Follow up scan, good news or bad?

After 2 weeks of trying not to stress and worry about the possible results of our follow ultrasound the day finally arrived and Marcus and I headed into the hospital.  He was hopeful of good news and I was already prepared for the worst.  Our turn came and we followed the nurse into the  little room and the doctor soon followed and he said he was going to be very thorough for us.  He checked it all out, showed us all the body parts and then explained that the positioning of the babies stomach and heart is on the left side and seem to be in the correct place.  He went on to explain that we should forget everything we were told from our previous scan as it was all completely incorrect.  Well actually almost everything, he did confirm that the sex of the baby is definitely still a boy.  We both let out a big sigh of relief. 
So the results of this second scan tell us that the baby is a good healthy size, all organs and body parts present and accounted for and so far so good.  He of course went on to explain that not everything is 100% until the birth but from his assessment our little guy seemed to be well on his way to being a big healthy boy and the placenta that I was previously told was too close to the cervix opening and could mean a possible C-Section is actually not as close as they first thought and a natural labour could still be a possibility. 
I left the hospital that afternoon relieved but also pissed off.  I was upset with the women who gave me my first ultrasound and made all the wrong assumptions and caused so much stress and worry in our lives.  And I was also upset with my Obstetrician for not reassuring me and not explaining what if anything we should have been prepared for.
But now knowing that we can return to life as normal and I can return to planning for the birth here in Thailand has allowed my moods to improve and for my days to settle down into their usual routine.  My belly has really started to pop out now and I am no longer just looking fat but pregnant which is a much needed boost for my self esteem.
Marcus is immensely relieved, he had done alot more research on the possibility of the baby having a Diaphragmatic Hernia and he kept alot of the scarier information to himself as he knew it would cause me unimaginable amounts of stress. 
We have both really embraced the fact that we are adding to our family now.  During the earlier months it all seemed too surreal to believe but now I have set up the baby cot, bought some cute little blankets and outfits and baby bottles and we are now searching for the right name.  He wants something cool to match our first son, Judd, but I want something more classic so we agree to disagree for now.  I am sure that it will just be like it was with Judd, we will decide on the name in the final couple of weeks.

We had a very busy 7 days last week.  Marcus and I had a last minute decision to take the kids over to our neighbouring island Koh Samed for a few days to relax, re-group and have some much needed family quiet time.  It was a good decision.  We have been to this island before so getting to the pier wasn't a drama this time and we weren't in such a mad hurry either, we had time to stop and purchase Judd and life jacket as safety regulations on Thai ferries and boats are almost non-existent.  Lillie had her little swim vest to wear and even though its not a "life jacket" it is enough to keep her head above water should an accident happen.  We caught a private speed boat this trip and it is well worth the extra money, no more than 15 minutes and we were splashing onto the white clean sands of Samed.  The resort we chose was simple more budget style so we had to drag our luggage and the kids across the sand to find our hotel.  I chose this simple resort as it didn't have the typical "resort facilities", there was no pool and no gym, just rooms, restaurant and beach.  It was perfect, exactly what our family needed, to get away from the constant television, DVD movies and basically force the kids to use their imagination and create their own fun out of the sand and it worked.  We spent 4 days from 8.30am to 4.00pm each day down by the water and only returning to our hotel room to grab the occasional necessity or to take Lillie on a potty run.  The kids even had their lunch, milks and day time naps right next to us on their towels on the sand.  I honestly thought I would get bored but a good book and the opportunity to wade into the water and the restaurant just meters away not once did I long to return to our room for modern comforts.

Judd took to wanting to hike along the beach trails looking for Dinosaur bones and sea creatures while Lillie won the hearts of all the Thai staff and Thai massage ladies who work the beach offering food, massages and pedicures to the tourists.  I even had a wonderful back massage lying on a sarong on the sand while Marcus and the kids took their naps.  Lillie had her hair plaited with beads and became the most cutest little Island Girl.  Marcus and Judd made sand castles and dug deep holes to fill with endless buckets of water.  The only downside to spending a day like this is the kids were not the best behaved when it came time to go out for dinner and by our third night, which happened to be my 31st birthday we were so tired that we ordered take away and ate dinner on our balcony.  The resort had many 2 bedrooms villas which is perfect for families and next time we stay we will definitely be reserving the sea side villas that have balconies that open right onto the ocean. 

I had found a boarding kennel to put Sticker II in which was luxury compared to some people hotels that are available.  It was a bargain price of $9 a night and they had grooming, a doggy swimming pool and play areas for their daily exercise.  It was a real relief to find such quality here in Pattaya.

2 days after returning home relaxed and a bit sun burnt we spent the day with a family we know here who are also from Melbourne and have 2 kids the same ages as ours, it was their daughters third birthday and we spoilt them with McDonald's, a play at the Soft Play Zone and then took all 4 of them to the movies to see Puss in Boots.  It was a long but very fun day and we were so happy to have been asked to spend it with them.

Then on the Sunday we had joined a group booking for a day out on the Gulf of Thailand in a huge boat visiting neighbouring islands.  There was 12 families who joined us each with at least 2 kids ageing from 18months old to 12 years old.  It was organised chaos.  For the parents with older kids it was easier as they just got to sit up the top of the boat drinking and enjoying the sun whereas the parents with smaller children who required constant attention and supervision we were constantly back and forth passing one child to another taking turns in feeding, pottying and entertaining.  We were taken to a small island about 15 minutes from the marina called Monkey Island, called such because its only inhabitants are hundreds of monkeys.  When we first arrived and landed on the beach there was no monkeys to be seen so while we waited for the boat to return the kids splashed and played in the shallows.  Once back on the smaller speed boat our driver and friend took us around to the other side of the island and there hanging in the trees were about 20 monkeys and as we arrived they jumped off the branches straight into the water and swam better than most humans I have seen.  They dived and played and it was so fun to watch.  We didn't get out of the boat this time as we have been told that the monkeys can literally jump all over you and pick your pockets so we threw them the bananas and they went crazy for them.  I couldn't get enough photos they were so playful and cute and our kids loved it.  When we got back to the main boat all the remaining kids were jumping off the back off the boat and some even went off the roof.  We travelled to another island shortly after where we moored for lunch and some people went over to the island to swim and play on the beach while the rest of us tried to get the smaller kids to have a nap and the dads sat up on the top level and enjoyed the sun and the beers.  Marcus and a few of the dads and bigger boys took the speed boat out and the ski biscuit for some water fun.  I sat watching envious as I couldn't do anything more active than a quick swim at the back on the boat. 

The day went by so quickly and before we knew it we were heading back to Pattaya as the sun was setting behind us.  Marcus and the kids gave me a new camera for my birthday the week before and I used it as much as I could trying out all of the different functions and thoroughly enjoying having a fast working good quality camera to snap away with. 

Local fishing boats

By the time we returned to the marina the kids were well on their way to being over tired and crazy, it seemed like a mad rush of people to get off the boat so we hung back and waited.  I was always very cautious as Lillie didn't have her vest on and one of the bigger boys broke Judd's vest so I was a bit anxious having my two little ones near open dark water, if one fell in they would sink straight down and never be found.  Sometimes I felt like I was the only cautious mother on the boat, alot of the other kids were allowed alot of free reign to run about and climb the wet slippery ladders and this boat by no means was child safe, the barriers were just 2 rails on the slippery deck.  I tried not to let my stress show too much but sometimes I felt very overwhelmed with so many small kids and so much open water.

But aside from my mother duck syndrome the day was fantastic, we all had a lovely time and it is definitely something we would want to do again in the future but next time without the small children and without me being pregnant. 

Our kids have had to have 2 days off school to recover from such a busy action packed week and it has even been nice to have them around me for company too.  As much as it is nice when they are off to school, on days like today when I have nothing to do it is nice to have my kids around to keep me busy and awake.

I look forward to when we return to Australia and we can take our 3 children camping and boating like we used to before we moved to Thailand, its the simple activities that we miss the most.