Big News...

We're pregnant! Here's our little bundle of joy...
So you're probably wondering a few things... we'll try to answer them...

How far along are you & when are you due?
I'm currently about 13 weeks, which means I'm due in mid-September.

Were you planning this?
Although not always asked, usually wondered... and our answer would be: yes!

Where will you have the baby?
We're planning to have our baby here in our city. Some American nurses visited the hospitals here this summer and were impressed with the level of care they could provide. We're not planning on anything abnormal, but are thankful that the hospital can provide care for pre-term delivery as well as many other medical emergencies.

Have you gone to the doctor?
Yes, twice! My friend Rachael is also pregnant so we make going to the doctor a party, including our friend Sheryl. Thankfully her Turkish is much better than either of ours, and she's had three babies in the last 3 1/2 years, so she knows what she's doing!

What are your appointments like?
First we get our weight and blood pressure taken, and then we have an ultrasound. I'll get an ultrasound every appointment, which is a bonus of being here! At my first appointment we also did blood tests. In the future we'll do things like a deeper ultrasound, gestational diabetes testing, and more that I'm sure I don't know about yet.

Does your doctor speak English?
She does, although she's more comfortable speaking Turkish (which makes sense to me... she doesn't get the chance to speak English really at all). Thankful usually where my Turkish lacks, she knows the English (since it's usually a medical term). And so far I've gone to both my appointments with my friend Sheryl who speaks great Turkish... so helpful!

Have you noticed any other cultural difference?
Although my ultrasound is in a private room, talking with the doctor about other things as well as getting weighed and blood pressure taken is in a more public setting, with the possibility of other women being there.

The hospital, although modern & fully medically capable, is always more crowded than we're comfortable with (westerners have big personal space bubbles usually). There's just not large waiting rooms like there are in the States, so people wait in the hallways - I suppose it's an effective use of space.

Will you find out if it's a boy or girl?
We will... I always thought I'd want it to be a surprise but...
1. Having it be a surprise is a totally foreign concept here... no one would understand.
2. Because of above, the doctor would have a REALLY hard time not telling us.
3. It'll be a lot easier to plan, especially if we have people bring us things from the States.

What about Dan?
Next month Dan will come with me to my appointment, husbands are allowed in the private ultrasound room. Hopefully that's when we'll find out if it's a boy or girl!

Although normally husbands here don't want to be in the delivery room, our doctor will allow Dan to be there as long as he's "good" in her joking words :) We're thankful for this!

How are you feeling?
Unfortunately this past month has been pretty rough (hence the lack of blog posts, along with a lack in cooking, cleaning, or anything else of much productivity!) Thankfully I've felt pretty good the past couple days, so I'm hoping the worst is past (although I've heard too many stories of nausea coming back to be too hopeful!)

Do you have names picked out?
Yes, we're thinking about it and have some options, but you'll have to wait until mid-September to find out!

What food has Lynn been most enjoying?
At first yogurt smoothies, but it's changed over the past few weeks. Some of the highlights include... french fries, garlic bread, Magnum ice cream bars, lemonade along with others.