Hajime Baby

So this blog is a bit of a mix- Half to help other pregnant gaijin in Japan, and half to track my own adventure of having a baby (I apologise for the TMI that may come from the latter). Please also note I am not a doctor and have no idea what I am doing.
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It all started about 9 months ago (December 2012), when my husband (whom I will refer to here on as Mr H) and I decided that one day in the near future, we would have a baby. We were planning on starting in April, but a new job and a move meant I wanted to do the right thing by my company and postpone it. Though, I did reveal before I was hired that we were planning on starting a family sometime later in the year (and was hired any way). It is worth noting that if you are married and of a certain age, employers will ask if you (a) have kids, or (b) are wanting them soon, and most won't touch you if the answer yes to is either. I was lucky that my boss is a foreigner, and I guess he weighed the pros and cons.

So since December last year, I have been on all the multivitamins, DHA, calcium and vitamin D, and Mr has been taking Multivitamins with folate, zinc, DHA, calcium and iron. I went off the pill in February and started tracking my (irregular) cycles. We are not sure if it was because of all the planning, the daily shagging, or just plain luck, but when we started trying this month we were fortunate enough to fall pregnant straight away.

I had an inkling right away as I was having massive cramps before the communists were supposed to begin their march (which never happens) and then they failed to appear (though, with my irregularity, it was no surprise). Two days later (the earlier you take a test, the more chance of a false positive) I took a test* and bam! Two blue lines signalling the start of a new adventure. Yay!





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*Home pregnancy tests can be bought easily from the big pharmacies. 'Create' is the big one in my area, and they are found in the sanitary napkin aisle. I have read that sometimes they are near the condoms though. I bought a pack with two, as it was one test for Y800, or two for Y1100. I have since found cheaper at other pharmacies, but when you are that excited to find out, who wants to shop around. I bought a 'clear blue' test because it is an international brand and has basic English instructions inside (or, mine did).