"I was going to write a book, but then I got pregnant."

Before I got pregnant, I had this awesome idea for a book I would write.  It stems from a book I had heard about a few years ago -- about an American man with back pain, who went all around the world getting treated for it, along the way stumbling upon insights and lessons from health care systems much different from ours.

I was going to do the same thing, in a way, but for maternity.  Through the course of my nine month pregnancy, I would write about the care I was receiving in Korea, as well as anywhere else in the world I happened to travel for work or for pleasure -- the US, India, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe...

When I was back in New York City this past September, I saw my friend Blake, who is one of those rare friends who not only pushes you to be your best self, but calls you out on it when you're not.  He asks, "So how's your book coming?"  I respond: "Well, I was going to write a book, but then I got pregnant."  His response: "Great! - Sounds like an awesome title for your new book."

The takeaway for me here is that there's a vast difference between what I think I'm going to do around pregnancy and birth; and then the reality of what does happen (while I still get excited about that book and think it's an impactful way to shed light on the state of maternal health around the world, the reality is that actually, I don't want to travel to areas of the world with awful maternal health outcomes (the whole reason Gates has funded us to work there in the first place!) while I'm pregnant; I suppose this must have been obvious to everyone but me.)

... All of which is prompting me to get back on the horse and start blogging again regularly -- before I forget all of this in the haze of new motherhood (on that subject, one of my college roommates -- one of the most articulate and introspective people I know -- wrote an article in The Atlantic about this very thing, called "Before I Forget: What Nobody Remembers About New Motherhood": http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/04/before-i-forget-what-nobody-remembers-about-new-motherhood/274981/)

So what's happening in my world right now?  Well, today is Veteran's Day in the US, Diwali in India, Singles' Day in China (google it, it's really a thing), and Pepero Day in Korea (in case you're wondering, it's like Valentine's Day, but instead of chocolate, you give your love a Pepero stick -- an evolution of the supposed origin of Pepero Day on 11/11: exchanging tall, thin Peperos in the hopes of becoming taller and thinner yourself -- ah, Korea).

But in the Morente-Bolender family, this day is significant because I'm now 30 weeks pregnant; ten more weeks to go!!

Time's a funny thing.  We all know it's relative.  One week in the first trimester was a wholly different psychological length than one week now.  For me, the first trimester dragged on and on... each individual week was momentous (you could have asked either of us what size fruit the baby was and we'd know instantly -- growing from sesame seed to watermelon seed to an actual real fruit size... now when you ask us, we shrug and look at the other person to see if they know!).

Then the second trimester came, and with it, what I'm now realizing to be the glory days of pregnancy: so much energy, so much appetite (absolutely everything tasted just so delicious!!); that illusive "glow" you keep hearing about and then somehow realize you have yourself!

And now I'm learning that the third trimester is a whole new category all on its own.  Week 27 came as a bit of a shock to us both -- suddenly, it was here (I remember doing pregnancy meditations in week 7 and looking longingly to month 7, thinking -- that's SO far away!!!).  And with the transition to third trimester, both of us realizing we had done next to nothing around actual planning for the birth and delivery.

So began a flurry of weekend activity, all focused around birth preparation: shopping (and finding!) a facility to deliver in; finding a post-natal center to be pampered in after birth (certainly a future blog topic); finding a nanny to help us next year; finding a prenatal yoga center in Seoul; buying and preparing our nursery... Our Wunderlist became a list of all-things baby and delivery.

After spending the last seven months focused on being centered, present, and calm -- the last few weeks have brought my Type A personality out with a roar.  So now it's about finding balance: being the mama bear ready to do whatever is needed, but also being here and present to these last incredible ten weeks.

As the quote hanging in my room reminds me daily: "These are the magic years... and therefore magic days... and therefore magic moments." (and as if on cue, the baby inside me is now kicking enthusiastically to concur).