70, thank God.

I decided I will go see Dr. K around July 12th. That will put me at 24w2d. I will take the GD test that so many of you have informed me is so tasty and fun, and hope all will be good. I will take the test at the lab here where I live before my appointment and take the reults with me. ( If you are a new visitor to my blog, here in Cairo all lab tests are done at offsite labs and most times you don't even need a note from your doctor.)

On a very very sad note Charlie is gone. Remember Charlie, our baby who had a broken jaw and then surgery and we kept him inside with us? Well he always slept in his room at night, went outside during the day, did not wander but hung around the yard. If he went for a walk he always came back. He left Sunday early morning and we have not seen him since. I fear the worst as he is not a wandered at all since we had him neutered. I heard a rumor that here in the city where we live they have put chicken heads with poison outside to kill the cats. Humane huh? Cairo has a cat problem in general and this suburb is getting populated with cats too, but come on, poisoning them? Again, not sure if its true, but thats all I think about when I think of my baby Charlie.


Charlico Pico we miss you so much...






32 comments:

  1. Oh sweetie, poor Charlie!! I know it's hard to think about it but he may still come back! remember the Dude? He had been neutered and was away for over two weeks! thinking of you, Fran

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  2. Are you for real about the 150 degrees??? Holy crap!

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  3. I'm so sorry to hear about Charlie... I get sad thinking about lost cats- I have two of my own (that live with other family members- long story) and I miss them terribly. Sounds like things are going well for this pregnancy so far- hooray for no pre-eclampsia. Best of luck and I hope Charlie does come wandering back- perhaps he just got turned around in the maze of streets in Cairo...

    Happy commenting this week,
    ~Keiko, Hannah Wept, Sarah Laughed

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  4. Amanda, no it was not really 150 degrees, but felt like it. If it was I think we'd have melted and disappeared.

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  5. Poor Charlie... I hope he makes it back home.

    Oh, the swelling - I was swollen all summer long. I completely cut salt out of my diet and drank tons of water. It didn't help. I heard somewhere (no idea where, so don't quote me) that the swelling may be a kind of allergic reaction to someone else's DNA. Just keep your feet up whenever possible!

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  6. Hey,

    Glad you are doing well. So sorry for your kitty. I lost my dear cat about a year ago. I had him for 16 years it was hard.

    Keep and eye on your BP, that can be serious when pregant. I had pregnancy induced hypertension and it sucked. I noticed floaty spots when I was sitting. (wierd and random) so I took my BP( we happened to be at a choosing a pediatrician visit). Mine went from 116/76 ish to 140/110 within like 10 days. I was induced after that 10 days. And I was also swollen ( I lost 30lbs within 9 days post pardum) Crazy!

    Not trying to freak you out, just pay attention.

    Good luck! Happy to see all is well.

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  7. I had swelling from week 20, but not until week 28 that protein started to show up in the urin, and the blod pressure not creeping up until week 32 (90-140). And after reducing work and resting more the protein in urine has dissapeared and blood pressure been the same (too high, but they are pleased that it is not increasing)

    It seems to work for me to reduce the edema, to don´t eat salted food, no procecced food, and no sugar, no caffeine, and rest a lot.

    and watermelons are my best friend now.

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  8. Oh I am so sorry to hear of your missing kitty! What a beautiful cat - I hope he returns to you.

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  9. So sorry about Charlie. :( I wish he would come home to you. I'm sure the not knowing is difficult in addition to his being gone.

    And ugh, it's over 110F here this week so I feel your pain! Way too hot to be pregnant!!

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  10. what a beautiful blog.
    i love the way you have it set up and i am so pleased that i discovered it.
    i had a feral cat, napoleon. he was all white. he appeared as a 9 month old kitten in our locked shed one rainy day. how he got inside there we will never know. he was handsome and did not look like a common alley cat. he was very regal. i called a mobile vet to give him shots and check him out because i wanted to bring him inside but upon examination he was found to have a very vicious case of ringworm. we tried all the meds but they did not cure him. so i took care of him outside. this went on for a few years. but then one day he disappeared and never came back [after coming 'home' several times a day]. unfortunately we live near woods and i fear a fox got him. i've always been a dog person and never thought i could love a cat, but i loved my napoleon.

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  11. I love your blog header!

    I look forward to reading more!

    Ashlee
    ICLW #180

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  12. Sorry to hear about your cat :/

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  13. I'm so sorry to hear about your Charlie. My T&P's are with you. ON a brighter note,I'm ecstatic to hear about your baby. I've been gone for a while adjusting to life as a mommy, but I'm back and your news made my day. It's so nice when someone overcomes their battle with IF so a belated CONGRATS! Take care!

    MAK
    ICLW #125

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  14. OH I am so sorry about Charlie. :(

    Happy about that blood pressure you go girl. It sounds like you are well on your way. The GD test wasn't horrible..(and I had to do it TWICE becuase they forgot to come and draw blood in an hour...LONG STORY....so it was useless and I had to come back two days later and drink it again. I was throwing up so much by then that it was just one more day of barfing. :) )

    good luck, I love seeing posts from you and knowing you are doing and feeling good.

    ICLW..HUGS :)

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  15. So sorry about your kitty, he looks like he has a tiger head. Glad to hear that your blood pressure was good.

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  16. Hi, sweetie!! I'm catching up and so so so love seeing that you are 21 weeks along!!!! Hope you're feeling well!!

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  17. Poor little charlie! I am so sorry! That sucks. I am glad your B/P is doing good dispite your swollen feet! Keep up the good work!!!

    (normal follower, but also Happy ICLW from #22)

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  18. Glad your bp is ok maybe the heat is to blame for the swelling. It's the same here and I really cannot stand being outside for longer than 5 minutes! Bring on the October I say! I am sorry to hear about Charlie.. I hope he will be able to find his way back home soon enough!

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  19. Hi, I'm here from the ICLW list. Congratulations on your pregnancy!

    I hope that your Charlie comes back to you. It's scary to think they might be poisoning them...when I lived in Bangkok we used to hear that they did the same thing with the dogs on the street. There has to be a better solution!

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  20. I hope Charlie makes is way back home. :(

    Congratulations on your pregnancy!

    ICLW

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  21. Oh hon... I'm sorry that Charlie has wandered off. I'm going to hold out hope that he wanders back.

    Yay for 21 weeks... boo for the GD test!

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  22. Charlie is a handsome devil. He looks like a bobcat. I pray he reappears soon.

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  23. I'm so sorry to hear about Charlie!! That is so sad, it's interesting to hear what different places do for things like that. I hope he still returns!

    Congrats on the baby, too!!

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  24. Here's hoping hoping hoping the rest of your pregnancy goes peacefully and smooth. (Never been pregnant, so I've got no words of wisdom for you.) :)

    I am SOOOO sorry about your kitty! I hope he comes home to you. Hugs.

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  25. Poor Charlie! I hope he turns up! I am so glad you're doing well with this pregnancy!! Stay off your feet as much as possible! 150 degrees?!? WOW!!! Happy ICLW! (#75)

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  26. Oh, Charlie where are you? Here, kitty, kitty!

    I believe the 150 degree thing. I visited Egypt in July and it was wicked hot!

    ~Jem (ICLW #56)

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  27. Thanks for finding me through ICLW. I clearly have a lot of reading to do to catch up on your journey. Congrats on your pregnancy! (And enjoy your energy, even though you feel lazy and tired!)

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  28. Oh no - poor Charlie! I hope he's ok!

    Glad your pregnancy is going well. Great BP - I am so nervous about mine in the coming weeks...

    ICLW
    http://daega99-arewethereyet.blogspot.com/

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  29. What a beautiful kitty! I will be keeping Charlie in my thoughts and prayers!!

    Happy ICLW

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  30. Oh no!! Poor kitty. I hope he comes home. One of our cats got out and was gone for two days and I went crazy looking for her. I was out at 3 AM shaking food and calling her. I later found out she was inside with another family. I finally got her back and she now wears a collar with her name and our phone number and a bell so I can always hear her coming and she can't sneak past me and get out of the house.

    Congratulations on your pregnancy!!

    Thank you for stopping by my blog.

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  31. Congrats on your pregnancy!

    The joys of the GD test. My fasting was so high that I ended up skipping the nasty drink and going straight to insulin shots! I hope you avoid the GD all together!

    from ICLW

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  32. Good Luck on your GD testing. Hopefully you get a good flavored drink to drink. I'm sorry to read about your poor Charlie. That is so inhumane about the chicken heads. I hope that he comes back. Losing a furbaby is like losing a member of the family... :(

    ICLW #23

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