My African Pregnancy: Third Trimester

My third trimester being pregnant with baby #2 has thankfully been uneventful.  I have seen my doctor every 4 weeks, then 2 weeks and now every week.  The baby is measuring ahead and according to my doctor will be a "big baby".  Though she states he/she will be between 7-8lbs when born, that is not big by American standards but I guess it is for Africa.  Ultrasound measurements put the baby's feet over 3 inches long, no wonder it can kick so forcefully.  I have seen some chubby cheeks, hair, and even fat rolls on the ultrasound.  Overall, the baby is doing really well and I am thankful the doctor never let the baby's gender slip so we can be surprised when he/she is born.

The other week I also took a tour of the hospital.  I was glad to see that the labor and delivery rooms were pretty much the same.  Though after the baby is born, you are either put in a room with 3 other moms and their babies or hope to get a private room.  I can't imagine trying to get any sleep in a room with 3 other possibly crying babies, but if it is just for 1-2 nights, I can manage.  Mark also won't be able to stay over at the hospital which is fine with me since Adalyn would enjoy being at home with him.  If this was baby #1, I might be more hesitant.  I was surprised by the mother/baby items the hospital provides, originally thinking I would have to bring an entire nursery along.  It was also interesting to see that when the babies are in the nursery they put them in an incubator to keep them warm, instead of swaddling them and leaving them in the rolling bassinet.

Most of their procedures seem to be very similar to what I experienced in America.  Such as when to call the doctor, options for pain relief, delivery processes, and postpartum care.  One appreciated change is that you can eat and drink whatever you want during labor.  I am relieved knowing that I have at least done this before with Adalyn so I have an idea of what I am getting myself into, just not sure of how it will go in a different country.  One aspect that is different is their procedures for a circumcision.  It is not common in South Africa for boys to have circumcisions so they do not perform this procedure at the hospital.  A few weeks after birth I would have to take the baby to a pediatric surgeon to have the circumcision.  Some of the immunizations are a little different, such as the tuberculosis vaccine, and sometimes offered at different stages.  I have my list of when babies are given what in America so I hope to stick to it as close as possible plus add in anything extra recommended for babies here.

With my pregnancy winding down, I am thankful for how smooth this last trimester has gone.  I am still able to golf, walking 9 holes each week and I'm able to keep up with Adalyn.  She has learned that I cannot carry her and that I have to sit down more often.  Adalyn is a mama's girl and before this pregnancy wanted me to do everything so it is nice to see her take to Mark more and their bond strengthen.  Adalyn came at 38 weeks and I think that sounds like a good time for baby #2 to make it's appearance, though my doctor thinks she will see me at my 39 week appointment.  We are excited for this new addition to our family and to share it with our friends and family.

Thankfully the golf course does not enforce their rules that everyone has to
wear a collared shirt since I can't find one to fit my belly.  

Best $2 for an hour of work I have ever spent

Before moving to Africa we knew that by American standards labor would be considerably cheaper.  Little did we realize how hard the workers would work for the amount they are paid.  I have seen such hard work in our domestic, Joyce, and our gardener, Obit.  When looking for a house, we wanted one with a large lawn so Adalyn would have plenty of room to play.  We also wanted a private back yard and I feel like we got exactly what we were looking for with our home.

Of course with Mark gone from 5:30am to 6pm every week day, he was not up to doing yard work on the weekends.  With the vast amount of labor workers willing to do just about anything we figured a gardener was perfect.  Originally the owners of our house hired a gardening service.  It consisted of a group of 5 men with their own equipment doing about an hour of work mowing, trimming, racking, etc each week.  I did not have much luck with communication between myself and the group of men, nor the owner of the company so we parted ways.  Part of the gardening service also provided pool care, where 2 additional men would come once per week to brush the pool, adjust the chemicals and clean the filtration system.  Since they were a part of the gardening service we severed ties with them at the same time.

I did not have any luck finding another gardening service but thankfully we found Obit through our neighbors who have had him as their gardener for 3 years and the neighbors across the street have employed him for 14 years.  Both of which had nice lawns so we gave it a shot.  Obit comes to our home from 8:30-3:30 every Wednesday for $16 US.  He originally cost $15 but told me that every March he gets a $1 raise, and I was quite proud of him for asking for a raise so we upped his pay.

Luckily our home also came with quite a few gardening tools and an electric mower.  I rarely see a gas mower here, every gardener is carrying an extension cord over their shoulder as they mow.  It is also customary to bag all clippings, which to me seems time consuming but when telling a neighbor that in the US we would let the clippings shoot out the mower and lay on the lawn, he gave me a look of disgust.  Another time consuming tasks is weeding the driveway.  Most driveways here are brick so weeds pop up between the bricks constantly.  Obit will spray them but then sits on a paint can and individually pulls out each weed in our large 3 car drive way.

Of course he is trimming the bushes, raking the leaves, but he also takes care of our sprinklers which seem to need a new pipe or head every month.  He will plant whatever flowers or plants I come home with and even cut down a dead tree for us.  I was quite surprised he cut down an entire tree with a hatchet in the matter of a day, pulling out the stump with his bare hands and all.

Obit cut down a tree between these two, almost as tall.  I was impressed.

I was wondering what we would do with the tree, but he preceded to cut it up and Joyce took it home for fire wood.  The trash company here will take all our clippings and dead limbs, which is nice since I am not sure where I could even dispose of them.

Every week Obit also cleans our pool.  He brushes it and I take care of the chemicals and cleaning the filter system.  Obit will do anything I ask of him, though he will not sit at the table to eat his lunch.  He prefers to sit in the grass, but at least he enjoys my cooking, or maybe he complains to Joyce but since they talk in another language I have no idea.  Occasionally I cannot understand Obit's English so we will communicate through Joyce and everyone has a good laugh at it.  I also cannot get Obit to use our restroom, or in fact come into the house, even when it's raining.  If I am talking to him in the front lawn and want to show him something in the back, though it's quicker to go through the house, he won't do it and always walks around.

Obit wears a blue uniform every time he comes, which is common among most of the gardeners.  Adalyn thinks every man we see in a blue uniform in Obit, and will wave and call his name at them.  I have actually enjoyed seeing the friendship between all the gardeners in the neighborhood.  Obit will stop to chat with them, and they always wave at me when I drive by.  Some people have their gardener work every day so it's nice to see such friendly faces all the time.  I have probably met more gardeners than I have neighbors.

Obit is very quite but with a huge smile greeting me daily.  Since he is not much of a talker, I don't know a whole lot about him but he did say that his wife works at a hospital and he has 3 grown children who live near him in a township called Mamelodi.  Obit will take the taxis everyday as his walk would be 2+ hours each way.  He is a wonderful worker and very nice man.  Adalyn enjoys following him around the lawn, using her own broom when he is sweeping and helping him pull weeds.  I am very thankful to have found him and enjoy seeing him at the neighbor's home throughout the week.

Mark, there's a monkey on your back

This past weekend we traveled to the Haartbeesport area to visit the Bush Babies Monkey Sanctuary.  A little more pricey than most of the adventure we take, but worth a visit.  Guided tours run every hour and last about an hour.  We had the most knowledgeable guide, who would point out monkeys by their name despite the fact that the entire place held about 110 monkeys currently.  Before entering the huge enclosure we were advised to not bring food and to watch our pockets as the monkeys are quite smart and know where to look.

The entire enclosure has multiple walking paths lined with huge trees and a few streams.  It did not take long to see our first monkey and though most of the monkeys are not friendly to the point where they come up to you, they don't scamper away either.

The guide gave detailed info about each type of monkey and how they are taken care of in the sanctuary.  Most of the monkeys are donated from those who tried to raise them as pets but failed along with a few abused monkeys.  All are roaming free together in this huge habitat and feed mostly on the items they would normally find in the wild with some supplemental food given as well.

As we made our way down the track, the guide would have us change courses if he saw a larger grouping of monkeys ahead.  Around a bend and there was one particular friendly monkey who walked right along the path with us.  They the monkey got curious and started to reach into people's pockets before it noticed that Mark had a bag on his back.  In the matter of seconds, the monkey jumped on Mark's back, unzipped the bag and started rummaging around.  The monkey was not too thrilled when the guide came over and made him get down.

Down a few more paths and across some beautiful swing bridges we saw some lemurs high in the trees.

 I was surprised that with about 110 monkeys we did not see more, but of course they are constantly on the move too.  Some great views could be seen through the sanctuary and given that most of it was shaded by the trees, it made for a good walk.  Adalyn ejoyed spotting the monkeys and running ahead to explore the area.

The guide kept mentioning how they are not getting as many visitors as they would like and are having to come up with new ideas on how to increase their income.  I will say that for about an hour and a half of fun, $20 per adult was a little high compared to most of the activities we have done in the area.  It was a nice morning and something different to do.  I hope they are able to stay open as their whole concept of allowing the monkeys to live in as normal of a habitat as possible is inspiring.