Two blessed weekends

The weekend of May8-9, 2010 


My parents came to the US for their third time on May 7th this year. The weekend they came was an amazing weekend. My sister and her fiance came over to our home from LA, and my close friend P drove from the bay area. On Saturday, we were all busy preparing for my baby shower on Sunday May 9th. We also had a surprise ultrasound appt. booked for mom-dad to see the baby on Saturday afternoon.

After lunch and my yoga class on Saturday, we headed for the ultrasound appointment. We could see the baby's face and a lot of her antics inside my tummy. We got some cool 3D pictures and a video to bring back with us. Mom-dad and others were thrilled to see her for the first time :)!

Sunday was a triple bonanza...it was my mom's birthday, Mothers' Day here in US, and my baby shower. We had a small puja at home with the ladies in the morning, and then headed over to our close friends Harish-Deepika's home for the baby shower lunch. Everyone who was invited showed up on time, and the party was a huge success. We played a couple games after the cake-cutting and lunch...and everyone who was present participated.

I came away from the party with a feeling of content and a huge sigh of relief. It all went as planned, and more than anything, we were all happy and had so much fun.

I also felt very loved that day. As I reflected upon the weekend later, I realized that I am surrounded by so many people who genuinely care for me, and love me. Some of these people (apart from my family) have been there for me through many of my difficult times, and have never hesitated to offer help when I needed it or asked for it. Also, they have never made me feel obligated for what they have done. I truly cherish these relationships and feel very blessed.

In the days and weeks leading up to my parents arrival, we had spent a lot of time getting the house ready for them, as well as preparing for the baby shower function. I tend to be a detail oriented person, and don't like last minute panic situations. This time around, because of my physical condition, I could not do much by myself, so I had to rely on help. And I must say I was not disappointed at all.

Another few weeks and the much awaited baby will be here. Life will be so different, so exciting, so much more fun :).

The long weekend from May12-May16, 2010


Right after a sooper busy Mothers Day weekend, we had another busier weekend planned. This one involved air travel, which I had not done since I got pregnant. So I was a little nervous about how I would feel.

My younger sister was graduating with an MS in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology from USC in LA on May 12, and my close friend P was graduating with a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from Binghamton University, upstate NY on May 15.

I had taken couple days off to attend these graduations and be able to travel. On May 12, we got ready in time to leave for the airport, and on our way found out that the flight was delayed. The ride to the airport was filled with anxiety, frustration, disappointment, and phone calls. I was trying to find alternative flights that could get us into LA area by noon or 1pm, so that we would not miss the graduation. My parents had come all the way from India to attend it, and it would be a huge letdown if we missed it because of a flight delay.

On reaching the airport and looking at the various flight options, we decided to stick with our original flight. Hubby let the pilot and air hostesses know that we were running late for a graduation, and they provided some good humor during the flight announcements by making graduation announcements to all the passengers :). I survived the flight okay as well.

After the flight delay and horrible traffic through downtown LA, we finally made it in time at the venue. The graduation ceremony was a blast. My sister got hooded on stage by her department chair, and got her degree and we were able to see her walk down the red carpet and click some good pictures. Mom-dad and I felt extremely proud of her achievements. It was great to see her get her second Masters' Degree. She has been the youngest in our house, and we have watched her grow up so closely. This was a moment to cherish!

The second ceremony at the USC main campus was also good, but the place was too crowded and hot. We got out from there as quickly as we could.

The flights into Binghamton, NY were surprisingly comfortable. I got front seats on both the flights, and my friend P came on time to receive us (which is rare). The entire time we spent in Binghamton - meeting P's college friends, getting him ready for the commencement, attending the actual ceremony and clicking pictures, shopping in a frenzy at the university bookstore, Indian buffet dinner back at our hotel, a tour of the campus and P's apartments around the next day morning, etc - everything was just perfect. I was so happy just to be able to make it there at this stage of my pregnancy. And I also felt very blessed to not have any health concerns due to the travel.

I flew back home Sunday night and went to bed feeling so content, so blessed. A lot of times you plan things for so long, and they don't work out for some reason. Sometimes they do, but you hit roadblocks. And sometimes, they work out just perfect. Each experience is a blessing, and teaches you so many things.

These moments and occasions of my life will be cherished forever. The memories have made a permanent place in my mind, and heart!

Oh the taste of coffee!!!!

I had a decaf soy latte with sugar-free hazelnut and no foam at Starbucks after ~17 months yesterday.

I love coffee so much that even after so long, I missed it often. I could not stand in a coffee shop for too long.

I must admit - decaf did not taste half as good as the regular....but it was still coffee, and oh the taste of it :).

I am still staying away from it until the baby arrives, and then will slowly resume...will ensure not to get addicted again :).

Observations at the laboratory

I spent 3+ hours today morning at the Quest Diagnostics laboratory in town. I had to be there for a 3-hour GTT (Glucose Tolerance Test) to diagnose Gestational Diabetes. I failed the 1-hour test and hence I was asked by my doctor to go through this torture.

I say torture - because I hate getting poked on my arms for blood draw. Not that it's painful, but I always get rude and cold comments from the lab technicians as I have small veins, and they find it hard to find one for the purpose. I also bruise very very easily, and they don't like people like me.

{Left and Right hand bruise pictures after the test.}

Today was the worst, coz I had to be poked a minimum of 4 times in the 3 hour duration. They were as worried as I was by the time I walked up for my last poke :). Three different technicians had to work to complete this test for me, and to my horror, when I was done, the technician who withdrew the last sample asks me:


Tech: "Are you going to work after this"?
Me: Yes
Tech: "You should cover up your arms in that case. People will think you are taking drugs if they see so many pokes on your arms". She was serious, I could tell!
Me: "I'm like, what?"

First of all, I fasted 15 hours for this test, then went through so many pokes at different places on my arms, missed important stuff at work on short notice, and then I would be accused of taking drugs? I told myself, "Whatever" and walked out of that place :).

As I was waiting in the lobby for that time, I made some interesting observations:

- Most women who walked in were carrying a coach purse. I never used to notice it before, but ever since my sister gifted me one and I use it, it is always the first thing that comes to my attention. Coach is indeed very popular among women out here.
- Half of the people who came either forgot their lab slip or their insurance card.
- Today was not a busy day at the lab. Even when there was no queue, people walking in would ask questions like - "I didn't make an appointment, can I get the lab done"? or, "I am few mins late for my appt, will you still take me"? - LOL!
- I met a 72-year old lady, who had come for a similar test as me. She had 48-year old twin boys, and when she was pregnant with them, she kept telling the doctor that something is different with this pregnancy (she had 2 older kids) but he didn't listen to her. There was no ultrasound at that time. When she delivered her twins 4 minutes apart, everyone was shocked :). Her story left me wondering, one more time, how our grandparents and older generation dealt with so many pregnancies with little or no information on how everything was going. Science has advanced so much, and it's great to see lower infant mortality rates and higher survival rates of pre-term babies.
- Most people who expected to wait at the lab brought a book with them. Today, most of the book covers I saw were self-help books :).
- Elderly people who could not understand English very well were ill-treated by the lab staff. I observed this last Saturday as well, when I went for my 1-hour test. I helped one of them today, but I feel this needs to be fixed, so I think I will send in a comment form online regarding this issue.

I was able to connect to work using an unsecured wi-fi network, so my time went by quickly. However, I hope I don't have to go through another round of this painful procedure :).