Taking care of the bump!

Or I guess I should really say, taking care of the littlest jiaozi, as that is what I call the little one who kicks me all day long!!

I can remember three years ago when we decided to move to China how thankful I was that I would not be having babies in China!! At the time, I had no idea what kind of medical care was available and having a baby in a foreign country terrified me!! It is amazing how my attitude has changed as we have spent the last three years making sure we all stay as healthy as possible. We have learned the ins and outs of the system through trial and error. I have filled out numerous health expense forms because our coverage at the SOS clinic does not cover some of the medical expenses, like strep throat tests! So far, I have been fairly satisfied with the care we receive, although it is nothing like what we get with Dr. Omar (our pediatrician at home!)!!

Once we found out we were expecting our little jaozi, I decided I would use Beijing United Hospital for my prenatal care. I knew the doctors were Western trained and I also knew several friends who had given birth there! The first few visits were fine and they were able to do ultrasounds to check the littlest one! As I got a little further along, the doctor I was using started insisting that I get an amnio because I was 35! Danny and I didn’t feel comfortable with that - they were going to send us to a Chinese hospital where no one spoke English. We were not willing to have something go wrong, so I started going to the SOS clinic in Beijing where I found a doctor who specializes in prenatal care. She cannot deliver the baby, but that is okay because I plan on being in the states when little bubs makes his debut. But, she can follow my care until we leave China! She was completely understanding about the fact that I did not want an amnio, so we came to an agreement that I would get a level II ultrasound at 20 weeks! The only issue with this was that I would have to fly to Hong Kong to have it done as she is not completely confident in the services in China.

I was completely baffled that I would have to fly 3 1/2 hours to Hong Kong for 24 hours just to have an ultrasound!! She assured me that the SOS would arrange everything for me and I would see one of the highest regarded neonatologists in Asia, who spoke English! Danny was very supportive, however with no family here to help with the children, he would have to stay at home.

Within 48 hours of finding out I would need to go to Hong Kong, my air tickets, hotel, drs. appointment, and transportation were all booked and arranged for the following week! I was surprised and thankful that the whole process required little more than me picking the best flight schedule and the hotel location! I was also thrilled when Karen said she would be able to join me on my little adventure!!

The trip to Hong Kong was fine! Karen and I got in a little shopping and a visit with friends for dinner!! My appointment went great and the doctor was excellent. His bedside manner was not overly friendly, but his expertise was apparent!

The next small hurdle in my care is the blood glucose test, which I have to do soon. I have decided that I cannot fast until 12:00pm, which is what time I would get to Beijing after dropping the children off at school! My other option is to go to the Tianjin clinic and drink the concoction then have my blood tested there. Then, the next day I can go to Beijing and see my doctor with all of my test results!

The other thing I will need to obtain before our final flight back to the US is a certificate to fly! Depending on how big I look, I may or may not be asked for it, but of course I would rather be safe than sorry!!

I love taking care of the little jaozi, but it is definitely not nearly as easy being in a foreign country as it would be in the US! I am looking forward to seeing my midwives again, even if it is for just a short time!