New kid on the way!

[shanna 0]

Hi everyone! My hubby and I went thru the K1 visa odyssey back in 2003-2004 and the last 3 years have been filled of plenty of ups and downs. We are expecting our first baby (It's a girl!) this coming January and I was just curious to know how having a child has changed your relationship and outlook in being a new resident here. For me, it has been particularly difficult without my usual family, friends, healthcare, career and social life. However, it's not all been a sob-story. I have met great people and had a couple of decent jobs. We are very excited about our lil cherub but I always thought I'd be a little more settled when i have a kid and at 32 I still am not as settled. I wish I was more sure of myself like I used to be in my home country before becoming a mummy. But I have this feeling inside me that when we have this kid, my focus and attitude may change for the better.

Anyways, I would love to hear your experiences and the effects it had on the relationship after your baby arrived or from anyone else who's going through a pregnancy now.....

[Mephys 2]

I am sure you would have a lot of ideas from the people in the VJ baby creator thread

Congrats on the little girl btw !

[Jasman0717 9]

Congratulations

[Lyuba 0]

Shanna,

I feel your pain. We are expecting a baby boy in January.

I wish we were more setlled too, with a good job, more money and a house.

But you can't predict those things, life just happens and you have to make the best of it.

I miss having all those things you mentioned. Having my mom over here would be so great!

So we are trying to squeeze a crib into one-bedroom apartment right now and my hubby is currently unemployed. Well, I am trying to find positive things too.

[~*Maria*~ 1]

Congratulations

[shanna 0]

Thank you for all your great wishes! Good luck Kyuba with the situation of job and baby. Yeah it is a toughie! Can ur mummy come visit?

I checked out the baby thread. Looks great but it's about 167 pages and really, my post got lost in there. Oh well.....

[~krakatoa~ 27]

Congrats!

[JODO 2]

Mazel Tov Shanna

[Muuuuah 0]

Congratulations

[Amby 490]

CONGRATS!

[sj5 4]

Congratulations! Welcome to MOTHER'S CLUB I'm trying to make number two baby.lol

Edited October 17, 2007 by SJ

[ThaiStyleUSA 1]

Congratulations!!!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Congratulations Shanna!

Our baby is due March 10, 2008! Just over a year after my wife arrived here. She was a practicing dentist back in the Philippines and we really didn't know what steps we'd have to go through in order for her to practice denstistry here, but we thought at the very least she could work as a Dental Assistant. However, because of the pregancy, she cannot be around x-rays and so it looks like she will have to wait until after the baby's born before she can work in a dental office again.

In the meantime we've found that to be re-certified here in California, she'd need to attend a university here for two additional years at the cost of about $86,000!

We're looking into having her get accredited as a Dental Hygienist as the long term goal, but it is a bit of humbling experience for her (after 6 years of getting her doctorate).

As for taking care of the baby, we're hoping to bring her parents out here to stay with us when the baby arrives and then we'll need to find a nanny while she works. It's such a big dilemma for most women with careers...how to juggle motherhood and keeping a career. I don't know any easy answers and I don't want our baby to be the one who suffers from it. I'm hoping that my career (computer animator) will allow me to work from home. We're searching for creative ways to make it. It'd be nice if we just lived on my income which I'm sure we'd get by, but if we're ever to get ahead, she's going to need to go back to work and she doesn't want to throw away her career.

Best wishes to you and your husband...in finding ways to manage it all.

Edited October 22, 2007 by Mister Fancypants

[shanna 0]

Congratulations Shanna!

Our baby is due March 10, 2008! Just over a year after my wife arrived here. She was a practicing dentist back in the Philippines and we really didn't know what steps we'd have to go through in order for her to practice denstistry here, but we thought at the very least she could work as a Dental Assistant. However, because of the pregancy, she cannot be around x-rays and so it looks like she will have to wait until after the baby's born before she can work in a dental office again.

In the meantime we've found that to be re-certified here in California, she'd need to attend a university here for two additional years at the cost of about $86,000!

We're looking into having her get accredited as a Dental Hygienist as the long term goal, but it is a bit of humbling experience for her (after 6 years of getting her doctorate).

As for taking care of the baby, we're hoping to bring her parents out here to stay with us when the baby arrives and then we'll need to find a nanny while she works. It's such a big dilemma for most women with careers...how to juggle motherhood and keeping a career. I don't know any easy answers and I don't want our baby to be the one who suffers from it. I'm hoping that my career (computer animator) will allow me to work from home. We're searching for creative ways to make it. It'd be nice if we just lived on my income which I'm sure we'd get by, but if we're ever to get ahead, she's going to need to go back to work and she doesn't want to throw away her career.

Best wishes to you and your husband...in finding ways to manage it all.

Hey there! Thank u for your wishes and congrats to you too!!!! My hubby ad I feel you guys' pain. Man! I can fully empathise with your wifey's career options, or lack thereof unless more $$ is forked out! I've busted my butt for a uni degree myself and what makes it harder for me is that since I did a journalism degree in Australia and had a career in the library industry in Singapore, pple look at my resume here and get confused sigh! Your wife must feel so frustrated being an assistant when she's more than qualified to be the freakin dentist!! It sure is humbling!! Speaking of humbling, from an executive position, I was pushing sales of candy at Walgreens for 2 years. Any job to me should be done with pride and I tried my best at Walgreens but at the back of my mind, I kept asking "Do I really have a degree and did I really have a career at one time?" lol

And yeah we're getting my mummy to be here when baby arrives to help out with childcare while I get out there to look for a job and work out childcare options for when mum goes home! Kinda like your situation. Buuuuut in the meantime, amidst the not-so-ideal circumstances, I bet you and wife are over the moon with your lil bubba arrivin huh? My hubby and I have sad moments with ou financial siuation sometimes but then we remind ourselves of the bundle that's arriving who's more precious than any stinkin job and we just cheer up :-)

So u thought of any names yet? Are you guys going for childbirth classes yet?

best of wishes, Sha