A bizarre week of mixed emotions

What a strange week! We don't know where to begin.

Some people say the three biggest stresses are getting married (done), moving house (doing) and having a baby (definitely doing!!!!!) in 24 hours, we will be sat on the plane, gin and tonic almost definitely in hand on our way to our new life in Italy.

This week has been full of worry and anxiety as our surrogate mum has been having mild but frequent contractions and has been closely monitored whilst staying in hospital for over a week now. Fingers excrutiatingly tightly crossed that she will be discharged from hospital in the next day or so. Of course, this is a horrible scenario for anyone, especially given we're not even 30 weeks, but Dr Shivani and her team of medical magicians have done all the possibly can to allow them to give us a much more positive 'we're nearly in the clear' update today which is hugely encouraging. Throughout all this, utrasounds have shown no real stress on our baby. We just hope and pray that they are perfectly happy where they are and have no desire to come any time soon!

We had our leaving party in Hong Kong last night which was an amazing evening. In honour of the Royal Wedding, our party was decorated in a thoroughly patriotic and achingly kitsch array of 'Britishness', union jacks, picture of the royal family (Liz, Phil, Charles, Camilla, Moody Margaret, a sorely missed Queen Mum, and Sarah Ferguson banished somewhere near the toilet doors). A less fitting addition was Bruno the stripper that Adam's colleague arranged, although the Union Jack G-String did at least fit the theme. I really can't give a full explaination that would be believed in a court of law of how 'mid lapdance' Adam managed to knock out a front tooth veneer. That's definitely one we won't be telling our children and grandchildren about!!!!! (although it was far more innocent and less sordid than it sounds).



By the end of the night there was pretty much a hour's free flow of tears, possibly enhanced by the very reasonably priced 4 hours 'all you can drink' included in the ticket price, but never the less a wonderful evening with some much loved friends. It was of course achingly sad to say goodbye to some wonderful people as we leave here after 3 years.

Our 'what a hangover but so worth it' morning was further enhanced by a much more positive update from Delhi that has allowed us to end an anxious, stressful and worry-filled week in a much more relaxed and happy state of mind.





And this post would not be complete without (forgive a little bit of British pride here) making mention of a magical royal wedding that we don't feel embarrassed to say has given us Brits (who as a nation haven't had much to smile about recently) revel in some self indulgent pomp and ceremony.

As we (nearly) breathe a huge sigh of relief that our baby and SM our healthy and safe, say a sad farewell to a frantic concrete jungle that at times drives us crazy but will always be held dearly in our hearts for giving us some much and allowed us to pursue our dream of parenthood, say goodbye to much loved friends, leave one of the many apartments we have lived in that actually did feel like home, we can end a week filled with highs and lows, laughter and tears with a determination to make a fantastic happy life and home for our baby, us and our dogs in Italy. We are filled with hope and optimism that our new life will be as magical as today's fairytale wedding!

Big Gay Wedding Dance

Whilst we are passing time, getting ready to move next Saturday, sorting out final bills, and a whole host of boring but unfortunately necessary things, here's our blast from the past wedding dance to entertain (if it can be called entertainment!!!!!) or horrify...

26th Week!

As the scan report that came through suggests, we are 25weeks and 6 days! However, by initial calculations we should be 25 weeks and a day, so not that far off....

No face shots on the ultrasound or images that make us go 'ahhhhhh', just a selection of 'I'm not quite sure what part we're looking at' pictures (very similar to the Rachel situation in 'Friends') that far more importantly help Dr Jolly tell us that our baby and SM are both doing very well and things are exactly how they should be. What more can we ask for!!!

It's such a wonderful update from Delhi in a week where we're so focused on (and impatient to be) leaving Hong Kong in a matter of days, knowing that we couldn't be asking for better news from Dr Shivani and Dr Jolly as we are about to make a bold leap into the unknown in preparing our new life in Italy for us and our baby.

Because us and our fellow Brits have to spend (by comparison) longer than most in Delhi due to citizenship laws and passport issues, at first the thought of three months in Delhi felt a little problematic on so many fronts. But now we are lucky enough to have found (through genuine support from one of our employers) a "live in Delhi, enjoy being parents and send a bit of work via email now and again' solution that lets us relax and really look forward to and embrace our time in India without the pressures of returning to work, losing salary and feeing under the pressure of time.

We're both so happy that after all the time our baby has spent with our wonderful SM in Delhi, we also get to enjoy spending three months in a country that we will forever be indebted to.

Who could ask for more?

12 Year Anniversary

Yesterday was our 12 year anniversary since the day we met at 'One Pound a Pint Night' at our local nightclub (praise be that pound a pint nights don't really exist in Hong Kong, where 'happy hour' prices are still eye-warteringly expensive and hardly any cause to be happy!!!).

It's a lovely thought that we met in the Chinese Year of the Rabbit, and we will be having our baby in the Year of the Rabbit too! (Cue cheesey music: Lion King 'Circle of Life'). In Chinese Astrology, the Rabbit Year is one of the more home-centred gentle signs which sounds perfect to us.

When we tell people that we've been together 12 years, people are 'wow, that's ages' but to us, it's gone in a flash, we could write a massive list of all the great things we've done together, the highs and the not so highs, and the many times we spoke about how great it would be to have a baby and a family of our own, so it's a brilliant thought that all the talk is actually coming to realization!

3 weeks today we'll be leaving on our new adventure, wondering what the next 12 years might bring...

A moment of calm (and boredom)

Feeling at a bit of a lose end today, yesterday our apartment in Hong Kong was emptied, all our shipping got packed and sent off for shipment to Italy. We don't leave Hong Kong until the end of this month, living with a bed, TV and a sofa and 2 suitcases of clothes. All our lovely baby clothes and accessories will be on the seas soon, so I can't go and take an occasional peek in the wardrobe and have a broody baby moment looking at all the things getting excited to think how fantastic it will be when our baby is actually in our arms. At the same time, all the kitchen accessories have gone so we have no alternative but to eat out for 4 weeks which is a joy!!!!

For both of us, work has gone from being stress-filled hectic mentalism (actually, a fantastic way to keep us occupied) and suddenly gone remarkably calm, making the counting of days much longer. Our 'to-do-list' to get ready for our move to Italy is getting much shorter and more manageable, and I have an awkward feeling that this month is really going to drag.

Our most exciting achievement was taking our dogs to the vets to get them vaccinated up to the eyeballs ready to take them with us to Italy. I kind of get the impression, as much as I tell them how wonderful it will be to have their walks in beautiful Florentine Piazzas rather than Hong Kong back streets, they're not really listening or appreciative of the impact of the move :)

More so, the rules on transporting dogs on Lufthansa mean the dog must be able to lie down flat, turn around, stretch out and not touch the sides of the container.... so I guess our dogs will really be travelling First Class, shame they don't apply the same rules to human cargo in Economy!!!!!!!!

Hoping to get the rest of our 3D scan pics in a couple of weeks so will post these then, in the meantime, back to boredom but the excitement of dreaming of our family together in Italy..........