So, is Rachael pregnant?
Yep!
When’s the due date?
Sometime during the first week of October.
How’s she feeling?
She’s feeling fine. She’s 25 weeks along now, which means she’s about to finish what we’ve heard is the “best” trimester. The first trimester was pretty rough because of the nausea. Rachael would like you to know that the term “morning sickness” is a misnomer, at least for her. She felt ill most of the day until about the tenth week.
Are you having a boy or a girl?
We’ve been telling the medical staff at the hospital that we don’t want to find out the gender, though we both looked pretty hard at the ultrasound pictures to see if we could spot a penis or a vagina. No luck, so far, so we’re still living in mystery and enjoying the possibilities.
Are there hospitals in Qatar?
No, but they have birthing tents.
Really?
No, not really. As far as we can tell Qatar’s medical system is about the same as what you might find in the United States. She’s been having appointments at the Cuban Hospital in Qatar, which is staffed by doctors and nurses from Cuba. Sometimes we speak English when we go to the hospital, sometimes we speak Spanish.
Have you picked out a name?
No, but we have a list. My favorite right now is “Space” and Rachael’s favorite is “anything but Space.”
Where is Rachael planning on giving birth?
In Qatar.
Does that mean the baby will have Qatari citizenship?
Nope. Only a baby whose father is Qatari gets that. The baby will have American citizenship, though, since both of us are American citizens.
I haven’t seen a million Facebook posts about this. Why aren’t you more excited?
We are excited! We just show it in different ways, like by worrying and complaining. ☺