31 Weeks!

Labs are good! I don't have gestational diabetes!!!! The only thing that was a little low was my calcium which is crazy because of all the milk and yogurt consumed during this time. Even my iron managed to stay strong. Looks like I will be upping the supplements and milk drinking. (Bleh. the milk here is gross!)

Only a few things new on the pregnancy front. The weeks keep going by faster and faster which makes me feel a little underprepared. One day I'm completely ready for her to be here and the next minute I freak out. I assume this is normal for any pregnancy.

Her bags are packed and ready to go. The other day I went through all the baby stuff and picked out some outfits for her to wear in the hospital. Many of you may be thinking why I need to do this. Well the hospital doesn't provide clothes, diapers and other random things. This makes packing that much harder! I want to throw everything in her bag and the thought, "well what if she needs that or this."

So her bag is filled with the following:

Onesies
Sleepers with the footies
Socks- Brazilians are crazy about babies wearing socks at all times
Hats
Burp rags
Blankets
Little grooming kit
Shampoo/Lotion
Diapers
Wipes
Changing pad
Sacks for dirty diapers

I am sure that I am forgetting something but that should at least get her through the first few days. The problem lies with the fact that we haven't toured the hospital yet and we have no idea how long a normal pregnancy is required to stay in the hospital. I still want the bags packed that way it's one less thing for us to worry about.

I have even started packing my bag for the hospital but it's a little difficult since I need all those clothes now! So far I only have the bare necessities which doesn't matter  because I know I can go without for a few days. I guess that's the new mom mode. Take care of everyone but yourself....

Today Nate and I are off to Rio together for the next three to four days. He has a few meetings that we need to attend so I am going to tag along :) I just can't bear to not see for another short stint away! Can I claim crazy hormones on this one? Nah. I am sure you all know that this normal Sara.

Tchau,
Sara

No beach?

The beach changes everyday but today there isn't a beach! The top two photos are of the beach on a normal day and the bottom two are from today. At some point I think the waves will crash over the boardwalk.... Crazy!

Belly itches and other stuff

A bunch of random things are going on these days so here's a post to jumble them all together.

Nate finally made it home on Friday and we had a little date night. We went to an Italian restaurant that we haven't been to yet in Macae, surprisingly. It's nothing special but it's one of those places that you never think to go until it's too late. Anyway, the food was expensive but good. I ordered wrong for the first time in a very long time. The list was confusing and I didn't pay much attention but I thought I was ordered pasta and it turned out to be bruchetta. Little pieces of bread with gorgonzola on them. The list said pastas so I blame them :) not me not paying attention!

Dinner went great until I saw a rat the size of a small cat scampering on the pipes by the ceiling. Sad to say but I was more intrigued then appalled. This is Macae and you can expect anything. The same standards that I have heard come from Rio and Sao Paulo do not exit here and they come at a higher price. Nate fought me on what I saw but I know a rat when I see one. Turns out the hill that the restaurant occupies has problems with rat infestations. Gross but what are you going to do? Kinda sucks though to spend almost USD$100 for two appetizers, a small pizza, two waters and a beer for Nate only to watch the rat show.

Saturday Nate suggested that we walk on the board walk and I almost had a heart attack. He never wants to walk with me on a Saturday morning. We ended up running into friends and decided to have lunch with them which turned into an all day event involving the Hangover 2 and dinner out with even more friends.

For me the past few days my belly has been itching like crazy and I cannot put enough shea butter on it! Now will be the point where I get stretch marks because I am an over filled balloon. I recently went through my closet to find shirt that actually fit over my expanding waist line which didn't go so well. I am very limited at this point and the weather keeps getting colder. Things are going to get interesting in the next few months!

I found out that I am missing two critical shirts in my closet. I have no idea what I could have done with them. The search will continue and until then it's going to drive me crazy. Two actual maternity shirts that I recently bought are missing :( Easy thing would be to blame Claudia but I am absent minded enough to lose things on mine own. Tomorrow I will ask her though if she has seen them because maybe she put them in a weird place.

The weather is actually cold! For me at least. I think Nate is loving not sweating every moment of the day. For me this means long pants and a long sleeve shirt. Possibly even a jacket for the evening. When we went to the movie theater the place even had the heater on! Only in Brazil! Honestly I think it's only in the upper 60's but when your used to upper 90's that a big change.

Not much else going on right now just a lazy Sunday planned.

Tchau,
Sara

Come home!

I want Nate to come home! Yesterday his meeting got postponed and so he had to stay another night in Rio :( Now he is waiting around to take another guy back to Macae with him. I cannot wait for the day his traveling ceases but I fear that it will always be part of our lives. At least it's not as bad as it used to be when he first started with the company six years ago. I don't think we ever saw each other!

Now days his traveling goes in spurts where he spends a few days away at a time but nothing like the old day which exceeded 30 days. It's weird how you get trained to miss them less the more time they spend away. At first you miss them like crazy and then numbness settles in as it becomes a regular event.

When you know they are coming home the response to 'want them home now' kicks in. All emotional barriers break down and your mind allows you to feel. In my case it means tears over stupid things. For example, crying over not wanting to walk to the store to get food but I have no food and I am hungry. The thought process behind that set of tears was if Nate were home then he could take me to the store. Then I begin to miss him more. Ahhhh emotions you are killing me!!!

Waiting for Nate while eating pasta.

Tchau,
Sara

How much longer?

This morning I casually turned on the computer to check my labs from this Monday morning to find nothing is ready. It won't be ready until Monday!! What? Why seven days? Then I started to check what I was actually being tested for besides the blood sugar and urine....

1. Complete blood count including Hematocrit, hemoglobin... blah blah blah
2. Toxoplasmosis. Again (So glad they check it again)
3. Cytomeglovirus. Again (Same for this!)
4. Rubeola. Again- I was immune the first time around so I guess just to double check. Glad either way.
5. Iron (Cross my fingers this is good)
6. Calcium (Been taking extra extra supplements not to mention tons of yogurt!)
7. Blood Sugar
8. Typical urine and culture

Ok. Still, seven days for these? I can buy an at home monitor and check my blood sugar in less than a minute. Not to mention I know that urine doesn't take that long in the lab either so why not post those results a little sooner? Maybe I am being impatient but I want to know!

As for the other labs. Yes, I am curious to know the results. Especially since you can get toxoplasmosis from fruits, veggies, and some meats down here and not just from cats litter boxes like in the US. This one actually has me freaked out if I really think about it. Even though I try to play the ignorant patient sometimes I can't pull it off.

I guess I just going to have to be patient for the next five days. Oh and just to blow your minds- I am almost 8 months pregnant!! Can't wait till week 34 when lung maturity is at it's peak and then I can rest easy.

Patiently waiting patient :)

Tchau,
Sara

Nate's in Rio

Once again Nate travels to Rio for a few days. Back in the day I used to follow him but now the trip is just to much for me. I can barely handle driving down to see the doctor! He should be back by Thursday which leaves me with just a few nights without him.

Funny to say that I can't sleep very good when Nate is here because we both take up the whole bed but when he is gone I struggle just as much. For some reason I have gotten so used to him being by my side that it's hard to live without. I guess that's a good thing right?

In the mean time I have plans of my own to keep me occupied. Tomorrow I will be golfing with the girls which I know is going to wear me out and then I will sleep really good from exhaustion. Then on Thursday I have a ladies night dinner to say goodbye to a friend who is going home for a couple of months. In between trips to the grocery store, walks and laundry I think my days will be full enough to not miss Nate too much.

On to catch up on girly tv shows that Nate doesn't like!

Tchau,
Sara

30 weeks 1 day

I took two pics to show you what I look like from the front and the side. If you look close you can see my shirt is working so hard it's almost see through! Not to mention it barely covers my whole belly. I am loving being pregnant and can't believe what joy this whole experience has brought to my life. I love you Belle!

Tchau,
Sara

I love my concentrating face.... Cracks me up!

Glucose Tolerance- Round 2

This morning Nate and I finally crawled out of bed after snoozing for an hour to drive into centro for my labs. We tried to do this last week but neither one of us wanted to go and since we have both determined that Dr. J has a crazy streak we didn't think the labs we too pressing. Needless to say this morning we were both tempted to post-pone the test again.

Good thing we did snooze because the lab changed location. Luckily the website was finally updated and we got the new address but unfortunately they didn't update the hours. We arrived right at 7am for the doors to open and already four people deep in line. A woman starting telling me that I was in the wrong place in line to get my number and that this other guy should be in front of me.... uhhhh, ok. Could she not see that I was pregnant and I get to cut in front of all of them so it really doesn't matter. After I did what she said I talked to the lady and the front and was the first served :) I didn't make any friends this morning but who cares when you know you have to be there for two hours. Nate wants me to be pregnant forever while we are in Brazil for all the preferential treatment we receive which deserves a post on it's own.

Then it was time to pay but they take cash/check only now where they used to accept debit/credit. I talked to her to let me start the test that way Nate could run to the ATM.... simple right? Wrong. On the fourth ATM Nate attempted to withdrawal money from he finally found one that had money. I just don't get that three different ATM's throughout the city can just not have money? Even the ones at the bank! O'well, by the time he returned my test was done and we could go home. I doubt that Nate wanted to wait with me anyway and I don't want to wait with him while he continues to wake up.

The test itself suck as usual. The fasting is terrible by itself but then you drink an extremely disgusting sugar drink. After that Belle went crazy! I should have video taped my belly and all the weird things that were going on. About an hour into the test I started to get really dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out. I think that was the sugar crash. My body probably freaked out with all that sugar and dumped a large amount of insulin. Then tried to stabilize a little late. Either way this test does weird stuff to me. Same thing happened last time.

I just hope that since I have been such an ass about the whole test that it really does come back negative! I will find out in four days so I have a few days to feel good. Can't worry about something you don't know right? Well off to do some laundry and other things to keep me busy and useful.

Tchau,
Sara

International Insurance

Ever wonder how our medical experiences here go or how what's covered and how we even file claims?

When we moved down to Brazil the company switched us from a US plan to the International coverage from CIGNA. Basically we can go anywhere in the world, except the US, and we are 100% covered for all treatments including holistic approaches. When we enter the US the coverage switches to 80% covered when in network with 100% coverage on preventative tests. Not bad huh?

Once we have Belle, she will be 100% covered in the US and anywhere in the world. This means that I will not only have a pediatrician here in Brazil but I will also search for one in the US. Just to cover all of my bases. Of course this depends on how much I trust the medical advice I am receiving here in Brazil. If I don't agree or feel that procedures done are in Belle best interest I will consult with a pediatrician in the US. Why not? It's all free so who wouldn't if they could.

Anyway, back to the insurance part of the blog entry. Once Nate and I visit a doctor they ask us how we will be paying since we are not Brazilian. Most offices do not have credit card machines and therefore we are left paying with cash or check. Our ultrasound office does accept credit cards, thankfully, but the others don't. We then hand over our Brazilian version of a social security card, our cash and wait patiently for an official receipt.

The official receipt, nota fiscal, can then be used for reimbursement by our insurance company. Once we get home I scan the document, sign into the insurance website and submit the claim on-line. It takes about one week for us to receive our reimbursement via electronic transfer of funds. Here's the best part of it all- We pay up front for our services in Brazilian reais but we are reimbursed to our US bank account in US dollars. Great way to avoid money transfer fees and exchange rate fees!!

So far the process of it all proves to be very simple. The only thing I worry about is when we have to pay the hospital upfront the total amount for the big day.... That's going to be interesting! Right now we pleasantly surprised by how cheap services are down here.

Approximate pricing:

Doctor Visit (She's expensive from what I hear): R400 =  USD 248
Ultrasound: R 350 = USD 217
Labs (basic urine test): R 30 = USD 18.60
Lab (glucose tolerance): R 50 = USD 31
Lab (extensive blood): R 650 = USD 403

Not bad if you ask me. There are no hidden lab fees or cost to random people that you don't know about.  I think that overall though the cost to have a baby here is the same to have a baby in the US based on recent friends calculations. The only thing is that no matter the cost we get it all back :)

So that's our medical stuff in a nutshell.  Right now, I am in the process of determining if all of our massages can be reimbursed... to be continued.

Tchau,
Sara

Belle's a Mover!

Just in case your wondering what the new addition's personality is like, I am going to tell you. I think we are in for some trouble. Constant movement at all hours so were not going to have an easy going kid or a lazy one. Recently she found my ribs and loves using my bladder for a trampoline. At any given hour you can find my stomach moving and Belle trying to find comfortable spot to run.

She starts out moving bright and early to wake me. Usually she does this by wedging herself under my ribs  and then stretching out to kick my full bladder. It feels that she knows exactly what she is doing. I can hear her say, "get up mom because I am hungry and this full bladder you have is really cramping my space." I then stumble awake to get some hot tea and breakfast which sends her into overdrive.

This goes on throughout the day. The only time she isn't moving is when I am moving or at least I cannot feel her. If I sit for too long she gets angry that she can't stretch so I end up walking around or clean when I am at home. Good thing I still don't have a car because she loves the daily walks to the fruit market and grocery store. This usually appeases her for a few hours before the cycle begins again for dinner.

The good thing about her moving around so much is that Nate really gets a chance to be a part of everything. At night after dinner we catch up on some DVR and play with Belle. Most of the time by finding out where she is laying. We have both determined we can feel her head or butt and not sure how to tell the difference. It feels sorta-of like two tennis balls spaced apart with random kicks and hits.

Recently the hiccups show up a regular intervals. At first I thought my heart beat was really strong or that she was compromised in some way which freak me out! Then I realized that the beating had an irregular pattern so either my heart is off or it's not my heart. I completely forgot about hiccups presenting around this gestational age but then quickly made the connection.

The hiccups used to be cute but now they happen so often that I almost get annoyed with the slightly off rhythmic movement. It does provide me reassurance that she growing and her lung/diaphragm muscles are working hard so that eases the annoyance. This muscle development means that not only will she be constantly moving but possibly being able to voice her opinion whether we want it or not. Of course these are all guesses but it's better to be prepared than underprepared! Thankfully from what we know she is healthy!

That's Belle in a nutshell :)

Tchau,
Sara