It's Christmas!!!
We wish everyone a merry Christmas, have a fantastic day!
Love
Carla & Bradley
Thursday, 25 December 2008
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Year end Party
On Friday I had to attend our year end party. It is quite a big event, with about 350 people attending. It is really fun, as there are lots of activities, raffles, etc and a section called "We've got talent", where people can get up on stage a do a performance.The performances are normally really good, with all different things, singing, dancing, ... or whatever.
This year the management team decided to participate and do a performance, so we had a trainer help us to rehearse two popular Korean songs which we were going to dance to. Both songs had a set dance, so we just had to learn it .... yeh just learn it. You have to imagine 7 men who have no dance skills trying to learn a dance that is designed for ladies, with all the hip movements etc, our bodies just don't move like that...
Anyway, at the first practice I really felt sorry for our instructor, but by the fourth lesson we were okay ... I'm not sure if that is the best way to describe it.
So at the party, while the other participants were doing there thing, we slipped out and got changed into a Santa coat (for the first song) with a dress underneath for the second. Basically we were in drag for the second.It was a lot of fun, and the audience enjoyed it, I guess that is the main thing ...
Further Developments
Well after that, we were sent home on the Monday. Carla was still having contractions but they seemed to be under control and were not resulting in the shortening of the cervix. So for three weeks Carla had to stay in bed, mainly lying on her left side to reduce the intensity of the contractions.
The contractions continued for the entire time, sometimes more frequent, sometimes less. We were told to only worry or contact the doctor if Carla started to bleed again or if the contractions were painful. As Carla was not allowed out of bed, except to do the housework, washing, ironing, dishes, cooking ... just joking, she was only allowed to go to the toilet and maybe a short shower, I was preparing her breakfast, lunches and dinners. Dinners were usually quite late as it was only after I arrived home from work, and this was normally quite late.
We had a follow up appointment on the 17th Dec, and things (for us) seemed to be going really well, Carla was still having contractions (they had never stopped) but for a few days they were a lot less frequent and less intense, so we were quite optimistic about the appointment.
Unfortunately the doctor did not agree, and immediately on seeing that Carla was having contractions (after hooking her up to the fetal monitor), they rushed Carla to the delivery room. We were really surprised as this was the same status as when they discharged us the last time, and no surprise that Carla was having contractions, we already new that ...
Anyway, it also became evident that Carla's cervix had shortened significantly since she had been discharged, and therefore the contractions were actual labour, not only braxton hicks.
So Carla was admitted again and went back onto then medication.
So here we are again, they have done a multitude of tests, and everything has come back without any reason for the contractions. The doctor also did an Amniocentesis, which is when they stick a needle into the amniotic fluid and draw some out to test if there is any infection in the amniotic fluid ... all clear. So the doctors are baffled.
At least the baby seems healthy.
Now we just wait, still on the medication. It looks like Christmas will be in the hospital.
The contractions continued for the entire time, sometimes more frequent, sometimes less. We were told to only worry or contact the doctor if Carla started to bleed again or if the contractions were painful. As Carla was not allowed out of bed, except to do the housework, washing, ironing, dishes, cooking ... just joking, she was only allowed to go to the toilet and maybe a short shower, I was preparing her breakfast, lunches and dinners. Dinners were usually quite late as it was only after I arrived home from work, and this was normally quite late.
We had a follow up appointment on the 17th Dec, and things (for us) seemed to be going really well, Carla was still having contractions (they had never stopped) but for a few days they were a lot less frequent and less intense, so we were quite optimistic about the appointment.
Unfortunately the doctor did not agree, and immediately on seeing that Carla was having contractions (after hooking her up to the fetal monitor), they rushed Carla to the delivery room. We were really surprised as this was the same status as when they discharged us the last time, and no surprise that Carla was having contractions, we already new that ...
Anyway, it also became evident that Carla's cervix had shortened significantly since she had been discharged, and therefore the contractions were actual labour, not only braxton hicks.
So Carla was admitted again and went back onto then medication.
So here we are again, they have done a multitude of tests, and everything has come back without any reason for the contractions. The doctor also did an Amniocentesis, which is when they stick a needle into the amniotic fluid and draw some out to test if there is any infection in the amniotic fluid ... all clear. So the doctors are baffled.
At least the baby seems healthy.
Now we just wait, still on the medication. It looks like Christmas will be in the hospital.
Baby
I just want to share with you the events that Brad and I have been experiencing.
On the 15 November (Saturday) I was admitted to hospital because I was in premature labour. I was exactly 24 weeks pregnant. I wasn’t aware that I was in labour but I had started bleeding that morning. They hooked me up to the fetal monitor and I was told I was having intense contractions 3 minutes apart. Brad and I were quite shocked and distressed. The doctor came to tell us that their first line of action would be to hook me up to a drip with some medication that may stop the contractions, if that didn’t work, she’d try a different drug and after that she’d have no choice but to deliver the baby. The odds for the baby wouldn’t be good – only a 40-50% chance of survival. As you can imagine, we were really worried but still optimistic that the drip would work.
The medication came with a whole lot of side effects and they had to do chest x-rays and allergy tests. After a couple of hours on that, I was still having regular and intense contractions. It wasn’t working. They quickly put me on the other medication and fortunately that helped the contractions subside. I was kept on that drip for 48 hours and on Monday night they stopped it. By Tuesday night the contractions started again and they put me on the drip again for another 48 hours. By this point I was extremely worried and kept crying and I was feeling hopeless.
On Thursday night I came off the drip and once again the contractions came back but this time they weren’t as intense so they decided to just monitor me for a while. They had been monitoring me on the fetal monitor for about half an hour and the nurse came and told me to lie on my side for a while (the monitoring is always done while you’re on your back) and the contractions subsided.
The doctor decided to leave me off the medication but I was given strict instructions to lie on my side.
It’s now Sunday evening and I’m still in the same situation – the contractions come if I lie on my back, sit or walk around but so far they are still mild enough not to warrant going on the drip again. I only have one more time that I am medically allowed to go on the medication again (3x is the max).
It’s been a very emotional and stressful time. But everyday that I can prolong the pregnancy counts. It was a small victory on Saturday when I hit the 25 week mark. And as I write this I can say we are now 25wks and 1 day.
I am in a private room in the hospital and I am so stiff from lying on my side. Brad has been in and out of the hospital, he often spends the night here on the little sleeper couch and it’s been a very stressful time. I’m not out the woods yet but we can only hope for the best although some days are harder than others.
I’ll keep you updated.
Love Carla
On the 15 November (Saturday) I was admitted to hospital because I was in premature labour. I was exactly 24 weeks pregnant. I wasn’t aware that I was in labour but I had started bleeding that morning. They hooked me up to the fetal monitor and I was told I was having intense contractions 3 minutes apart. Brad and I were quite shocked and distressed. The doctor came to tell us that their first line of action would be to hook me up to a drip with some medication that may stop the contractions, if that didn’t work, she’d try a different drug and after that she’d have no choice but to deliver the baby. The odds for the baby wouldn’t be good – only a 40-50% chance of survival. As you can imagine, we were really worried but still optimistic that the drip would work.
The medication came with a whole lot of side effects and they had to do chest x-rays and allergy tests. After a couple of hours on that, I was still having regular and intense contractions. It wasn’t working. They quickly put me on the other medication and fortunately that helped the contractions subside. I was kept on that drip for 48 hours and on Monday night they stopped it. By Tuesday night the contractions started again and they put me on the drip again for another 48 hours. By this point I was extremely worried and kept crying and I was feeling hopeless.
On Thursday night I came off the drip and once again the contractions came back but this time they weren’t as intense so they decided to just monitor me for a while. They had been monitoring me on the fetal monitor for about half an hour and the nurse came and told me to lie on my side for a while (the monitoring is always done while you’re on your back) and the contractions subsided.
The doctor decided to leave me off the medication but I was given strict instructions to lie on my side.
It’s now Sunday evening and I’m still in the same situation – the contractions come if I lie on my back, sit or walk around but so far they are still mild enough not to warrant going on the drip again. I only have one more time that I am medically allowed to go on the medication again (3x is the max).
It’s been a very emotional and stressful time. But everyday that I can prolong the pregnancy counts. It was a small victory on Saturday when I hit the 25 week mark. And as I write this I can say we are now 25wks and 1 day.
I am in a private room in the hospital and I am so stiff from lying on my side. Brad has been in and out of the hospital, he often spends the night here on the little sleeper couch and it’s been a very stressful time. I’m not out the woods yet but we can only hope for the best although some days are harder than others.
I’ll keep you updated.
Love Carla
Seoul Grand Park
The other weekend we thought we’d head to the zoo at Seoul Grand Park. It’s an enormous zoo and we’ve been meaning to visit it for such a long time. It’s autumn in Seoul and all the trees are beautiful shades of orange, yellow and red. Seoul Grand Park was the perfect place to experience the gorgeous trees of autumn. 
We bought a special package ticket which allowed us to take the elephant express train to the entrance of the zoo, and then we took the sky lift to the top of the zoo so that we could have a leisurely walk down.
We knew the zoo was big but we really had now idea how big. By lunch time we weren’t even half way through.
There were so many animals, some in small cages and others in really nice big ones.
One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the lions at feeding time. They feed the main lions first and all the others have to wait for these ones to finish before they get fed.
Another highlight was the South American section of the zoo. We saw some animals we’d never seen before including a giant anteater.
The Australian section was also good because we got to see some kangaroos carrying their joey’s. The one joey was lying head first in the pouch and only its foot was sticking out.
We bought a special package ticket which allowed us to take the elephant express train to the entrance of the zoo, and then we took the sky lift to the top of the zoo so that we could have a leisurely walk down.
We knew the zoo was big but we really had now idea how big. By lunch time we weren’t even half way through.
There were so many animals, some in small cages and others in really nice big ones.One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the lions at feeding time. They feed the main lions first and all the others have to wait for these ones to finish before they get fed.
Another highlight was the South American section of the zoo. We saw some animals we’d never seen before including a giant anteater.
The Australian section was also good because we got to see some kangaroos carrying their joey’s. The one joey was lying head first in the pouch and only its foot was sticking out.
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