Another Reason for Absence.......

Lately I haven't blogged much, because we had been quite occupied with World Cup and now we have my lovely family visiting us. But there has been one, small, tinsey, other reason why I haven't had the energy to blog. I'm 12 weeks pregnant and just starting to feel like a normal human again. One that doesn't have to sleep 15 hours a day in 4 hour chunks or someone who's diet is limited to green peppers and room temperature water in a plastic cup.

We are pretty excited about adding to our family, but a bit apprehensive about doing something familiar in an unfamiliar place. I panicked when I realized I might not be able to get my hands on that magic anti-nausea pill they have back home. Well, I managed to be pretty discrete about my meal-reversal episodes. What's the word for pregnancy test to ask the pharmacist? Where do I go to find a doctor? And with C-sections all the rage here, would I be signed up automatically? Eeek!

I couldn't delay my wonderings much longer; Asha asked me out of the blue if I had a baby in my stomach about 4 days after we ourselves had confirmed it. I mumbled something and she put her head on my stomach, listened and yelled out, Hay! (There is!). I knew she would start spreading rumours, so off I went to find a doctor.

The first clinic I went to was packed already at 8 a.m. I waited until noon to see a grouchy and cold-mannered doctor. She didn't even greet me with a handshake. When I didn't understand a particular word, she kept repeating it louder, then she huffed and asked me where I was from. To top it off, I was insulted that she asked me if I even finished high school and so I snapped back that Spanish was my second language and if we wanted we could continue in English, because I'm fluent, aren't you?

I knew I was out of there, but when she asked me if my previous labour and deliveries hurt, since they weren't C-sections, I picked up my purse and walked out. Are you kidding me?

The second doctor that I found was more friendly and actually gave me a kiss on the cheek (which is fully expected) when I showed up. But this one seemed a bit over-the-top eager to send me for every kind of test possible. It was kind of crazy. And of course, everything costs money. They didn't answer me when I asked about the cost of delivery and how they felt about C-sections. I was a bit uneasy. So off I went to doctor #3.

And here is where I think I shall remain. The third doctor is actually a general doctor, but she serves with a mission organization. She is fluent in English and Spanish and has a dream that women here would be able to have births where there is less intervention. She teams up with a gynecologist who has amazing instincts and doesn't just routinely give C-sections. This team of doctors helped deliver a friends' baby and did an amazing job. They are at the cutting edge of midwifery here in this country and I managed to stumble upon them by recommendation of another friend.

When I met with the general doctor, she asked me tons of questions, looked over all my lab work, and then at the end prayed for me and my baby. My heart was so full then that I almost cried.

It's been already quite the journey. I'm glad this isn't my first baby or else I would just feel utterly lost, instead of up to this point just feeling disoriented. Should be interesting......