Our New Home...and Our New Daughter!

In June, we welcomed our daughter, Grace Lola Ann. She was born shortly after we relocated from Hong Kong to Tokyo (with a short stint in the US - more on that below). And all of this happened in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. Needless to say, 2020 was a whirlwind, and the best year of my life.

We were still living in Hong Kong when word started to spread about an unknown virus that was making its way from China. Given I was pregnant at the time, it was concerning since we didn’t have any details surrounding this news. As soon as Trump made mention of closing the borders, I booked the next flight back to the U.S. where we assumed I would be safer. Flash forward to early March, and the U.S. was quickly becoming the epicenter of the pandemic. When I packed a suitcase and left Hong Kong in January, I didn’t realize I wouldn’t be coming back.

In the midst of the chaos, Drew was relocated from Hong Kong to Tokyo for work. And given the state of the virus and lockdowns on the horizon, we began to fear we would get permanently separated (as I was entering my third trimester). I flew to meet Drew in Tokyo in mid-March, just in time to find a new doctor to deliver our baby girl. With two doctors in Hong Kong, one in the U.S., and the final [and arguably most important] one in Tokyo, this baby had been around the world and back again before it was time for her arrival. And believe it or not, she came so quickly (30 minutes after we arrived at the hospital) that my doctor didn’t even make it in time for her delivery. 4 doctors across 3 countries… and my birth plan went out the window.

Delivering a baby in Japan is a far cry from the U.S., for several reasons. First and foremost, most doctors only speak Japanese. After securing a spot with one of the international doctors (and one of a few in Tokyo that gives epidurals), I ended up delivering Grace with a staff OBGYN that didn’t speak any English!

Grace was born on June 21, 2020 - Father’s Day! She is the biggest blessing and has filled us with more love than we could’ve ever imagined.

Although our early days with Grace weren’t shared with family as we had hoped, it gave us the opportunity to spend time together as a new family of three. And fortunately, we were able to take Grace back to the U.S. in September to meet family and friends.

I look forward to sharing more about life with our new little bundle in our new home.