Having a baby in Hong Kong

As I promised in my last post, I would do another blog post about what it was like having a baby in Hong Kong as many have been interested in the differences from here to the states. Since this was my first child, I don't have any personal experience of delivering in the states so I can't give any first hand remarks on most things. 

As previously discussed here, I went through the government funded, public healthcare system for my prenatal care, delivery and now postnatal/child care. Ryan and I made this decision after a lot of research and thought. The public system is in conjunction with the university so it is also a teaching hospital. There are also many private hospitals throughout Hong Kong, but the public hospitals are the only ones equipped with a NICU; so if your child needed extra care or your pregnancy became complicated (which Xavier did for one night) you would be sent to a public hospital for care. 

The main difference we came across with being in the public hospital was lack of privacy. Upon being admitted for my induction, I was in a general ward for monitoring and the early stages of labor. For normal deliveries, you are kept here until you are at least 3-4 cm dilated before you are sent to the labor ward. While you are in the general ward, your husband or partner is only allowed in during visiting hours (12-1pm and 6-8pm) so I was a bit nervous about being induced and having to be alone for awhile. 

We spent time on floors 9, 10 and 6 throughout our stay

Once you have been monitored and are in active labor, you are moved to the labor ward where your husband/partner is allowed to join. This is a private room and where you will stay for your delivery. From what I have been told, the hospital is very open to any form of pain relief/movement to reduce pain. I was offered nitrous oxide (laughing gas), pethidine (an intramuscular injection) and an epidural for pain relief. Due to Xavier's low heart rate, I wasn't allowed to get out of bed or move off my back, which is not comfortable, so I was given the nitrous oxide and pethidine to help ease the pain until the epidural which was available. Unfortunately we had to do a c-section before that could happen. 

Poster with information for being admitted to hospital

Poster for information for husband/partner during delivery

Information on care for mother and child during labor 

After your child is born, you are taken to another general ward where you stay for the remainder of your time in the hospital. The ward consists of various bays that contain 6 beds, all sectioned off by curtains. Luckily for us, I was placed in a bed by the window so I had a nice view, rather than being surrounded by curtains. The area you have is big enough for your bed, the baby's bassinet and a chair for your visitor (again, only during visiting hours). Since the fathers are only allowed in during visiting hours, I was determined to be released as soon as possible. For normal deliveries, this can be within 24 hours. For me having a c-section and Xavier being in the NICU, we had to stay an extra night and were released 48 hours after he was born. 

Other differences we noticed were having to supply everything for yourself and the baby (diapers, wipes, toiletries) and obviously the food. I was given the 'western' food which normally consisted of a soupy oatmeal for breakfast and rice with cabbage and some type of meat for lunch and dinner. I had read all over the internet to bring in your own food, so I was stocked with energy bars and dried fruit, but didn't mind the food I was given also (lots of traveling in China will change your taste buds).

My first food I was allowed after surgery, warm rice milk

I've been asked a lot since Xavier was born if I would do it again here and at the same hospital. Even though it wasn't the greatest circumstances for us, I am happy we were at the public hospital throughout it all. Ryan and I have both agreed we received great care throughout the time there and know if we were anywhere else we probably would have ended up at the public hospital in the end. It wasn't the nice, large delivery suites I see back in the states, but you can't beat the price we paid ($58 US dollars!) and we still have an amazing baby boy in the end. 

Receipt for myself and Xavier. Ryan was instructed to go pay before we left the hospital. I had actually forgotten to pay for a day I was admitted for brief monitoring the week prior- so the actual delivery cost $39

It was quite an experience and we look forward to telling Xavier about it someday. We know it wasn't the closest location we could have chosen to have our first child but as with everything Ryan and I have seemed to do- it all has added to the adventure of our marriage. 

Xavier Michael Jipp

Hello everyone!

It's been awhile since we last updated you. We haven't been traveling anywhere since Bali but we have moved to a new apartment and welcomed our son 3 weeks ago!

Xavier Michael Jipp was born on August 11, 2015 at 5:06 pm weighing 7.2 lb and 19.6'' long. We waited a long time to see if he would arrive on his own but at 9 days past his due date, the doctors decided to induce me. Luckily for us, that meant we didn't have to negotiate a 30 minute ferry ride and 15 minute taxi ride while I was in labor. Unfortunately for us, while being induced, Xavier's heart rate continued to have episodes of dropping very low and after awhile, the doctors decided to do an emergency c-section. Ryan was unable to be in the operating room with us as I was put under general anesthesia and was completely out for the procedure. Once Xavier was born, Ryan was able to follow him up to the NICU where he stayed overnight for observation and I was able to meet him the following afternoon. Though it was a bit of a dramatic entrance to the world, Xavier is doing great now and has had a clean bill of health at every follow up.

We have been adjusting to life at home with Xavier well. We are learning every day new things that make him happy, cranky or just down right angry. Ahri has also been doing well with the new member of the family. Within the day of Xavier coming home she was up smelling him and trying to lick his feet.

Ready to go home!

Xavier's first taxi ride

Multi-tasking Dad: Beer and baby

Xavier's first ferry ride home

Ryan and I are very grateful for all of the staff that took care of us while we were in the hospital. We have no regrets about having Xavier born in Hong Kong and know it will be quite the story for him to tell growing up. I will blog later about the experience of having a baby here in Hong Kong in the government hospital as I have gotten a lot of questions about what that was like. Until then, I'm gonna go snuggle the little guy!

Babymoon to Bali and news on our future plans

Hello all! 

Hope you're enjoying the beginning of summer. We are melting over here in Hong Kong and consider days that it's below 90 to be quite comfortable! 

Baby Jipp's arrival is approaching quickly and we are trying to get prepared as possible for him. In doing so, we needed to make some decisions on our future plans and where we would be located. 

As many of you know, our first contract that brought us to Hong Kong was for 2 years and was coming to an end this October. After months of deliberation, pros/cons lists and negotiations, we have decided we will be staying in Hong Kong for another year. Long story short, we were offered a great opportunity by Ryan's company which was too good to refuse. We have loved living in Hong Kong and look forward to growing our family here for another year. This was not an easy decision for us and we thank everyone for their patience. 

Some things will be changing for our next year here though to make life as a new family more comfortable. We will be moving to a different community, known as Discovery Bay, which is full of expat families. It's nickname by locals is actually 'Dogs and Babies' so we will fit right in! Ryan will also be in Hong Kong more, working in China only 3 days a week, allowing him to spent a couple more nights with us. We are planning to come back to the states for Christmas as well as another time in 2015, so we will keep everyone updated on specific dates and where we will be so we can see as many of you as possible! 

Now onto Bali! 

Ryan and I were able to get away for a week a little while ago to enjoy one last vacation alone before we become parents. We traveled to Bali, an island south of the equator in Indonesia, for some rest and relaxation. 

Our first 3 days we spent at a resort along the western coastline in Nusa Dua. I enjoyed the sun cabanas while Ryan enjoyed the free cocktails. 

View from our room 

Maybe mocktails aren't so bad

Beautiful grounds at the hotel 

Hotel from the beach

Ryan's walk beyond the beach 

Sea Urchin 

After a few days in Nusa Dua, we traveled inland to Ubud for the remainder of our trip. Along the way we stopped to have lunch overlooking a volcano and crater lake, tried luwak coffee and visited a holy spring temple. After our day of touring, we arrived at our hotel, which was situated in the middle of a jungle. 

Mount Batur 

Coffee sampling 

Holy Spring Temple- locals immerse themselves in and collect the water from the spring for it's different benefits 

Lines within the spring to collect the water

Dressed in sarongs to enter the temple

Our private pool villa for a few days 

Local Indonesian cuisine

One of several cannonballs during our stay 

We had an amazing time in Bali and recommend it to anyone who is able to go! We can't wait to see what our next trip will be with our little guy, but we will for sure keep up the traveling during our next year here! 

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