Reflection: A Life-Changing Journey

Comfortable and well-rested, I am now entering my 38th week of pregnancy. How exciting and scary at the same time! Tonight we went on a tour of the Richmond hospital maternity ward and checked out the birthing and recovery rooms on the third floor. It’s hard to imagine that the next time we go there, we’ll be coming home with a baby and I would have survived the most painful but rewarding experience of my life!

As the October 5 due date approaches, I thought it would be a good time to reflect back at the last nine months. The journey has been a wild one but God has been our rock every step of the way. We have learned patience and that no matter how uncertain things are, God is always in control.

Things got to a rocky start at four weeks. At 2 am in the morning, my parents drove me to the hospital because I was experiencing painful cramps. After I took a urine test, the nurse asked me privately in a very concerned voice, “Is there any way you could be pregnant?” I calmly answered yes and informed her that my dear husband was out of town. I was convinced that she thought I was going to be a teenage mother.

I was checked into a bed and both an ultrasound and internal exam showed nothing. It was either an ectopic pregnancy or it was too early for anything to be seen. I returned home nervous and troubled but found peace and comfort in God’s promises. He had a plan and I needed to trust in Him and patiently wait. Every life was a gift from Him and only He had the ability to give and take it away. Having experienced miscarriages in the past, Jack and I knew this reality far too well. Yup, believe it or not, this was our third try!

Through these experiences, we learned to accept God’s “interesting” plan for our child-bearing, to strengthen our marriage through humbling tears, and what a blighted ovum was. Fortunately, at six weeks, an ultrasound revealed an embryo and a heartbeat. Then a week later, I realized that I was spotting (usually not a good sign). My world crumbled and I was overcome with disappointment. Grandma Shih, who was visiting at the time, never lost hope and told me to calm down and go straight to bed. Spidey and Mama Cashew who were visiting from Seattle prayed over me. In the next hour, the spotting stopped. God’s power was revealed once again and we were so relieved and thankful.

The following week, I spotted again and fortunately, it stopped again. At the doctor’s office at eight and a half weeks, we were thrilled to hear the heartbeat through the Doppler. Jack recorded the sound on his palm pilot and we played it over and over again. Following my doctor’s advice, I ended up staying home from work for a week which eventually turned into six weeks including Spring Break. Once my students learned what was happening to me, soon the entire school was praying for me. It was truly amazing the support, encouragement and prayers that I received.

At week eleven, we had another ultrasound and saw the little body, head, arms and legs. What a little miracle! It was so reassuring to see that something was really growing inside of me. I continued to rest at home, filling my stomach with healthy food and trying to eat as much vegetables as I could even though the cooked ones made me very nauseous.

Since then, it has been smooth sailing. I returned to work and finished off the year in June. Summer was a lot of fun with trips to the Okanagan, Whistler and a two-week baby training course in Seattle where I gained a lot of confidence in feeding, diaper changing and baby entertaining.

Pictures of our baby training days with Little Cashew (courtesy of Spidey and Mama Cashew)





Time has passed and we’ve celebrated each week, giving thanks to God for His protection and guidance. Pushi has been an awesome husband, supportive, encouraging, understanding and a great listener (most of the time). He talks to Sushi in Taiwanese and looks forward to meeting him/her face to face. I have full confidence in him as a father. There is no one else I’d rather have at my side on this incredible, life-changing journey.

For those of you who have read this to the end, thank you for sharing in this journey with us and we will be sure to contact you when the big day arrives!

Mushi