And Out Popped a Baby!

You might recall in an earlier post I mentioned the dilemna of whether or not to have an epidural during my labor. Well, that necessity to make the decision went straight out the window when the big day came around.

Before I begin our story, so you know, Baby Netkow has been born and we named her Meyli. I tell you that up front so I can refer to her by name to simplify things.

Here's what happened.......

It's Monday, October 18, 2010, the day before the expected due date. We decided it would be best that Meyli comes a day late so she can have a 10/20/10 birthdate. I know, us parents get to make all the important decisions.

It's Tuesday, October 19, 2010, Meyli's expected due date. She decided to be punctual, no running on Chinese time here! I start having contractions at about 2:30 AM but fall back to sleep. At about 4:30 AM I wake up to a bit more aggressive contractions. I set up the iPhone timeclock and start tracking the separation and duration and it's all over the place. After a few, Anthony suggests we try to go back to sleep and I did finally doze off for a bit.

Around 7 AM I'm back awake and the contractions are still coming but still not in regular intervals. They are however, more painful and Anthony reminds me to breathe. We joke that we can't go to the hospital yet since it would be morning rush hour. So we get up and Anthony has me in his rocking lounger. I'm tracking my contractions and he's having his usual morning coffee.

At about 8 AM I notice that my contractions are hitting more consistently at around 5 minutes apart. But some part of me kept thinking I must be mistaken and it'll go back to being irregular. Afterall, first pregnancies are suppose to have a lengthy stage 1 (contraction part, before the actual pushing stage). I attempt to have some broth for breakfast but my contractions were becoming increasingly painful and frequent that I only got about 2 small bites before I called it quits and opted for a hot shower.

I actually had a 1:30 PM doctor's appointment that day and we thought we'd "hang on" to get to the appointment so the doctor can let us know what to do next. But around 11 AM we decided it was best that we head into the city and show up to the doctor's office early and have them check things out for me. Being a weekday and living so far from the hospital we didn't want traffic to be an issue.

On the way in Anthony calls the private hospital that I'm expected to deliver at and explain the situation. The midwife asks to speak to me. We tell her the contractions are about 5 minutes apart and she tells me to go ahead and go to the doctor's appointment. She rambles on a bit about how first time pregnancies can often have false labor and people are sent home. I happen to have a contraction while on the phone and it's definitely getting more painful to where I couldn't speak. The midwife says to go to the doctor's appointment until I need pain management. She asks what I'm doing to deal with the contractions. I remember thinking to myself, "What the hell do you think I'm doing?? I have no choice but to take them as they come and ride them out!!" But my response to her was more civil, I said "breathing." But seriously, what did she expect me to tell her, it's not like I have an epidural shot handy that I could give myself or any other medication.

So we pull up to the light right outside the doctor's office and what do we see? Our doctor walking across the street to the hospital. I'm trying to think positive, that there will be another doctor in the office or the midwife that can check on my dilation. Anthony pulls into a 15 minute parking spot right in front of the doctor's office (thank goodness) and we walk up a few steps then take the elevator up, while I'm having a really really painful contraction. We get to the office and there's nobody there but a single lady manning the desk. She calls the hospital, explains the situation, and of course the mid wife wants to talk to me, a different one this time.

I tell her we initially thought 5 minute apart on contractions but while in the car I was noticing they were more like 3 minutes. She also asks me what I'm doing for the pain and this time my internal oration was much more colorful but still on the same lines of what a ridiculous question that is. I grunt out to her, "breathing." She then tells me that the birthing suites are chockered (means full in Australia lingo) at the moment but they will be cleaning a room soon. I asked how long it would take to get a room and she said about 30 minutes and said it was up to me to either wait at the doctor's office for the room to be ready or to wait in their waiting area.

Since we only had the 15 minute parking, we opted to go to the hospital. So back down the elevator and the steps and towards the car where I promptly threw up. I don't catch Anthony off guard much but at that moment I had a absurd brief celebratory moment of thought that I surprised Anthony! Then relief that I didn't up chuck in the small elevator where 3 other people were in it with us. We get into the car and I pull out the bags that I had stashed during my nauseating first trimester and Anthony zips us across the street to the Ambulance loading bay and drops me off while he goes to find parking since all the 15-30 minute spaces were all taken.

Now I'm pretty sure at this point I was already fully dilated. We learned in our birth class that nausea and vomitting will hit right before the next stage starts, the pushing stage. (See, we did pay attention in class!) Well that and the fact the contractions were an all consuming pain. A shred of self dignity was probably what prevented me from moaning and screaming in the elevator when I had a contraction. I do remember cursing to myself when somebody stepped into the elevator with me and hit a floor below the one I needed to go to.

I manage to get to the reception desk and she points me down the hall to the birthing suite and something must have flickered across my face because she quickly added that she would get me a wheelchair. So as I'm hanging on to the counter trying not to bash my head against it, the lady goes off in search of a wheelchair. She takes me around the corner to the birthing suite and I'm left in front of the nurses station where it has because apparent that I'm pretty far along in the process because I hear little whispers and catch "Netkow.....looks in a lot of pain.....hurry" and midwives are constantly coming up to me to assure me they're getting the birthing suite ready for me and to hang in there. I'm thinking to myself, "stupid midwife...telling me to wait to show up." Anthony shows up with our million pieces of luggages but honestly I was too preoccupied to worry about being embarrased. I have to give him credit for dragging it all up in one go and so quickly though.

They have me sit in their nurses office for some privacy while they rush to set up the birthing room. So this is where I am when Anthony snaps a picture of me.





Anthony, after taking this picture, promptly says "you'll thank me later for taking this picture." He's still waiting for that thank you. I'm holding a barf bag a midwife gave me and this is one of the last pictures of me pregnant!

  I have a few blindingly painful contractions while waiting in that little office but a few minutes later they usher me into my birthing suite.



Pretty big birthing suite! Off to the right is the bathroom with a full water birthing tub as well. You'll notice there's not much in terms of equipment in here. No monitors, no IV.



Not a pretty picture of me but it gives you another picture of what the room looks like. There's a baby heart monitor strapped to me otherwise no other monitors or needles attached to me. I'm holding a barf bag in my left hand (although I'm pretty sure I emptied my stomach just a few minutes prior) and the long tube in my right hand is the nitrous oxide. This is shortly before I go all commando.

 I mentioned in a previous blog about the nitrous oxide which is commonly used during the stage 1 of labor. I'm not sure how effective it was although a part of me wants to believe it shaved off a tiny bit of the really biting pain of the contractions. The mouth piece is just a long oval hard straw but I think I found myself biting onto it more than anything else. I remember with every contraction people kept directing my hand with the mouth piece to my face and telling me to take deep breathes. It's really hard to breathe normal when you feel like you're getting pulverized inside. They took this away from me though once I started pushing.

The doctor, who was conducting an emergency cesearean, joined us shortly. I was bracing for her to say something like "oh, you're only 3 cm dilated." but instead I heard surprise in her voice and "oh! she's fully dilated!" There was definitely a moment of relief then I had a contraction. The doctor then tells me she's going to break my water and before I really mustered up the energy to acknowledge her there was a pop and a really loud gush followed by a loud splash. The doctor kind of jumped back in surprise and I heard her say something about how she barely touched it. Apparently Meyli was quite ready. Of course, what I thought was painful contractions paled in comparison to the contractions after my water broke. I cringe just at the mention of it. My doctor left shortly after that to return to her practice across the street to wait for me to get further along, apparently common practice.

Fast forward about 45 minutes of hard pushing, words of encouragement, and chit chatting amongst Anthony, the midwife, the student midwife before the doctor returned. To her surprise I was quite far along and after another 15 or 20 minutes of REALLY hard pushing (yes, some hard grunting and a bit of screaming too), out popped Meyli! She came out all slick and slimey and screaming at the top of her lungs. She was immediately placed on my chest. I was momentarily caught off guard but happy they held true to the skin-to-skin practice we kept hearing about from everyone here. While I held her, Anthony cut the umbilical cord.

Everyone cleared out of the room for a few minutes so that it was just the new happy family. About 10 or 15 minutes later Meyli started her little head bobbing to look for what only her Mum could provide at that time, a boob! The midwife returned shortly to assist with making sure Meyli latches on properly then the doctor returned to finish fixing me up.

We were left alone again for a bit before a bustle of activity came through the door. Apparently they needed the birthing room and since I already delivered Meyli they had to rush us up to our private recovery room to free up that room. Last in, first out! So Meyli was wiped down and bundled up while I slowly made my way off the bed and onto a wheelchair. Poor Anthony was stuck with all the luggage again.

Once we arrived at our room and given some initial instructions, we were left on our own for several hours before we saw another midwife. And when I mean on our own, I mean the 3 of us. Since the birth, Meyli has continously been in the same room with us and even at the end of our 4 day stay she was never out of our sights.

I'll end my little story telling here as it's gone on long enough. I'll resume on a separate blog of our experience at the hospital for 2 days followed by us finishing out our total of 4 day hospital stay in the Grand Hyatt Hotel. I know, crazy right??

- julie

Anthony Versus SUV, Part 2

From the last post, we left off with Anthony being scheduled for surgery the following day.

So on July 20, 2010, the day after I talked to the nurse, we arrive at 7 AM and sat in the waiting room for about an hour and a half before they finally took him back to prep him for surgery and I'm booted out. I head home to wait it out then head back later in the afternoon where I sat with him for about 45 minutes before I had to head across the street to my usual doctor's appointment (remember, currently 6 months pregnant). I tell the doctor what's happening with Anthony and that my blood pressure is probably high and sure enough, it was significantly higher than my usual readings. The doc agreed to wait until my next appointment before subjecting me to all sorts of tests.

I head back to Anthony and tried to feed him some food but after having a tube down his throat everything felt dry and rough. I stay with him late into the night until visitors were being booted out. Poor guy barely slept, due to the pain and discomfort but also because there was a hysterical female patient a few beds down. She started being loud even while I was there and was apparently on the phone most of the night. In short, she was wailing and cursing about her boyfriend not showing up to visit her in the hospital and not even bringing anything like flowers or chocolate to console her. She kept ranting about how he doesn't care, blah blah blah. Seriously, if she was that active (walking around, yelling into her phone, crying excessively) they should have released her from their care.

The day after the surgery I get back to the hospital as early as they would allow visitors. Anthony is, of course, awake courtesy of the squawking woman, who was still yapping away with the same complaints as I walked past her bed but this time it was to what looks like one of the nurses. Poor lady.

We waited around until Anthony could be visited by the various medical teams and cleared by them. The Anaesthesia and Pain Management team came by first and after some discussions, cleared him after some pain medication explanations. The hospital still has the 3 day pain medication limit so we were advised to go see a General Practitioner for more medication. I understand the limit is to prevent people from going to the hospital for drugs but really, after such an invasive surgery you think they would have made an exception.

After a couple more hours the Physiotherapist (or as we know them as Physical Therapists) came by, attempted to show Anthony some movements to do at home to prevent the muscle from stiffening but of course there wasn't much Anthony could do at the time but grimace in pain with every movement. He said he'd have a physio script mailed to us. (We've noticed anything medically related has been done by snail mail here, very annoying.)

A couple more hours and Anthony was wheeled off for x-rays. I followed along and when we got to the x-ray department and Anthony was wheeled thru some doors, I thought to follow but was quickly bombarded by various people stopping me from following. I'm guessing the bulging belly on me had something to do with such a reaction.

We get back to Anthony's bed and after another hour or so the Orthopaedic Surgeon that performed Anthony's surgery came for his required review. He said the surgery went well and he was pleased with the results. He then produced a print out of the x-ray.




You can see the collarbone (clavicle) is now flush with the acromion (the bone to the left of the plate) because it's being held down by a titanium plate and 4 screws. There's also the metal hook that goes from the plate and hooks into the rotator cuff. The pieces floating above the plate are the 18 metal stitches holding the incision close.

  

Here's a drawing from Wikipedia that shows what the AC Joint (dislocated on Anthony) should look like with the collarbone flush with the acromion.

The surgeon clears Anthony to go home and goes on his way. The nurse comes after a bit with the medication script and says he can leave when he's ready. We ask when the bandage can come off and she says to wait for the follow up appointment with the Orthopaedic Outpatient Clinic (located in the hospital) and what they referred to as the Fracture Clinic (lovely name). As usual, we're to wait for the letter that will come by snail mail with the follow up appointment, which should be in about 2 weeks.

So that was it. No paperwork, no offer of a wheelchair to take him out, no instructions whatsoever. Anthony was feeling woozy so he rests a little then we get him dressed and we walk down to the parking garage. Yup, just got up and walked out.

A few days before the 2 week follow up appointment, we opted to take the bandage off ourselves. It was looking pretty rank and wasn't smelling so swell either. So we got to see the stitches for the first time.


18 metal stitches, about 12 days after the surgery.

Frankenstein anyone?

At the 2 week follow up appointment an Orthopaedic Surgeon pops out the metal stitches with this little plastic contraption. We were expecting something really painful but Anthony said he only felt a few painful pinches. Just like all the other medical professionals we have met during this whole process, the doctor doesn't ask much question and doesn't provide much information. It was up to us to ask all the questions like "is such and such pain normal?" "how much can he lift?" "is the incision healing well?" "what's the next step?" If we hadn't asked any questions, I don't think the doctor would have spoken more than 10 words to us.

We did learn that it's best that he leaves the plate & hook in for up to 6 months but not much longer than that otherwise the rotator cuff will sustain long term or permanent damage. So in up to 6 months, they'll redo the entire surgery, yup, slicing through the muscle and all. This is in hopes that it will have given the ligament time to have repair. We weren't ready to hear the doctor mention the chance that when the plate comes out the collarbone will pop right back out. He didn't really discuss what would happen if that occurred but I think we were too shocked to think straight at that point.

Anthony still hadn't received any physiotherapy information at that point so the doctor got us in to see their on staff physio when he was done with us. She wrote us a script to take to any physiotherapy and sent Anthony home with a few more at home exercises.

After another 6 weeks, Anthony went in for another set of x-rays and another follow up appointment with a different Ortho but at the same Fracture Clinic. Last time we waited two hours and this time we waited an hour and a half. I had to go out and feed more money into the parking meter. Unfortunately, this doctor was not nearly as nice as the previous one. He was cold and his remarks/answers almost bordered on being rude.

We asked him about Anthony's risk of doing any damages if he returned to cycling at this point and instead of answering the question the doctor immediately shot him down with "if you want me to tell you not to ride, I won't but if you fall you'll do worse damage. So if I were you I wouldn't ride." Okay, so we get that. It doesn't take a genius to know that any trauma to Anthony's shoulder especially with titanium plates in it will most likely do further damage. So we tried to ask him again as to whether the riding itself would inhibit the healing process, cause tears/damages, or just in general undo any of the healing. The doc still didn't get it and said "like I said, if you fall, you'll do worse damage." We gave up. The doctor was obviously trying to rush through the appointment and I don't think he cracked a single smile during the short 10 minute appointment. Waited an hour and a half (with a designated appointment time in hand) for a 10 minute appointment with a doctor that couldn't bother to listen to the patient. He's definitely due for a refresher Bedside Manner 101.

So here we are today. Anthony still has a lot of muscle soreness, limited range of motion, unable to bear much weight in his right arm, and still can't turn to sleep on his right side. We joke that to others he must look like an awful husband because his pregnant wife was having to do some of the lifting on large bulky items when we're out and about.

We're only in the middle of the whole story. Still waiting to have his second surgery then to redo all the physio and regain all the improvement he has already built up. Definitely a long road, lengthened even more by the fact that we'll be welcoming our first born within a matter of weeks or even days. However, in the end, Anthony is still with us and in one piece and on the mend, regardless of how long it will take him.

Until the next big development.....

- julie

Anthony Versus SUV, Part 1

After years of cycling, both recreational and competitively, and logging countless hours on the trail and on the road, one of the biggest fears of any bicyclist became a reality for Anthony. On his regular ~40 minute commute to work, an SUV turned directly into the path of Anthony resulting in an unavoidable collision. The ironic part of it all is that Melbourne, Australia, where the accident happened, has a great deal of invested infrastructure to support bicycling. Sure it can always be better but by comparison to the States that tout being bicycle friendly, Melbourne probably still has more dedicated bicycle lanes and cyclists in general on the road.

For the state of Victoria, in which Melbourne is located, statistics show that from 2001 (18,941) to 2006 (25,181), there was a 33% increase in commuter cyclists in which cycling is their only method of travel to work. Recreational riding has gone from 2001 (461,200) to 2009 (551,400) with a 20% increase. Victoria's roadway authority estimates that 12,000 bicycle commuters are equivalent of 10,000 cars, 86 trams, or 15 trains. Melbourne currently has what they call the Principal Bicycle Network which is Melbourne's major network of cycle routes, both actual and proposed. To date, 1,200 km (745.65 miles) have been completed out of the planned 2,300 km (1,429 miles). I don't believe that includes many of the existing parks.  I won't ramble off any more statistics but you get the gist that Melbourne has a lot of cyclists and it's a very common day to day sight to see cyclists everywhere.

Which is why I was stunned that an accident would happen to Anthony while we were here in Melbourne after his years of cycling in Austin, TX, side-by-side with many vehicle drivers that are less likely to be exposed to cyclists. In any case, on with the story.

It's the morning of Thursday, July 8, 2010, middle of winter here in Melbourne. Anthony goes about his usual morning prep to head out to work on his bicycle. He leaves around 7 AM with my usual send off and wishes for a good and safe ride. Being just a little over 6 months pregnant, I crawl back into bed. Just a little before 10 AM, I get a call on my cell, a number I don't recognize but I answer. A lady on the phone asks for me then says her name and all I remember catching was "....Melbourne Hospital.....Anthony....don't panic.....collision...." I remember her asking me if I was coming to the hospital and I had a moment of sanity where I actually asked, or more like confirmed, which hospital and where (it's next to the hospital where we will be delivering Baby Netkow) since I hadn't driven to the area on my own yet as Anthony has always gone to my doctor appointments with me (in a building across the street from the hospital). I also remember the nurse saying over and over again that Anthony was okay and that they're waiting for test results.

So I hung up with her and promptly started getting dressed. Of course little bubbles of panic and horrible thoughts kept creeping up. But I remember thinking, breakdown now but not in front of Anthony because he has already gone through enough and will need me together. Plus knowing Anthony, he'll be worried about me stressing out while pregnant. So I collected myself, called a co-worker of Anthony's since he obviously didn't make it into work so that she could pass on the info to his boss, collected a few things for Anthony like clothing since he would be in bicycle gear, prepped the dogs to be home for a while, locked up the house, popped into the GPS to the hospital, and started the 40 minute drive. In hindsight, I'm surprised I kept it together long enough to remember to do all of that instead of just blindly jumping into the car and going.

After a stressful drive to the hospital, finding parking in the overpriced hospital parking lot ($18 start, up to $30 for over 5 hrs) I made my way through the hospital maze to get to the Emergency & Trauma Services area. They slapped a visitor sticker on me and told me what number bed he was in then sent me on my way to find him through the 20+ beds.

And this was the sight I was greeted with:


Took this with my phone so it's pretty grainy. But you can imagine how I reacted upon seeing him like this.



Poor guy was really no comfortable in this narrow portable ER bed. You can see his left arm is pinched between the rail and not really supported by the bed.



Anthony was a little out of it otherwise he probably wouldn't have let me snap these pictures. You can see his cut jersey and windbreaker under him. He laid in this exact position for hours.

I think I stopped breathing for a bit and my heart went a little erratic at that moment. My eyes immediately watered and I fought hard to make sure they didn't go any further. Didn't need Anthony worried about me when he needed to focus on himself. He was awake when I got to his side, a little sluggish, but awake. To be honest, not having been told what to expect or what the series of events were, I was expecting the worse in appearance. I was preparing myself to see lacerations, road burns, generally a bloody mess. Fortunately that wasn't what I saw although I think seeing him in a c-collar was probably worse.

He kept asking me how I was and I kept asking him how he was. Apparently he seriously considered not having the nurse call me until much later. And of course I told him I would have been furious with him if he had withheld this from me.

I didn't want Anthony to think too hard about the accident so I didn't push for details, plus he was in a great deal of pain, and so initially I only got bits and pieces of what happened. In the end, I learned the full series of events. He was about 20 minutes into his ride, in an area called Yarraville, which is a section that he was already riding through even before we moved further out so it's a path that he'd been riding for a year already. He was going about 35 km/hr (~22 miles/hr) in the bicycle designated path on the road. A SUV/utility vehicle heading in the opposite direction turned directly into his path without warning (not even slowing down to turn) and with no time to stop. Anthony only had enough time to turn his head away before slamming into the door of the vehicle then dropping hard to the cold asphalt. Remember it's winter.

Fortunately the driver stopped and other witnesses stopped to render aid. Many used their own coats to cover him as now he was laying on the ground unable to move on his own. He recalls blacking out for a little bit and most of the event is a blur. Police and ambulance show up and since his collision is considered a trauma with possible neck or spine injury, they took him to the Royal Melbourne Hospital which has a trauma center. One of the witnesses worked nearby and gave the police his business card, which he passed on to Anthony, and was nice enough to take care of collecting the bicycle and helmet until we could retrieve it. When we later met up with him, he told us Anthony left a huge dent in the door that left it unable to be opened. If I recall correctly, I think he mentioned that the driver of the vehicle didn't see Anthony before making the turn.

Back at the hospital, Anthony is stuck in his c-collar for about 8 hours because they wouldn't let him out of it until the x-rays and whatever other scans he had came back. For whatever reason, it took forever. They had cut open his cycling jersey and wind breaker but he was still in the rest of his cycling gear. Between wearing spandex clothing and forced to lay still for 8 hours, he was feeling pretty miserable. On top of that, he usually doesn't eat breakfast until he got to work so he was starving and they wouldn't even let him drink water until the test results came back. Something about fear of choking.

I did the best I could to make him comfortable. I was constantly massaging his hands, legs, and feet. I eventually helped him change into more comfortable shorts that I had grabbed from home. Considering he was bruised from his right hip to his right shoulder, helping him change clothing with minimal movement was a challenge.

After being in the ER for about 6 hours, they moved him to the emergency room's short stay area. It was certainly a plus being that it was quieter and the bed was bigger. He was still stuck in the c-collar, but at least he was a bit more comfortable. Text messages and calls were coming in from friends and family but I think half of them were concerns for him and half were concerns for me. Our cell phone reception was shoddy in the hospital so we sent out updates as often as we could.

In pain, uncomfortable, hungry, and thirsty, we finally got a visit from a doctor. Apparently because of the risk of neck/spinal injury, they required 3-4 different levels of doctor to senior doctor and specialists reviews before the final ruling. Anthony was cleared of any neck or spinal injuries so the c-collar was able to come off. The bad news was that the big protrusion on his right collar area was due to the collar bone no longer attached to anything and was popped out of place. Or as they called it, a dislocated AC (acromioclavicular) joint.

They didn't show us the x-ray at the ER but at his first ortho appointment the doctor left the image on the computer and walked out so I quickly snapped a shot of it with the phone. You can see the dislocation that's causing the protrusion. The bone should be completely flush with each other in an undamaged x-ray.

After we received the news, the doctors had advised that he stay overnight for both observation and pain management but eventually reluctantly agreed that if he stayed a few more hours, ate, proved he could pee and walk on his own, then he could go home. Anthony being Anthony, wanted to get home. So after getting some food into him finally, and a few wobbly attempts at getting up without getting dizzy, and of course go tinkle, he was finally released. They sent him home with only 3 days of medication as by law that is the maximum allotment a hospital can dispense. We were told if he needed more to go to our General Practitioner. Fortunately he had an orthopaedic surgeon appointment on the third day.

So I drove us home with Anthony cursing every bump in the road. On the bright side, we learned he really craved peanut M&M's so eating a whole bag of it on the way home was his only consolation. I had bought a bag of it for him from the hospital gift shop, $5 for a bag of M&M's, outrageous.


This is what his collar/shoulder looked like when we got him home from the ER.

At the visit with the orthopaedic surgeon, we received mixed answers as to the next step. Initially the doctor said Anthony's ligament injury was at the cusp of needing surgery but could also forgo it, he just would have the protrusion for the rest of his life along with usual aches and pains. We stressed to him that Anthony is a very active individual and cycling is his primary mode of transportation to and from work plus he isn't just a recreational cyclists, he wants to be able to return to competing which he had just started to do in Australia only a few weeks ago. To top it off, we have a baby on the way so it was very important for him to return to fully functional and minimal issues down the line.

After some consideration the doctor left to discuss the situation with other doctors. After a while he came back and said that since his case bordered on needing surgery, he was going to present his case to the hospital's medical board the next day. Apparently the board is made up of 20 or so senior doctors in which they review medical cases that were out of the ordinary. In addition, he had Anthony take new x-rays at the end of the appointment to present to the board.

So two days later we get a call from the doctor and apparently the new x-rays show a 5th degree ligament tear, the most extreme case. The medical board unanimously agreed he required surgery. The doctor said we would get a call back with the surgery date and he expected it would be within just a week. A week passed and we hadn't heard anything so I called. Initially they had no record of him needing surgery but after some searching we got a call back and the nurse said, "oh yes, he has the highest level of urgency for surgery so we'll get him scheduled within 30 days." I think the voice of a hysterical pregnant woman had the nurse call me back to tell me he was scheduled for surgery the next day and to show up at 7 AM.

This has turned out to be a much longer post than I had expected so I'm going to stop here and pick up from the surgery in a separate post, with more lovely pictures to share.

- julie

When to Push

Two weekends ago we attended our last pregnancy education class, Labour & Birth. Out of the 15 couples that attended, we came the furthest distance taking about 40 minutes of driving yet we were the 6th couple to arrive on time, the rest all came after the course scheduled start time. All those that were late only had 8-15 minute travel time and the very last couple to arrive lived ON the street where the class was being held and walked there. Keep in mind, the class is held in a building just across the street from the hospital that we all plan to deliver at. The only reason we arrived to the class on time too was the fact that Anthony dropped me off at the building entrance then went in search of parking, metered parking.

We both found the class informative and fortunately they didn't show vivid videos of actual deliveries. I was torn with the idea of seeing one but probably leaning more towards not wanting to. There was one awkward point in the class where the instructor was trying to show us that the squat position helps open the pelvic area by about a centimeter thereby helping with the delivery. So she makes all the mums-to-be stand up and place one hand on their front pelvic area and run their other hand down their backside downunder, hold it there, then squat. Apparently this was so we can "feel" the pelvic movement. I think everyone there, even the guys were mortified. Nothing like a bunch of pregnant women touching themselves, squatting, and in a room with other women and men watching. Although I was impressed that none of the women fell over from laughing so hard. I was just worried I might pee in my pants.

The class was fairly uneventful after that. Although it did leave me with three open issues or at least areas of uncertainty.

You might have seen me mention elsewhere that Australia is big on midwives for labour and delivery. We touched on this subject in class but only briefly since we were the only couple there that wasn't accustomed to that idea. Even at my doctor's office they keep a midwife on staff to field questions instead of them going to the OB. So in the labour ward at the hospital every patient is assigned a midwife and they're the ones that will field our questions, check our dilation, and in most cases, there to deliver the baby. Apparently the OB is really only called to presence if it's anything beyond a normal birth or if I have to get wheeled off to the "theater" (or as we call it, surgery).

Basically the midwife does it all for the labour and delivery unless it's something beyond a "normal" delivery in which case she acts as a liaison to everyone else, the OB, pediatrician, anesthesiologist, etc. To be honest, we're not too keen on that idea. I have every expectation that my doctor will be present at the time of the delivery so needless to say, we'll be having a discussion with her to find out what's the plan on when she'll show up.

Another concern popped up when we were going over the stages of the labour period in which the contractions start. The instructor pointed out that our generation love to show up to the hospital way too early. Which means, they are then sent home. So I can understand that to a point since the general first time pregnancies seem to take hours before it progresses to the point of pushing. What I have an issue with is the fact that we live 40 minutes away, on an easy drive (like around the time of 2 AM) but on a regular work day and especially if it's during rush hour, it may take us 1.5 hours to get to the hospital. So my fear is, being it's our first baby, and the unexpected is to be expected, when should we actually leave for the hospital and if we left too early would they seriously send us back home?? Because I tell you what, if that happens, they are going to have a psychotic pregnant women on their hands.

Add to that the fact that parking is insanely expensive at the hospital. Up to the first hour is $10.00, then $12.00, then $15.00, $18.00, $21.00, then $24.00 and if you are there for more than 6 hours it's $30.00. And I'm pretty certain the odds of me being in labour for more than 6 hours are pretty good. And no, we can't use street parking, those are all metered with 2-4 hr maximums usually at about $2.40/hr. The last thing I want is Anthony running out every 2-4 hours to move the car and feed the meter. I don't think the baby will be willing to wait if it happens to be right at the end of the time frame. And the meter readers here are VERY VERY on top of catching expired meters. The ticket/fine is around $70-$100 dollars and it's not a one time fine, they'll keep giving you another $70-$100 ticket each time they come around to check.

And last but no least, pain meds. One option that is extremely prevalent here is inhaling Nitrous Oxide during the first stage of labour before the pushing. On TV, you see labouring women squiggling in pain and sucking on the gas like they've been deprived of oxygen or something. Apparently you're suppose to take deep breathes but more often than not the women are taking it in with rapid gasps.

This is an example of the contraption.

It's suppose to only take away about 20%-30% of the pain. I'll probably give it a go and I'm sure Anthony will be taking a few tokes too! It's suppose to not affect the baby whatsoever and in rare cases it may make me nauseous but otherwise pretty harmless.

Now the discussion of epidurals is actually what had me a bit unsettled. As with any medication there will always be risks. The risk seems to be greater because of the point of insertion for epidurals. The instructor listed off about 10 different risk ratios like odds of permanent disability, odds of severe headache to where you can't sit up, odds of infection, etc. As the list builds, the more uncomfortable I get about having an epidural. However, having said that, I have a feeling at the moment of crisis when I'm bawling my eyes out and chanting "I can't do it, I can't do this," I'll be begging somebody to either put me out of my misery or give me an epidural. So I walk away hoping I can muster up the courage to not need it so I don't put myself or the baby at any risk whatsoever from it but realistically when all hell breaks loose I probably won't care for anything but relief.

We did learn a tid bit about the anesthesiologists that administer these epidurals though. At the private hospital we'll planning to deliver at, there are 4 anesthesiologists that administer the epidural. Apparently they all charge a different fee for doing so. Two charge normal costs that from what I understand is covered by the insurance plans. Another charges $400 on top and the fourth one charges $1000 more! Now when we heard that, Anthony and I had to pick up our jaws from off the floor. Doesn't that sound absurd? 4 doctors that perform the same procedure in the same hospital would charge such extremely different rates. And to top it off, you're stuck with whomever is there so it's not like you can ask for the "cheaper" doctor AND they don't even bother to tell you which doctor it is so you get to find out when the bill arrives. If we get that $1000 extra cost doctor, that epidural better be the best drug ever.

We survived our classes, or more accurately, Anthony survived the classes. Oh wait, did I mention, we signed Anthony up for "Father's Time" course that's just for Fathers-To-Be?? I don't get to go so it'll be interesting to hear how that goes. I'll try to get Anthony to blog about it but no guarantees, he may want to forget the experience as soon as it happens! I told him it'll probably require him to hold hands with other guys while in a circle, singing Kumbaya, and crying over the end of their freedom.

- julie

Itsy Bitsy

A few weeks ago a friend of Anthony's came by for a visit and brought this adorable and delicious miniature cupcakes! They're small, about 2 inches wide. But they're also $2 each! I don't know about you but that's expensive for something that you can eat in one bite.

The 3 in the back got a little rocked during transport and were on their side when I opened the box.

These came from a store in the Melbourne CBD called The Cupcake Family.

They have standard size cupcakes too ($3.70 each) and what they call their "deluxe cupcakes." Anthony and I particularly love the Chocolate Peanut Butter which is described as "Rich chocolate cake with melted crunchy peanut butter filling, topped with smooth peanut butter cream." It's $7 for one so it's not something we would indulge in often.

Chocolate Peanut Butter ($7 Deluxe Cupcake)

The 4 mini cupcake flavors we got this time were:

Mini Coffee Crunch (front row)
Coffee lovers, this one is for you! Coffee cupcake with crunchy walnut and coffee buttercream. Garnished with crushed walnut.

Mini Blueberry Cream Cheese (second row with the blue mouse ears)
Blueberry cupcake with a touch of pure maple syrup and silky soft cream cheese buttercream.

Mini Snowy Strawberry
Moist chocolate cupcake and whippy strawberry buttercream that melt in your mouth, dusted with real strawberry powder.

Mini Red Velvet (last row with the red and black diamond and spade)
Moist chocolate cupcake with a hint of vanilla, topped with smooth cream cheese icing. Our Best Seller!

Probably a good thing that they're located in the CBD, which means I don't have easy access to it! I think we all know I don't need any extra help adding on those pounds!!

But cupcakes....YUM!

- julie

Baby 101

On Saturday, Anthony and I attended our first baby/parenting related class. It was through the educational  division of the private hospital that we're expecting to deliver at. This was 1 of 3 classes that we'll be attending with Anthony attending 2 of the 3 as I spared him having to go to the Breastfeeding class. This particular class was the Postnatal & Early Parenting class that lasted just a little over 3.5 hours. Nothing like watching 13 pregnant women go racing to either the restroom or to the snacks area during the break. All 13 father-to-be were in attendance too so it was a pretty full house.

It was quite informational even the 1980's short video that shows how babies will look when they first pop out. I think they intentionally showed the worst pictures (like bruises, birthmarks, initial deformities, etc) and worst case scenarios. Anthony and I stole a lot of grimacing glances at each other with practically every picture.  The midwife (extremely commonly used here, to the point where you're actually likely to have a midwife delivery instead of with your OB at the hospital) kept stopping the video to point out that it's usually never this bad. I think it's time for an updated video.

All the hands on were actually geared towards the fathers with many of the questions/answers for the mums. Anthony practiced how to wrap and hold a baby to bathe them, putting on a diaper (to which he promptly said, "go see Mommy to get fixed" and shoved the doll my way), putting on a "jumper" (or as we know them as onesies), and two different ways to wrap/swaddle a baby. Considering he still has limited use of his right arm because of a bicycling versus car accident (will blog about that at another time), he did very well!

There were two particular areas that we found amusing and contrasts how different the Australian culture is to the American one. The first being that they are obscenely serious about their "capsules" or as we know them as car seats. They're adamant that you have them properly installed by people that specialize in installing car seats. When the midwife asked how many people planned on installing the car seat themselves, aside from Anthony raising his hand, I think only one other father did. Apparently everyone else is paying people to install it "properly." I don't recall a single friend or family in the States mention getting a car seat installed by a third party. I can understand the importance of installing it properly but does it really warrant paying somebody to do it for you? What happens when you have to remove it and put it back in??

The other area was the discussion of temperature, specifically how much clothing for the baby. Since the majority of the those attending the class are due in October, it's still an in between month where it can still be as cold as winter or it can start to warm up. Quite a bit of time was dedicated to this topic. I don't think it's as "big" of an issue in the Sates because we all regulate the temperature in our house with this great invention called central air conditioners and heaters. When the midwife asked how many people had central air conditioner or heater, we raised our hand along with 2 other couples. Mind you this is out of 13 couples in the class. Then one of the couple says, at night we turn it to 10 degrees Celsius (that's 50 degrees Fahrenheit!!). I think Anthony and I both let out a choking sound. Which of course drew everyone's attention to us so Anthony says, we usually keep it around 21 degrees Celsius (69.8 degrees Fahrenheit, but even then we're bundled up in sweaters). Somebody piped up and said "yeah, but that's in Fahrenheit" and we said, "uh, no, that's in Celsius."  That apparently drew some surprised looks and sounds. The same couple says during the day they'll turn it up to 17 degrees Celsius (62.6 degrees Fahrenheit) to which we responded, "well, we turn it down to 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) sometimes" and the class erupted into laughter. But really, we were flabbergasted.

During the break the midwife put on, quite loudly, a sound file of a full on upset baby crying. I think she left it on for about 5 minutes. I think Anthony was ready to throttle somebody. Although he did manage to ask where we can get that file to play it for our dogs. Everyone laughed and Anthony had to say, "seriously, we want to play it for our dogs." That prompted a brief discussion of how to introduce a new baby into the "pack." One suggestion was to bring home a worn clothing and a used diaper from the hospital before we bring the baby home......yeah, I'm really not sure how well that is going to go down with Anthony riding in the car for about 45 minutes with a poop filled baby diaper.

We learned about watching for signs of communication even as early as a few hours after birth. Which after watching a video, actually made quite a bit of sense. Most people assume babies don't communicate yet so you don't look for it but if you're patient and watch for it, babies start responding to Mum and Dad as soon as they have the little bittiest of alertness in them. There's a bit of a delayed reaction and you can't try to communicate when they're sleepy or milk drunk but it's there. Hopefully we'll remember this lesson and give it a go when our little girl is born.

The midwife brought out a doll that is suppose to be an anatomically realistic baby with the correct weight distribution, loose neck, the gap in the skull, floppy/heavier arms and legs, etc. The doll was around 6.5 lbs and we were surprised how heavy that felt in a baby. I was already imagining how tiring it would be to carry her around! I can understand when people talk about mommy arms though, it's like perpetual weight lifting!

We survived our first class and both learned quite a bit. Anthony and I nudged each other a lot with "are you ready for that?" and I have a feeling Anthony's frequent remark to the practice doll of "go see your momma" is going to be happening more often than not when the real baby arrives.

- julie

Daddy-To-Be at Work

A couple of weekends ago Anthony got a glimpse of what being a Daddy will entail. So with a screw driver in hand he tackled putting together the crib!

Yes, that is the instructions he has opened in front of him. Believe me, I was just as surprised.

Building a crib must be tough, had to crack open a beer.

Senna checking the structural integrity from down below. Have a feeling this is going to be a new favorite spot for her when Baby Netkow comes home.

Well done Daddy-to-Be!! One down, one more to go!

I woke up the next morning to some pounding and thumping and what did I find? Anthony assembling the changing table! So I wasn't able to take pictures of the process but I was able to catch this:

Anthony testing the changing table with Senna. At least we know it holds up to at least 25 lbs!

If you know Anthony like I know Anthony, I bet one of the next items he'll be assembling will be something on two wheels!

- julie

See, I Really Am Pregnant!

On Saturday, Anthony took me for a nice afternoon out in the CBD (city/downtown). Since it's a living/working city, it's jammed back at all hours of the day and week. Unlike some downtowns that you may be use to where it's dead during the weekend because there's nobody "working." Now if I haven't mentioned the CBD before, there's no such thing as free parking and unless you're willing to dish out $15+ to park in a parking garage, all the other parking are street side parallel metered parking. So this was a true testament to Anthony's determination to have a nice lunch and walk around the city for me. We drove around for about 45 minutes trying to find parking and fight traffic (both cars, bikes, and lots and lots of pedestrians).

That's about 40 minutes longer than Anthony normally would have put up with stop and go or crawling traffic. Or threatening to run over people. We ended up just pulling into a garage that's was a little walk away but wouldn't cost us an arm and a leg, which was fine, more strolling for us. The day was a chilly breezy 50 degrees or so with the sun peaking out every so often. We merged in with the rest of the massive walking crowd and headed towards Chinatown. Why? Because I've been craving dumplings and Anthony remembered me mentioning it. So we headed to the Camy Shanghai Dumpling House!

Melbourne is known for tucking away wonderful restaurants down these little alleyways that you just know must be super scary at night. They're narrow, dark, and dingy. The kind that you see in movies where the innocent good guys always walk down while they're constantly looking over their shoulder, only to be blocked in by nasty looking tough bad guys. So yeah, the restaurant was down one of these alleys but fortunately it was during the day. And of course it helped that this place was packed! Upstairs and downstairs. I'm "borrowing" some of these pictures from Urban Spoon:






















Sign from the alley.

Front door.

Picture of the downstairs inside as soon as you walk in the door. There's more seating to the right, which is where we sat.


It's a real simple, no frills interior with self service hot tea dispenser (with plastic cups) and ginger/soy sauce dipping sauce. There's no such thing as service with a smile here and don't expect them to go above and beyond. If they can't reach you, you're expected to take the dish from their hands. Neither of us has been here before but we've heard and read about it quite often.

The price was quite reasonable, especially compared to the rest of Melbourne. Anthony tried their salted fish with rice which came heavily coated in diced garlic. Fortunately we like garlic. And I, of course had to try their dumplings! Since it was cold today and my need to stay hydrated for the bubzi, I tried their Dumpling in Soup, which appears to have been pork dumplings.

It hit the spot! And I think it came out to maybe $15 for the both of us. Now that's cheap eating in Melbourne! It's cash only, which meant we had to send Anthony for an ATM trip while I had waited for a seat. I noticed they had a sign above the cashier about frozen items so I think they sell their dumplings in frozen packs. Anthony promises to swing by some day to pick me up some. I didn't buy any that day as we weren't sure how long we'd be out and about and I'd rather not carry it while it melted.

Of course, I have been also craving a bubble tea and since we're in Chinatown, naturally I had to get a bubble tea. Cold weather be damned! So with a full content tummy and bubble tea in hand, we headed back out towards the city. We headed towards Bourke Street which has a shopping area that is blocked off to cars. As we approached there we passed by Bread Top and I couldn't resist NOT stopping in and of course that resulted in me having to make some lovely sweet Chinese bakery purchases. Pineapple Bun and Egg Tarts were on my must have list! I think I bought about 6 items there, which were all happily and greedily consumed by breakfast the next morning!

Anthony wanted to show me the Food Hall at David Jones (large department store) so we headed downstairs to their Food Hall. Now this Food Hall isn't like your typical mall food court, it's MUCH more lavish and fancy. The food stands are full kitchen prep areas with a selling counter. There's one for a butcher, seafood, cookies (yes, it's nothing BUT cookies), bakery, confectionaries (nothing but candy), sushi bar, sandwich/pasta, couple coffee places, juice bar, books, and a little grocery area. The grocery area is where we stumbled upon a section of American products!!!

Yes, Pop Tarts and that box cost about $13.00!

But you know what I was truly happy about?? It was the can of French Onions that go in the Green Bean Casseroles and the can of pumpkin pie!! Now I can make those for Thanksgiving!!!!

Only these couple of shelves of US products. Sadly they are about 5-10 times the cost of it!


Oh and we found green pepper tabasco sauce! Granted it was about $6 but we actually mourned the last drop we got out of the bottle my sister had shipped us. We seriously thought that would be the last time we would be tasting it until we get back to the States. Needless to say, it made Anthony a very happy camper.

Okay, so you may still be wondering what all this has to do with the title of this blog. Well, since we hadn't sent out any pictures of me pregnant, this will be the first picture evidence!

Yup, 5 months and 2 weeks pregnant!!

Anthony thought I was nutz when I popped outside without a jacket and handed him the camera. It was a cold and breezy 50 degrees and here I was in short sleeves asking him to take pictures. I told him I must satisfy the curiousity of our friends and family that have been diligently asking us for pictures! I haven't bought any maternity clothes, hoping I can get by, so I'm squeezing into some regular clothes. The pants barely zip up and if it wasn't for Anthony's strap style belts, they'd probably be falling off at this point!

So there, "See, I Really Am Pregnant!"

I read the next 4 weeks, bubzi is suppose to double in weight so she took about 5 months to get to 1 lb and will take 1 month to get to 2 lbs. Yeah, I foresee an interest next 4 weeks.......

- julie

Too Late!

I knew it! I knew Anthony would get Sete in the stroller one way or the other!

Senna was soon poking around afterwards determined to figure out how this contraption could be a toy for her. Chili, being Chili, is afraid of it, as we expected. I leaned the changing cot mattress up against the front of the stroller because I know it's just a matter of time before Senna gathers up the courage and leaps into it to make it her new day bed.

My only consolation is knowing that Anthony will be outnumbered 4 females (me, Sete, Senna, bubzi) to 2 males (him and Chili) in the household!

- julie

There's a Baby Stroller In Our House!

Well, first and foremost, if you haven't heard already, the ultrasound we just had revealed we are having a little girl! Anthony will have to wait for "bub" #2 in hopes of a boy but let's get through "bubzi" (as we've grown to start calling her) #1 first. Regardless of the gender though, Anthony already has plans to get her on a dirt bike. And I on the other hand, have been trying to find the most technologically advanced shock-absorbing material I can wrap her from head to toe in by the time that day comes.

Although we're still 4 months out, we've only heard how we should shop early for certain items as stores here do not seem to like to keep things in stock therefore it can take weeks (6 to 12 wks) for any selected items to arrive. Since June is the last month of the financial year here in Australia (tax cycle starts anew in July) we heard now's the time for sales. However, even if things are on sale here, they are still much more expensive than items in the States.

Anthony heard about a warehouse distribution place that was open to the public that specialized in some infant items. So we paid them a visit on Saturday. Even paying wholesale prices (which were $200-$300 cheaper than the retail price) we still gritted our teeth to know that we're still paying at least double what these items would cost in the States. But alas, the bubzi has to sleep somewhere and get around in a "pram" rather than being carried everywhere. On a side note, Australians differentiate strollers into "pram" and "stroller."

A pram is larger, bulkier, and usually converts from infant (lay down) to toddlers (sit up) with add on options like rain covers, sun shades, extra compartments, etc.

A stroller is the typical simple and light sit up stroller that collapses like an umbrella.

We opted for a more reasonably priced pram so that we can afford other bubzi items. Plus in case we have to dump it in a year, it wouldn't be a loss. And yes, Anthony has already tried to talk me into letting him put the dogs in the stroller. I think he likes sending me into a frantic tizzy.

The distribution center also had a couple crib and changing table deals. So we picked up a nice solid cot and changing table.

So Anthony has his first bubzi assembly project to work on now! And I'm sure like all the other male chest thumpers out there he'll say to hell with the instructions!

With the crib, changing table, and stroller sitting in our dining/living area at the moment, it's screaming "You have a baby on the way!!!" It's another reality check that it's REALLY happening!!

I don't foresee us doing much baby shopping in the immediate few weeks as I think I've already sapped Anthony of his quarterly allotted shopping patience in this last go. Well, I'll let him drop his guard after a few days before I hit him with another shopping trip for the very important and another expensive expense for a car seat. So don't give him a heads up!

- julie

Boy or Girl??

I'm writing this just a few hours before our week 20 ultrasound where we hope to find out if we're having a boy or girl! That's right, a few hours before which means you won't find out on this post. I know, it's just cruel!

So as of today I start into the 5th month of our pregnancy. Despite the growing bulge of a belly, sometimes we get hit with a sudden realization that we're about to have a kiddo. Being it's our first, I feel like a fish out of water. I think regardless of all the advise or books I read, it's all going to go out the window once it happens. No, not quite having any panick attacks but I do get those brief moments when something crosses my mind and my eyes grow a little wider and my pulse picks up a little bit. I've already  had the dream where the baby is coming and I realize I don't have anything ready. No suitcase for mom-to-be or the baby and there's no way I was going to tell Anthony to pack something because he's already running around looking for help. I imagine I'll have more of those dreams.

I'm physically feeling well, a huge improvement from all the problems of the first trimester, with the exception of frequent headaches and migraines. Those have been no fun. Anthony has been playing a bit of mother hen when I have those rough days, thank god, even though he himself has already had a long day of 2 hours of bicycling to and from work then a hectic work schedule. He's being a trooper.

Knowing our lives will change in a short 4 months, I've been encouraging Anthony to venture further out with his bicycling. I will have spent the majority of the first year in Australia pregnant but I didn't want that to stop Anthony from taking advantage of some wonderful cycling spots that Oz has to offer. He's signed up for some upcoming mountain bike races for which I'm glad because he'll get to ride in some beautiful places. I will attempt to go to as many of them as possible but some of this further and longer races will probably be a bit trying for me. Plus we still have the 3 furry rugrats to take care of at home. So hopefully we'll get some good cycling pictures up here in the next few months.

Well, going to wrap up for now so I can get ready for the doctor's appointment. Fingers crossed that the "bub" will cooperate and let us take a peek to find out if it's a he or she!!

- julie

Whirlwind Catch Up

It's been a while since our last update and we're already cruising well into 2010. So this post will be a quick summary of what's been going on these last few months.

February brought about the end to my nice little vacation when I found myself back to work. I'm sticking within HR but this time with a family owned and operated transport company that operates in 9 locations across the states of Australia. They do some warehousing but mainly transport of liquids to those on pallets. They have their own mechanics, fleet of trucks, and washbays (to wash out the tankards). It's definitely a different type of environment both working in Australia but even in the industry itself.  Fortunately for me, we live rather close to work so I'm not traveling an hour and a half like some of my co-workers. But this also means that I'm getting in a lot more practice time driving (yikes!).

We did finally connect with family here in Melbourne. Anthony has a cousin here that he had never met but they're here with their 2 sons for what was initially a 2 year but now 3 year overseas assignment. Lovely couple, very nice and outgoing. Too bad they're on the East side of the bay and we're on the complete opposite West side of the bay. But regardless, it was nice to know we have family here.

March was a very busy month for us. One of the highlights was attending the Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix at Albert Park. Anthony has been before when he lived in Europe but this was a first for me. We opted for General Admission tickets since seated (but uncovered) tickets were running from $400-$800 per person (yikes!!).  The General Admission tickets covered Thurs – Sunday (day of the race) so Anthony popped in for a little bit to watch them take some practice laps. We went on Saturday for the qualifying laps and the first impressions had to be clearly how LOUD it was! We bought ear plug which definitely helped but there was some crazy people that were walking around without ear plugs, they must have been deaf already.

We spent several hours walking around, having a gourmet sausage, looking at the old race cars on display, watching the beer girls dance (horribly), watched some jet planes zip around overhead, and of course the 3 qualifying rounds. I did notice that the men's bathroom had a enormously long waiting line whereas the women's bathrooms had no line whatsoever. You hardly ever see that happen! We cleared out just in time before the mass exodus and the rain. There were events well into the night including a concert but we were exhausted already.

Sunday was the actual day of the race and it poured!! We opted not to attend in person and not because of the rain but because the viewing areas were less than ideal. Regardless if you were in the actual seated stands or general admission and roughing it on the grassy hills, your field of view was still limited to what was immediately in front of you. So besides the split seconds that the cars zoom by in a blur, you were watching the giant TV screens anyways. And if we were going to watching something on a TV screen, then we might as well watch it in the comfort of our home where we could see things clearly, get better coverage, and hear the commentators clearly.  I think I'll leave next year for Anthony to visit on his own. An experience in person once was enough for me.

March was busy because we also started house searching. No not to buy, we're not allowed since we're not Permanent Residents or Citizens, but to rent. As much as we like the location of the first place we moved into, it was just waaaaaaay to old and nasty. I cleaned and scrubbed it for 2 weeks straight from top to bottom. It changed a few shades of color but was still very yucky. We just couldn't feel comfortable in the house. Plus with no heat or air conditioning, it was just getting unbearable.

They have an odd rental process here. You can search online for rental properties and they list inspection dates and times. Now that may not seem so odd except the inspection time is usually limited to a period of 10-15 minutes then they boot you out. If you're interested then you get an application from the agent and the owner and/or agent gets to pick from all the applicants that applied. So there's no time to test the electricity, look under all the sinks, open all the cabinets, etc. It's almost like a whirlwind in and out and the next time you see the place would be if you were selected to rent it and it's your move in date. So needless to say, it's a very tiring process. Some Saturdays we'd have a list of 10 properties to look at starting at 9am and ending at 5pm. All I can say is, thank goodness for GPS.

So in the end, we moved a little further out west but to a much newer development area. It could almost be called a master planned community. It's probably their closest thing to what the States would call a golf course master plan community. It does have a very American feel to it. We found a gated section of this community, which is good for us and our crazy dogs that sometimes like to dart out into the streets. This was reinforced when just a week before we moved, we heard a blood curling little girl scream on our old house street and Anthony rushed out to help. Come to find out the girl and her mother had just opened their gate to step out and their little dog ran out into the street and was run over. After some panicking and Anthony barking commands since everyone else was in shock, another neighbor grabbed the dog and the girl and mother and took them to the closest vet. We never did hear what happened but it was just another sign that a gated community would only serve to help keep our "kids" safer.

So we're in the new place as of the first of April. A world of difference and we can already tell we're happier and even the kids are happier as they're playing a lot more, a lot lot more. We do notice that nobody takes care of their yard here, front or back. It's just full on weeds. We imagine it's because of the water restrictions so they're not yard obsessed like we were in the States. But yeah, the yard looks absolutely horrible, but what the hell, it was that way when we moved in. I'm thinking Anthony can do with a push mower, you know one of those simple motor-less blade system that you just push around.  That'll make Anthony appreciate his gas mowers even more!

One of the disadvantages of moving further out was that Anthony's bicycle commute to work is now longer, an hour each way. It'll take him a few weeks to fully adjust but so far he's been handling it very well.  We'll see how well he copes when full on winter comes around!

Well, that's it for now, you're mostly caught up. Hopefully we'll have a more interesting post for you all next!

-  julie

Catch A Tiger By Its Tail

We braved the masses and headed into the Melbourne CBD (central business district aka downtown) for the Chinese New Year celebration. It opened at 10:30 AM with a lion dance that we ended up missing but there was still ample to see. The celebration was based in the center of what Melbourne calls Chinatown and a large cross-like section of the streets were closed off for vendor booths, cultural entertainment, and of course the lion dances at each of the businesses that paid for the blessing.

Here's a shot down one of the primary and wider lanes.

Down one side of the main stretch that's called Chinatown.

Fireworks drew us to watch the first of several lion dances that we caught. This lettuce was pulled rather high.

        As we were moving on to watch the next lion dance at the next business establishment, a rather long parade came through including this very long dragon.

             We got jostled pretty good with people obsessed with touching it, like it would bring them good luck.

It was cute to see the 6 other lions show up!

Another lion dance for a different business establishment.

The lion getting money from the audience.

This guy gave a $50 dollar bill!! He must be really hoping for an excellent year.

        If anybody finds this costume, Anthony would like one.

Chinese beef jerky!! Yum!! And yes....I was getting sun burnt!

Chinese opera. Too bad they weren't doing a full presentation with movements.

Different lion doing the dance in front of paying businesses. This lion and the masked boy was MUCH more energetic. There is about 4 different lion dances going on at the same time. There's that many businesses that wanted their own lion dances. And each business also had that loooooooong chain of firecracker that you see here. It was REALLY loud.

The masked boy was funny and cute!




A different business.

We stopped into a restaurant for a quick bite and the lion happened to come by so we got an inside out perspective this time.

Getting the lettuce and red envelope (of money)!

The lion is "eating" the lettuce, which means the dancer inside is shredding it then it gets tossed in the direction of the building. I happen to be looking back at something and the next thing I know something cold hits my arm and I look down to see a rather large chunk of the lettuce in the seat. Does that mean I'm extra blessed??

Happy New Year!!

- julie