mooncake #2!

We've got a little update to share...

We're expecting our second child in early March of next year! We're simultaneously excited and terrified, but we feel like we're in a good place to add another member to the Kortlever pod. As usual, with a pregnancy announcement comes an assortment of questions, so we tried our best to address everyone's curiosity:

Baby Kortlever #2 FAQ

When is the baby due?

March 1st is the official due date, after previous due dates in late February. Selfishly, it would be nice if the baby was overdue so we could catch Captain Marvel in theatres (it's out on March 8... so that's pretty close). But I'm pretty sure at that point I'll be more than ready to not be pregnant anymore... but hey, maybe they'll move the release date up a week? It worked for Avengers: Infinity War! Someone please give Robert Downey, Jr. a call.

Ummmm, was this planned?

Hey now.

Will the baby be an Australian citizen/receive dual citizenship?

Yes, baby #2 will be eligible for Australian citizenship! Unlike Arden, who was born while we were still here on a working visa - however, as of the beginning of the year we are now Permanent Residents! And currently in Australia, babies born to at least one Permanent Resident and on Australian soil are eligible for Australian citizenship. Of course, citizenship rules are always changing and up for fiery debate, so who really knows. But as of publishing this blog entry, it's currently possible for our baby to have American and Australian dual citizenship.

Do you have a nickname for the fetus-baby?

We thought about making up a different one for this pregnancy, like "hambun" (a Dutch-American church basement staple, since our babies are part Dutch). But we settled on mooncake again. It's cute, it's unique, and the timing of this year's Mooncake Festival was perfect for a cheesy pregnancy announcement.

happy Mid-Autumn/Mooncake Festival!

Boy or girl mooncake?

Not sure yet, but we're planning on finding out in a few weeks! We'd love either. Having two girls would be so sweet (and Arden wants a sister - she insists, actually), but having a boy would be a fun new adventure. Fortunately, because we insisted on a gender-neutral wardrobe for infant Arden, we've got a good amount of hand-me-downs for either sex.

And for the record, for most of this pregnancy I've had a feeling that it's a boy. But we'll see.

Are you guys moving back to the States?

Nothing planned! Of course, we know it'll be hard to raise two little kids away from family and close friends. We have always intended to return to the States eventually... but so far we're just playing it by ear, hoping for a healthy pregnancy, delivery and newborn right where we are.

Are you guys moving to a bigger apartment?

Probably not. Yet. Our current living space is small, but with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, I think we'll be able to make do for a while. Infant-Arden slept in the master bedroom with us for at least her first year (sometimes co-sleeping, sometimes in her crib, hardly sleeping for more than two hours at a time), so it's totally doable to keep Arden in her big-girl room, and have the new baby slumber party with us. But we'll see. In general, we love the area we live in (we have a grocery store, bank, tram stop, pharmacy, library, maternal health clinic, barbershop, playgrounds, a beautiful waterfront, and a Subway™ all within 5 minutes walking distance) and it would be hard to top the convenience of our neighbourhood elsewhere.

Are your families excited?

Yes! Everyone has been excited, surprised and supportive thus far. This baby will be grandchild #2 for my parents, #4 for Ben's dad and #6 for Ben's mom, so it's nobody's first rodeo - but the more the merrier! Ben's sister is also pregnant and due a month before us, and we also have cousins that are expecting around the same time as well - so this new baby will have lots of similar-aged playmates in the family!

What's been different about this pregnancy so far?

For one, toilet-hugging is much more challenging when there's a toddler screaming at you from across the room, demanding that you "stop drinking water from the toilet, MAMA!" (because apparently that's what it looked like to Arden...) This pregnancy saw a lot more puking (including a spectacular public barfing episode on the streets of Singapore - I'm surprised I didn't actually get fined for littering), especially later on in the first trimester. I'm currently at 18 weeks and feeling much MUCH better, although the food aversions are still present.

I also "popped" a lot earlier, which is apparently common with second pregnancies. When Arden, I didn't really start showing until 4.5-5 months. This pregnancy, I looked 4 months pregnant during our Singapore trip when I was only 2 months along. A TSA agent at the airport even inquired about my growing belly. I happily confirmed, but didn't let her know that I was only 9 weeks pregnant...

8 weeks pregnant - when the embryo was the size of a raspberry. maybe a giant one.

Public prenatal care in Australia is very hands-off during the first half of pregnancy, at least compared to what I've heard about North American prenatal care. This time around, we were offered a first trimester dating scan (an early ultrasound - you know, where the embryo looks like a jellybean - but it's such a cute little jellybean with a heartbeat!), which we gladly did. But from weeks 8 to 17, I knew absolutely nothing about what was going on in there, except for my growing belly and revolving door of symptoms. But fortunately, I just had my first official prenatal appointment at the hospital, and I heard little mooncake's heartbeat loud and clear - a very comforting and beautiful sound.

Oh, and to answer that second question... yes, this mooncake was very much planned! Except it took a lot longer than we'd expected. Even though it wasn't quite a year of trying, I had started seeing a doctor about basic infertility testing. However, we were able to conceive before any tests were actually done. There was definitely an issue though, most likely with late ovulation and a progesterone imbalance - but after some personal research, cycle-charting and taking an herbal supplement for a few months, it was apparently fixed. We are very grateful to be on this side of the TTC (trying to conceive) journey, and it was definitely a humbling experience.

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Thanks for all the love and support, everyone! We are very excited about this new chapter in our lives, and are looking forward to sharing updates when we can.

CK

family of four: coming March 2019!