News to Me

Each day I feel like I have a new revelation about life, Brazil, pregnancy and simple tasks. Here are just a few of them.

1. Toilet paper does not work as a substitute for paper towels. Thought I would try since every store in Macae has been out of stock for a week. This is where 'buy it when you see it' comes into play. Unfortunately my stock was empty.

2.  The kitchen timer only works when you are close enough to hear it. Which means don't go upstairs close the door and turn on the tv expecting to remember the food downstairs.

3. Cheap hotdogs are a huge no no in pregnancy. I guess I should have known since they are really not good for you when your not pregnant. A little late in the pregnancy to find this out but the list of no no's is really long these days.

4. The brie cheese that I have been avoiding is actually pasteurized down here so I can eat it! So I was eating the bad and holding off on the good. You can't do everything right. It will give Belle character I think.

5. I can no longer get out of the shower by sliding opening one door. I have to open them both. Even then I think the bigger I get the harder it's going to be to get out both. Somebody get the baby oil. Gross- sorry.

6. My increasing tummy size makes a great folding table for clothes. It also makes a great food catcher. I now find stains on the middle of my shirt from some sauce that dripped.

7. I can play 18 holes of golf, walking the course, but I cannot sit in a restaurant for three hours without pain and getting cranky.

8. Ordering water while everyone else is ordering a beer causes confusion in the waiter who always forgets me. I have gotten used to asking twice and sometimes three.

9. Trying to do things for Nate makes him frustrated because I am pregnant and he should be doing them. We both feel bad. Me for not working all day and him because of the baby.

10. Men think that I will break just because I am pregnant. Sure there are some things that I can't do but for the most part I am fine! My golf caddie told me not to jump up and down when I made a great chip on the green. Then he told me not to run.... ??? Por que? This goes with my doctor too. She told me not to get my heart rate up- uhhh are you practicing in the 1950's? This is 2011 and pregnant women run marathons these days.

11. The pears, apples and plums never expire here in Brazil. I swear I have had a pear in my fruit basket weeks and it's still good.

12. The revelations are over. I probably should have saved the best for last but I just wrote them as they came to mind.

Have a great Saturday!

Tchau,
Sara

Preemie in Brazil

A question everyone asks is, "Are you going to have the baby in Brazil?" The next question asked is, "Are you scared?" To answer quick I say yes we are having the baby in Rio and yes I am scared.

It's very hard for me to distinguish normal pregnancy fears from ones that I am feeling by having the baby in another country. My field of work before moving here doesn't help the nightmares. I have images of past cuties that I have had the pleasure of taking care of. The fear isn't of having an extreme preemie, it's that if I were to go into labor right now my baby would not live. In the US I wouldn't have this fear. Here are a couple of my preemies.

Josh at 23wks gestational age weighing 245g = 0.5lb

(meaning that Belle currently is 6wks older than this little boy born already. Look at your hand- that's the size of this little one and the diaper he is wearing, which is too big, is the size of a maxi pad)

 Lauren at roughly 29wks she had a twin brother who was just as cute!! She was actually born at 25 wks  with her brother. (This is where Belle would more than likely be at. Those stickers on )

 Ellie somewhere in the 30's and probably 33wks??

You probably can't tell from the photos but the babies in each of the pictures the breathing support decrease with the increase in age. The first photo the infant was on full ventilatory support. Second by CPAP (continuous positive air pressure), which adults who have sleep apnea are sometime prescribed a BiPAP which is only worn at night. The third infant is on nasal cannula which most people are familiar with from tv. 

Anyway, the point of the mini lesson is that in Macae there isn't a NICU. Scare the hell out me, I just want to scream when I think about it. Rio on the other hand does have one. When I tried to open dialogue with my Dr. about NICU concerns she dismissed them telling me I had nothing to worry about. I then reached across the table and slapped her while screaming that I was a NICU RN!!! JUST KIDDING but that was the thought running through my head as I calmly told her what I did. I still don't think she heard a word I said and continues to think I have little to zero knowledge about babies. Sad to say that I probably know more than her in this area.

Of course these worries are completely outrageous because in my unit we only saw the 0.01% of the births in all of the US. The worst of the worst. I could tell you stories that would may you vomit and then pass out. I keep reminding myself that while premature birth does happen it doesn't happen to everyone. 

I just had to get that fear off of my chest. Now I can move forward and continue my healthy pregnancy. I really have to say that I have a whole new respect for those mothers and fathers of NICU babies. I honestly don't know how they do it.

Tchau,

Sara

28 weeks 3/7 days

I woke up this morning and felt extremely large and in charge. As the day progresses I only feel larger! Let the count down begin :) so crazy to think that I am in the last few stages. I do have worries but I will write about them later. I try not to dwell on them even though they creep into my dreams and disrupt my sleep!

Tchau,
Sara

PS- I hope this pic redeems me as a normal person. Last night Nate told me, "Your last three post's don't put you in a good light. First you get chased by an 8 inch owl, then you cry all day, and finally you fart in public!" It really made me laugh so I hope you all got a kick out of it too!

Dear Pregnancy,

Dear Pregnancy,

I really appreciate the opportunity that you have given me to procreate. I understand how hard the decision must have been. Throughout this journey I feel that you have spared me from some awful times. So far the only real bugger of a symptom, that visit's occasionally, is heartburn. Needless to say I feel that you treat me pretty well. With that being said I have one request.

Please don't embarrass me anymore. Today while golfing, you allowed the gas you've given me to make a public debut. In front of my caddie. During a practice swing. Hard to pull that one off when your standing on grass. No, 'I am sorry that must have been the chair' excuses, just silence where we both look at each other and try to move on from the awkwardness.

If you promise to keep the gas private from now on I promise to not complain for the last 12 weeks. It's one thing for this to happen during a pregnancy yoga class filled with other ticking time bombs but in front of a 20 year male who doesn't speak English, have a kid, or wife. Seriously, you pulled a fast one on me. I will be watching you with a careful eye but as promised I will not complain.

Thank you for your consideration and time. Have a wonderful day.

Tchau,
Sara

You've got me feeling- Emotions

Uh ya. I guess that the emotional part of the pregnancy hormones are kicking in. The overwhelming feeling of motherhood found itself a home. Today I have cried twice over stupid things.

1. Nate being gone again. Last week he was in Salvador for three days and now he is in Rio for two days. Not a big deal. I have friends and things to do but for some reason his absence keeps tugging at my heart strings.

2. The Goldman case from the Dateline special. I watched it this morning and couldn't stop crying. If you haven't heard about this case, here is the down and dirty. Boy marries Brazilian woman and they move to New Jersey, have kids and a life. She visits home to Brazil with their son and then makes a phone call to tell the father their relationship is done. She wants a divorce. As the courts battle to find custody, the mother dies while giving birth to a daughter from her new Brazilian husband (cried here and then got scared about my own...). The family refuses to give the son back to the biological father back home in New Jersey. More courts decisions and finally after five years of battling the father is finally reunited. (cried here too)

I guess stories of being a mother or father tear away at me starting today. We will see how long this emotional roller coaster will last. Lets just hope that the angry pregnancy hormones don't show their face! Bless Nate!

I am going to find a box of tissues now.

Tchau,
Sara

National Geographic

This morning I did a beach walk but took my camera that way I could potentially capture Mr. and Mrs. Sticks. This one's for you mom :) You told me to get up close and personal like National Geographic.

Here he is on morning watch.

 Dumb me inching forward thanks to mom's advice.

 Closer.

 Mrs. Sticks getting pissed off at how close I was. Once again THANKS MOM :) I guess Mr. Sticks told her to get her ass up here cause some crazy woman is getting dangerously close to the burrow.

 Snapping one last photo as her sharp piercing cries lead me to scamper off like a school girl. Except I am not. I am 7 months pregnant. Awkward and unsure.

Alright kids. You better be happy about this one. I can hear the newscaster now:

Cue deep male broadcaster voice.

 Are you safe on the Beaches of Brazil? (long pause) Find out what led to one woman's death up next. 

All in a days work for me. Hope the weekend goes great.

Tchau,

Sara

Update for Macae

Back by popular demand- The sticks family. Last year the family had the perfect look out spot for their burrow. It was great for me too because then I could see their little sticks or to be technical, legs. When the grass gets too long workers invade the area to cut the grass and the Sticks family goes into hiding. They found a new home but it makes it difficult to capture their true cuteness. 

To date I know that Mr. Sticks is still happily married to Mrs. Sticks. I have not see the third party lover or possible offspring hanging around. Below here is Mr. Sticks on the look out. Most of the time he is here and Mrs. Sticks can be found somewhere on the beach.... sounds like Nate and I. He goes to work and I play :) Sometimes early in the evening you can see them flying close to our house to hunt or just spread their wings. 

This photo was taken with the highest zoom my camera would take at 12x optical. Not my new camera, which I think still has the same zoom capabilities because I don't have a zoom lens yet, but with my canon powershot. Even still you can barely see him hiding in the center of the picture as the grass meets the beach.

 If I zoom out this is the full view of their home.

Awhile back you may remember Brazil had some crazy rain that brought down out beach path. To this day damage is still being done and our beach looks so sad :(

That whole area used to have the wooden path on the edge accompanied by an asphalt walking path and then a bike path. Now, as you can see the area is completely destroyed.

 The city has redirected the foot path onto on lane of the street. The bike path appears intact but the support below suffered tremendous damage. 

 Our new little path. Blah. Such a sad thing to happen.

 The pictures really just don't do justice to the damage.

That's Macae in a nutshell these days. Unfortunately nothing new to report in the city. Actually, this happened while we went to the US but it caused quite the uproar. The bank workers went on strike.

Apparently some gang member was killed in Rio which cased some backlash in Macae. No biggie for us  but the workers took this as reason to strike saying they didn't feel safe. Why this is important in this day in age with online banking and ATM's on every corner. Well in Brazil, in Macae, not everyone has access to internet and not to mention a computer. Their bills, cash checks, get money are all dependent on a physical visit to the bank. The bank hours are 11am-3pm with a lunch break as it is so many people have to leave work to do their business, which could possibly lead to making less money.

Anyway, all bank activity ceased. The ATM's were scarce with money and most of my friends said that the ATM's would be with out money for days leaving them with no cash. Minor problem for people who have access to debit cards or credit cards but think of the family's that depend on that cash. The week I returned the banks went off strike.... Let me repeat. When I returned. That means that the banks were on strike for over a month!!! WTH?? Seriously. 

The day the banks opened lines around the block formed. I don't think a single Brazilian went to work that day beside the bankers :) Now the day to day bank business sees the normal amount of activity and all the ATM's have money. I am very thankful that even if we would have been here that it wouldn't have effected my family. Thought I would share the random struggles some people endure. 

Have a great weekend!

Tchau,

Sara

Finished Product

I picked up Nate's new sign this afternoon! Looks great huh? Nate's little corner :) above his man grill. When we have cookouts this really is his little corner! I wish I could have put grill master or something like that on it but I didn't think about it at the time.

Tchau,
Sara

Golfin

Off to play golf. This was the only thing I could find to wear. I blame myself really. If only I would have let myself go into the maternity stores! I doubt though that the market for pregnant womens golf clothes is very big :) wish me luck keeping up the energy. I know next week I enter the third trimester and the being tired starts all over again!

Tchau,
Sara

Hustled

Last week for Nate's birthday, yes he turned the dirty 30, I bought him a handmade and painted sign for his outdoor grilling area. There is a guy who sells these treasures around our corner and I pick one out without knowing exactly what is meant except for the 'of barbecue' part of it. I thought, well if I know 66% of the sign it should be good. I also knew that the top word had something to do with little. 

We asked a few people and were told the top word meant little corner. So the sign meant "Little Corner Barbeque". Not bad right? Wrong of course. Turns out the top word is misspelled! I was pissed when I found out!! I got all worked up and rehearsed what I was going to say to the dirty man. 

After lunch I went to the corner and told the man the sign was wrong and I wanted a new one. He laughed. Took the sign and told me he could change it.... Yes, it was that easy. We talked about what to put on the sign and we decided for it to say Nate's little corner. Cantinho do Nate. I can pick up the finished product tomorrow! 

I will post a picture of the new sign tomorrow. What a great day!! I love when things go easier than planned. I guess when you anticipate a huge problem then things can only look up :)

Tchau,

Sara