In Batu Karas, it was mostly a joke. We had been careless, but at nearly 35, surely I would not get pregnant from just a teeny, tiny little...how to put it...change of routine. In Yogyakarta, the jokes became more nervous, and I began to punctuate them by saying, "but seriously...I think I am." By the time we hit the pharmacy in the Singapore airport, I hardly needed the test to tell me what I already knew: We were going to be parents.

I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but it was a tough mental transition . It was part of the long-term plan, but the timing will complicate (to say the least) Shen's last few months of grad school, and I certainly hadn't planned to spend my first trimester traipsing around Indonesia! Then there are the big-picture changes. We had planned to start a family, but it was always some future, possibly more responsible version of ourselves that would be doing this family-starting. The transition from abstract idea to concrete reality was jarring. It was not Future Responsible Shen and Jessica; It was...us. Throw in pregnancy fatigue and mood swings, and it was one hell of a week.

Between panic attacks, though, we came to recognize that the timing was just right, and maybe could have been no other way. Neither of us know if anything in this world is "meant to be," but if anything is, this is. Our baby weaseled its way into existence through the tiniest sliver of a window of opportunity. We can't wait to meet this eager creature. It also makes for a much more interesting story, one that will no doubt horrify our child for many years to come.

I'm writing this in August, but if I've published it, it means we've all successfully made it through the first trimester. Our baby did not get burned away by malaria, jiggled loose by the motorcycle, or overdosed on fried rice (all things that this mom-to-be worried about). In April we will welcome a new member into our traveling band. Please keep us in your thoughts as our excitement mounts for that day!