Today I met with a fellow pregnant expat, who’s about as far along as I am. I didn’t notice, but people must have given us a second look as we both waddled over to use the bathroom at Cilantro before walking to Nile Stock, bellies in the air, to see if they still had the Motherhood overstock maternity tops left.
After this get-together I rushed home to feed the family, and myself, lunch, and then I hurried over to the clinic for my regular check-up with Dr. Tareq. With flushed cheeks, slightly dehydrated, I flung myself on the stretcher and let out a big sigh. My blood pressure tested way too high, but the baby sounded fine and measured big as at my previous check-up. I promised Dr. Tareq to take it a bit easier in the next few days, and that if my blood pressure didn’t go down, I would consider taking something to bring it down. I don’t like the idea at all, but even I realize that hypertension can be dangerous to both me and the baby. We talked a bit about the birth – I basically went over the whole thing – and then we made another appointment in two weeks, at which point I will also have an ultrasound. The birth seems quite straightforward – I guess if you’re a skilled OBGYN you can’t quite go wrong with a c-section – although there was something that bothered me about the t
reatment of the baby immediately following the birth. Dr. Tareq told me that by default, they always put the baby in an incubator for one hour to make sure he/she keeps his/her temperature up and that everything else is in order. This is something I will definitely have to discuss with the pediatrician, because I see very little point in doing this to a baby just born. He should be in his father’s arms, enjoying the heat from his father’s skin, and be lovingly held rather than ripped from the safe cushioned inside of his mother only to be put in a box. Wouldn't you think the father is better skilled to observe his child than a monitor? It seems absolutely inhumane! Hopefully we can have our own way on this important point.
After the appointment I went home for a while, tried to finish my articles that are due, and then it was time for the boys’ taekwondo belt tests. Last time August didn’t manage to break the board, and William has been having trouble memorizing his first pumsa, so we were all a little nervous. This was completely redundant as it
turns out, because both boys did brilliantly! They both broke boards with nearly no effort, knew their kicks and pumsas, and received their new belts with their chins up and bowed. When they came over to me after the test, my pregnancy hormones got the best of me, and I couldn’t hold back my tears as I kissed them and told them how very, very proud I was of them. They were both so very happy.
My husband cooked Borscht for dinner – he’s really good at it! – and then the boys had a bath and went to bed. I took my blood pressure again after I sat down with my cup of Red Raspberry leaf tea, and it was significantly lower. I guess I need to take it easy. Tomorrow is a day of rest; after I get the professor sent off to work (his last day of classes before the break!), the boys to do all their schoolwork, clean up the house, take care of the laundry, feed the family, and send off my last article, of course.
After this get-together I rushed home to feed the family, and myself, lunch, and then I hurried over to the clinic for my regular check-up with Dr. Tareq. With flushed cheeks, slightly dehydrated, I flung myself on the stretcher and let out a big sigh. My blood pressure tested way too high, but the baby sounded fine and measured big as at my previous check-up. I promised Dr. Tareq to take it a bit easier in the next few days, and that if my blood pressure didn’t go down, I would consider taking something to bring it down. I don’t like the idea at all, but even I realize that hypertension can be dangerous to both me and the baby. We talked a bit about the birth – I basically went over the whole thing – and then we made another appointment in two weeks, at which point I will also have an ultrasound. The birth seems quite straightforward – I guess if you’re a skilled OBGYN you can’t quite go wrong with a c-section – although there was something that bothered me about the t
reatment of the baby immediately following the birth. Dr. Tareq told me that by default, they always put the baby in an incubator for one hour to make sure he/she keeps his/her temperature up and that everything else is in order. This is something I will definitely have to discuss with the pediatrician, because I see very little point in doing this to a baby just born. He should be in his father’s arms, enjoying the heat from his father’s skin, and be lovingly held rather than ripped from the safe cushioned inside of his mother only to be put in a box. Wouldn't you think the father is better skilled to observe his child than a monitor? It seems absolutely inhumane! Hopefully we can have our own way on this important point.After the appointment I went home for a while, tried to finish my articles that are due, and then it was time for the boys’ taekwondo belt tests. Last time August didn’t manage to break the board, and William has been having trouble memorizing his first pumsa, so we were all a little nervous. This was completely redundant as it
turns out, because both boys did brilliantly! They both broke boards with nearly no effort, knew their kicks and pumsas, and received their new belts with their chins up and bowed. When they came over to me after the test, my pregnancy hormones got the best of me, and I couldn’t hold back my tears as I kissed them and told them how very, very proud I was of them. They were both so very happy.My husband cooked Borscht for dinner – he’s really good at it! – and then the boys had a bath and went to bed. I took my blood pressure again after I sat down with my cup of Red Raspberry leaf tea, and it was significantly lower. I guess I need to take it easy. Tomorrow is a day of rest; after I get the professor sent off to work (his last day of classes before the break!), the boys to do all their schoolwork, clean up the house, take care of the laundry, feed the family, and send off my last article, of course.
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