Is that a car seat?

Our nurse asked us this as we prepared to leave the hospital with our new daughter, yet another reminder that we just gave birth in the UAE, not the USA. Car seats and seat belt usage are not common over here and their use tends to announce your expat status. It is nothing to see small children sitting on the console, bouncing around in the car, or even hanging out the windows.

Medical care is different over here.  Even more than at home, you have to be a strong advocate for yourself and really truly know your medical history and medications. In the past month, we've had three friends either be given something they had identified as being an allergen or having pretty awful side effects that far exceeded the symptoms being addressed. When we went into my last prenatal appointment, the doctor told me that she was going to give me an exam, but did not mention that she would be doing an intervention to speed up when I would go into labor until the procedure had been completed.

As someone who developed pre-eclampsia with my first pregnancy and pregnancy induced hypertension with this pregnancy, I was considered "high risk." When my water broke at school, I was directed to immediately proceed to the Urgent Care department for admission, even though I had not developed any regular contractions. After being admitted, my husband ran home to get a few things that we had forgotten, and while he was gone, I went into labor. The nurses did not respond to the call button, so I called Rob to have him hurry back. An hour or so later, the nurses finally came to check on us, to find me in active labor. There was some confusion with the midwives and nurses because they thought this was our first child, after realizing that it was not, and that I truly was progressing faster than they thought they brought me upstairs to labor and delivery.

The doctor who administered the epidural did not shake my hand at the consultation appointment and was quite unhappy with me for not being still while he stuck a needle into my back and while I was having strong and regular contractions.  Then Rob had to immediately go downstairs to pay for the epidural....The relief from this pain medication though was quite welcome and the remainder of the delivery went much smoother.  We ended up staying for four days due to the timing of her delivery (just after midnight) and her development of jaundice.

Since we have been out of the hospital, we've been running about trying to get her paperwork in order. She has two birth certificates: Arabic and English, has had her passport photos done, and we've applied for her health insurance card. Tomorrow, we are off to the Embassy to register her birth, apply for her passport, and apply for her social security card. After that, we get a break until her passport is finished, and then will have to apply for her Emirates ID card, and residency visa. It is a lot of items to make her official. And Belle is loving being a big sister.

The tooth fairy travels...

The tooth fairy has been kept on her toes by Belle. Every tooth she has lost has been in a different place: New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, DC, Vermont, Virginia, Prince Edward Island (Canada), and Pennsylvania. Today, she broke the trend and lost two teeth in Al Ain (UAE). It is bittersweet, because now she is losing the last vestiges of her babyhood as her primaries make room for the secondaries she will have for the rest of her life. She was so excited to call me an announce that now the tooth fairy needed to come to Asia. I also think about how this is probably the last time the tooth fairy will visit for many years because she's growing out of the age of "magic."

Blessings from near and far... (aka getting ready for baby)

It is hard going back to work when you are approaching your final month of pregnancy and even harder being across the world from the people you want to share the experience with.  My new school has been wonderful in trying to make sure I'll have a smooth transition from working for the first 6 or so weeks of the school year, and returning mid-year, and I'm sharing office space and planning with a lovely team.

My dear friend, Ashaunda, who I worked with all last year and kept me sane, threw me a lovely baby shower a couple weeks ago. It was an amazing testament to the power of social networking, as most of the people there were friends I first encountered on Facebook. They have all become a huge part of my life in the UAE, and it was so nice to be surrounded by their love and excitement for our soon to arrive little girl.  Many of these ladies also recognized the other guest of honor, who after 9 years of being an only child, is about to assume the new role of big sister and role model.

Then this week, we received a couple large boxes from our church at home. Rob and I joined our church before we were married, and our church family has helped us raise and celebrate in each of Belle's developments from her very beginning. Even from across the world, they managed to share the love and goodness that is so much a part of that community with the little being still inhabiting my belly. We are all looking forward to seeing everyone in December. It will have been a long year and a half being out of our country and away from our family & loved ones.

Homeschooling continues to progress. I've still got a few more weeks of work before the big day, and then we'll be running around completing all the official paperwork that comes from giving birth abroad, so we can fly home to visit. 

Stay tuned!

Back to School and Routines

Last week, we started Belle's homeschooling program so that we'd be able to take a few days off when the baby comes and also so she'd have some routine established when I returned to work this past Sunday. So far, homeschooling has been a challenge - as we try and navigate being the teacher and the parent. But we all believe this is the appropriate thing to do to keep Belle on track academically.  We also signed Belle up for Girl Scouts in Al Ain - and because of the way they do things here, she will be a brownie for one extra year.

On Sunday, I started school at my new school. The building itself opened in January and the staff and student body are made up of the merger of three schools, to make one very large Cycle 3 (grades 10-12) school. This week has been a staff only week, and filled with meetings and more meetings, as well as getting to know my new English Medium Teacher colleagues. It is quite different going from one C3 partner to working with 14 other EMTs.   We have grade level teams, which is quite lovely and I've been assigned 11th grade science girls for right now. Generally the science girls tend to be a little more academic-minded and also have a higher degree of English fluency. These are nice changes.  The best part of my school is that it is only 15 minutes from my home and about 15 minutes from the hospital (important as I've only got about a month left before our new family member arrives).  I've been pretty tired after work each day, and I'm a bit nervous how this bodes since next week, I begin actively teaching when the students arrive on Sunday.

The pool at my new school

Every time one of my new Arabic colleagues sees me, she asks me why I am not walking (if I am in a meeting) and if I am walking, tells me, good job and to keep walking. She is very concerned that I have a good labor. 

Rob has been very busy doing airport runs, and this weekend he is going to be doing border runs for a bunch of new teachers. Our calendar is quite colorful with all the appointments this month.


The best part of this month so far is catching up with all our friends who have returned from their summer holidays.

Birthdays Abroad...

Last year, I celebrated my birthday with new friends and no family, as Rob & Belle were still in the US. This year, the family went to Dubai for a night, and most of our friends are in the US or other destinations.

Rob and Belle hit the ski slopes of Ski Dubai, while I had an iced coffee at the Starbucks in Borders and looked at books, and did a little shopping for baby T.  Then we headed to the Dubai Mall so I could have Red Lobster for dinner, followed by a stop at Baskin Robbins for banana splits.... yeah, I'm an American girl. ;)  At Baskin Robbins, we ran into some friends from Al Ain who were staying in the same hotel.  I guess this means we've made the UAE our home when we run into people we know in other cities.

In the morning, Belle and I enjoyed the rooftop pool. She was excited to see the Burj Khalifa from the pool. I was happy that the pool took the edge off the humidity and heat.

Now, we're back in Al Ain, waiting for our friends to return from their summer holidays, preparing for the school year and watching in-coming EMTs prepare to make the transition from hotel to housing, as they begin their own adventures.

I plan on spending more time at the pool in the coming weeks, reading, and doing a couple crochet projects that my amazing friends from NH have been kind enough to ship to me. If you are in Littleton, NH and like to knit or crochet, you should absolutely visit their shop. Now, I'm off to make a pumpkin hat in my super clean house (thanks to the fabulous maid my husband hired!).

The Anniversary

A year ago, I boarded a plane in Boston, leaving my family, friends, and country behind. I have learned a lot in this past year, including how much my family, friends, and country mean to me.

In the last year, I have:

• crossed the Atlantic Ocean
• swam in the Arabian Gulf
• held a falcon
• ridden a camel
• dune bashed
• attended camel races
• visited the Grand Mosque
• attended the Volvo Ocean race events
• swam in outdoor pools throughout the year (I'm from NH, this is huge!)
• visited a waterpark in March
• visited the tallest building in the world
• paddleboarded in Abu Dhabi
• visited more malls than I could ever imagine
• learned some Arabic
• went skiing at Ski Dubai
• visited Atlantis at the Palm Jumeriah
• traveled to Turkey
• visited the remains of the city of Troy
• lived in a five star hotel for a month
• had henna
• made friends that I will never forget
• and so much more....
  
  This new year already holds some promising new things, where our family will expand by a new addition in a couple months, a new school, homeschooling, and a new family compound to live in. We are also beginning to prepare for our repatriation to the US next summer. It will be a good year. Maybe I'll finally cross the Mississippi River too. ;)

Switching housing

You aren't supposed to be able to switch your assigned housing until the end of your first year. This does not mean it doesn't happen. Some people were very lucky and were able to change into more preferable places during the school year, our family had to wait until summer.

Moving is a hassle no matter where you live, but it becomes even more heinous when your move needs to take place during the time allotted for you to return to your home country, during a major month long holiday involving fasting and shortened business hours, when it is 115+ degrees every day, you don't speak the national language, and there is a bunch of running around that needs to take place because like everything else - you need a stamp for it. And did I mention, it especially is miserable when you are seven months pregnant doing all this?

The first complication was the housing we were initially told would be ours became unavailable. This put us in a time crunch because we were going up against the lease expiration of our flat and we did NOT want to spend another year isolated from other families. After many visits to housing, many meetings and many lists of available family villas, we finally received our new keys. It has been two weeks of moving, cleaning, running around, putting things together, and inshallah, tomorrow, we will have our final clearances for our old flat.  I'm very happy with our new housing - the community is full of families and children and now we can finally prepare for Baby T's arrival.

After tomorrow, I am looking forward to relaxing for a little bit and enjoying the rest of my summer holiday.