All is going well with the pregnancy at present, and our baby girl (that’s right, it’s a girl!) will be arriving this summer. Below is baby’s first solo photo shoot:
Mother is doing well, too. Here’s what Lauren looks like when round:
Baby Gear: With one more trimester to go, things are looking good. We have several of the things we need for the baby girl’s arrival. Including little tiny clothes, a stroller, a bathing cot, bottles and a few other accessories. At present, the baby owns more clothing than Mike. Many thanks to Lauren’s sister for providing such adorable clothing! (see below). We also have a lovely baby shower in the works for late May, thanks to a very special friend here in China.
We also have a pretty sweet ride we’ve dubbed the “Mini Batmobile” because it’s sleeker than any other mode of transportation we’ve ever owned. Save for Mike’s first batmobile.
Baby Name: One thing we don’t have is a name. Any ideas? While Mike is interested in a more traditional name, Lauren is holding out for something unique. That brings the grand total of names on the short-list to two. And no one is doing back flips over either one. We need your help!
Pregnancy Care in China: Many of you are asking about the level of healthcare at our hospital. We’re pretty happy so far. Earlier this month we had a gestational diabetes screening test followed by a fetal cartographic scan. They are keeping an eye out for preclampsia and other disorders without being overly invasive. Lauren has had extensive blood work done, and her weight (and the baby’s) is tracked monthly. We also have a fetal heart monitor at home, basically a Doppler ultrasound where we can check the baby’s daily heart rate. We pre-paid at our hospital for the prenatal plus delivery packages, which totaled around $5,000. Not cheap by local standards, not cheap by Cube Abandoning standards but decent considering the amount of testing we’re getting each month. The baby’s first close up photo at the top of this blog is from a 4D ultrasound, advanced technology in any country and readily available here along with a technician who knew her stuff! So the care is good, but having never been hospitalized or spent serious time in a US hospital we don’t know how to compare it to prenatal care back home.
Congrats!
I’m also a cube abandoner… tomorrow will be my last day in the office!!
I’m super happy and excited, especially ’cause I realized I have not much to share with my current colleagues.
Time for me to go solo đ and start my own business…. excitiiiiing!
Ciao
D
Awesome. I am really looking forward to hearing more about giving birth in China… I read a post recently about a woman giving birth in a hotel, whoops i mean, hospital in Bangkok. It cost just over 2.5k US. That was with pre and post natal care. In Australia, it would cost 4 or more times than that! Please blog more đ