2 Little Lines… a GIANT catch up post

Catch up blog post… Attempt #42 (sometime in July 2013)

Sitting at our cottage dining table, gazing out at the dove gray skies and moody green waves, enjoying every breath of fresh, salty ocean air, I can finally reflect upon the past five months that somehow feel as though they’ve both flown by and crept along at a snail’s pace. I’m so far behind on documenting our days, so I will do my best to provide a thorough, but “brief” catch up post of our highlights, thus far, during the year of the Snake.We have wrapped up our second year in Shanghai, and I am thrilled to say that it has been much more enjoyable than the first. While aspects of the city and culture can still overwhelm and frustrate us, we’ve looked for the silver linings and have found many more enjoyable parts of Shanghai. We still absolutely LOVE our school and friends, and for that we could not be more thankful. Isaac taught art and drama this year, and being back in the arts full time was such a joy for him! My second year in first grade was much more comfortable, as I now have a much better understanding of those cute little creatures that were so foreign to me last year (aka first graders)- ha! Once again I was blessed with an incredible group of kiddos, and had such a fun year watching them learn and grow. My teaching team worked so incredibly together and I feel so fortunate to have planned and taught alongside such fabulous ladies!

In May, while Mom was visiting, we went house hunting in the Kangqiao Ban Dao neighborhood, where many of our coworkers live. We had been warned that trying to find a suitable house could be a long and tedious process, and therefore to be prepared to look at 30 or more (yikes!) before finding a keeper. Luckily, the second house we looked at was fabulous, and we are now thrilled to call it home! Our realtor, John, took us to three houses in all (that’s got to be some sort of all time record!), and we were so certain about the second one that we e-mailed him later that night. Unlike our lengthy purchase process with the cottage (7 months and MANY bumps along the way… grumble, grumble), we were able to set up a rental agreement with the landlord and get the keys the very next day! Hooray!

(pictures to come)

Our house is towards the back of the development, just a block off of a canal. Far from traffic noise, all we can hear are the happy tweets of the numerous birds that flit and flutter about our garden. The house itself has been completely remodeled inside, and not one corner of the place has even the slightest hint of tacky or bizarre Chinese decor. YES! The walls are all white, with tasteful crown molding, and the entire house has hardwood floors, minus the tiled bathrooms and kitchen. There are 3 stories, four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a western kitchen, 3 terraces, and a deck which you can access from two of our downstairs rooms. The backyard is fenced, and while the garden resembles more of a jungle than anything else at this point, we know it will be lovely once the weeds are taken care of. The entire back of the house is covered with ivy, and I could not be more thrilled about this charming detail. The house came completely unfurnished, so we’re looking forward to putting our own spin on the place! Most of the rooms remain unfurnished at this point, but we will take care of that when we return to Shanghai in August and that first paycheck arrives. IKEA, here we come! The first month we’ve spent in the house was so relaxing, and I can honestly say I do not miss our Haifu apartment or the complex even the tiniest bit. Farewell and good riddance to the honking, spitting, construction noise, pee-spotted elevators, and hauling everything up to the 14th floor!

Miller… such a good helper =)

Moving day…

 

While the this year has brought us many wonderful blessings, the greatest, without a doubt, is the little girl I have growing in my belly!  Isla Grace (pronounced “eye-la”) is due October 25th and we cannot wait to meet our little pumpkin! She is undoubtedly the greatest contributing factor to my lack of blogging, as the morning sickness that often accompanies the first trimester of pregnancy nearly wiped me out. Once you miss a few months, the ability to catch up while working and moving is nearly impossible. But, now it is summer, and we have glorious, beautiful free time! So, here I will do my best to  recount the first 22 weeks of pregnancy. (HA! Apparently not, as it is now August and we are 30 weeks along… good try, me!)

Wed, Feb 20– heart racing, stopped at the Watson’s pharmacy down the road from school and bought a handful of pregnancy tests. Went home, gulped water and took 2 pregnancy tests… first had a faint 2nd line, second test so faint you could barely see it. Isaac couldn’t believe I had taken the test without him. I had so hoped I’d be able to surprise him with good news… while I was prepared for that all too familiar negative result, I hadn’t thought about the possibility that the test may be inconclusive.

Thurs, Feb 21… both Isaac and I were awake by 4:45 am, too filled with anxiety and anticipation to sleep. Laid quietly together until 5:00 and then I got up and took the third test. 2nd line was lighter than the control, but it was definitely there. Oh, seeing those two little lines filled my heart with more emotion than I’ve ever experienced before. Best hug in the bathroom! Called Nana J on facetime to tell her the news.

Mon, Feb 25 went in to have a confirmation blood test. As the nurse was gathering everything together I asked her, “We’ll find out the results tonight, right?” “Oh no, we have to send the blood to a lab to get the results. At the earliest we’ll know tomorrow.” I think she could see our hearts sink because she then smiled and added, “I’ll ask them to call you immediately with the results.” and scribbled a note at the top of the page.

Tues, Feb 26 the phone rang in the middle of literacy centers and I raced back to my desk and pounced on it. I ducked down behind my computer screen for a bit of privacy. A doctor confirmed we were pregnant and said the levels looked great. He congratulated me several times. I quickly called Isaac and simply said, “It’s confirmed.” Then whispered, “Congratulations, Daddy.” He cried. My heart melted. Then I cried.

6 weeks-11.5 weeks… I was sick. Bleh. I lived in a constant state of car-sickness-like nausea. Had about 20 minutes of normalcy from the moment I woke up, and it always hit me mid-shampoo in the shower. It was hard to make it through some days, and there were points I could barely crawl to the couch at 4:30. Still, I made it through the hairiest of days without vomiting- woo hoo!8 week appt- SO excited! First look couldn’t see anything because my bladder was so full. Yikes! Our hearts really sank there for a second until we realized what the issue was. Second attempt, there was Baby, a little peanut. So precious! I will never forget the excitement in Isaac’s eyes as he looked from the screen to me. How I love that man! We could see the tiny heart racing and hearing the heartbeat was incredible! Dr. Lu Ferguson commented on what a strong heartbeat Baby has. AMAZING doesn’t even begin to describe those precious moments.We took a celebratory walk through Century park…Just before 12 weeks (and spring break trip to Vietnam) I started to feel much better. Hallelujah! Still tired, but much less sick. Went to Vietnam and enjoyed every moment of the trip… and every one of those fresh, icy pineapple smoothies I consumed! Phu Quoc is an incredible little island!

12 week appt– saw Baby on the ultrasound, shocked that it looked like a real little person! Giggled at the profile and developed nose (of course! It is our baby after all.). Baby was flailing about, but refused to show the doctor the back of its neck, which she wanted to see as part of the chromosomal disorder screening. We took a break, went and had a lovely Thai lunch and walked around in the sunshine for an hour. Went back and baby was in a better position for the Down’s test. All looked good from measurements. Later got a call that all blood work came back looking great as well. Hooray! After the appointment we excitedly walked to Starbucks so that we could use their internet and announce our big news to the world- a much anticipated event!!! Starbucks was packed, Internet was completely difficult, but we eventually posted our news. In the process of all the hubbub I managed to leave without our ultrasound photo… so disappointed=(.

Final moments with the ultrasound photo… d’oh!

 

Mid 15th week– started feeling a little bubbly feeling… Baby, is that you???

16 week appt– Didn’t expect to get an ultrasound, but Dr. Lu Ferguson asked if we wanted to know the baby’s gender and then whisked us away to the ultrasound room. We were giddy! As she set up the ultrasound, Dr. Lu Ferguson asked what we thought we were having. I explained boy and the pencil test, and Isaac had thought it was a girl. But, just as last time, Baby was not interested in cooperating and had his/her back turned to us the entire time. Dr even switched on the 4D ultrasound, but Baby wouldn’t show us anything but its backside… cutest back of the head, little ears, neck and shoulders we’ve ever seen!

Tried inverting the table and propping my hips up on my hands, but Baby still wasn’t interested in showing us anything back the back of its head. Dr. Lu Ferguson suggested the internal ultrasound- not glamorous, but at that point I was so eager to find out that I didn’t care. Started looking and sure enough baby’s legs were glued together. Modest! Dr. Lu Ferguson and the ultrasound tech looked at the baby’s pelvis for a while, murmuring in agreement with one another. For a split second Dr. Lu Ferguson got a peek at the baby’s underside. “Oh, it’s a girl.” She said, sounding almost surprised herself. Rewinding the feed and freezing the image she looked again and said, “Yep, that’s a girl.” Isaac, with a surprised but happy smile, lips pursed, grabbed my foot and looked back at me. I was floored. Dr spent a few more moments examining the ultrasound and said she was pretty certain- “maybe 80%” but not to buy everything just yet as we would confirm at the 20 week appointment.

June 1– First DEFINITE kicks! AHHHHHHH!!!!!

June 3– Daddy feels a kick. Heart melted again! What a strong little pumpkin we have=).

June 4– more kicks… so incredible to know that there truly is this little life inside me. Love this baby so much already. As I stood at the sick washing celery this afternoon Baby gave a few little kicks and I found myself smiling and saying “Hello, Baby.” aloud to it. So thrilled to have this strong and active little Baby who gifts me with such frequent reminders that he/she is here, growing and developing. My heart is so full. Oh, and the tears. So much emotion lately… even more so than usual, as I am a crier already!

20 week appointment– Baby is healthy and confirmed to be a girl. Isla Grace, our baby GIRL!!!

And here is when we left for Summer break… I wish I had taken better notes during this time…

Isla continues to be an excellent kicker! My mom felt Isla kick for the first time on the night of my birthday. Isla gave her LOTS of BIG kicks on 4th of July. Such a precious moment to share… 3 generations =). Every time I laid out in the sun, with belly exposed, Isla would kick up a storm… my little sunshine lover. Spent hours imagining the fun we’re going to have together at the cottage and beach.

Skip ahead to now… we are just over 3o weeks. Our wonderful doctor moved clinics, and due to the exorbitant prices of the new clinic, we needed to find a new doctor. I saw one at our original clinic but she was just not the right fit for us. We made an appointment with Dr. Kong, who comes highly recommended from many friends here (she’s delivered just about every SCIS Pudong baby in the last 10+ years). We had our first appointment yesterday and LOVED her, our midwife, and the nurses. SO thankful, as changing doctors during our first pregnancy, in a foreign country, this late in the pregnancy was a fairly large source of stress. That stress melted away within minutes of walking into our appointment. As if loving our new caretakers wasn’t enough, we were treated to these INCREDIBLE 4D ultrasound photos of our Isla…

 

 

 

 

I cannot get over how beautiful she is! I love those chubby little cheeks already!!! My eyes welled with tears throughout the ultrasound… so, so thankful! Everything felt so much more real once we saw her little face. Our sonographer excitedly jumped up and down, announcing that Isla has lots of long hair! I couldn’t believe it. She focused on the top of her head and showed us the hair. Additionally, Isla is “head down” (hooray!), weighs 1.6kg, and right on track. Mommy, however, was diagnosed with gestational diabetes a few weeks earlier (boo!), but we suspect this is due to my indulgence of evil (but yummy) foods at home over the summer. Got my diabetes test and will now be monitoring my blood sugar 4 times a day. Not the most fun, but worth it to ensure our little pumpkin is healthy.

Whew! Okay. There we are. More or less, caught up. Not eloquently, I might add, but at least I now feel I have a jumping off point for future posting. Feels good to be back =).