Last Tuesday we had another check at a gynecologist, everything is going well, blood pressure is fine, my weight is now 62 kilo's, and the sex is also clear, a girl!
I need to take extra iron vitamins as my blood results showed anemia.
The only thing that worried me a bit are the triple marker results, to identify the chance on Down syndrome. Because of my age, 37, this is 1 : 160, which is of course higher then when I was pregnant with Femke; it then was 1: 450. So the question was will we do another test, the amniocentesis or not?? I read that they collect amniotic fluid, the liquid that is in the womb by inserting a needle through the mother's abdominal wall into the uterus, using ultrasound to guide the needle. Approximately one ounce of fluid is taken for testing. This fluid contains fetal cells that can be examined for chromosome tests. It takes about 2 weeks to determine if the fetus has Down syndrome or not. My doctor said the risk to the baby is less than 1 %, contractions might occur but in his 35 year career this happened only twice.
With a chance lower than 1 %, 1 : 160, we decided not to do the amniocentesis. My gynecologist said that as a doctor he would want to eliminate any risks and do further tests, but as a human being he would not advice his wife to do further tests, as the risk is very low....
The last month I was on and off ill, a cold, a sinusitis, a bit of coughing, diarrhea, headaches ...Since a few days I feel good again, and full of energy to explore Cairo, the pyramids and do some serious shopping for curtains, furniture and paintings.
Maybe because I was ill, I felt unhappy about living in Cairo; I found it hard to find positive aspects of living here. And then of course I met some women who felt the same, and we were in a negative spiral... Luckily yesterday I ran into a friend from my toddler-mum group, and she invited me to visit her this morning. Sometimes you meet people at the right time; she was actually very positive and optimistic about Cairo and Egypt!! Exactly what I needed, some positive views.
Fresh fruit and vegetables, the Red pyramid, many countries near to be visited (Jordan, Morocco, Tunis), the area where we live Maadi, is green full of high trees plants and flowers, it is safe to take a walk with children, it is according to her much cleaner than another 3rd world country where she used to live, India, and despite 18ml people living in Cairo: not at all that crowded in the streets !! Of course she is comparing to India and is therefor much more positive, but still, I could see things much clearer and objective now.
And let's face it: there is no perfect place in the world. I have to stay positive and happy, not only for myself, but also for Femke and Arthur, so therefor focus on the good things we have here. My friend from Azerbaijan has many more (objective) problems, their container with household stuff is still in Dubai, her husbands boss told him that he has to seek aggressively for another job, so where to go??? Switching school for their 2 girls is her main problem now! Where to to go in the middle of school semester?
So life can be more difficult than my little worries and unhappy feelings...Time for a change!!
