I don't actually know where to start

So, I'll opt for where I left off.  The move.

We moved out of the hotel residence apartment to our current (permanent) apartment home on the 27th of July, which also happened to be Neil's birthday.

I was 27 weeks pregnant.  My husband was traveling more than he was home.  It was incredibly hot.  These are the things that I remember vividly.

However, I also recall how wonderful it was to receive delivery of our main shipment from the States.  All our stuff was finally here!  And in our new home!  Granted, it was not organized nor was our home set-up for everyday life- much less set-up to welcome a brand new baby in two weeks- but it was at least here!

I sat and checked off each box as it arrived.

The moving company was awesome and put all of the boxes in the rooms I requested and then unpacked and assembled anything I asked,  Neil arrived home a few hours after the delivery began, and we spent the day with just the shipment.  

On the 28th, a few friends and our driver helped us move our suitcases and a few boxes of items we acquired since moving here from the hotel to the apartment.  From that point on, we were in our home.

The to-do list was (and still is) a mile long.  And it had to be prioritized based on the baby arriving in a matter of weeks and having a place of our long-term guests, Neil's mom and dad, to comfortably stay for three weeks.  One problem.

Neil went back out of town the following Monday

Luckily, I already have amazing friends here in Shanghai, and two of them came over and helped me sort and organize both the guest bedroom and the kid's rooms.  It was amazing.  I was so pleased, but Neil was truly ecstatic when he returned home to find that the majority of his weekend had been cleared to work on other projects.

Things have changed so much since then; we are fairly settled and getting more organized every day.  The place is really starting to feel like ours.  But, I am still driven crazy by the lack of art on the walls (which are made of concrete and plaster.  One does not just hammer in a nail and solve the problem) and the unfinished nature of Quinn's nursery.  But, we have time.  And that is a good thing.

And, on a final note, here is the beginning of the long excuse as to my hiatus.  When we stayed at the hotel, the wifi signal was routed in a way that allowed access to sites usually blocked in China- Facebook, Blogger (and any blog, for that matter), Twitter, and other social networks.  We moved and POOF!  Access denied.  We knew the answer to fix the issue.  But, Neil was traveling and needed to be home to fix it.  When he got home, turns out we needed a new router too.  That piece arrived from the US along with his parents.  The day after his parents arrived... I had a baby.

And family has dominated that last four weeks as we settled into a new rhythm and pace and routine.  And I let the blog continue to what while I slept when I could, cuddled when I could, and cared for myself as best I could.

More posts to come, but know that we are are settled in and everyone is doing really well here.  I miss my family and my friends so much.

I leave you all with a few pictures of the beautiful garden walkways and fountains in our apartment complex.  The girls and I take walks through them each evening before dinner, as do many other families with small children. That time together is fast becoming one of my favorite parts of the day.

Triumphant return

Hi.

Many reasons.  We moved (!!!) and lost access to Blogger for weeks.

The week we got it back, I had a baby.

That baby likes to eat.  And I like to sleep.

Hence why there have been no updates lately.  However, I started writing again yesterday, and I will try to write a little each day to catch you all up.  I have a bunch to share.

The blog make-over should be installed soon, too.  Not only will I have content on the blog, but it should be a pretty blog soon as well!

Okay, back to the toddles and the squishy baby.  See you all very soon!

Teaser picture: Harper sharing her kisses with little sister, Quinn.

The bumpdate post

I generally don't talk about this stuff on the interwebs.  Part modesty, part fatigue from the same kind of updates over and over, part "do people really want to know about this?"  I am putting this post together based on the FAQ I get from friends and family and based on the other types of posts I see out there in blogland.  If you are curious about an aspect of the "pregnant in another country" vibe that I don't cover, feel free to ask in a comment.

Okay, so first.  I am pretty darn pregnant.  I sent Neil a text today that read, "Not to alarm you or anything, but we are having a baby in less than a month.  HOLYSHIT!"  His response, "What?!?!?"

God bless that man.

We are scheduled for a c-section on August 10, 2012 to welcome our little girl, Quinn Scarlett, to the family.  Here is a picture from a week ago- excuse the self-portrait, but my husband is traveling a ton.  I realized that I had very few pics of this pregnancy, so I decided to snap one while I was thinking about it.

Yes, I used the Instagram version.  It was cropped already, and I am lazy.  

In that shot, I am 33 weeks and a couple days.  I swear the belly has grown inches since then.  I had a play group that week, and when a mom from that group saw me the other day, she commented on how much the belly had grown. (Yes, in a tactful way.  It was sweeter than it sounds.)

Let me talk a minute about pregnancy and moving to another country.  Yes, it is daunting.  I loved my doctors in Atlanta.  I was sad to leave their practice and comfort.  When I did my research online using search engines and  message boards, I found that there were many viable options for birth here that were extremely similar to the US.  I even started an email relationship with someone who writes about health care in Shanghai- specializing in women's care- and she was a few months ahead of me in her third pregnancy.  I came around to the idea.

Neil and I had many discussions about what was best for our family.  First priority, of course, was the health of both the baby and me.  We decided our second priority was to keep the family together as much as possible; though the idea of moving out of my medical comfort zone was daunting, even more so was the idea of living separate lives for months while he started a new job and I went through third trimester.   Not to mention separating Neil and Harper for months with only a couple visits.  Since I decided that it was a viable option to have the baby in China, we set up two main criterion for the final choice.  If the anatomy ultrasound at 20 weeks found no complications or problematic developments, we would take a second trip to China to meet doctors and tour hospitals.  As long as I was happy with what I found, we would move here as a family.

The ultrasound was perfectly fine, and my doctors saw no medical reason to stay in the US.  The hospital tours and doctors I met were lovely, though different than their US counterparts, and I was able to easily decide which hospital and which doctor I preferred.  The hospitals I saw were private, international hospitals.  Very expensive for most people who don't have insurance- and can be expensive for those whose coverage does not extend as far as others.  Luckily, we have excellent coverage with Neil's company and our costs won't be much different than Harper's birth.  

I went in with a long list of questions for the doctors, and the answers were the same as they were in the States- Husband in the OR was fine, c-section procedure the same, rooming in with baby fine, duration of stay, recovery, tests and appointment schedule, all the answers were exactly what my doctor at home would have said.  The rooms were nice; the hospital clean.  I saw good practices as far as masks and gloves and hand-washing and all that jazz.  The biggest difference here is that the doctor's offices are in the hospital not a separate shop.  So the vibe of the basic appointment feels more like you've gone to the ER.  They also do "package deals" were you can pay a set discounted price for all your prenatal tests and care at once- and then they have packages for birth as well.  Seems strange at first, but I guess it makes sense when you want someone to have comprehensive care.  And no, we did not get the package deal.  Doesn't make sense this late in the game.  

I'll do a more detailed comparison of the care later.  I've only done three appointments here including the initial visit, so I have more to learn and experience before I feel comfortable commenting in full.  As of right now, I feel quite good about my level of care and my doctors.  

I have also planned a post about the cultural differences around pregnancy and birth here versus the States.  The customs and practices are different, and I am finding it interesting to navigate the social mores and taboos. 

I'll end with a short and sweet Q & A that is popular among pregnant mommy bloggers.  Again, laziness abounds.   

How far along? 34 weeks and 5 days

Last appointment: Pretty basic, but did include a growth scan.  Happy to report that the little one is at 38% for her gestational age and predicted to be around 7 lbs at birth.  I know to many of you that sounds small, but Harper was less than five pounds at birth and came home at 4 lbs, 10 oz.  Seven pounds sounds HUGE to us.  (For those who may not know, I had a medical condition last pregnancy that required 12 weeks of bed rest and delivery just before 37 weeks.  Harper was perfectly healthy but a small baby to begin with)Total weight gain/loss: Still at a loss of around 23 lbs.  The hypermesis (fancy name for my-morning-sickness-never-ended-and-was-crippling-my-life-so-I-have-drugs-to-help-me-cope) is still around though better than it was.  I have leveled off the losing, though I did drop a little this last appointment.  Nothing of concern though. 
Maternity clothes? All of them.  
Stretch marks? I didn't get as lucky this time around, and I have a few battle scars on the belly.  I'm fine with it though.  I earned them. 
Sleep: Good lord, I miss the comfort of non-pregnant sleep.  I am still getting my hours in, but I wake up all the time.  Sometimes I can go back to sleep, sometimes the insomnia kicks in.  And turning over is hard with the belly.  But, part of my hypermesis drug regime is Unisom every night, so that helps me get at least 6 hours in.  Compared to life with a newborn, I am Rip Van Wrinkle. 
Best moment this week: Harper seeing the belly move and staring like I was an alien.  She is also pretty pissed that my lap is slowly whittling away and makes her opinion known. 
Movement:  All the time, and you can see the big rolls now.  A few times I have caught people staring in public.  It's getting a bit more painful now that she is so big, but still makes me smile.  And the hiccups are amusing but are full body shakes now as well. 
Food cravings: Cereal.  Pop tarts.  PB&Js.  And I would KILL for a glass of non-heartburn inducing Sav Blanc in this heat.
Food aversions:  Anything with a strong/ spicy smell or flavor.  I am liking the mild right now.  Not being too adventurous in my food choices because I don;t want to loose my dinner. 
Labor Signs: Some Braxton Hicks contractions, especially when I am particularly active or starting to dehydrate.  Nothing uncommon.
Belly Button in or out? Ummmm, flat?  Yeah.  I guess still in technically, but it is pretty much flattened. 
What I miss: Turning over without a major to-do, getting out of a sitting position without grunting, my lap, balance.  Wine on a hot day.  Being able to chase after Harper without getting winded.  
What I am looking forward to:  Well, the baby of course.  And introducing Harper to her sister.  But I am also looking forward to the weeks of Neil being home and us being together as a family of four. 

Doing well

Tuesday night and all is well.  Surviving the week without Daddy fairly well all around, although it breaks my heart when Harper asks for him in the afternoons.

We actually had a lovely day.  Though it was rainy, we started the morning with a Skype call with a friend back home, then had a fabulous play date with some other expat moms and kiddos followed closely by a nice, long nap.

Our trip out for some lunch resulted in an impromptu meeting with a mom from the playground who invited us to join her and her friend.  We had a nice lunch and chatted a bit.  The three of us are getting together again with the kids later this week- the pool if the weather allows, an indoor playground if it doesn't.

Harper and I have plans to head out to a museum tomorrow for some sight-seeing and playing.

Today almost felt like a regular day.  It took just shy of a month to get there, but it was a nice feeling.  Don't get me wrong, there are still moments when the "we live in CHINA" comes out of nowhere, but I feel like we are lucky to have ended up in Shanghai.

Welp, off to bed I go.  Have a great day, folks.

Week One, Updated

Hi all.

Things are going well, and I thought I would take a break from writing some recaps to give you the details of our first week in Shanghai.

Neil is doing incredibly well.  He picked up the same cold on the airplane that Harper got, but luckily he was able to shake it within a few days.  Work is going well, and he has been able to get home for dinner most nights.  We are enjoying the time together in the early mornings immensely and have had family breakfasts most everyday.

I am doing pretty well myself.  I managed to avoid the airplane cold and only had to contend with jet lag and confused toddler.  Some of you know that this pregnancy has left me pretty sick throughout the entire thing, and I am happy to report that my medicine has managed to help me stay on track and feeling as well as I did stateside.  I have an appointment next week with my new OB, and I am hoping that we will get some idea of when the delivery will be scheduled within the next few appointments.

My transition has been great so far- everyone in our apartment complex is friendly and outgoing.  There are lots of kids and moms at the playgrounds and restaurants to talk to and visit with.  Harper is outgoing and social and makes getting to know new friends easy for both of us.  Neil used to joke when we first met that I could form life-long friendships in the line at the grocery store check-out.  While he is relying on hyperbole there, I am finding that my extroverted personality is coming in handy throughout the week.

And Harper is adjusting so well.  Sure, she is a toddler.  We have challenges.  Like, a lack of baby-proofed cabinets in the kitchen and meltdowns over the iPad going back into the drawer when her episode of "Gab-Gab" is over.  But mostly she is her sweet, funny self.

We have explored the apartment fully, and her favorite feature by far is the windows and wide windowsills.  She loves to sit on them and plays lots of games with the curtains.  The video is on the longer side, but it will give you an idea of how independent playtime in the apartment goes right now.

Harper and I take small excursions out of the apartment daily- usually an morning excursion and an afternoon one as well.  There are lots of things to do in our immediate area- the outdoor playground, the kid's pool, the Adventure Zone indoor playground, walking the mall, walking the courtyard, eating at one of the many, many restaurants, or getting chores done like grocery shopping.  As always, she loves the opportunity to meet people and see other kids.  Here is a video of Harper playing with some Chinese kids in the courtyard this morning- I took the video as an afterthought at the end of the visiting session, but she played and visited with these kids and their families for a good ten or fifteen minutes.

We have been working on coordinating our shipments and establishing residency visas for Harper and me.  Tons of paperwork and red tape, but luckily we have great guides with the relocation through Neil's company.

One thing that has surprised me is the sheer amount of passport-sized photos required for this move.  Silly, but it is a LOT.  No exaggerating, I think I have now had almost 30 copies made for different passports, visas, applications, and the like.  Even our gym memberships asked for photos.

Another observation before I wrap this post up- there is not voicemail service in Shanghai.  None.  The Chinese do not use it.  Though I was loathe to check my voicemail in the States, call screening does not really work unless there is voicemail to rely upon on the other end.  So, you just answer every call.  Had not been an issue until today when a lady called me four or five times before she realized that I did not speak Mandarin.

Okay folks, that's a quick update in the books.  And I'll have a few recap posts ready to go in the next few days. More to come soon.