These days everything is made in China - even babies!
Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting Baby Boy Putnam!
A and I could not be more thrilled and are already eagerly anticipating the arrival of our little guy. I wrote an FAQ when we moved to China and it seemed to work fairly well - I mean, according to my blog statistics. Because of all the questions regarding this time in life as well as our current situation I thought I'd do the same here. This is usually what we get asked and I've thrown in a few of my own for information's sake as well. :)
Q: How far along are you?
A: 16 weeks. 4 months. I never understood how pregnant women kept track of weeks...until now.
Q: When are you due?
A: January 2nd, 2013.
Q: Do you know what you're having?
A: Just found out yesterday actually! The ultrasound was really clear and according to the tech there was NO question that this baby is a boy!
Q: Do you have a name yet?
A: We have a few ideas, but are definitely still working on it. However, in my family this baby is being affectionately referred to as Baby Ping. My niece and nephew figure that the most direct route to Baby Ping is through my mouth so they like to climb on my lap, pull down my jaw, and yell all sorts of things to this baby. It's actually really hilarious. "W, can I say goodnight to Baby Ping?" I bend over to them, put my hands on my knees, and open my mouth, "Goodnight Baby Ping! Love you!"
Q: Have you been sick?
A: In a word, yes. There was a span of about 6 weeks when anything - ANYTHING - I ate before noon would be lost. Whether a saltine and a sip of water or a mentos, I would lose it about 20 minutes later. My poor poor students this last semester. lol. Oh my gosh. I would literally be standing in front of the class talking and say, "Um, let's take a little break," go throw up in the squatter in the bathroom, then come back and continue class. It was not pretty - I was lucky if one of them didn't walk in on the loveliness. I didn't want to tell my students I was pregnant before the semester ended, but many of them were quite suspicious. Here's one of the conversations we had, "W, can I ask you a personal question?" "No." "Okay, great. Me and my friends have noticed that your stomach has gotten fat and we were wondering, are you conceived?" Now can you see why I didn't want to tell them?
Q: How many different places have you thrown up?
A: Thanks for asking. Well I lost count a long time ago but the list includes toilets in our house, friends houses, Beijing Branch meeting house, McDonald's, Yoshinoya, Fat Burger, bunch of other Chinese restaurants, Zuppas, squatters and garbages in my teaching building (countless times), the gutter in front of our building, the gutter at Zhongguancun, the Delta plane we were on as we were landing in Seattle...Should I stop? Oh yea, my parents and my sister's houses.
Q: Oh man, how did you ever survive that???
A: One word - A. There is no way that I could have ever survived the last 4 months without my amazing husband. I always thought that pregnancy (sickness and such) would be more of a solo experience, but I could not have been more wrong. I know he can't even count how many apples he sliced and PBJ's he made while we were in China. I'm always freezing, but for the last 4 months our AC has been pumping and A has been shivering! He has been nothing but absolutely sweet and loving and I can't wait for him to be a dad - neither can he. He is such a sweet man and I know he'll be an amazing father.
Q: So, are you going back to China? Will you have the baby there?
A: Yes, in fact A is there already. I'll be back there in 4 1/2 weeks and we're staying for at least the next year.
Q: Are you nervous about the care you'll get there? Will you be okay?
A:No, and Yes. We feel really confident about our hospital and doctor and feel like it's what we're supposed to do. Our doctor, nurses, and receptionists speak English and the hospital follows American standards. Really I think the only difference we've noticed so far is that in China it's illegal to tell the parents the sex of the baby. They'll sometimes tell foreigners, but we were lucky to get that done this last week in America so won't have to worry about it.
Q: Are you going to keep teaching after the baby?
A: Probably not, but maybe. I'm planning on teaching through the fall, having the baby, and then taking the semester off, but we'll see. Part of the reason I chose to teach is so I could hopefully tutor or teach part time in the future. That day may be sooner than later, but again, we'll see.
Q: Will your parents come?
A: Hopefully! Both Al's parents and my mom are planning on coming at some point, and we'll see my dad in April when he comes for work.
Q: W, enough about you and the baby, where will A be for the next 5-10 months?
A: Working! Good news is that he is finishing his work visa this week and has now officially started at HP China. We are so happy that he's working now and will be there for the near future. He'll hopefully get a little bit of time off for the baby, but we'll see. He really likes it so far and is overjoyed that the visa problems are behind him. We see his visa troubles as a good thing because of what he was able to accomplish while they were going on. I love that man.
We honestly could not be more excited and are so thrilled to be having a baby - a boy nonetheless! We have a lot to do over the next 5 months but can't wait to meet our little guy and be a family of 3. We're so grateful for the love and support we've received from our family and friends. It is such a blessing to know how much love a baby will be welcomed with and we know we have our families to thank for that. We know that being abroad the next year will be a little challenging, but it is a challenge that we are feeling up to. We know we can do this together and with the strength of the Lord. China is where we feel like we're supposed to be right now so we will keep riding this out for as long as we need to and hope that Baby Ping likes it too!
