Tuesday, December 25, 2012

And the Child Was Born

This little one decided to be born in time
to spend her first Christmas at home.

Merry Christmas to you all!


Friday, December 7, 2012

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times...

The title of this expat blog seems to describe my last two weeks pretty well...

As you know, the best part of being an expat is having guests. And we have been very lucky on that front recently! First, my good friend was visiting us. We went shopping, ate breakfast (several times) at Cafe Extrablatt's buffet and just spent time together. Awesome!

And then last weekend, Herr Welle's parents came to visit us. It was nice for Fräulein to be able to spend time with her grandparents. And we visited the Christmas markets both here in Wiesbaden and in Rüdesheim.


But then to the not-so-nice part. First of all, I have had a cough for two weeks now. You know, that kind of dry cough, when it doesn't bother you much when you are awake, but you are not able to fall asleep, because just when you are about to, you start coughing again... And no chance taking any powerful medicine when you are pregnant.

But this Monday was the total low-point (I hope). Since morning, I wasn't feeling too great. Herr Welle was driving his parents to the Hahn airport, so I had to pick up Fräulein from her Krippe with her buggy. Naturally, it was just that afternoon, when it started to snow and it was a bit of a struggle to push the buggy through all that slush.

At home, I felt my temperature rising (and not just because I was unhappy with the situation...). Within an hour, I had +38.5°C fever. I was just laying in the bed under several blankets and asked Fräulein to be very quiet and watch the Moomins. And then I threw up. Twice. Feeling sick is not nice, when you are in your normal condition, but it doesn't make it any easier, when you are 37 weeks pregnant.


The following morning I went to see my doctor. I was told that I was the fourth patient there that morning with the same condition. Apparently, it wasn't a stomach bug as such, but some sort of virus, which caused cramps in the abdomen. Normally, that wouldn't feel too bad, but for pregnant women it was worse.

But the important part was that the baby was fine. And I am starting to feel better, although I'm still coughing.

And I have been able to take part in two of the exams I had scheduled for this autumn, so now I can finally start my maternity leave for real!

Let the Christmas season begin!

*****
Viimeiseen pariin viikkoon on mahtunut niin huippuhetkiä kuin aallonpohjia. Ensinnäkin olemme saaneet nauttia lukuisista (tai no kolmesta) Suomi-vieraasta. Mutta toisaalta myös virukset ovat vierailleet meillä - lähinnä minulla. Ei hauskaa, etenkään raskauden tässä vaiheessa. Mutta nyt alkaa helpottaa ja mammalomakin on alkanut. Joten Joulua odottelemaan!