Dear Child

As if being born after a global pandemic wasn't bad enough, about two weeks ago now Russia invaded Ukraine and started a war. For the time being, no other Western countries are getting involved, but if it escalates this could become World War 3. I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but you're very lucky to be born in Australia.

This morning I took your mother to her 20 week ultrasound scan. In addition to the headaches she's been getting, she has started getting stomach cramps and numbing in her legs. These are all normal symptoms of pregnancy we are told. During the ultrasound, I asked to find out the gender. The doctor asked us to guess, and we both said boy. She said we were right and gave us this cool congratulations card! So now that we have a better idea of who you are, we can start planning for things a bit better. When my father was in hospital I told him I wanted to name my son Kobe Henry, and he got very emotional and cried. It's not set in stone yet, but I am fairly sure that is the name I want to go with. I chose Kobe to name you after my favourite basketball player, because he represents determination, competitiveness and resilience. I want you to have these values as a person. I have a feeling your mother will try to give you the easiest life possible, and whilst I understand that comes

  That's the best image we have of you yet, from the ultrasound on 29 September 2021. You were moving around a lot, so I think maybe you will be quite an active baby. I still find it hard to believe you are inside there, growing and waiting to come out. I'm sure by the time you read this everything will just be historical and not hold much meaning to you, but we are living in interesting times right now. Towards the end of 2019, a virus which we now call Covid-19 broke out in Wuhan China. It spread globally quite fast, but luckily your mother and I were able to still hold our wedding in February 2020. Then lockdowns in Australia began happening in March 2020. The virus probably isn't as bad as the media makes it out to be, but it does appear to be quite dangerous to the elderly, so a lot of countries entered lockdowns where people were required to stay home. Fortunately I have a government job and your mother also has jobs where she can work from home. On a personal level,

Today we saw you for the first time. We saw you at an ultrasound and you were bigger than we expected. The lady said you were 10 weeks along, but we thought it was less. I felt very emotional when I saw you on the screen. When a life changing event like this happens, your mind plays tricks on you, leading you to be somewhat in denial. However, when proof is there on screen, those tricks no longer work and you realise the reality of it - it is real, and it is actually happening. We don't know if you're a boy or girl yet, so we haven't given you a name yet, but we do have some names in mind. For now your nickname is Ping Pong, because we saw you on the same day as Hyuna's song Ping Pong was released. I always thought I would be able to replicate the life my parents gave me, but technology has changed the world so much it would be impossible. Whilst I grew up with antennae tv and landline telephones, you will grow up with YouTube and smart phones. Everything happens so fas