Preparing to have a baby in China

I know 2 posts in one day!  But I felt like this deserved it's very own post.  Preparing to have a baby in China has been an interesting experience.

When I found out I was pregnant and went to the doctor, I was given 3 options for delivery.  Well, 4 technically.  "Your seventh!  Are you sure you want this baby?",  was basically the doctor's first response.  Believe me, after having 6 children you know how things work.  If I didn't want a seventh child, I would not be pregnant.  After the doctor realized that option 1 wasn't an option, she was very supportive and gave me 3 other options.  Number 1 was to deliver in America.  This wasn't really an option either.  I would have had to go to America when I was 32 weeks and wait it out.  Then after having the baby I would have to wait to get a passport and visa for the baby before I could return to China.  So basically, I would have to be away from my family for 3 months.  NOT an option. Option number 3 have the baby in Shanghai and option number 4 have the baby in Nanjing.  I've ended up with a mix of number 3 and 4.  I'm planning on delivering in Shanghai.  They have a western hospital there with an American doctor (degree from the UofU), but it is also a 1 - 1 1/2 hour train ride to Shanghai or a 4 hour car drive.  Also, the doctor in Shanghai wanted me in Shanghai to "hangout" at 36 weeks.  Well,  I'm past 36 weeks, and I'm not in Shanghai.  So, here comes the compromise of number 3 and number 4.  My Shanghai doctor is planning on inducing me sometime during the first week of June at about 39 weeks.  So, I'm going to Shanghai that week instead of "hanging out" the week before.  I will stay in Nanjing and deliver at a Taiwanese hospital if there are any complications before I go to Shanghai.  I've had friends deliver in both hospitals and everything has gone well for everyone.  I figure if the Lord really wanted me to have a baby in China everything will work out the way it's suppose to.  I just have to have A LOT of faith.  :)

There are so many things you take for granted in the US.  For instance, baby formula.  What if it is a necessity?  Where do you get it?  What brand do you buy?  In fact, a few years ago, there were some major problems with the baby formula in China, and the heads of the company were executed because of the issues.  Luckily, Similac has just started delivering to China!  Yeah!!! One worry down.

Maternity clothes have been another issue.  The clothes are made for little Chinese women.  I would be lucky to fit into some of the clothing when I wasn't pregnant.  A lot of it is kind of weird too.  Some women wear lead lined aprons to protect their babies from computers, microwaves, etc.   Luckily, I've been to America since I found out I was pregnant, and I was able to get some clothes there.

Another thing I took for granted was making baby items.   If I wanted to make a quilt or crochet booties, I would just run to Walmart and within a half hour I had everything I needed.  I decided to make a baby quilt here.  I had to go to one store for the fabric, another one for the batting, and another one for the yarn to tie it.  Then I had to come home and get online to order the sewing supplies I would need to make the quilt (needles, thread, cutting mat, rotary cutter, etc.), and all from different companies.  You get the idea.  Not an easy task.  But once I started I was obsessed.  I just received the last of the items and can finally start on the quilt.

The toilets in America are another thing I took for granted.  Squatters are not pregnant friendly, especially in your 3rd trimester.  Probably one of the worst experiences was when we were in GoaChun.  If you look at Boyd's post, you can see what that squatters looked like.  It was a long tile trough with dividers and no doors.  Our family was the only non-Chinese people we saw the entire day.  Everyone was following us around with cameras and video cameras.  The bathroom was being cleaned when I first got in line.  There were 4 stalls, and I was fourth in line.  There were several people in line behind me.  When we entered the bathroom, the 3 women in front of me quickly took the last 3 stalls leaving me with the one closest to the exit and the many other women in line.  Needless to say, I did not feel like having pictures and/or videos taken of me as I tried to squat and not fall over.  Also, the Chinese people are very helpful, and I didn't want any commentary or help as I tried to go to the restroom.  So, I opted out and left as all of the Chinese women were trying to coax me into the stall.  I did find another restroom later, still a squatter, but it had a door.  I've gotten pretty good at holding onto the sides of the stall and praying that I don't fall in because I don't know if I could get out. :)

I've had to start over preparing for a baby here.  I have everything I need for a baby.  There's just one problem, it's all in a military storage unit in Roy, UT and is not accessible.  Everyone has been so generous here.  I had one friend give me a changing table and a baby buggy.  I had another friend give me a baby bouncer and some nursing gear.  I had another friend give me a crib.  And there have been numerous other friends who have given me baby gear and apparel.  I have been so blessed.  I'm excited that I will be able to pass on everything when we return to America.

As you can see, there are a lot of concerns that would not even be an issue in America, but we are finding solutions to most of the problems.  I'm counting down the days until I can write about actually having a baby in China.  I can hardly wait to be able to see my feet and bend over again.

Alauna

Everyday life in China

The last few weeks I've been thinking about what makes everyday life in China different than in America.  Pretty much everything.  It's amazing how different things are to me, and how normal things are for Chinese people.

NOISE

As I layed down to take a nap with Declan today, I realized how quiet it was.  How is it that in a city of 8 million people it can be quiet?  Here's what I came up with.  First, I live on the outskirts of town and not right in the city.  Next, I live in a gated compound where few people have cars.  Most people ride electric motor scooters (That you can't hear even when they're right behind you.  So, you have to be really careful.), bikes, or walk.  Also, there aren't many kids in our compound that aren't school age.  The Chinese kids have long school hours and even go on weekends sometimes.  The expat kids are involved in a lot of after school activities. The men work long hours, and the women keep busy working or playing outside of the compound.  There is a lot of construction in our compound, but from what I understand, there is a mandatory quiet time in the afternoon for an hour or two.  When the workers do work, they don't use power tools.  No drills, power saws, or large construction equipment.  They use screwdrivers, hand saws, pulleys, and bamboo scaffolding.  Lawn mowers are rarely used, most lawns are "mowed" with a weed whacker.  Those are the main differences I could see in the noise level at naptime in America vs. China.

FASHION

The fashion here is always fun to analyze.  The best way to sum it up is there is no fashion.  You can wear pretty much anything you want and it's acceptable.  

A lot of women wear nylons that look kind of like knee highs, but they only go to the ankle.  This is a hot item in the summer.  Many women wear these stockings with their sandals.  The only good use I've found for these stocking is wearing them under your dress boots.  They're perfect.  I'm not planning on doing the sandal thing with them.

Another summer fashion is the way the men wear their shirts.  When the men get hot, they do not take their shirts off.  Instead they pull them up around their chest and let their tummy hang out.  You see this everywhere.  At first it was really weird.  Now it's just a part of everyday life.

Women in China rarely have low necklines.  Instead, they wear short shorts and short skirts.  Sometimes they'll wear tights like pants, just a shirt and tights.  

The Chinese women love their heels.  They wear all kinds of crazy colors.  They wear them with bows.  They wear them bedazzled.  You could make a whole Dr. Seuss book about Chinese women's shoes.

The older women wear unmatched prints.  They might have a zebra print pant and a gray shirt with pink bows on it.  I don't understand this fashion statement.  In fact, half the time it looks like they're wearing PJs.  So, they probably have the matching pieces at home in their closet.   

During the winter they have special clothing as well.  They have half sleeves that go from their wrist to their elbow that cover their coats.  They will also wear aprons over their coats.  There are a couple of reasons this makes sense in China.  Number one, stores are not heated during the winter (or air conditioned during the summer).  So, the Chinese people basically wear their coats all winter, which would mean washing their coats a lot.  Which brings up number 2.  Not everyone has washers, and few people have dryers.  So, washing your coat often would not be practical.  Washing the sleeve covers and aprons is a simple solution to this dilema. Another solution to this dilema is pajamas.  People will wear quilted pajamas like clothing during the winter.

GROCERY SHOPPING

Grocery shopping is quite the event.  So many things are unrecognizable, and I can't read the labels or ask someone what they are.  Or things are seasonal, like ice cream.  The Chinese people do not understand why anyone would want ice cream in the winter.  So, as soon as it gets a little bit cold, the grocery store near us pulls all of the ice cream from the freezer section.  In this past year though, the Chinese grocery store, Suguo, near us is carrying more and more "western" (American and European, not cowboy) items.  I can remember how excited I was when I found sour cream and onion pringles in Suguo.  I don't have to eat tomato, shrimp, or some other weird meat flavored pringles anymore.  Another exciting find, is when they started carrying baggies, paper cups, and paper plates.  They only have dessert size plates right now, but I'm confident they'll have larger ones soon.  Another exciting thing was when they started carrying canned/bottled peaches (and a couple of other fruits).  They don't have canned items in the grocery store typically.  So, this was very exciting.  Some other exciting products that I have discovered in Suguo this last year are Hormel deli slice ham, cheese (on occasion), a yogurt that will work as sour cream, tampons, milk that's not way to creamy, fruit roll ups, sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, marshmallows (not like in America, but marshmallows never the less), and cold cereal that I recognize.  Some of these products were here when we moved here, but a lot of them are new.  It is nice to finally find things close to us that make you feel at home. 

So, these are just a few examples of everyday life in China.  My new normal, I guess.  Although a lot of it still doesn't seem normal, but at least more of my life is starting to feel normal instead of being all foreign.

Alauna