I have always been a pc gal. Well, Cali changed me radically!! I really like Apple product, just not laptops and computers (I mean...I didn't!) and I of course know it's a matter of habit, but the things that bugs me the most is the incompatibility between programmes and the occasional glitch between the same programmes which are share between pc and Mac. Some of my students have Macs and let me tell you, it definitely takes longer to write up stuff between us.
In any case, when you travel to the States, you can't help but notice that every second person will use a Mac. And there's no question, they are awesome (see...the American in me coming out!). But still I would not have really gone for it. Till I calculated that in dollars, the cost of a super fab Mac Book Air would have been over 20% cheaper than if I bought it in Europe. Irresistible. So of course, as a newbie at the Apple Store in Boston, I got the full intro on the machine, which is of course very straight forward and let me tell you, I'm in LOVE! Now, I have not made the full switch yet (and I'm still learning), too much stuff on the work laptop, but I'm keeping this new toy for home, blogging, surfing etc. I'm really glad I got it, I got the feeling there will be many more in the future!!
On FET news, I have started PIO and pessaries, all going well, I'm going to take friday off and just chill. Mike should be taking Oliver to his parents on Saturday so I will have another day with very little to do. Three more sleeps!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Cyber Friends
I was so so fortunate to be able to meet in person two fantastic cyber friends that I have followed for years. Best When Used By and Rain were as amazing as I expected. I think the best thing of meeting people you "know" through the blogs and occasional emails, is that there is an immediate connection, things are easy, there is lots to talk about and it feels like you know them quite well already. I met Cadet who is the softest baby ever, really he's so so cute and cuddly, Oliver was really taken by him too! And Scout is such a big boy now, we had a lovely time at the park with me and BWUB chasing after the children up and down the slides. I also had the chance of meeting Rain's husband, McRuger, we had a family day out with them and again it was so easy going and enjoyable, I wish we could have done it again. Seriously! And I'm hoping they'll be coming to Ireland one day soon and though we don't have the weather to offer (Rain may actually love the weather here!) and neither the food, I'm sure we would have a great time together. Now, BWUB is about to become mom again (twins!) so I suspect she'll be busy for a while, and Rain is planning adoption number two...but one can hope right? Worse case, we'll be meeting them in Cali the next time we go over!
In FET news, today was the last scan. The Favourite Doctor was there and scanned me herself! There was a new doctor that joined the clinic and so she assisted at the scan too. I love when this happens as generally I learn a lot more. My lining is at a whopping 11.1 mm! Wow! The transfer is confirmed for thursday next week at 4pm and hopefully I won't start panicking about my penguins surviving the thaw...ok, I'm already thinking about it... Anyway. I'll start progesterone in two days time and maybe I should start listening to the meditation tape soon...Stay tuned!
In FET news, today was the last scan. The Favourite Doctor was there and scanned me herself! There was a new doctor that joined the clinic and so she assisted at the scan too. I love when this happens as generally I learn a lot more. My lining is at a whopping 11.1 mm! Wow! The transfer is confirmed for thursday next week at 4pm and hopefully I won't start panicking about my penguins surviving the thaw...ok, I'm already thinking about it... Anyway. I'll start progesterone in two days time and maybe I should start listening to the meditation tape soon...Stay tuned!
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Fabulous Cali
California was amazing. The weather, the food, the absence of mosquitos...practically Heaven for me! We stayed in Walnut Creek, north-east of San Francisco, but we got to travel a bit too. We went to Napa and Sonoma valleys, Muir Woods, Yosemite and Sacramento. We were very lucky to be able to sneak in a visit to Cupertino and the Apple campus too! Of course we went a few times to San Francisco and we had a highly recommended trip to Alcatraz which was amazing.
The one thing I have to say is that everything is quite far. I mean, I was looking on the map the places we were going and they never seemed that far...I suppose I should have had a map of Ireland beside to have more realistic distances! But we had a car we could drive and driving is very easy in the States, so it wasn't a big deal. I loved the wine country, so peaceful and relaxing.
Yosemite was breathtaking, we only had one night there which was way too short and if we could have we would have stayed much longer. We didn't see any bears (which I was terrified of!) but we did see plenty of squirrels and dear which Oliver was fascinated with.
Muir Woods for me was magic. The worse part was to find a parking spot, but once we were in the old forest the sense of peace was overwhelming. I loved the smell of the woods, the majesty of the trees and the various loops you could do. We went down to Muir Beach too.
I really want to go back and se more, we didn't manage to get to Southern Cali, it was just too far, but maybe next time!
In FET news I had my second scan this morning, I'm amazed at my lining, it's already 9.7mm which I think it's almost a record for me! This means I don't have to increase estrogen or add any medication! It is definitely a first for me. Next scan in 5 days time and hopefully the date of the transfer will be confirmed.
The one thing I have to say is that everything is quite far. I mean, I was looking on the map the places we were going and they never seemed that far...I suppose I should have had a map of Ireland beside to have more realistic distances! But we had a car we could drive and driving is very easy in the States, so it wasn't a big deal. I loved the wine country, so peaceful and relaxing.
Yosemite was breathtaking, we only had one night there which was way too short and if we could have we would have stayed much longer. We didn't see any bears (which I was terrified of!) but we did see plenty of squirrels and dear which Oliver was fascinated with.
Muir Woods for me was magic. The worse part was to find a parking spot, but once we were in the old forest the sense of peace was overwhelming. I loved the smell of the woods, the majesty of the trees and the various loops you could do. We went down to Muir Beach too.
I really want to go back and se more, we didn't manage to get to Southern Cali, it was just too far, but maybe next time!
In FET news I had my second scan this morning, I'm amazed at my lining, it's already 9.7mm which I think it's almost a record for me! This means I don't have to increase estrogen or add any medication! It is definitely a first for me. Next scan in 5 days time and hopefully the date of the transfer will be confirmed.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Travelling with an 18 month old
Well, it was not easy. The short flight from Dublin to London was a breeze of course, nothing too different from the many flights Oliver had done to and from Italy. Then we had one first crucial issue. Oliver fell asleep just before boarding. It was his nap time of course but ideally we should have kept him awake till after boarding. The crew were amazing, we boarded first, we had plenty of room (totally worth flying in upper economy) and Oliver slept right till after take off....we knew it was going to be a long journey to San Francisco...The main thing was that he hated the air-travel cot we were so looking forward to use. Between the two of us, we did all we could to keep him quiet but he was bored out his mind. The little telly was good, he watched a good bit of Cbebees, we distracted him with food I had brought with me, toys etc, but 10 hours are LONG. Towards the end he was really tired, but just could not settle in the little cot. We got him to sleep eventually...on the floor in front of our feet! We had his blanket from home (very important!) plus the ones from the plane, so he was cosy and, as he normally does, could sleep on his belly. I guess he slept for maybe 2 hours, and we really could not leave him on the floor for safety reason, but it was better than nothing I suppose.
He settled very quickly in the new time zone, I'd say within a couple of days he was back to a normal routine. He did wake up almost every night hungry though, and I suppose this brings me to the second crucial issue of the holiday. We were rarely at home and eating out regularly is NOT something I recommend with a toddler. Sure apparently it is very normal in many places, specially in California, but it is not our norm at home. I had never a clear idea of how much food Oliver had, the timing of lunch and dinner was all over the place, also he could only sit still for so long in the high chair and I ended up being quite stressed out. Mike's cousins have a 4 year old and you just cannot assume that the behavior would be the same. While a 4 year old can spend hours playing with his parents' iPhone, Oliver will first chew on it and then trow it on the floor. While you can talk to a 4 year old, and most importantly he can reply, Oliver will let you quickly know he's bored and wants to get down and stretch his legs...mostly by grabbing everything in reach and throwing it on the floor. He doesn't care if it's not polite, he doesn't care if you have not finished your adult meal. I swear I felt so much under pressure (totally silly I know), I was making things worse. This was not helped by the fact that the other child was apparently the best behaved child ever, who's been brought to restaurants since he was home from the hospital etc. But this is for another blog post. It was so refreshing meeting up with Best When Used By and Rain and their adorable (normal!!) babies! I couldn't say this in front fo the American side of the family of course, but for me meeting with them was one of the highlights of the holiday.
The main problem was that we could not really dictate the pace of the holiday, there was always something planned, we were always with someone. Not good with a toddler, I repeat.
It was vital for us to have some time for ourselves where we could stick to a schedule, I was doing the cooking, Oliver was eating and napping as he should have. Those were very good days.
Yet Oliver just loved it there, loved the food, the weather, the different things he could do etc. and surely he loved sharing a room with us! We discovered quickly he couldn't be bothered with quesadillas when we were eating out, classic entry in child menu in Cali (yes he liked the first one, but as I said, we were eating out often), he much preferred our food! And that was fine by us.
The final crucial issue was that he was teething badly. And we didn't realise this was the problem till the last few days when I said to Mike "let's try the gum gel, see if it calms him down" and two seconds later Mike said "I found a new tooth!" The poor baby was waking not only because of hunger, but also because of pain!! Note to self, always consider the possibility of teething.
I suppose the most difficult part was actually for Mike travelling back on his own with Oliver. Thankfully he had the seat beside him free, but even though Oliver did fall asleep quite early in the flight (about two hours in), when he woke up around midnight (3 hours later) he was looking for me and the fact that I was not there put him into a state. Again Mike said the crew were very helpful, did all they could to give him a hand, but again...10 hours are LONG.
A few pics to go with this post:
This concludes my first holiday post!
Now very briefly on the FET. I had my baseline yesterday, all looks good, started estrogen and steroids today as per my usual FET protocol. Next scan is next Saturday, I'll try to link the posts with FET updates!
He settled very quickly in the new time zone, I'd say within a couple of days he was back to a normal routine. He did wake up almost every night hungry though, and I suppose this brings me to the second crucial issue of the holiday. We were rarely at home and eating out regularly is NOT something I recommend with a toddler. Sure apparently it is very normal in many places, specially in California, but it is not our norm at home. I had never a clear idea of how much food Oliver had, the timing of lunch and dinner was all over the place, also he could only sit still for so long in the high chair and I ended up being quite stressed out. Mike's cousins have a 4 year old and you just cannot assume that the behavior would be the same. While a 4 year old can spend hours playing with his parents' iPhone, Oliver will first chew on it and then trow it on the floor. While you can talk to a 4 year old, and most importantly he can reply, Oliver will let you quickly know he's bored and wants to get down and stretch his legs...mostly by grabbing everything in reach and throwing it on the floor. He doesn't care if it's not polite, he doesn't care if you have not finished your adult meal. I swear I felt so much under pressure (totally silly I know), I was making things worse. This was not helped by the fact that the other child was apparently the best behaved child ever, who's been brought to restaurants since he was home from the hospital etc. But this is for another blog post. It was so refreshing meeting up with Best When Used By and Rain and their adorable (normal!!) babies! I couldn't say this in front fo the American side of the family of course, but for me meeting with them was one of the highlights of the holiday.
The main problem was that we could not really dictate the pace of the holiday, there was always something planned, we were always with someone. Not good with a toddler, I repeat.
It was vital for us to have some time for ourselves where we could stick to a schedule, I was doing the cooking, Oliver was eating and napping as he should have. Those were very good days.
Yet Oliver just loved it there, loved the food, the weather, the different things he could do etc. and surely he loved sharing a room with us! We discovered quickly he couldn't be bothered with quesadillas when we were eating out, classic entry in child menu in Cali (yes he liked the first one, but as I said, we were eating out often), he much preferred our food! And that was fine by us.
The final crucial issue was that he was teething badly. And we didn't realise this was the problem till the last few days when I said to Mike "let's try the gum gel, see if it calms him down" and two seconds later Mike said "I found a new tooth!" The poor baby was waking not only because of hunger, but also because of pain!! Note to self, always consider the possibility of teething.
I suppose the most difficult part was actually for Mike travelling back on his own with Oliver. Thankfully he had the seat beside him free, but even though Oliver did fall asleep quite early in the flight (about two hours in), when he woke up around midnight (3 hours later) he was looking for me and the fact that I was not there put him into a state. Again Mike said the crew were very helpful, did all they could to give him a hand, but again...10 hours are LONG.
A few pics to go with this post:
On the plane before take off...ahhh bless him!
I don't know what time it was here, trying to get him to sleep a bit more.
In Target the day after we arrived, stil jet lagged!
In San Francisco...and behaving appropriately eheh
At one of the many restaurants...
Playing in the garden, it was one of his favorite things!
This concludes my first holiday post!
Now very briefly on the FET. I had my baseline yesterday, all looks good, started estrogen and steroids today as per my usual FET protocol. Next scan is next Saturday, I'll try to link the posts with FET updates!
Monday, July 16, 2012
And I'm back!
Hellooooo! I missed you all so much, though I followed your stories while I was away (not always could comment!) I will have a series of posts coming, including travelling with an 18 month old, Fabulous Cali, Cyber Friends, Apple Bug and The 10 days on my own. So stay tuned!
In this one post, I want to tell you about the scariest moment with Oliver yet.
As I landed in London from Boston on Saturday at about 6am local time, I texted Mike to let him know I had a nice flight and asked how the night went (rough time with Oliver in my absence, teething, general unsettled child, fever, indigestion etc in the space of 10 days). His text back was (with some editing to make it clear) "Don't worry- in the hospital. Oliver had a fever of 40.4 (104.7 F) and abdominal pain (gas). Taken chest X-ray & bloods, results in 1hour. Oliver sleeping. Temp 37 (normal). He had woken due to pain in his belly and was inconsolable - hard belly. Now the belly is soft again."
Now, what would you have done? Panic of course. My connection wasn't for another 5 hours (five hours!!) but I just bought a new ticket with a different airline which got me to Dublin at about 10 am. I took a taxi and went straight to the hospital. I had not slept at all, but the adrenaline at this stage was so high it was keeping me going. By the time I got there, we knew bloods were not too bad, with a couple of values out of range indicating either a bacterial or a viral infection. It was not a surgical problem and the X-rays were clear. I sent Mike home (he was the shadow of himself at this stage) and never left Oliver out of my sight. He was sleeping, and so so small and pale in the bed. We had a single room with a bed for a parent to stay the night. When he woke later, he was so happy to see me, but too weak to stand up, my heart was in pieces. I fed him a bit while he was lying down and very slowly he got a bit of strength back. His fever spiked again though not as high as during the night, but the consultant suggested a spinal tap to rule out more dangerous conditions and also to avoid giving him antibiotics without a real need for him. I was completely on board. I assisted during the procedure and was able to hold Oliver in position while singing to him. It was over very quickly and I am sure it would have been much worse for me if I had waited outside the room. As they collected the fluid I saw immediately it was clear, and relaxed straight away. The consultant brought the sample down to the lab himself for micro-analysis and very quickly let me know that we had nothing to worry about, it was definitely something viral and we just had to keep his temp down. Oliver bounced back very quickly, had a good night sleep (a part for the nurse taking his temperature every 2 hours), no more fever and by Sunday morning he was climbing everything available in the room! When the doctor came around, he was very happy that the worse was over and sent us home! My house never felt so safe and comfortable, my bed, oh my bed! I missed you so much! And so the last couple of days between the jet lag, the sleep deprivation, the worrying and the relief, felt like they lasted a week.
Oh, by the way, I have started my FET preparation in the midst of all this too!
In this one post, I want to tell you about the scariest moment with Oliver yet.
As I landed in London from Boston on Saturday at about 6am local time, I texted Mike to let him know I had a nice flight and asked how the night went (rough time with Oliver in my absence, teething, general unsettled child, fever, indigestion etc in the space of 10 days). His text back was (with some editing to make it clear) "Don't worry- in the hospital. Oliver had a fever of 40.4 (104.7 F) and abdominal pain (gas). Taken chest X-ray & bloods, results in 1hour. Oliver sleeping. Temp 37 (normal). He had woken due to pain in his belly and was inconsolable - hard belly. Now the belly is soft again."
Now, what would you have done? Panic of course. My connection wasn't for another 5 hours (five hours!!) but I just bought a new ticket with a different airline which got me to Dublin at about 10 am. I took a taxi and went straight to the hospital. I had not slept at all, but the adrenaline at this stage was so high it was keeping me going. By the time I got there, we knew bloods were not too bad, with a couple of values out of range indicating either a bacterial or a viral infection. It was not a surgical problem and the X-rays were clear. I sent Mike home (he was the shadow of himself at this stage) and never left Oliver out of my sight. He was sleeping, and so so small and pale in the bed. We had a single room with a bed for a parent to stay the night. When he woke later, he was so happy to see me, but too weak to stand up, my heart was in pieces. I fed him a bit while he was lying down and very slowly he got a bit of strength back. His fever spiked again though not as high as during the night, but the consultant suggested a spinal tap to rule out more dangerous conditions and also to avoid giving him antibiotics without a real need for him. I was completely on board. I assisted during the procedure and was able to hold Oliver in position while singing to him. It was over very quickly and I am sure it would have been much worse for me if I had waited outside the room. As they collected the fluid I saw immediately it was clear, and relaxed straight away. The consultant brought the sample down to the lab himself for micro-analysis and very quickly let me know that we had nothing to worry about, it was definitely something viral and we just had to keep his temp down. Oliver bounced back very quickly, had a good night sleep (a part for the nurse taking his temperature every 2 hours), no more fever and by Sunday morning he was climbing everything available in the room! When the doctor came around, he was very happy that the worse was over and sent us home! My house never felt so safe and comfortable, my bed, oh my bed! I missed you so much! And so the last couple of days between the jet lag, the sleep deprivation, the worrying and the relief, felt like they lasted a week.
Oh, by the way, I have started my FET preparation in the midst of all this too!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
And we are off!
Tomorrow at 9.50 we'll fly to London and then at about 2pm we will be on the long flight to SFO. I am not sure about our plans once we are over there but I will contact all the cyber-friends in the area who said were happy to meet up!
I'll be thinking of all of you, not sure if I'l be able to post (I'm just bringing my iphone, no laptop and no ipad) but I'll definitely try to check on you.
Much love and wish us all a safe trip!
I'll be thinking of all of you, not sure if I'l be able to post (I'm just bringing my iphone, no laptop and no ipad) but I'll definitely try to check on you.
Much love and wish us all a safe trip!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
It's June! (FET dates, updated!)
..which means it's ages I haven't posted, and also that in a week time we'll be packing our last few bits before leaving for Cali!! Whoohoo!
But I have to first congratulate my dear cyber-friend Misfit on the safe arrival of her baby girl. What a journey she had, my heart is bursting with joy! And just as I shifted her to the parenting blogroll, I am so happy to have moved two more from the "we can do it" list to the "we have done it" list! I'm making progress in my project of having all the girls still in the trenches moving to pregnancy and parenting. I know it will happen. One way or another, it will.
Work has quietened down, exams and marking are over, I have had some nice results in my research and so I'm concentrating in finishing off research papers before leaving. I don't talk to much about work on my blog, but after 4 years of hiring freeze and no promotion rounds, there is going to be a promotion round opening in October. You can imagine the amount of people at my same level that have accumulated in 4 years so I don't think I'll be among the Chosen Ones, but I still have to try. This and a big grant application I'm going to put in for European funding will keep me busy as soon as I come back. Oh and I'm about to call the Favourite Doctor to schedule our FET!! I'll update this post as soon as I have dates, stay tuned!
Update
The Fab Doctor called and I'm going to start the pill on my next period, will be on the nasal spray from the 12th of July (already on East Coast time, so not much of a problem) and transfer should be scheduled for the 9th of August! I can't believe it! Hopefully there will be a little brother or sister for Oliver among our five penguins!!
But I have to first congratulate my dear cyber-friend Misfit on the safe arrival of her baby girl. What a journey she had, my heart is bursting with joy! And just as I shifted her to the parenting blogroll, I am so happy to have moved two more from the "we can do it" list to the "we have done it" list! I'm making progress in my project of having all the girls still in the trenches moving to pregnancy and parenting. I know it will happen. One way or another, it will.
Work has quietened down, exams and marking are over, I have had some nice results in my research and so I'm concentrating in finishing off research papers before leaving. I don't talk to much about work on my blog, but after 4 years of hiring freeze and no promotion rounds, there is going to be a promotion round opening in October. You can imagine the amount of people at my same level that have accumulated in 4 years so I don't think I'll be among the Chosen Ones, but I still have to try. This and a big grant application I'm going to put in for European funding will keep me busy as soon as I come back. Oh and I'm about to call the Favourite Doctor to schedule our FET!! I'll update this post as soon as I have dates, stay tuned!
Update
The Fab Doctor called and I'm going to start the pill on my next period, will be on the nasal spray from the 12th of July (already on East Coast time, so not much of a problem) and transfer should be scheduled for the 9th of August! I can't believe it! Hopefully there will be a little brother or sister for Oliver among our five penguins!!
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