Part 1: Having a baby in Muscat - Appointments

No, I have not had the baby, so I'll stop those thoughts right there!  I just figured it would be good to document my experience in Oman having a baby and the appointments that lead up to it as well.  So, here is installment one about my pregnancy and the appointments leading up to things.

There are two primary differences I've found about OB appointments at this hospital:

First, is that they are much more brief, to the point, and done, see you in a month or two weeks.  Long and more personal interactions with your doctor don't happen unless you really need it for a medical reason, or you force them into it.  But I do love my OB.  She is great.  Her name is Dr. Vidya and she is from India.  She may be quick and to the point, but she is very sweet, friendly, and caring. 

Most appointments go like this: 

1.  Arrive, check in, show insurance, sit and wait.

2.  Get called in for stats check by the nurses in the small room off the waiting room.  Weight, blood pressure, and pee in a cup.  And pee in a cup EVERY TIME so I have learned to always be hydrated at each appointment.  I'm not sure what they are for, but it's annoying.  And you have to go into the bathroom in the bathroom that is in the waiting room lobby, so there is no concealing what you are doing.  The lab bottles for your urine can't be concealed by a ladies smaller hand.  They write your info in your green pre-natal booklet (I posted about this in a prior blog) and put it with your file for the doctor.

3.  Back to the waiting room until the doctor is ready.  That may be immediately or in another 10-30 minutes.

4.  Into the doctor's room.  She checks my green booklet, asks how things are going, and confirms what week I am and when my due date is.  She then has me go and lay on the bed to feel my stomach and the baby, and then check the heartbeat.

5.  Back to the seat, confirms I have enough vitamins (yes, I bought a Costco tub of them), and makes my next appointment.  And that is it.  Well, sometimes she will make my next ultrasound appointment request (more on that later) or confirm if I have any upcoming travel plans for the holidays (which I did to India at Christmas and had to get a travel approval letter for the airline), but otherwise, that is it.

6.  To the receptionist to sign my insurance receipts and say goodbye.  If they need to schedule the ultrasound, a nurse will confirm what day I want and time.  I will receive that call from a nurse with a heavy Indian or Asian accent in a few days to confirm when the appointment is scheduled.

Second, is that beyond being quick, the way they monitor your pregnancy feels much more "hands off".  In the US, you get your 20 week ultrasound to check the baby and the sex, but it's rare to have another unless medically  needed.  After that point, your OB takes time each appointment (well, around the beginning of the 3rd trimester) to physically exam your nether-regions for signs of early labor via checking your cervix, etc...  They will then measure your belly, feel the baby, and do the heartbeat check.  Finally, you will be asked lots of questions, given advice for planning, and what to expect in the next month or weeks.  And of course, all of this is done behind the waiting area so no one would see you holding your urine in a lab tube.  It's much more hands-on, take time talking, etc...


I decided to broach this subject (nicely) with my OB and asked her why she didn't physically check me and if she would at any point.  She said that it's not really medically necessary (unless you are high risk) and more risky since checking/touching the cervix can be known to induce labor, which they don't want to do.  And since here, you get like, four ultrasounds, they can check all those things via ultrasound and see if you are dilating early.  Oh, well, that makes a whole lot of sense!  She said the only time she would physically check me is if I was past my due date.


So that was that, and you know, I kinda prefer it this way.  Granted I don't like having to pee in the lobby bathroom, BUT besides that (well, and the difficult to understand calls about appointments from nurses), it's nice to have my pregnancy treated in a more traditional way.  And by traditional, I mean, natural.  Doctors and midwifes didn't do all the things we are accustomed to in the US in this day and age.  And many women around the world don't get any care and have healthy, babies.  It's been happening that way for a long time.  Not to say that bad things and still-borns/unhealthy babies aren't born out of those situations, but overall, all the "care" we have today isn't necessarily required for the majority of women, but we get it anyways.



At this point, after my next appointment in a week, I'll start my weekly appointments and have one more ultrasound.  I'll also get the "preapproval" from insurance that they will cover the cost of my birth.  I sure hope so since they have been covering all my appointments up to this point and know a baby is coming!  Since I'm about 35 weeks, I've got most things packed in a suitcase for the hospital in case I go into labor a bit early.  At this point, I'm just biding my time, working my normal schedule and enjoying life, but also getting the heck kicked and stretched out of my stomach, having restless nights, and praying for no heartburn each night. 

Swim lessons! -By Aberly

Guess what?  Besides being a Cubbie, I also get to go to swim lessons! It's so exciting!  I love getting to go and learning how to do new things in the water.  And we get to play too.  My teachers are high school kids and they are really fun.  I have gone two times now.  Here are some pictures my mommy took of me at my last swim lesson so you can see what I get to do. 

 Here I am in my super cool pink swim cap and goggles!  Pink flip flops.  I know, I know, I am such a swimming fashion statement!

 We practiced blowing bubbles in the water and pushing the balls with the bubbles.

 My instructor is telling us we are going to pretend to drive a car across the pool, and we blow our bubbles again to make the car sounds!

 Here I go!

 

Me and some of the other girls in my class.  They are nice!

 

 Practicing my kicking!

 

Here I am diving for treasure!  I gave my treasures to Claudio.

 

He was so proud of me!   I'm sure I am his star student.

 

I'm going to practice my front float.

 Oops!  Sinking!

 

There we go, that's just right!

I am sure I'll be a fabulous swimming fish in no time!  Thanks for looking at my pictures!

Being a Cubbie! - by Aberly

Last month, my mommy enrolled me in Awanas since they were starting up a new 3-4 year old group called Cubbies.  She thought it would be a good way for me to be with a group and have some practice for pre-school next year.  I think it's a great way to have fun with friends and play!

After working REALLY hard and learning 3 Bible verses (shortened for us cause we are so young), I earned my very own Cubbies vest, book, and bag.  Here I am ready to go!  I wait and put my vest on at Awanas so it doesn't get dirty.

When I first get to Awanas, I grab a snack and sit down with the other kids to watch a Veggie Tales while everyone else shows up.  A lot of kids come from the school where my mommy and daddy work.  I love snack time cause they always have Nacho Doritos and Capri Suns!  Mom isn't thrilled by their choice of snack but she lets me enjoy my junky foods once a week.

Two of my friends come to Awanas too.  Jason and Marin.  They are in the Sparks group but I like to see them before we split up. 

The first thing we do when Awanas starts is stand in our groups with our leader.  The flags are presented and we say our pledges.  I am still learning which side to put my hand and learn the words.  Then we sing the Awanas song before going to our groups.  Here I am with my leader Mrs. Liz and one of my friends, Ana Graciella.

Usually there are 5 -8 of us in our Cubbies group.  Here we are listening to Mrs. Liz talk about the Bible verse we memorized for the week.  I remembered mine!  I told her and she gave me a big high five!  I got a sticker for my book.  After we learn 4 verses, we get patches for our vest!  I have one patch so far.

One of my favorite parts of Awanas is when we get to go play a game.  Today we played chase and the hula hoops were the Islands where we were safe from the shark.  I loved running and chasing the most and didn't go to my hula hoop very much.

After games, we have a small snack, listen to a Bible story from Mrs. Liz, and do an craft.  Sometimes we also sing our special Cubbies song.  I almost know it by heart!  Me and mommy practice it in the car sometimes cause they gave me my own CD with the song.

The very end of Awanas time is where all the groups come together in the sanctuary and awards are given out to kids who earned special things, like patches, jewels, or charms.   We clap for them and then we say a prayer before going.  There are leaders and kids in Awanas from all over the world, so I hear a lot of different accents all the time.  My mom thinks that's really cool cause I can learn to understand a lot of different ways of speaking English.

So, that is what I do at Awanas.  I love being a Cubbie and can't wait to earn more badges and learn about Jesus and other stories from the Bible!  And I like being with my new friends too!

Almost 34 weeks!

Feeling good and looking fine (if I may say so myself)!   My stomach continues to grow out and Baby Girl is definitely getting cramped as space gets tight.  It's hard to believe it could be just a few weeks or a month and a half.   We just hope she stays in there as long as she needs to be as healthy as possible.

Rain and life

Last night I was almost asleep when a loud bump woke me up.  I thought it was Aberly in the hallway dropping her water cup, but she was fast asleep in bed.  I realized it was very windy outside and then noticed the rain.  Turns out a storm had blown in and our drying rack had blown over on the upper patio.  I went back to bed happy to listen to the rain patter against our window and it sounded so much like being in Oregon.  The rain continued off and on during the night and we got one good thunder roll around 5:30 in the morning.  The rain stopped after that, but we loved the sight of the wet city around us and the feel of cool, damp wind as we headed to work.  It really did feel like a cool, fall day in Oregon. 

It was such a wonderful way to start the day, which I know sounds odd to any Oregonian or someone in the States at the moment, since you are in the drudgery of winter and would give anything for the sunny days we have right now.  Things felt fresh and clean, and it was a lovely memory of home as we begin our February. 

We've been thinking about home a lot lately since the school starts sending us our summer flight bookings around this time, and we think about where and how long we will spend our time in Oregon.  Then we think of what we'll do, friends we will see (can't wait to see Baby Brandon Sue), family visits and vacations, and of course, what life will be like with Baby Girl in tow this summer.  We think about restaurants we love, and good local beer and wine we will enjoy.  Life here is great but the thought of home and summer vacation is always exciting. 

People have always told me that at some point, you realize that "home" is where you are working.  International life becomes your way of life.  We do look at our house here in Muscat as our home, but ultimately, I don't think either of us will ever stop seeing Oregon as our true home.  We love it too much, and we desire the day when we have enough money saved up to come back, buy a few acres, and start up our own small farm.  We definitely can't do that here.  Oregon is also where our families are, as well as good friends we very much miss.  We both are deeply rooted there and love so much of what Oregon has to offer.


What is weird, is as much as we miss Oregon and the states, international living has allowed to live outside the "bubble" of the US, and we can see so many of the things we don't miss and don't desire coming back to.  The politics (I have to say living outside the US this presidential voting year was phenomenal), greed, violence/danger (we feel safer here on a day-to-day basis), materialism, agribusiness, unhealthy diet/lifestyle, and much more.  I'm not saying all the other countries in the world are better, but I think there are a lot of things other countries get right or do better than the US.  We aren't the greatest nation; we are pretty great, but I don't think we top the world and should hold ourselves that way.  We have a lot to learn.

In the end, we find ourselves in a weird place sometimes as we look at what we miss and don't miss.  We desire to come back "home" someday, but sometimes the way we talk about things back home, you wouldn't think that.  Sometimes I don't think that.  BUT home is where the heart is and despite the things that aren't so great, it's home.  It's what you know.  And you hope for the future and what could change.

So, do you feel like you are in some weird gray area of life and home, Kelsey?  No, not really.  Despite the imbalance I describe above, life here doesn't feel like we are out of place.  Each month doesn't drag by, or we don't feel like we are on some weird "working vacation" for 10 months of the year.   We don't look at the school year any differently than back home.  We do our normal life things; work, chores, errands, play dates, and such.  We go out to dinner with friends and have get-togethers with other families.  It's kinda like living our life in Oregon but it just looks different and the people around us are different.  The stores are different, the variety of skin color around us is different, but the way we live our lives is the same.

Rain, it's weird how one thing can bring so many feelings and thoughts up.

All our love to you back home!