Close to the end of our adventure

So I'm actually in my 37 week of pregnancy now and also on maternity leave.  Statutory leave is required to start at least 2 weeks before your due date.  My leave also signifies the end of working in my office in Ireland since I will be going back to the US after my leave.  Overall it was a great experience.  Definitely had some challenges in the beginning.  I would say it took me almost a year to really settle in and feel comfortable in my role.  Even though I was with the same firm, things are still done differently here and systems are not the same. It kept me on my toes and I learned a tremendous amount.  It was also a humbling experience.  I was used to how things were done in the US and also was an expert in my industry.  However, coming to Ireland, working in a different industry and being completely new was a bit unnerving.  Especially for someone like me who likes to be prepared and one step ahead.  It was a good change however, and I was ready for a change and a challenge in my job.  I will be going back to my same office in the US and that was always part of the arrangement.  I am going to miss the office here and the friends that I have made.  Its funny how people tell you how much they appreciate you when you are leaving but not necessarily when you are there day to day.

What I really loved about living in Ireland for these almost 2 years would be:

1. Being able to walk to work - 15-20 minutes tops!  You can't beat that!
2. Being able to walk anywhere - I live in the city centre so I am close to shops, grocery stores, parks, tourist attractions, train stations, buses, etc.  Dublin is a very walkable city and most of the attractions are within walking distance.
3. Having my family being outdoors most of the time - so, a recurring theme here, but we all definitely spend time outdoors a lot here.  The weather is not extreme so being outside is usually comfortable.  Yes ofcourse it rains but it usually passes quickly. I like that Connor can play outside and has access to many different parks.
4. Food here does not have as many preservatives or artificial flavours - people here are more conscious of preservatives and all of those additives in foods.  Makes me feel more healthy.
5. Learning about the Irish people - people here are nice and talkative.  I would say they are very talkative but it does take time to really get to know them and find out personal information.  Its been really awesome to learn about the culture here, Irish phrases and just how things work here.  People are really close to their families here, and might not always be by choice, but I like that there is a support system here and there is always family near by to help you.  The most someone would have to travel to get to their family home is around 3 hours.  Holidays are normally spent with your family.  Even if married, people tend to go to their respective families for the holidays.  That changes once you have kids.
6.  Easy access to travel - my travelling slowed down once I was pregnant but I would say I travelled a lot during my first year and a half here.  We were able to see the majority of the cities we wanted to see in Europe and Ireland.  It was one of the reasons why we wanted to live abroad in Europe and we took full advantage.  As an American citizen you are able to travel easily around Europe and not have to deal with getting a visa, etc.

I really enjoyed living in Ireland and I am glad we were able to live in a country that spoke English.  It made things so much easier for us.  I'm also glad I am not in London as that city is huge and I would probably get annoyed with how crowded the city is and dealing with all the tourist.  No offense, but I do have to say that tourists are the worst at walking - they always take up the entire sidewalk, walk aimlessly around, stop abruptly, walk really really slow, and are oblivious and a bit rude.  At least in Dublin the city is not too crowded and its pretty laid back. You just need to know where to avoid as places like Temple Bar are full of tourists, but locals wouldn't normally hang out there.

The maternity care here is much more relaxed than the US.  I am Semi-Private and see the same consultant every time.  However, they schedule everyone at the same time and that can mean a long line and wait.  Even so, the doctors here don't seem to make a big deal about anything and are usually on the ball when there is an issue.  At each visit they will take my blood pressure, urine sample and listen to the baby's heart beat or do a quick scan.  They ask how I am doing and that's pretty much it.  They will take my blood once in a while and check that.  They haven't taken my weight since my first appointment, I didn't get a glucose test, and no cervical checks.  I like that all of my GP visits are free and my consultant visits would be free also if I was public.  I chose semi private so that I could get a semi private room (you share with less people) and see a consultant.

Its crazy how quickly the time has flown by.  It is almost 2 years now since we first arrived on July 1, 2012.  I definitely recommend this experience to anyone with this opportunity.  It was hard doing it with a child, but still well worth it.

We're halfway there

I'm at the halfway point of my pregnancy now at 20 weeks.  Time is going by so quickly! I am taking the Irish maternity leave which is a statutory 26 weeks paid by the government.  My company also pays an amount above that to get to 70% of my pay while I am on leave.  Its definitely much more generous than the normal US maternity leave policy.  My company's maternity leave policy in the US is also considered generous in the US but definitely not what I would get here in Ireland.  Now, there are other European countries even more generous in their maternity leave, but I'm grateful for what I am getting. I do have to start my leave 2 weeks before my estimated due date which is different than the US.  When I was pregnant with Connor I was planning to work up until I had him.  Which I technically did, he was 2 weeks earlier than his due date.

The maternity care that I have is semi-private so I switch between seeing a consultant/doctor at the maternity hospital and my GP.  I just had my first GP appointment and it was quick.  The doctor asked me a few background questions, took my blood pressure, and listened to the baby's heart beat. She also seemed to have more time than the consultant to answer questions.  We had to pay for the first visit and the remaining visits with the GP is free.  The GP also does the first check up of the baby.

Next week we have our anatomy scan of the baby.  I'm really excited! Most people here in Ireland do not find out the gender.  My boss said it is due to a superstition and I'm sure its just what is normally done.  I'm a planner so I can't wait until the baby comes to find out.

The weather has not been too bad here.  The days with rain and heavy winds are the worst, especially since I have to work to work and have no choice.  Umbrellas are useless and you see many umbrella corpses in garbage cans around the city.  No snow at all this year.

Here is a picture of Connor enjoying a rare sunny day in Dublin, he's getting so big!:

Grocery things I miss

There are loads of things that I can't get here that I can normally get in the states when I go grocery shopping. It's understandable and I expect it. However, now that I am pregnant I'm a bit peeved I can't get the following items I am craving here..

1. Any fruit flavor cream cheese (strawberry, blueberry) - had the biggest craving for a bagel with strawberry cream cheese and couldn't find any fruit type cream cheese. The bagel shops also only have the plain cream cheese. Very disappointing!

2. Cooking wines - looked everywhere for Madeira cooking wine and could not find any. To tell you the truth, I haven't seen any sort of cooking wines, sherries.

3. Fruit flavor cereals like fruit loops or trix - probably due to their high sugar content and additives, but still, a craving is a craving.

I'm sure if I went to a high priced gourmet shop I could probably find some items but I really am most disappointed about the cream cheese.

Here's looking at you baby

Our family just found out some surprising and exciting news. I'm pregnant and am 3 months along! We plan to have the baby in Ireland before going back to the US. I am interested to find out how the maternity care is here. I have been to two appointments at the national maternity hospital and it is more midwife lead as opposed to doctor lead like in the US.

Maternity care is free in Ireland for public care. You can pay for semi private or private care where you see the same consultant/doctor and will have a room where you share with another patient or a private room. We opted for the semi private care. I wanted to see the same consultant and not share a room with 6 other patients. I'm glad that the maternity hospital is literally just a minute walk from my apartment.

The first visit was with a midwife who asked about medical history and took blood tests. My second visit was with the consultant and I was surprised by the long lines waiting for the doctors. That is normal here and would be worse with public care. I heard private care is more similar to what I would be used to in the US. My consultant is known for being quick and it was a pleasant meeting where he looked at my chart and asked about my previous pregnancy. He also did a quick scan where we saw the baby laying down and moving its arms. Next I need to see my GP. The care is split between GP and hospital care.

I feel the care is more relaxed here. I had a bad delivery experience in the US so I am hoping my experience here is better. Everyone I have talked to here have had good experiences mainly due to the midwives.

I also told my work and they are required to do a health and safely inspection of my work environment to make sure it is safe for me and the baby. They are going to order me a footstool. I thought the concept was weird but after going through it I thought it was a nice idea even if they are required to do it.

What a difference a year (and more) makes

So sorry that its been a while since I posted in the blog.  I can't believe we have lived in Ireland for a year and a half now.  Time is flying by.  We just recently went to Vienna and Salzburg, Austria for the Christmas holidays.  It was warmer than we expected but both places were beautiful.

We have definitely settled into our lives here in Ireland and it does feel like home.  Work is much better for me and it makes a difference being here for more than a year.  I was also promoted recently after a lot of hard work.

We were here for the best summer in Ireland in almost 20 years.  Dublin in the sun is gorgeous.

We went back to the US for one of my best friend's wedding in November and there were so many reasons for us to miss the US when we came back to Ireland.  Its been great here, but after this much time away, you do miss home, family, and friends.  I appreciate them all much more since I have been here.

Connor is really enjoying our trips now and is always asking to go on the plane or go to a hotel.  He loves seeing castles and we have been to atleast one park/playground in every new city we have visited.  All of these travels have been expanding his knowledge of the world and I can see this when he points things out in pictures and books that he has already seen being here and traveling the world.  This has been a great experience for our family and I am really glad we are doing this.

Here are some pictures of our recent travels...

Stonehenge, England

London, England

Madrid, Spain

Salzburg, Austria

Vienna, Austria

Paris, France

Happy New Year everyone!

1 Year Anniversary

Whew, so it has been a while since I posted to the blog. It was my 1 year anniversary in Dublin on Monday. I just renewed my GNIB card this week.  I can't believe it, time really does fly fast. I think one of the reasons why I wasn't blogging as much is that instead of feeling like an outsider looking in, this whole "experience" is feeling like my life, my new normal. Work is work and while I used to compare to what I missed in the US, I have now accepted how things are. But I still have one more year to go.

Since I last wrote we have been to Prague, Amsterdam, Isle of Man, Portugal, and Athens. We haven't planned our next trip yet but we are always a bit last minute. Being able to freely travel around Europe is awesome. I'm really loving that aspect of it. 

This week was also 4th of July. It was pretty low key at our house and we had some hot dogs to celebrate the day. I definitely missed the fireworks. There are no Americans in my firm so no one really said anything about it.

We have friends coming to visit this weekend so I'm excited about that. 

Here are some pictures from our recent adventures:

Being a tourist in Dublin

Connor dancing at Malahide Castle in Ireland

Lagos, Portugal

Zeus' temple Athens

Acropolis, Athens

Sailing in the Greek Islands

As Connor likes to say, Bye bye, see you later!

Weekends in Dublin

Since we don't have a car, we are always out and about on the weekend, no matter what the weather.  While it is usually cold and will some times snow (but never stick to the ground), it is never unbearable.     I'm happy that I live in a place where the weather is not extreme, especially because we have to walk every where.  I wanted to blog today about our adventures on the weekends.  We usually go out for brunch in the mornings, go to Grafton street to walk around and take Connor to the parks that are close by.  

I still haven't seen a famous person around the city centre, but I know a few of them have been spotted like Conan O'Brien and Justin Bieber.  I'll just have to keep my eyes open.  

We have also just booked our next trips.  For St. Patricks Day we are going to Prague and for Easter we are going to Amsterdam for the tulip festival.  I know, you would think we would stay for St. Patricks Day since we are in Ireland, but I don't think it will be our scene, especially with a child.  

We also need to get our flights in because Connor will be 2 soon and we'll have to start paying 90% of the adult airfare price!

So, here are some pictures from our weekends in Dublin:

Playing with chalk

Playing in Merrion Square

Riding a bike in Phoenix Park

Walking on the Sean O'Casey Bridge

Looking at Art at the National Gallery of Ireland

Connor's favorite chair in Merrion Square

Playing at St. Stephens Green playground

Playing hide and seek in the Museum of Natural History or Dead Zoo