It's Official

Bailey's going to be a big sister, and NO I'm not talking about the dog this time. We're pregnant!

As of this week I'm 12 weeks along, with a tentative due date of March 21st. A few weeks ago I had some spotting that completely freaked me out (I didn't have any with Bailey) and so a friend took me to urgent care to get things checked out. They did blood work - to confirm that I really was pregnant - and followed up with an ultrasound. At that point, the baby wasn't moving any, but it's heartbeat was strong. The doctor recommended taking progesterone to help replenish the part of the placenta that had shed itself and put me on 10 days of bed rest. At that point, I knew we wouldn't be able to keep the pregnancy a secret for too much longer. After all, who calls their boss and lets them know: "hey, I'm sick and I know I'm going to stay that way for the next ten days, thanks!"

(Baby at 10 weeks)

During the week of bed rest - while I was going stir-crazy in the house - we tracked down our parents and siblings on Skype to let them know the good news. The following week I let my students know what was going on and, as staff asked me how I was feeling (after a week of being "sick" *cough*cough*), I let them know the truth of everything.

(Baby at 11 weeks)

Last week I went back to urgent care for a follow up ultrasound to see if the placenta had been rebuilt, or was at least getting that way. I had had some more bleeding that same morning, but the ultrasound was again all good news with the little booger wiggling around, kicking it's legs and shaking it's fists. The doctor recommended more rest, though I'm not confined to the bed anymore. Just no strenuous workouts or heavy lifting for a while.

(The high-tech pregnancy test! Yes, it's really just a strip of paper.)

And here the answers to some FAQ's:

- Morning sickness? Not so much anymore. It's more like night sickness. Most evenings around 6PM when I'm starting to cook dinner, I start to feel "off". The best way I've been able to describe it is that I feel full, hungry, and about to throw up, all at the same time.

-Fatigue? Of course. Even before the week of bed rest I would nap every afternoon with Bailey and still sleep soundly through the night. I think the week of bed rest, though, got me in a routine of laziness that I'm trying to break (while still trying to take it easy, per the doc's orders).

-Christmas? Yes, we're still coming back for Christmas. We might not be able to stay as late into January/February as we'd like because my doctor wants me back eight weeks before the due date, but we're still negotiating that detail.

-Boy or Girl? We'll find out in October (I think). And, just like last time, Brandon is hoping for a boy and I'd like another girl. After all, we have all the girl stuff! We wouldn't have to buy more clothes or toys or anything; I'm just being practical! :)

-Planned? Not exactly. We weren't "trying" to have another, but when your only form of birth control is breast feeding, pregnancy is a likely outcome!

-Work? I will finish out the semester teaching part-time, but won't go back in February. I'd have to go on maternity leave just a few weeks into the semester (and don't want to go back to work after the baby is born) so it doesn't make sense for me to start the new term only to have a new teacher step in and have to make the transition mid-semester. It'll be a smoother break to end things at the end of the term.

The Wheels on the Bus...

Taking the bus to and from work daily ensures at least one good bus story a week, sometimes more. Usually they have to do with buses that didn't stop to pick us up, or ultra crowded "colectivos" that were standing-room only. Here are some of MY (Stacy's) stories from the past few weeks using Asuncion's public transportation system.

As I've shared before, the bus line that is closest to our house (route 18) is also the most inconsistent. So my routine is to walk up to it's route, then walk along the road (towards school) towards another main street that has more frequent - and more crowded - buses. The only story here is that Murphy's Law holds true south of the equator, too. The days I'm running late, I end up walking the 15+ blocks to catch bus #2. The days I'm on time...the preferred bus is there within a few minutes. But God was faithful on a handful of rainy mornings that we had; I was able to catch the bus without walking too far, and without getting too wet.

One day, I rode the bus with only my toes actually ON the bus. There were so many people on the bus that I literally couldn't get my whole foot on the bottom step. My bag was slung over my shoulder and I was holding onto two handlebars on the outside of the doorway. Thankfully I only had to hold that position for a few minutes as the bus started to clear out and I realized that there were several open seats on the bus! I didn't see any glaring reasons why I shouldn't sit down next to the man in the other seat - it looked like he bathed regularly and held down a decent job. Who knows why everyone else wanted to stand instead. Overrated! (P.S. Brandon already yelled at me for even getting on the bus in the first place. I've been instructed to wait for the next bus if I ever come across one as crowded as that again.)

A few days later, I never actually made it onto the bus. But I felt completely safe. You see, there was a man on the second step with me, whose laptop/briefcase bag was pressed up against my hip, holding me in place. AND there were TWO grown men on the first step below us who would have been first to go if we hit an unexpectedly large pot-hole. This bus never quite cleared out, so when it got close to school, I leaned over to the driver and said "aqui, por favor!" and he stopped the bus.

The drivers on the bus are fairly consistent and one in particular who learned my stop quickly, at least for one day. It had to have only been the third time on his bus, and I was standing near the front door of the bus while we putzed through town. As we neared the school and I began to shift my weight to move towards the door, he craned his neck and asked, "aca, verdad?" (here, right?) Yep, tried not to freak out about the bus driver/stalker that morning.

One of the highlights of the trip to school is the grandma/granddaughter duo that boards the bus a few blocks before I get off. She might actually be the mother, but she's considerable older and a bit unstable on her feet, so I prefer to think of her as the abuela. The girl is always dressed in her school uniform - bright red - with black shoes and Dora the Explorer backpack. What cracks me up about these two is how "helpful" the grandma tries to be as they board the bus. She clutches the girls hand, guiding her down the aisle toward an open seat, all the while struggling to keep her own balance. I can't help but think that the little girl would be better off without the "help". Oh well.

Bailey's Little Sister

No, we're not announcing anything! I'm talking about our dog, Nala, who is several months younger than Bailey.

But I swear they have a sister-ly relationship.

When Bailey and I are playing outside (okay, when Bailey's playing outside and I'm playing commentator, with a running narration of everything she's doing, feigning overwhelming interest in each and every leaf she puts in my hand) the two of them have a genuine love-hate relationship. Usually - I'd say more than half the time - they co-exist in the yard without bothering each other. Bailey is content to play with her bucket and shovel while Nala lies in the dirt a few yards away.

But every once in a while one of them gets brave and makes their way over to the other. More often than not, it's Bailey headed over to Nala with a shovel full of dirt that she dumps on Nala's paws. Or she crawls over to give Nala a friendly pat on the head, or a back rub.

And then there's Nala.

That girl's a straight bully! When she's had enough of Bailey's antics, or is feeling neglected (despite daily walks or runs) she gets up in Bailey's face and doesn't give her an inch. If Bailey's sitting on a step, she'll come over and lie on her feet. If Bailey's headed toward something, Nala steps in her way, dancing forward and backward as Bailey tries to go around her. In fact, the other day Bailey was sitting in the dirt, minding her own business, and Nala came over and SAT on her. She plopped her booty on Bailey's lap and just looked over at me as Bailey started crying. Sheesh!

But we love our girls and our afternoon/weekend play times together!

New Year

I know, it's August. But for us teachers, we live from summer to summer, not January to December, and measure years not by the calendar, but by class rosters.

This year is - again - full of changes for us.

We've moved off campus into our first house several miles from school.

We have a dog (Nala, a female black lab, 10 months old).

Brandon has left his position at Asuncion Christian Academy and accepted a middle school/high school P.E. job at a neighboring school, the American School of Asuncion.

I've gone back to work part time at Asuncion Christian Academy (Brandon's former school), teaching two periods of middle school English and one of Algebra 1.

Bailey has a nanny (our "chica") who stays with her in the mornings while Mommy's away at work.

All of our days start early (well, not Bailey's; she wakes up at 7AM every day like clockwork) and involve lots of walking and public transportation. I leave by 5:45 to catch the bus in order to be at work for morning devotions at 6:40. Brandon leaves around 6:30 (when the chica shows up) to get his bus to work by 7:30ish. The closest bus line for both of us is just a five block walk, unfortunately it's one of the more inconsistent bus lines and it's not uncommon to wait up to a half-hour between buses (others come every 5-10 minutes). Today I was actually passed by a bus who decided he didn't want to stop for me; I ended up walking another 10 blocks to catch a bus on a different route. Sheesh!

After fourth period (over at 10:37), I'm back at the bus stop to try and get home by 11:30 when Bailey's up from her morning nap. Then it's business as usual, getting in some independent play time, workouts, naps (for Bailey and Mommy!), and lesson planning/grading. Brandon's day is over at 4PM which puts him home right around 4:30. That's about the time Bailey's up from her afternoon nap and we have our evenings together as a family to play, have dinner, walk the dog, and enjoy each other's company.

The days are long and Brandon and I don't stay up much after Bailey's gone to bed, but we are having fun getting used to this new phase of life.