We're Having a Baby!

We have more big news… and it is getting bigger every day! After four home pregnancy tests, two ultrasounds, three weeks of morning sickness, and about seven pounds added directly to my mid-section, Vince and I are pretty sure we’re pregnant. Actually, we are now half way there… four months and three weeks to be exact and I’m starting to feel the beginnings of some rolling around and kicking. We’re due on December 13th and expect to have the baby back in Atlanta, GA where our families can be closer to the little miracle that has made our last few months such a wild, happy, and sometimes hormonally tearful ride. My parents have graciously gifted me a starting maternity wardrobe which is now coming in very handy and Vince is busy making I-Pod music mixes to play to the baby over huge DJ headphones applied directly to my stomach in the evenings. With Vince’s new-found love of pod-casts, the baby will likely spend some time studying the history of Gettysburg and similar programs in the coming months and should have a good head start on the 10th grade by the time s/he is born. ☺

We have also been thrilled so far with the care we have received from The State Department. State has handled all of our monthly checkups at the embassy, provides drivers to the local doctor for more intensive checkups, and also flew me to London in June for state-of-the-art medical screenings that ensured the baby was healthy and happy. Vince came along on the London trip and we made a long weekend of it, visiting his friends Carla and Freddy and their three beautiful children up on Knotting Hill for a few days before moving into the hotel near Hyde Park. During the ultrasound screening in London the technician had to poke gently at my stomach to try and get the baby to turn over and we all got a laugh to see the little one punch her right back instead of obliging. Our first clear sign that the child will be a happy reflection of his/her two stubborn parents!

Flying back to Atlanta seven ½ months pregnant won’t be much fun, but again State takes very good care of us. We will have a nice daily stipend for housing and meals for me and the baby throughout the three- three ½ months we expect to be on leave. That financial boost should afford us nice temporary housing and comfortable living through the holidays and ease any strain we have from time off work. I should be able to work from Atlanta for the first month and Vince expects he will be able to take off about two months total starting in early December. If everything goes smoothly with the baby’s passport and visa we hope to return together with the little one in early February.

Finally, with my new job as Vice President of the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group well underway from our home office, and a community full of nannies looking for work at reasonable rates, we expect we’ll be managing the work/life balance of two working professionals in no time. My most immediate challenge, though, will be to really get the office organized now in anticipation of Phaetus’s arrival (temporary name only). I expect this new-found need for organization will come as a relief, even a little comic relief, to the many colleagues who have waited patiently while I searched for misplaced receipts or timesheets. The time difference between here and the States means I’ll have the mornings and early afternoons with the baby before the nanny takes over for a few hours until Vince comes home and gets settled.

Although we were surprised by the pregnancy, we are beginning to see that we could not have planned it all any better and feel very, very blessed. We hope we’ll have the chance to see many of you when we return to the States and look forward to talking with you all soon!