FAQs: Baby Jipp Edition

Hello Everyone!

Since we have broken the news about our impending arrival we have gotten so many questions about the baby and our future in Hong Kong. Like our previous FAQ, this will hopefully answer everyone's questions at one time!

How are you feeling?: Now that the first trimester is over I am feeling back to normal. I was quite nauseous and tired throughout the first 12-14 weeks. The problem with our neighborhood and most of Hong Kong is a lot of the smells on the streets are not familiar to me and were unpleasant before I was pregnant- so dry heaving on the sidewalk became quite the normal for me :-) My appetite is pretty much back though I do find I get full much quicker.  

Any cravings?: So far I've pretty much craved Subway spicy italian subs and grilled cheese sandwiches with Ruffles potato chips since I got over the nausea. Those two sandwiches are eaten multiple times per week :-) 

Will the baby be born in Hong Kong?: Yes- I am due August 2nd and we are expected to stay in Hong Kong till at least early October.

How are the doctors and prenatal health care?: We are going through the public health care system to have the baby as we both are covered by the government provided healthcare. So far I have had appointments with midwives and doctors, all of which have been extremely kind and helpful and the language barrier has not been an issue. The amazing part of the government healthcare is it will cost us no more than $50 for all of our prenatal care and hospital fees!

Will the baby be a Hong Kong citizen?: No- any children born of expat parents become the citizen of the country the parents are from. Citizenship is gained in Hong Kong after 7 years of residency. The baby will be issued a passport by the US consulate here in Hong Kong. The only difference will be the place of birth in his/her passport will say Hong Kong :-) 

Will you move back to Milwaukee after the baby is born?: The golden question! As of now, we do not have an answer for this. We are still weighing the pros and cons of moving home in October vs staying here a little bit longer. We will keep you all updated on our decision!

Are you still working and will you get maternity leave?: I am still working part-time, 3 days a week for a private physical therapy clinic. Since I am part time I have no health benefits and therefore no paid/pre-determined amount of maternity leave. If we do choose to stay here longer I will decide with my bosses how much time I will want and take that unpaid. The thing I have loved about being part-time is the flexibility to take off/vacation whenever I want and this goes too with maternity leave. 

Will you find out the gender of the baby?: Yes! I am currently 17 weeks so we are planning on having an ultrasound either this weekend or next to find if it's a boy or girl!

We hope this answers a lot of your questions but feel free to ask us anything more. We know it is hard for us to be away from our family and friends during the amazing time but hopefully we can ease the distance by keeping everyone up to date here! 

Baby Jipp at 12 weeks

Chinese New Year Travels

Hello Everyone-

Beware- this is a long post!

Recently Ryan and I had the chance to travel the province of Sichuan in Northwestern China over the Chinese New Year holiday a few weeks back. I had been interested in going to this area for awhile after finding out is is home to the largest panda breeding centers in the world- those of which have opportunities available to sit and hold a panda.

We were fortunate enough to have one of Ryan's coworkers, Leo, travel with us during the trip. Leo is originally from Sichuan and was able to drive and guide us around the province during our one week stay.

Day 1- After arriving that afternoon and driving a few hours, we arrived at a hotel nearby a snow mountain we would be visiting the next day. That day was the eve of Chinese New Year so everyone at the hotel and restaurant was in a festive mood- having large meals with their family, lighting off fireworks and sparklers and playing mahjong. It was fun to drive through the smaller country towns to see the locals out in the street celebrating and preparing for the new year together.

Fireworks outside our hotel

Day 2- Our first full day we spent at the XiLing Snow Mountain Resort. Though there wasn't much snow left after a few days of sunshine, there was enough for the many activities the resort had to offer. There was a small ski hill which Ryan and Leo went on for a few hours, a snowmobile track for kids and adults and gondola rides up to the top of the mountain. It was fun to see all of the kids sledding and making small snowmen that they would try and take home.

Kid size snowmobiles

View of the resort from the gondola 

 Day 3- Our third day was spent at the Ya'an Bifengxia Panda Base. Here we spent the day hiking, watching pandas and going through the zoo. We had a few unique experiences on this day. The first being my time sitting with a panda! I got to spend a few minutes with a panda named Jen Jen, who was 17 months old. I was told not to touch her on the top of her head, ears or hands to prevent upsetting her. It was amazing to have such a magnificent animal sitting right next to me, looking right at me. It was the best birthday gift ever!

Suiting up to see the panda 

Our next unique experience was getting to feed lions and bears (the tigers weren't hungry). We were driven through their dens on a bus that had holes in the windows large enough to push skewers of meat or apples through for the animals to eat. It was quite the site to see them jump up at the bus and eat off a stick we were holding.

Day 4-  The next day we drove a few hours to Hailuogou to go see some glaciers throughout the mountains. It was beautiful scenery after a long, windy bus ride and a cable-car up to the top of the mountain.

Day 5- The next day was another long car ride (and learning I now have motion sickness being pregnant). Along our trip we began to come across Tibetian villages that were very interesting to see. The houses are all very much the same and a lot of color is spread throughout with flags and garlands of Tibetian prayers and sayings. Once we arrived at our destination we made the journey through a small Tibetian village to a temple at the top of a hill.

Typical Tibetian home

Tibetian temple 

Tibetian temple 

Day 6- Our next day was traveling to another Tibetian village for some hiking at Mt Siguniang. Ryan and I had a wonderful time leisurely hiking through the park. I wasn't able to do more of a strenuous hike since we were at a higher altitude but we still managed to get in 12 km. It was nice to just take it easy, enjoy the scenery and discuss a few baby names (none decided yet).

The village we stayed in 

Day 7- Our final day of travel was to travel back to Chengdu for Ryan and I to fly out the following day. We had a very scenic drive back, including some amazing 'cloud oceans' in the valley of the mountains.

We also drove through the area that was effected by the large earthquakes in '08 and '13. We did a 20 km drive that took almost 2 hours because of the conditions of the road. There were still crumpled cars on the side. Crews were set up all along the road but little improvement had been made.

Day 8- Our final morning before flying out was spent at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. We were able to see a lot more younger pandas playing together, which was probably the cutest thing that ever existed.

6 month old cubs 

8-12 month old cubs 

Red panda