Being Pregnant in Japan

Happy New Year! Welcome to the year of the Ox. I'm an Ox, so big things are supposed to happen to me this year. With the baby coming and a move back to Australia, I'd say that's pretty correct.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for their congratulations on our news. We are just so happy and feel so blessed. It's funny, I conceived when doctors were busy telling me that I might not be able to.

The day I went to confirm the pregnancy, I actually had an appointment for fertility tests. In Japan, you sometimes have a lot more to do with the nurse than the actual doctor. Oh, and there isn't so much privacy. So I went to reception to hand in my clinic and insurance card.

The nurse said to me (for all to hear) "So you should be menstruating now, you're here for the fertility tests aren't you."

I replied, "Well, actually, no. I'm pregnant."

The nurse looked shocked. "Well how do you know that you're pregnant?"

Here, my Japanese failed me. I didn't know what a "home pregnancy test" was in Japanese and at that moment even the word "test" escaped me. Instead, I had to describe the actual process. My Japanese went something like this (with everyone listening in) "Well, I went to the drug store and I bought this thing, it well, it looks a bit like a pen. I pee-d on this pen-looking thing and it told me that I was pregnant."

The nurse looked a little confused for a moment before it all sunk in.

Just one of the joys of being pregnant in Japan, another of which is the fact that I'm going to be pregnant for ten months rather than nine! There have been other moments, but my dad has asked me "please don't write about those on your blog". OK, dad, for now, I'll be good.