pregnant in Colombia

If you've been reading the blog lately, our announcement probably explains the lack of posting. What I really wanted to post about was still a secret and our little secret lead to some quiet nights and uneventful weekends.

We found out about our little darling on our 7th anniversary. We were both thrilled and beside ourselves with joy.

After three pregnancy tests, the next step involved finding a Colombian doctor.  This year Matt's company has provided us with a third party medical service putting us in contact with a person to contact regarding medical needs and appointments as well as translation. We made contact and requested an appointment with an English speaking doctor. She set up an appointment for us and asked us to meet her at the clinic. Matt took the afternoon off to join me at our first 'doctor appointment'. It was a Colombian adventure from the get-go.  We walked into an waiting room filled with people and got sent to several different offices and desks, before we finally called our contact directly. When we finally made our way to the correct building she stated that we were waiting on the doctor to meet with us.  At one point I noticed an attractive Colombian woman that entered the office, wearing a short white dress and 4 inch heels.
This woman is my doctor.

We quickly realized that her English is about as limited as my Spanish.
{honestly, my Spanish is probably better than her English}
The translator helped us get through some basic questions and then the doctor stated she would do an ultrasound. After she had to find a nurse to wheel in an old-school scale, it became apparent to Matt and I that this particular office wasn't necessarily set up for doctor to perform her typical medical routine. She asked if I could return to her office the following morning, at another location, to perform an ultrasound.  I was also asked to return to the medical clinic the following morning for a blood sample.

The next morning I went to the Medihelp clinic to give blood. Upon my arrival the translator asked me where my urine was.
"Excuse me?"
"Where is your urine? We need a urine sample."
"Okay, no one mentioned anything about urine..."
She went on to explain that apparently I was supposed to bring my morning urine sample with me to the appointment.  Since this was the first mention of 'urine', I was a little confused, but explained that we could work out the situation. She proceeded to tell me since it needed to be a sample from the first thing in the morning I would need to return with a urine sample the following morning. End of conversation. But I was left a little confused about how I was supposed to transport my first morning urine. After I inquired and a search ensued, I was given a proper cup for transport.

Welcome to medicine in Colombia.

I've been feeling extremely lucky to have a very healthy and happy pregnancy so far. I've made it through the first trimester without a bit of morning sickness and just a touch of exhaustion.
After my initial doctor visit, I had three visits and ultrasounds in Colombia.
The first was at 5 weeks, when I first got a peek at our little peanut.

Another visit and peek at 7 weeks...

and our last peek at 11 weeks.

Matt attended this visit with me and after seeing our doctor she sent us to another clinic to receive a more detailed ultrasound.  We got to hear the baby's heartbeat, the sweetest sound, and watch our little gymnast flip and turn.  After measuring the size of the baby's head and abdomen, the doctor declared that I was 13 weeks along. This left both Matt and I a little perplexed, since I was under the assumption that I was 11 weeks, as well as some anxiety about the size of my unborn child's head.
This mysterious due date was another reason I was anxious to get back to the States.
After a visit to the doctor last week I have a new due date, September 30th and now know exactly how pregnant I am.
15 weeks.
Mystery solved.