giving birth in China

it’s been just about a month now since giving birth to our second baby, and i am slowly emerging from the fog of having a newborn.  some people can’t believe we delivered a baby in china – though i imagine it’s not *that* uncommon of an occurrence here. =)  but for those of you who are more curious, i thought i’d post about what our experience was like.

when we found out we were expecting, we considered different options for prenatal care and delivery.  having gotten pregnant just after moving here, still feeling unfamiliar to our new surroundings, and definitely not knowing pregnancy-related terminology in Chinese, and for insurance reasons… we opted to go to a “Western-style” hospital that caters to foreigners (i.e. has doctors who were trained and practiced overseas and speak English) to save us some stress.

so we delivered at Parkway Health in Shanghai.  and was definitely a positive experience.  the care and facilities are like what you expect in the US.  and perhaps even nicer – as a friend commented, we stayed in a pretty “swanky” room during and after delivery… spacious, stylish decor, comfy couches for family and visitors.  and it was the little details that i loved – like catering from Element Fresh, L’Occitane bath products, and a chic diaper bag and baby products gift to take home.  of course, i was thankful to the staff for a safe and smooth delivery as well.

while we were thankful to be able to deliver at an international hospital in Shanghai, it was somewhat complicated since we don’t actually live in Shanghai but rather 3-4 hr drive from the city  (our area does not have comparable hospital care).  So in order to deliver there, it also entailed:

- relocating to Shanghai a few weeks before my due date

- living in temporary housing in Shanghai for a month – we ended up finding a “serviced apartment” which is kind of like a corporate apartment.  4 adults, 2 kids, 1 newborn in a 2 1/2 bedroom, 1 bathroom place.  nice and cozy.  =)  and when they say the kitchen comes with basic cookware and utensils, that means it includes items like chopsticks, wok, and a rice cooker.  and it does not include items like spoons, forks, butter knives, toaster, or oven.

- having family fly in from the US and Malaysia to help out (for which i am *very* thankful for)

- luke commuting for 1.5+ hrs each way for work – which also meant worrying he wouldn’t get to the hospital fast enough if  i went into labor while he was at work… thankfully he happened to decide to work from home that day. =)

- relocating back to our home when our baby was 2 weeks old…then going back to Shanghai for a weekend 2 weeks later in order to pick up her passport from the US Consulate (required in order to get her visa) and to see my mom off to the airport as she returns to the US.

A lot of constant adjustments, and yet i guess we’ve made it through this month and all is well.  We have bigger adjustments ahead, which I will post about another day.  But such is life here where things seem to be always changing.