I am officially the WORST pregnant Chinese lady EVER!!!!

China is a country with a very rich history and the people here take a lot of stock in tradition.  There are a ton of rules you have to follow as a pregnant lady.  I think I have broken most of them, and plan on breaking the others over the next few months. 

They have some old wives tales that I don’t think are followed as strictly but I thought they were worth mentioning. 

1)     If you eat watermelon then your baby will have a big head.

2)     If you eat bananas the baby will slip right out of you.

3)     If you rub your belly then you are spoiling the baby.

4)     Don’t use sharp products (scissors/knives) or your baby will have a cleft lip.

Bananas and watermelon were among the few things I was able to eat in the beginning of pregnancy, and I am a total belly rubber, and don’t take away my scissors…plus how am I supposed to cut my watermelon if I can’t use a knife.
Here are some of the other “rules” that are taken more seriously:

1)     Pregnancy is considered a “hot” condition so only cold foods should be consumed…not cold in temperature but foods considered to be “cold”.  Fried foods are considered “hot” or “heatie” and so are some fruits.  You can’t eat anything spicy or “heatie”.  Honestly I still don’t understand what is considered “heatie”.

2)     Spouse is not present during delivery, it isn’t his job…Adam will so be there at my beck and call!

3)     The placenta is buried somewhere of significance and can be used to create medicines throughout your child’s life…not happening with me.

4)     A necklace is put around the baby’s neck before the cord is cut to bring life to the necklace and away from the cord…I don’t think putting something around a neck of an infant is a great idea.

5)     Before giving birth the mother doesn’t go out for the last 2 months of pregnancy…first of all it sounds like torture, second of all I am moving to HK.

6)     Don’t change beds while pregnant or you will upset the baby…well we moved and so far so good, never mind the hotel beds we have stayed in.

7)     After baby is born you can’t leave your house, wash your hair and you must stick to a special diet for 30 days…talk about going crazy…besides we will be moving back across the border during that month.

8)     Babies are left on their back most of the time to create a flat head which is considered beautiful…I don’t think I want my baby to have a flat head.

Here are a couple things that I have noticed from my year in China:

1)     The pregnant women here don’t wear pants; they sometimes wear leggings but usually a mumu style dress.  I have gotten a lot of second looks wearing jeans…is that girl just fat?  They are amazed at the stretchy panel.

2)     They sell girdles in the baby supply areas…you must wear this to get your stomach back to normal for your husband.

3)     People don’t touch you when you are pregnant, no one touches your belly, no one will wash your hair, and they won’t polish your fingernails, no massages etc…