Honeymoon Plans

The only knitting I got done today was 5 minutes at the OBGYN's office and 5 minutes at my parents house later on this afternoon. I had a really tiring day, and just didn't feel like knitting. Plus, I was running around all day, so that was just nuts. I guess that is why I am zonked!

So, I emailed my secret pal telling her about the message on my yarn order, and asked her if she emailed the company to send me a message as a surprise. It wasn't my secret pal! So - confused I emailed the company I ordered yarn from (littleknits.com) and Sue, who was my contact there, emailed me to tell me that she wrote this on the package, as the yarn I got she marked it was a gift, so the I would have no problems with customs or have to pay duty taxes on the yarn. Cute! I was so confused though - I thought it was genious though, it's a good idea. Example: Let's say I find out that my secret pal ... oh, I don't know - purchased some music cd's from amazon or purchased shoes from some online company (just as examples) - it would be cute for me to email them, tell them that I'm their secret pal - and ask if they didn't mind including a note with their order wishing them a good day and to enjoy their products that they purchased. However, I don't think a huge company like Amazon would do that - but maybe a smaller seller online (like a crafter whom sells online) would do such a nice act of kindness to include a specialized note, and take time from their day to do so. Just an idea - cute thing I thought of - after realizing that the "secret pal" on my yarn order was just a decoy for customs! Imagine I wasn't participating in Secret Pal 8 - and it came to me like that with a note from my secret pal - I would have been EVEN MORE confused! You know??

Alright, so my day.

Started off at 8:30 am when my mother picked me up to go to my very first gyno appointment as a pregnant woman! We got there early, and was seen early - which is good. I have sat there and he's been like 40 minutes late. I guess when you go first thing in the morning, it's a whole other story, and he's actually on time.

I was in for my full first physical. The nurse took my blood pressure and weighed me on the scale. The doctor examined me and that was very quick as well. I learned, after in his office (he checks you first, then sees you in his office) that a) he doesn't do ultra sounds in his office (this is not done in Canada) and my first one will be at 4.5 months at the hospital around the corner from my house. It's free. I also was told that everything seems normal and I'm due approx. on the 13th of January according to my doctor (not the 11th of January which is the online calculator told me - but the 11th or the 13th - whatever - because usually first babies are late. (Me personally I was 2 weeks late - I was due on June 1st, and my mother went into labor on the 14th, and the 16th I still wasn't out - so my mom had to have a C-section in the end!) I had to go for a blood test afterwards.

I also have the option to do (at 11.6 weeks pregnant -13.6 weeks pregnat - I don' t know what the .6 is - but that's what the paper says): a non-covered by insurance (as i'ts not done at any hospitals - just at the private clinics) a Triple Screen Test. Here is a description:

The triple screen test is a maternal blood screening test that looks for three specific substances: AFP, hCG, and Estriol.

AFP: alpha-fetoprotein is a protein that is produced by the fetus.

hCG: human chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone produced within the placenta.

Estriol: estriol is an estrogen produced by both the fetus and the placenta.

It is a non-invasive procedure done through a blood test with little to no known risk to the mother or developing baby.

What does the triple screen test look for?

The triple screen is measuring high and low levels of AFP and abnormal levels of hCG and estriol. The results are combined with the mother's age, weight, ethnicity and gestation of pregnancy in order to assess probabilities of potential genetic disorders.

High levels of AFP may suggest that the developing baby has a neural tube defect such as spina bifida or anencephaly. However, the most common reason for elevated AFP levels is inaccurate dating of the pregnancy.

Low levels of AFP and abnormal levels of hCG and estriol may indicate that the developing baby has Trisomy 21( Down syndrome), Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) or another type of chromosome abnormality.

Although the primary reason for conducting the test is to screen for genetic disorders, the results of the triple screen can also be used to identify:

A multiples pregnancy.

Pregnancies that are more or less advanced than thought.

This information is from this site.

I don't think I have anything to worry about - as I'm healthy and in a good age range to have a baby, but you never know (Knock on wood). So, I'm going to go through with this test, once I can. The site I just got that information from says it is performed between the 15th and 20th week of pregnancy although results obtained in the 16th -18th week are said to be the most accurate. I think I'll ask the doctor before going for it - just to be sure, because my paper says between 11.6 weeks and 13.6 weeks. Maybe testing in Canada is more advanced? I will ask, as the site I just checked is an American site.

On my way home from the doctor's I stopped with my mom to pick up a few things at a store around the corner from my house, and then headed back home to do a few things before going over to my friend Cindy's for lunch. I picked up lunch on the way to her house - souvlaki - which I was totally craving, and it was DAMN good. It was really good to see her, and it's been over a year since I'd seen her last. I think she's going to come to my birthday dinner next weekend, so that will be great. Since Jamie's got a bachelor party the night after my birthday, I planned a girl's dinner at my favourite restaurant. Very excited about that.

After lunch I had my appointment at the local CAA to book my honeymoon with the travel agent that my mom uses all the time for her trips. I had thought it would only take 1 hour, but it's a good thing that I had nothing else booked or planned, because it took 2 hours. The original cruise that I wanted to take ( from Venice to Barcelona) was booked solid with a huge waiting list) so we looked into a cruise from London to Rome, and here's the itinerary:

Day/Port
1 London (Southampton), England
2 Brussels/Bruges (Zeebrugge), Belgium
3 Rotterdam, The Netherlands
4 Paris/Normandy (Le Havre), France
5 At Sea
6 Vigo (Santiago de Compostela), Spain
7 Lisbon, Portugal
8 Seville (Cadiz), Spain
9 Casablanca (Marrakech), Morocco
10 Gibraltar (OUR 1 YEAR WEDDING ANNIVESARY!)
11 At Sea
12 Barcelona, Spain
13 Cannes, France
14 Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy
15 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

This cruise had only interior cabins left - but how much time do you really spend in your room anyhow, that you'd need windows or a balcony? If by chance someone else with a nicer room cancels their trip we always have the option to be upgraded and we get priority because it's our honeymoon and anniversary!

I have until June 14th to decide - but after discussing it with Jamie this evening we're going to go ahead and book! I am sooooo excited! I'm going back to Europe! I love Europe! I've been twice - once in 1998 and once in 2002 each for just over 3 weeks. The second time I was with my sister. 8 countries in each trip. Oh - I love travelling!

After CAA I went over to my parents house, and hung out with my mom and Bosco for a bit. We went for a walk, and that was nice, and then just got back in time for my dad to come home from work with dinner. I was supposed to go to dinner at my sister's new place so that I could see her new place, but it ended up that my father invited my sister and brother over (now that none of us kids live at home anymore).

I was going to go knitting tonight - but after finding out that Angela wasn't going because she just moved and nothing is unpacked yet, Jenn is sick, Kadi has laringitis according to her blog post this morning, Molly Ann is in school, Deawn is out of town, and I wasn't sure of the names of the other two email addresses that did say they were going - that I just decided to forgo going this evening to a Montreal Knits Meeting.

But - boy am I zonked! What a long day. Really. And a long day of 2 classes back to back tomorrow - and I can't sleep in too late tomorrow - I'm just zonked. I am going to go get ready to crawl into bed for 11pm's Sex & The City on ABC. I love 11pm now because of this. An excuse to get into bed and either relax by knitting or just by being in bed earlier than I used to be! I'm still a night owl pregnant or not! It's a little tough these days to be a night owl, because I'm pregnant, but I'm trying to get to bed decently!