Our Okinawa adventures have slowed down to a crawl, by choice, of course.

18 weeks

     Everyone who knows us and is near and dear to us knows by now we are welcoming our 1^st child in to the world.  Everyone who has children of their own also realizes how much this changes things!  Mark is working hard and none stop, he is staying busy so that when Baby Scott (the coined name of our little bun in the ol’ oven) gets here, we can rest as a family.  I have given up on derby and probably won’t return.  Close friends and family know I’ve (we’ve) been waiting on this for a while, so I am going to take on the new hobby of motherhood.  I can already tell you, I won’t be one of those mothers that doesn’t do anything without her child but, for a while, it’s going to be Mark, Baby Scott, and myself, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  We aren’t finding out our baby’s gender and we aren’t sharing the baby’s name until the day he or she is born.  I’ve heard, “you are having a boy and you are having a girl”, so time will tell.  I am already SO excited for baby’s 1^st visitors, and help for the new mom and dad!  Mom and Dad Scott will be here 1^st followed by Dad and Mom 2 Hood. We wanted both sets of parents to visit and I am already getting the apartment ready for the parents and for our 1^st visitors in Japan.  Mom and Dad Scott have started a very expensive tradition of being there for every grandchild’s birth.  They’ve traveled across the states, Australia, and now putting Japan on the list.  The Hood’s and Scott’s are international families!  Though, if it wasn’t for Baby Scott, not sure if Dad Hood would have been to eager to come back to “The Rock” as he calls it.  He’s a tough soldier though, and this time he doesn’t have stay at Camp Hansen. 

After reading an article on MSN about infertility and how women struggling with infertility should speak up, I decided to share a little (very little) about myself and my family’s struggle.  I am not one to go in to too much detail and I still won’t.  What they said in the article I can’t say I completely agree with, it spoke of infertile women telling their stories, but women dealing with infertility shouldn’t have to stand on the tallest mountain and shout, “I HAVE INFERTILITY ISSUES”.  People should realize that just maybe, it’s none of their business what is going on in other couple’s lives and they should not be asking questions, period.  Mark and I tried for almost 5 years.  Tried is the perfect word when you realize how hard it is to actually get pregnant.  Mark being deployed didn’t exactly help matters, as asexual reproduction is just not how it works for human beings.  Months go by and friends that knew we were trying said just relax, go on a vacation.  After a year and a half, we run the tests and find out that nothing is wrong.  After year 2 I was sick of hearing the question, “when are you guys going to have a baby?”  It seems like a harmless question, and depending on whom it is from, it can be, as I eventually shared with family and some friends, what was going on.  Then the 3^rd and 4^th years pass and anyone who felt the need to ask the question I feared the most, were then met with, “if God feels the need to bless us, so be it,” or, “if it happens, it happens.”  All the while, on the inside I was mad.  For me and my personal experience with infertility (which by the way, is the term used for any woman who doesn’t get pregnant after 6 months to a year and is seeking medical answers for why she isn’t having babies) I found it beyond rude of the women, who had their precious bundles, and still felt privy to my inner most fears.  Most people didn’t realize what was going on because I didn’t share, and again, I shouldn’t have to.  As I talked on the topic with one of my friends, it’s the same as asking a woman who has lost a child the same question.  A family losses a baby, and though others may not realize the family’s loss, they ask the question, “so, when are you going to have a little one?”  That may put a person in a dark place that brings pain and tears.  It sure did for me with my infertility issue.  Holidays void of the thing I longed for, motherhood.  My mother waited and practically begged me to hurry it along.  “We’re trying”, was the answer, and it was true.  Hearing another person announcing they were expecting made me cringe.  Doesn’t mean I wasn’t happy for my family and friends, I was just dealing with my own problems.  Once in Japan, I was determined to spend everything I needed to, to make our dreams of parenthood come true.  Mark and I were slated to see a fertility doctor in January of 2012, but it wasn’t meant to be, because, as some women who have nothing “wrong” with them find out, sometimes, years later, it just happens.  I didn’t want to wait till 31 for my 1^st, but then again, it was never up to me.  Then I had to figure out how to answer the question, “was this a planned pregnancy”, when the doctors asked.  How does one answer that question?  Simple enough, “we wanted this to happen.”

Mark and I just got back from the states.  It was supposed to be a treat for Mark’s coming home.  We went to see family and also, friends he hasn’t seen in 4 years.  We went to North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee.  My family in Ohio and Tennessee had baby showers for me.  I was super excited and now the baby will actually be clothed!  It quickly turned in to the LAST trip we’d go on before we become parents.  The flights were beyond rough on me.  I started off as an international traveler years ago, now, I am the international puker.  From Tokyo to NYC you don’t want to fly close to me.  When I could, I politely took my baggy to the lavatory to fill.  Finally Mark has his passport, but I am traveled out.  Next trip will be with Baby Scott…maybe.  I’d really love to go to South Korea pre baby.  I have waited this long though, it wouldn’t be the end all be all if I didn’t go, and besides, I have so much to look forward to!!

 A BIG thank you to my sister in law, Mel for thinking of it and Grandma Scott for hosting!!

Green and beautiful, Tennessee.  A Scott family walk in a Nashville, TN park.

Typhoon season and summer go hand in hand on Okinawa.  One day, rain boots, next day, bathing suit.  In true “honey badger don’t care” style, I bought a bikini to wear at the beach.  Some people think preggos showing it all is gross or uncalled for, I personally want the tan.  I have also found out that after about an hour and a half in the sun, I am done.  I am usually okay with a water bottle in one hand and up to my chest in water.  I plan on getting around as much as possible while I can carry the baby with the greatest of ease, well okay, I won’t go that far.  I do have a great pair of running shoes now though, thanks to the hubs, so it helps.  At least the summer also brings festivals and hanabi (fireworks)!  I won’t be wearing my yukata this year though.

I don’t want to give too much away because of what the military calls “OPSEC”, but this will be a year full of Okinawa and Japan, and trying to see everything we can while we still live in Asia.

Sayonara from the Scott’s!