Wednesday, June 30, 2010

South Asia Adventure - Part 1: What Happened?

* Caution to guys and anyone who is queasy about blood or girly details, I will try not to be too graphic but consider yourself warned that this post may contain disturbing content.*

Our time in South Asia was  different than anything we could have ever expected but we did have quite an adventure! Now that we're at home and I'm back online, I wanted to share a bit about our experiences.

Darren & I had planned to take a few days vacation in South Asia, before beginning a work project. Two days after our arrival, I began to have very heavy bleeding (way more bleeding than the heaviest day of your period), which I knew was a really bad sign for a pregnant chick. I was worried that I was having a miscarriage so we rushed to the hospital. I was seen almost immediately by a doctor and then admitted to the hospital for tests, meds and strict bed rest.

The first two days in the hospital were the hardest because I could not leave my bed or even sit up. I had to use the bathroom in a bed pan (that was pretty gross!) and was hooked up to an IV that soon punctured the vein in my hand and got infected. I wasn't in much physical pain but I was in a lot of emotional pain as I battled with the fear of potentially losing the baby. I mostly stared at the wall or at the TV, not having the energy to do much else.

Meanwhile, Darren ran around, graciously dealing with the aftermath of my hospitalization: hospital paperwork, making endless numbers of calls to our insurance provider, emailing and calling Canada to let people know what was going on, returning to our hotel to check out and bringing our luggage to the hospital, etc...

 We ended up staying at the hospital two weeks. Although I still had challenging moments, I started to feel better after the first few days. We were so blessed to be at that particular hospital for so many reasons! To name a few...

- They moved me to a sweet private room equipped with AC, a TV, wardrobe & an extra bed so that Darren could stay in the room with me.

- They provided special meals for both Darren &  I. The doctor called me every day to see what I wanted to eat!  One evening they even ordered Pizza Hut for us.

- The nurses were awesome! They patted me on the arm and said, "How are you my darling?" and told me not to worry because God was looking after us. They often dropped by to chat, teaching us about the culture and local language.

- I had ultrasounds every 2-3 days so we were blessed to watch Little Tarren grow bigger and stronger before our eyes.

- My doctor was a specialist in maternal health and had many years of experience dealing with complicated pregnancies. More than her extensive medical knowledge, I was thankful for her tremendous concern for me! The day before we left the hospital, she confessed that when she saw me for the first time, she was very worried that I was going to miscarry right there in front of her. She was pleased that my health and the baby's health had improved and asked me to stay in touch after leaving the hospital. I have even spoken to her since returning to Canada and she asked me to call her regularly to update her on how things are progressing!

After leaving the hospital, we went to stay with a friend's family in a nearby city. Although we had never met, they were tremendously hospitable and generous towards us! We were well taken care of during our three-week sojourn with them. Here are some of the highlights:


- Our hosts were so sweet to us. We spent most days relaxing and chatting about life. In the evenings when it was cooler outside (35 instead of 45 degrees Celsius!), they took us out to watch movies or go shopping.




- The maid, Shanti, brought us tea every morning, served us delicious meals and taught us how to cook our favourite dishes. She brought  garlands of jasmine flowers for my hair (picked from the neighbors garden).

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Dealing with Sleep Deprivation

Lying awake in bed at 5am, I read a Newsweek article sleep deprivation. It said that adults need between 7-9 hours of sleep every night to feel fully rested and function at their best. Agreed! However, over the past few days I have been beginning to grapple with the idea that 7-9 hours is a nice but elusive goal for a preggo chick who wakes up hungry & having to pee every night and an impossible dream for a mom of young children.

I  recently read a blog written by a young mom who felt like they was going crazy as a result of sleep deprivation. 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep probably sounds like heaven to a young mom but I am already starting to feel like a bit of a zombie. I feel tired almost all day long and as a result, I am an emotional wreck with crying fits and moodiness. I hate feeling this way. JET LAG GO AWAY!!!

I know this is practice for when the baby comes but I didn't want to practice just yet...I have a whole 6 months to go. I have no idea how people do this for years! I'm going to start asking around. Mom's, please advise!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Jet Lag & Pregnancy Don't Mix

The only thing worse than jet lag is jet lag during pregnancy! Darren & I arrived home from South Asia on Friday evening (it was quite the adventure, details to follow!) and since then I have been trying to adjust to the 12.5 hour time difference between here and there. Jet lag is never fun but I have never experienced anything like jet lag during pregnancy...

The first trimester icky feeling returns with a vengeance! Yes, I remember that weird feelings of being hungry but having no appetite, being able to eat only tiny bites of food at a time, willing each of them to stay down as you chew and swallow.

Saturday evening I threw up all of my dinner into the kitchen sink as I tried to swallow my prenatal vitamins. I felt so discouraged to watch all the food I had worked so hard to stomach come up into the kitchen sink. (Bless my gracious husband for cleaning that up!!!).

However, the worst part of having jet lag while pregnant is the inability to fall asleep easily, which likely contributes to this queasy feeling. Every day since arriving at home, I have woken up at 3 or 4am to go to the bathroom and have been unable to fall back to sleep.

I'll be praying again tonight that I'll be able to fall asleep after getting up to go to the bathroom. AND I'll be trying not to take any naps at all today. We'll see how that goes...