Last June, there were a few friends in town, and they
invited us to go on a township tour with them. One of the areas we visited was
called Langa, which means “Sun”. You can read about its history here and here.
In Langa, there
are small community training centers where people can learn certain trades and
crafts, such as cooking, how to re-use plastics into new useful objects, how to
make musical instruments, and various arts and crafts.
At this Center, there were people learning to make ceramics.
They learn how to make and use molds, kiln fire the ceramics, and then decorate
them with glazes. I love this type of pottery, and plan to bring back an entire
set of them in the future.
Painted, waiting to be fired one last time.
Worker painting designs on a cup.
Our group and the ceramicists. Kiln on the left.
Here is an example of the vibrant finished pieces. Source.
There is a room to learn how to make djembe drums, and also
an area to make fun wall hangings that depict township homes and businesses.
Love these. They are so cute and are somewhat representative.
There was even a little music area for tourists to try
playing the handmade wooden marimbas, dejembes, and gourd rattles. It was
really fun.
Tourists of various groups coming together in musical harmony.
The hubs, obviously having fun!
It was very touristy, and yet, gives you a broader perspective
on the artistic work that is being created in South Africa and see how some community
programs can really make a difference in developing employable job skills.
Song of the Post: Lovesick
by The Arrows. They are a girl band from South Africa, and I’m so impressed
with their budding talent. I got to see them live at K-Day earlier this year (see my post),
and it was two girls on the stage- one playing a piano guitar and the other a
drumset. How cool is that?!
So, I have been on an unintentional blogging break for a few
months now, and some of you may have been wondering why. Well, as my title
explains, I’m pregnant with my first child! My priorities have shifted from
blogging, beading, crafts, to obsessively learning about my pregnancy, baby
items, and newborn care. It is ALL-encompassing, and it’s hard for me to think
about anything else. I’d like to start blogging again, hopefully once a week,
but I don’t want to change this blog into a baby blog, so I will still try to
have varying topics, along with my pregnancy updates.
The rest of this post will play catch up and go into some
detail, so it’s up to you if you want to read! I won’t take offense. I just have
a lot to say since I have been keeping this to myself and close family and friends
for sooo long!
So, to catch you up, my pregnancy started a little rough,
but has been 99% smooth sailing. What I find interesting is that I have been so
in tune with my body that I was pretty sure I was pregnant just 3 or 4 days
after when I think I ovulated. I was able to test at 8 days after ovulation and
got the faintest pink line. Like literally, I had to have it in direct light and
under a magnifying glass. Lol. I continued to test through 11 days, my last
being a digital Clear Blue Easy (as I’d learned it is usually the “gold standard”
of home pregnancy tests).
"Pregnant 2-3" means 2-3 weeks after ovulation, not last menstrual cycle.
I had my first obstetrician (OB) appointment at what I
thought was 6 weeks, on a Thursday. She did a vaginal ultrasound and found a corpus luteum cyst
(nothing to really worry about because it was small and would probably go away),
but nothing else. This concerned her and we decided that we would do a series
of beta hCG
level testing to help diagnose whether I was experiencing an ectopic
pregnancy. My levels were pretty low, around 3,200, and with a normal
pregnancy, they should double every 48 hours. I wasn’t experiencing any pain, but
I was to immediately contact the doctor on call if I did. I went home, was calm
for about a day, until I started the “googling” and learned about how dangerous
an ectopic pregnancy could be for me and my future fertility. Crash courses
concerning your health are never fun.
Ugh.
Corps luteum cyst, no sac.
I had to have my second blood test on a Saturday, right
before we went to our first rugby game at Newlands Stadium (I’ll post pictures
of the game). We were a little subdued because we knew we might get a call
while at the game about my beta hCG levels. If they were too low, it would most
likely indicate an ectopic pregnancy, and I would have to have a procedure done
within the next day so that it didn’t rupture and cause me to lose a fallopian
tube. The doctor on call got the results 3 hours later, and called me just
before the game started. He said that my levels were almost at 7,000, and he
still had a little doubt about it being a viable pregnancy. We had done enough
research in the last 24 hours to feel more confident than him, and we decided
to enjoy the game.
The next Monday, I saw my OB, did another vaginal
ultrasound, and she saw the corpus luteum cyst and she saw an empty sac
measuring 4 weeks, 6 days! Yay! She was relieved because it was proof that it
was not ectopic. The mystery was solved in that I was measuring a week later
than estimated, and my initial appointment had been too early to see anything
on a sonogram. Phew! In a way, I was still glad to go through the stress
because if it had been ectopic, it would have been caught very early, and my
fallopian tube would have most likely been saved.
She wanted to see me one more time to see the actual embryo
and fetal pole, so we came in 3 weeks later. At that point, I was measuring 7
weeks, 6 days, right on track. We got to hear the baby’s heart beat for a
little bit, and she estimated it near 180 bpm. Due to my age, we were referred
to a fetal assessment center to do a “level 2” ultrasound to start
pre-screening for developmental concerns.
I’ll save that appointment for another day.
We have an embryo! The head is at the bottom.
In summary, it started out rough, and really put my health
and fertility in perspective.
Me being healthy and having a healthy baby is all that
matters.
Song of the Post:
Baby, I’m Yours by Barbara Wilson.
An oldie but a goodie! Don’t you just love her background singers?
