Coming Soon - Baby Chirlin - March 2018!

For those of you that did not already know, Michael and I are expecting to have a baby at the beginning of March 2018! Right now I'm just starting to get to the stage where I actually look pregnant, and not just like a have a beer gut or something. 

Navigating the Australian universal healthcare system so far has been a mostly positive and pleasant experience. It still feels strange to me to go in and get an ultrasound or have blood taken, and not pay a cent, like I'm getting away with something. It's pretty great. I'd almost feel guilty, except that I just feel happy and relieved that all the taxes I've paid are giving our family back something, just like they are theoretically supposed to. It'll also be nice when I get paid parental leave from the government for 18 weeks too. It's only minimum wage (which is currently just over $18/hr, over twice what minimum wage is in the US), but it's better than what the government and many companies in the US minimally offer - ie: nothing - not to mention that in the US most women have to use up all their sick and vacation days (not an issue here when one goes on maternity leave here). Thanks, Australia!

I actually have quite a few other friends, here and in the states, who have either just had babies in the last year or are expecting now. It's great because I've been able to get a ton of second hand maternity clothes for free, and I'm hoping we'll get a few hand-me-down baby items eventually too. It also means that our little one will also have other little playmates, no matter which group of friends or family we end up hanging out with. 

We plan to stay in our little one-bedroom apartment until a few months after the baby is born, and then we'll probably move to a two-bedroom. I know a one-bedroom would not be enough space for many couples/small families we know, but it suits us just fine. We love our neighborhood with lots of cafes, parks, two malls, friends' places, and public transport within walking distance. We have a carshare literally in front of our building if we want to throw the baby in and jaunt to the beach for an afternoon, or go on a little weekend camping trip. We love it. We'd also just rather not accumulate a lot of unnecessary stuff, since we still see ourselves as temporarily living here. Having limited space keeps us from collecting and storing too much. Also, occupying a smallish space means we don't need things like a baby monitor or baby gates for stairs. Living below one's means is highly underrated. We'll see if I still feel that way once the baby is a few months old, but I imagine having a second bedroom will be just right for us, while he/she is still young. The plan is still to move back to the states in the next few years, so we can live near family again. When, exactly, is still up in the air. 

For the moment, I'm the only one that currently knows the gender of the baby. We are seeing how long I can keep that secret - so far it's been four days. I think I have already surpassed Michael's expectations for giving it away, and I think if I last a week or two more he will be begging me to tell him. 

In other news, this week was Mike's birthday! We had a nice Thai dinner and did an escape room with friends, which we solved and exited with time to spare. I'm glad our baby will round out the calendar some - we have way too many family birthdays to celebrate in October, and she/he will only be one of a small handful in the February/March time.