Oh how I miss Fall

Fall has always been my favorite time of year.  I love sweaters and jeans.  Football and fires.  Bringing out the crockpot and making that first Pot Roast of the season.  So many things that we can't do in Istanbul.

I am missing our trips to the apple orchard.  When I was a kid, that was the start of fall in Michigan.  I'd go with my parents, my Brownie troop, and school field trips.  It was so much fun to run around the orchards and climb the trees, trying to find the best apples.  And then eating them until you were sick to your stomach.  And once everyone was tired (and sometimes cold), it was time for donuts and hot apple cider.  Those last two were really the only reason to go!  I have no idea what mom did with all those apples.

 I tried to recreate those same trips with my kiddos in Kansas City.  The orchards were smaller and no donuts, but the apple cider usually made up for it.  Plus I loved watching Jocy and Elly running like crazy thru the orchard as I once loved.  Oh how I would love a trip to the apple orchard right now!  But from what I can find, there is only one place in the center of Turkey.  So last weekend, Joel got a bunch of apples from the pazar and I was going to try to make my own cider.  Thankfully, it was a success!  I got a small amount of my happy Fall.


I think the thing I love most about fall is the beautiful colors the trees create.  Now, living on the edge of the Belgrade Forest, you'd think I'd be in heaven.  But I'm sad to report that fall in the Belgrade Forest is quite a disappointment.  You will see an odd yellow and red here and there, but they are pretty dull.  It's like trees go from green to dead overnight.

I miss Halloween.  We still do our Halloween crafts and all the windows in the living room are covered in homemade pumpkins, ghosts, bats and black cats.  BISI does trick or treating and a big haunted house for the kids.  They love wearing their costumes to school.  And I've heard that some of the large compound do trick or treat, but not ours.  Plus the candy is not that good here.  You'd think all Snickers would be created equal.  Nope.  I swear they taste stale here.

 I miss our trip to the pumpkin patch and every ones search for their perfect pumpkins. Then the crazy mess they make decorating them.  Mmm.. and roasted pumpkin seeds are my favorite!  I loved our trips to the Big Red Barn and Deanna Rose.  Both were always on the field trip list in the fall!

 And I really miss trick or treating with our family and friends.  Almost every Halloween that we were in Kansas City, we spent with Joel's cousin's family. Their two boys are Jocy and Elly's age and its been a great tradition.  The one year we didn't go with them, we went with my good friend and her two girls.  They are the same age of Jocy and Elly and we had such a wonderful time.  I kind of wonder if they will grow out of it before we get back to the States!  That would be so very sad. :(

I miss my fireplace.  I miss both of them.  I loved that the one in the family room and the one on our back porch were just a light switch flip away.  I miss the nights hanging in our neighbors driveway with a fire and adult beverages.  I really didn't like giving up a fireplace during our apartment hunt but having a garden for the kids and dogs to play in makes it worth it.  One of these days I will get Joel to get me an Turkish outdoor fireplace.  That might make up a little bit more.

I am enjoy the beautiful warm days here in Istanbul.  And making our plans for our Christmas trip.  So even though I really miss all those things, I will have them back again sooner than I probably will like. 

1 month

Yesterday was Milly's 1 month birthday.  I can't believe how quickly this first month has flown by.  She is just the sweetest baby.  We have only had a day or two that has been a bit trying.  Today being one of those days.  But, I'd take 100 of these days then 1 of Jocy when she had reflux and colick.  Is it just because I am now a seasoned parent, or do my babies just keep getting better and better? 

All I can say is that I hope time slows down just a little.  I know that I am going to wake up tomorrow and we will be living in Detroit and Milly will be starting Kindergarten.  But for now, I will be spending every spare minute snuggle my adorable little girl and squishing her cheeks.  Who needs a clean house or clothes when they have this face to kiss!

Becoming an American

Yesterday, Milly officially became an American.  We had been joking that the last three weeks she was a Baby Spy.  The girl had no country!  In Turkey, you have to go register the baby yourself unlike in the US, the hospital takes care of all that for you.

Since the girls had parent teacher conferences, I thought it would have been a good day for
Joel to take the day off and hit up the American Consulate too.  I got online and made an appointment at the only time that was listed.  It worked out well being at 10:15am.  I made sure I had all the correct paperwork, copies, and then some.  I had 4 copies of everything!  I even had papers to prove we were US citizens even though we both were born there and had our birth certificates.  I even had tax returns! I wasn't taking any chances of screwing this up.

So about 10am, we strolled down to the Consulate.  For the past month or so, heavily armed Turkish police officers and there riot vehicles have been guarding the Consulate.  It always made me uncomfortable driving past.  The only time I have seen guns like that was flying into Boston right after Sept. 11th.  But since there have been no issues here, they have finally removed the extra security.  We checked in with the security guard (you can't get in without an appointment) and then went to wait in line.  The line wasn't bad but it was a little warm and little shade.  Everyone in line were Turkish trying to get Visa's for their trip to the US.  I was starting to wonder if we were going to be stuck waiting and this was our Consulate!  Finally, we got in the door and it was just security!  We checked our phones and sent our stuff thru the machine.  Because I was wearing Milly in the Moby Wrap, they turned off the metal detector and I got the wand.  As much as you go thru metal detectors here, they make an effort to not make pregnant women or small children go thru them.  We cleared security and headed down the hall.  Yet another line. UGH.  Then the nice guy told us.... you can skip the line and go to the elevators.  So we beat the crowd and hopped on the elevator.  Yea!  Some perks for being Americans!  When we got upstairs, the guy at the desk skipped the lady in front of us and handed us a number.  I looked around the room and it was PACKED!  At least an hour wait.  At least we had two hours before we had to get Nate from school.  Then he told us to go thru that door.  It says American Citizens Services.  Ooo... we get our own room.  When I walk in there is absolutely NO ONE there.  We waited a whooping 30 secs before our number was called.  It was quick and painless.  Two very nice American ladies took care of us.  It was nice not having to worry about misunderstands.  Milly will be getting her birth certificate and her passport in the next two weeks.  Once we receive those, we can apply for her social security number.

While we were there, I got a write in absent ballot since mine never showed.  And I just have to drop it off before Nov. 6 and they will get it back to the US for me.  And no appointment necessary.  But I'm planning on dropping it off on Monday and get it done!

I really expected the process to be much worse.  But it was actually a very easy task.  Having a baby in Istanbul isn't really something to worry about!

Call Fail

We live right down the street from a small Mosque. It only has a half minaret. This is how close we are…

You can see the minaret from our pool right outside our door. 

 There is another larger Mosque up the hill from us. Probably double the distance of the other one. During the call to prayer, you can hear multiple Mosques around us. Now that Milly is up feeding around 5:30 every morning, I now hear the call every morning. I had gotten to where most mornings I could sleep thru it.

 A few days ago, Joel's alarm went off at quarter to 5. I was actually kind of asleep at the time. Then about 5, I hear the call to prayer and Joel jumps out of bed. Now a days I have no idea what time call to pray is. It's changed so much since the summer. Then it could be as early as 4am and as late as 10:40pm. I didn't really register the call and went back to sleep until Milly woke up to eat a few hours later.

 When Joel got home later that night, he said he had an amusing story to tell me. He said that morning he jumped out of bed because he thought he was late. He thought maybe the new alarm clock was screwed up or he had messed it up hitting the snooze button. Or did the time change? Not on a Wednesday. So he ran upstairs to grab his phone. But it said 5am too. So he check every clock in the house… all 5 am. Hmm… So he got ready for work. As he was getting ready to leave at around 6am, the call to prayer started again. That time he heard the other Mosque callers… had he only heard ours the first time? So he asked Murat when he got in the car what time the first call was supposed to be. 

Our Mosque caller…. TOTALLY screwed up! LOL. He did the call to prayer an hour early! Wonder what kind of trouble he got into?

Milly's Birthday

I knew that I wouldn't make it to 40 weeks with this pregnancy. Elly was a week early and Nate was 2. I didn't mind too much as the last weeks of pregnancy was pretty rough on my body. I couldn't stand very long and I seemed to be pulling a stomach muscle or groin muscle daily. I couldn't walk up the stairs without having to sit down and getting out of bed for the multiple night trips to the bathroom was almost impossible! And once she drop, holy cow! When I drove, my belly was on my thighs!

37 week and 5 days - heading to the hospital 

 My first goal was to make it until my parents arrived on the 22nd. But I was really hoping for October. Then when I hired my doula, she said she would be out of town for training the 20-23. So then I made my goal at least the 24th! I had an appointment Wednesday the 19th and had progressed since my last appointment. My OB wanted me back on Friday to check since I was having decent contractions during my NST. But Friday showed little change even though I was having contractions. I told her I planned to plant my butt on the couch and make her stay since my parents wouldn't arrive til the next morning. That evening the contractions got a bit worse but nothing bad. Dr. Genim called to see how I was doing since she was heading to the Asias side for the evening. With rush hour, getting back from the Asian side could take 3 or 4 hours. I was feeling fine. A little crampy but I figured that was just from the internal exam. Of course, two hours later, I felt HORRIBLE! I stayed on the couch the whole night and ordered delivery. I did managed to get a little sleep that night and by the next morning I was feeling much better. I think if my parents had already been in Istanbul that I would have gone into the hospital that night.

 My parents arrived at our apartment about 11:30am on the 22nd. I had called my OB and told her it was a good idea that I come in and get checked. And also called my Doula Saylan, who was still out of town. She decided to hop a bus and try to make it back in time. I was supposed to call her once I saw the doctor. If need be, then the back up plan would go into effect. So after getting everyone lunch, we headed up to the hospital. After a quick check, she mumbled something in Turkish to the nurse. She said I was 3 cm dilated and to get me checked into the hospital. I was having good enough contractions that I had to stop walking. There was another pregnant woman in admissions and ever contraction I had, she was totally freaked out. I was guessing she was in for a c-section. My OB helped get us thru admissions and then we headed upstairs to L &  D.

 My room wasn't available yet, so we were put in a Recovery room. I got changed, call my Doula and they started monitoring my contractions. Since my Doula was NOT going to make it, we started on the backup plan. Sima arrived in less than 30 minutes. After I was settled in, my contractions stalled. UGH… really? I was not going to be a 4th time mom and have false labor. No, after Elly, I KNEW was labor felt like. I was definitely in the second stage of labor. We joked that I'm just too relaxed in this nice quiet hospital! LOL. So Joel and I started walking the hall. I did this with Nate and it really kick started the contractions. Unfortunately, Achibadem is MUCH smaller than Liberty. I think I have to do 10 laps to equal a hall length at Liberty. And it worked again. After 30 minutes of walking I was 4cm. Dr. Genim decided to go ahead and have the anesthesiologist put the port in for epidural. I've had two really great experiences with getting an epidural. I never felt either one being placed. Well let me tell you, this guy SUCKED! He said he numbed me… but the second he started OW! Plus he didn't tell me he was starting. So I got yelled at not to move. Well, you have to tell me you are starting! The second time, it hurt worse!! I knew then, that he had screwed it up. But I was trying to be optimistic that I was just being a wuss.

 After another 30 minutes Dr. Genim wanted to check again. But because I was in a recovery room, she wanted me in the delivery room to check. Surprisingly, no change. That is NOT like me. So I ask if she could just break my water then things will get moving. She was oddly surprised. I thought we had discussed that my water never breaks on its own. She was still very supportive of me and my choices, but I think she thought I wanted no interventions. So she broke my water and full on labor started. I was to 5cm in less than 30 seconds. My room was finally ready so Joel and Sima moved all our stuff and then moved me. Of course I was in the last room at the other end of the hall. By the time we got there I was 6cm and said I need the epidural now! LOL

 I really have no idea what the time frame for all of this was. I know I got to my OB's office at 13:30ish? And had a wait a bit. Then check in and all that. I think we got into the first room about 14:20 and the 2nd room sometime after 16:00. It's all still a bit of a blur. Probably because my epidural did NOT work. The only thing that was numb was my left thigh. I might as well gone drug free again. Not sure what time the doctor told me it was time to push but a flurry of people bombarded the room to convert it to a delivery room. My doula Sima was amazing thru the whole thing. The aromatherapy really helped me relax. Labor was so fast again that she really didn't get to do much of her job. But really just being there to help translate and be extra support was well worth every penny.

 Dr. Genim comes back in still in her stilettos and cute jeans and tank top ready to deliver! LOL. I had to giggle. Joel later told me that Milly was born after 4 pushes. I thought it felt like I was pushing FOREVER! But I also wasn't prepared for the pain. At least with Elly, I knew no epidural, so I had a little time to figure myself out. But this time, I was expecting another lovely labor and delivery like Nate. Boy was I wrong. My OB and I did butt heads a bit near the end but she did listen to what I wanted. My other three births, I was totally out of it afterwards. But this time, I was alert and aware of everything going on. Which is exactly what I was hoping for. Even though it was a horribly painful delivery, I'm pretty darn happy with how it went. Especially when having a baby in another country. 


Milly was born at 17:44pm. She was 8lbs 3oz (my biggest baby!) at 37 weeks and 5 days. I wonder if she would have been a 9lbs baby if she waited until 40 weeks! And the odd thing is, I gained less this pregnancy than any other. And I started at a lower weight then 2 of the 3. I gained a whopping 23lbs. Milly came out with a full thick head of dark hair. She is absolutely adorable. She actually had a round head! LOL. I got to hold her immediately. We had planned on waiting a bit for Joel to cut the cord but she was having a little troubles breathing because of all the fluid in her nose. They cleaned her up a little and then gave her right back to me. Such a snuggle bug. We got to spend a while with her before they took her back to be checked over. Joel took that time to run home and get the kiddos. The kids were so excited to meet Milly. I was a little concerned with how Nate would act since he's been the baby of the family for three years, but he has been the best big brother. After about an hour, they headed back home and my Doula made sure I was good for the night and headed home herself.

 I got a good two hours of rest. I never sleep well in the hospital. But I enjoy the time that Joel and I can spend bonding with our little one without the other kiddos. I thought I would want that again. But I decided the next afternoon, that I just wanted to go home. In Istanbul, the average stay is only 24 hours for a normal delivery. My OB said I could stay until Monday morning if I wanted but at last minute I decided lets go. My body probably could have used that extra 12 hours. It did force my body to get moving but it was a long slow walk to the car. We finally managed to get out around 9pm. Because it was Sunday, none of the insurance stuff could be done and most of the admin staff was gone. Milly also had to have her blood work done before we could leave the hospital. The Turkish Government requires babies to submit two blood samples within 48 hours of birth. Plus the hospital requires their one blood test. And of course we had to wait until the hospital completely all the blood tests. Which was two hours. If they would have told me that… I probably would have stayed! We were ready to go and kept waiting and waiting. I really wanted to go home and eat the Chili that Dad had made for dinner. The food at the hospital was good but I NEEDED some comfort food!

Waiting to go home

 Finally we got the OK that we could go and finish everything on Tuesday. Overall, I had a great experience giving birth here. I would do it again…. NOT that I am. LOL. My doctor was great and so was the staff. I am so grateful that I found not one but two great Doulas. And we are absolutely in love with little Milly. Our little Turk! LOL. Everyone keeps telling us she looks Turkish.

 Next step… becoming an American!