Today, Wednesday, June 12, 2019, I`m twenty weeks pregnant. I`m halfway of this life-changing journey. It`s so surreal. I can`t believe I`m here now at this point. After what I have been through, it` so hard believe that now I am holding my baby bump and proudly showing it to the world through my social media site.

I have been TTC (trying to conceive) for about three years. After years of naturally trying, we decided to go further. I went through the needles of the so-called Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), the IVF (in-vitro fertilization). I did two egg retrievals and three egg transfers but all of those failed. I went through the roller coaster of feelings of hope, fear, and excitement in every step of IVF. All the money spent only for the experience of hoping and losing. IVF didn`t work for me. I gave up. We gave up. We changed plans and priorities. We looked for distractions away from this desire of having a child of our own. We decided to instead of spending money for IVF, we bought a house. We already accepted the fact that we will be one of the many childless couples.

But, indeed, life is full of surprises. just few months after we moved in to our new home, just when I started exercising more and eating healthy, we got our biggest surprise. I got pregnant naturally! Our sweet surprise is in my tummy now. Growing each day, changing my body, changing my perspective in life.

I decided to write this article to share my story and to inspire those who are still waiting to have their little surprise. Becoming a mother is not for everyone. It might be easy for some people but hard for others. But for those who are still struggling, don`t lose hope but don`try so hard. It is  when you stop expecting that it will come true.

I know I am still halfway and many things could happen. If TTC is a roller coaster ride, pregnancy is not an exception. The fear and worry never end. In fact, I just had overcame the fear of having a baby with genetic disorder because of my advance maternal age. I went through another needle. Another test. Another hundred ￥　less from our savings. But all is good now. All is cleared.

I want to enjoy every moment of my pregnancy. I want to write it down to remind me of every details. And this is the start.

Below are my twenty-week photos.