January Downs and Ups..And Happy CNY 2022! :)

Time really flies that we are now at the end of January and it is also the much-awaited Chinese New Year festival!

I would be lying to say that I am not upset that I am not home this year AGAIN😖In fact, after waking up yesterday due to heat (Had a few nights of bad sleep due to hot weather these days sigh), I was browsing my photos and suddenly felt prompted to post an update for my longing to be home. The picture that strikes me the most was the one that my grandpa looked at the card and letter that I recently sent him with so much fondness, and I can't help but feeling so upset that I am not home for this CNY. CNY is the major festival that we celebrated every year with dinner and gathering, and I just wish that I could be home for this season more than anything else. (Even not the first few days is fine, since after married I will usually be at my in-laws place, but please, I just want to see their faces again 😢)

But I know I will hang in there for just another year. I was telling my husband that day: By hook or by crook, I will be home in 2023. I know I have a newborn, but I will try my best to make it works. In fact, I was googling and researching the possibility of travelling home end of the year, and realize that most doctors don't recommend travelling in the first 0-3 months, but between 3-9 months was quite an ideal time for travel as the newborn routine is still mainly sleep, and that they are much more settled with their immunisation. By end of this year to next year Jan, it will be about 7 months for my newborn, and hence, the possibility is there and hopefully, we can make it works. 💪

So, what have I been up to for this month?

I did a quick update for my insta and FB post, but to elaborate further, we did go into a self-imposed isolation after falling sick. The timing was really quite bad, as it was on the 1st Jan and our worries were not groundless because just three days before, my husband had a close contact with a colleague who was identified as Covid-positive later on. 

We started to feel the symptoms like sorethroat and cough on Saturday. Hence, we decided to go for a PCR test the next day on the 2nd Jan and it was the time when the Omicron was in the peak of its outbreak with Victoria recorded about 20000++ cases. So imagine the queue! 

Such a long wait and therefore this pregnant lady resorts to sitting by the roadside reading while wating lol. 

We waited for about 1.5 hours to finally get tested, and after that we went into isolation before the result was released. (And we were told it might take at least 3 days). It was a nerve-wrecking time because I was desperately hoping that it wasn't Covid, but we also had our week 20 ultrasound scan scheduled on that Friday. If we were positive, then my ultrasound scan will not be able to proceed. I was praying that it wasn't a Covid, but we were almost 80% sure that it is because of our symptoms that are so Covid-like. So imagine my relief when I saw this text!

Funny thing is though my husband and I tested together, I got this result first so we still have to wait for his result. I probably checked his phone every 5 minutes or so. Finally he got the text and he was also negative!!! The relief that we felt was so overwhelming, that we just give thanks to God because it was so unexpected for us that we can come out from this unscratched. We had started to hear our friends and colleagues that got Covid-positive (most likely Omicron), that we thought we had no way to escape. But thank God, even for friends who were positive, they were all very well recovered after the isolation period so we were really thankful, not just for ourselves, but also for the people around us too. 

After confirming our result is negative, I can bring out this doggie again for a walk. We pet-sitting to help our friends for about 3 weeks. He stayed with us until 10th January. Now I missed him already. 

He likes belly-rub the most. See his very shu-fu expression enjoying his own personal massage time haha. 

He likes to look at me with these puppy eyes when I am eating.....OK LA give you treat la. (I have little self control when coming to his puppy eyes haha)

So the first week of the January ended with such downs and ups, we were SOO glad that our ultrasound scan can proceed as scheduled and we even found out the gender of our baby. It was such a magical moment that I felt so privileged to witness, and at the same time, giving thanks as this baby is striving, and kicking. To me, talking about my miscarraige wasn't a taboo subject, and I am quite open to share that the miscarriage had indeed shaped how I viewed pregnancy, and how it affected me that I threaded it with so much anxiety and insecurities for my future pregnancy. But with times, and with each milestone, I am gaining more and more assurance, not my own capability, but for this baby, and for His will. Because if I trust His timing, then I will trust His plan for me. And God has really answered my prayer in so many miraculous ways that I am just beyond thankful for what I have or had to experience, even the miscarriage. After these multiple events, I can start to feel myself much more excited and I really hope this whole journey will continue to be a learning and growing journey for me, no matter what stages I am. 

As for the rest of the January, as you can imagine, I reached out to some of my friends to inform them personally about my pregnancy. Finally, I feel the heavy load is being lifted and I can feel myself much more excited for this journey. Thank you everyone for your congratulory messages and well wishes! It really meant a lot to us knowing that this baby is so much loved already by people surrounding him. 

Sharing my very recent baby bump just two days ago. Ya it has been pretty obvious I am pregnant right. I am enjoying it, my husband and I love the baby bump because we find it to be so round and cute! Haha. 

I also started to plan for the baby register (You can take a sneak peak here. Password is Chinboy195), because being a planner, I realize I like to be prepared and have a list to know what I need to buy in the future. I know my plans are not always the best, but I want to have certain level of knowledge regarding pregnancy, labour and birth, babycare and eventually parenting so that I am more equipped for what is to come. But at the back of my mind, I always know that I can't control every single thing (just like this pregnancy), but I will continue to read to increase my knowledge, share some stories and sing to the little bub, and just leave everything else to God. 

The front page of our Baby Register/Gift list. We intend to buy some items down the road, so feel free to browse around haha. The register link is https://www.myregistry.com/giftlist/susanmorph

Busy? Yes kinda. I am still working part-time two days a week in church and will continue to do so until April this year. The balance of work and rest do work for me and I enjoy the time on hand very much. With baby planning in the pipeline, we also have another project in place so we have been going out at least twice a week and it has been tiring. I might share later on once we have some plans or confirmation, but well, that will wait for the next post then!

Lastly, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR to everyone celebrating! I truly truly miss everyone of you, and yes, just like what my post says, I will be home next year, I promise. And by the time comes, I hope you will be equally excited to see that little baby boy, whom I have already known that he will also be very very loved. 👶

Not the bub's picture, but hey, it is QUOKKA! (I wish Melbourne has them, I can be just so happy looking at them)

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR EVERYONE!