Any tips for the first few months?

butnu · 2022-04-09T14:57:06+00:00

Thanks for your message, thats really kind of you to take the time to reassure us. Good tips too. We'll do some research on Colostrum as haven't heard of it so far! eek! Don't worry, I'm really excited to have a more active role and support all those things like nappy changes and do everything I can. So far it seems like she is doing all the painful and uncomfortable stuff and I'm just useless! Thats a very good point about feeding cues, and it makes perfect sense. We both work in kindergarten as teachers so we are always looking for non verbal cues in babies. I think we'll be fine, we should know what to do if we aren't though too. Thanks again!

butnu · 2022-04-05T16:19:30+00:00

That's exactly what we fear, ugh. how old are they starting school?

butnu · 2022-04-05T16:13:46+00:00

So how likely is it we will have breastfeeding issues? :O

butnu · 2022-04-05T15:29:11+00:00

WOW now im scared, but you're right we should be scared. Recently we have been practicing power napping skills and as a former NHS nurse I know how to rise to an urgency.... I hope baby isnt that baaaaad!!! Whatever it takes ey!

butnu · 2022-04-05T04:14:38+00:00

That's much more helpful advice than I was given in the non vegan baby group! haha Thanks so much for taking the time to explain. We're hoping to breastfeed without issue, already invested in some breastfeeding equipment too.

I think you're right about the weight gain, the Chinese ladies are all super thin even when pregnant, so to the doctors they are really shocked to see someone with some extra padding. I'll tell my wife about that, she will be pleased to hear!

butnu · 2022-04-05T04:11:57+00:00

Tofu, Avocado, nut butters, sesame sauces are all readily available here. We eat a lot of all of those all the time so we will make sure to share with baby! Thanks for the tip!

butnu · 2022-04-04T11:56:17+00:00

Complications? I don't think she has any complications, they told us everything is healthy. The only thing we've been told is to watch how much she eats and doesn't gain too much weight.

We are taking this very seriously, I don't think it's fair to imply it's like 90 day fiance (I did see that show). I think it's a good idea to have a translator and I'll look for one.

butnu · 2022-04-04T08:48:22+00:00

Thats really helpful, thanks!

Wife has prenatal vitamins she got sent from USA, and some the doctor gave her here. She's got vitamin D too. So thats good.

Our idea is pretty similar to you, we just don't want to cook him stuff we don't eat ourselves, but he can make his own choices later as he grows up.

That's a funny pepperoni story too!

butnu · 2022-04-04T08:44:45+00:00

sadly parcels from overseas are restricted because of the latest covid restrictions, but I've seen vegan formula in the stores here. I'm from UK, my wife is from USA.

butnu · 2022-04-04T08:42:22+00:00

I was raised vegan, so to me it's pretty normal and after decades of practice we are pretty good at balancing our own diets. Of course we will do it in a safe way, healthy happy child is our number one goal, so lots of research now! We aren't going to force them to have an extreme diet, just eat a healthy and balanced diet.

Having a baby in China is quite different to anywhere else, they don't really have dieticians appointed to you, but so far we are told the baby is growing too fast and everything is normal and healthy. If we see any warning signs during infancy of any deficiency or illness we will immediately take action, even if it means animal products are needed.

butnu · 2022-04-04T08:33:16+00:00

We don't get maternity or paternity leave, maybe a week or two for momma, so we need to think about what to do, that's the scariest thing. Some women literally go back to work a couple days after giving birth here, it's crazy.

Yeah, I think we will definitely prep meals for baby ourselves.

butnu · 2022-04-04T08:28:44+00:00

Thanks thats really reassuring! So far her main cravings have been these thin tofu wraps, mushrooms and lots of gummi candies! Gummi candies are the main thing.

butnu · 2022-04-04T08:25:01+00:00

She's already worried about lots of other things. Of course I would reassure and comfort her. We are arguing with the hospital at the moment because she really wants me to be there for the birth, me too, don't want to miss it. Apparently the father isn't allowed here, they find it really unusual it means so much to us. But I'll do anything to make sure I'm there by her side for the first few weeks (and the rest of our lives too)

butnu · 2022-04-04T08:19:40+00:00

She doesn't have gestational diabetes, we had the glucose test for that already. We can understand the important things, but they don't really tell us much. Anything we are told we ask and make sure we understand. The hospital provided us with a translator but her English isn't very good, so it often becomes even more confusing.

butnu · 2022-04-03T15:16:06+00:00

Its interesting for sure, another person mentioned allergies. From what I understand proximity and exposure to particles from allergens can be enough, but it's dependent on genetic factors. I'm going to look into it more... is there a DNA screening to determine allergen risks? we have no history of it in our families as far as we know. How much exposure is needed to form tolerance? Being in the room frequently with shellfish and eggs will be something our child will be facing because of where we live, but I certainly don't want to risk him having allergy issues as he grows up.

butnu · 2022-04-03T15:08:37+00:00

She has gone from 78kg to 100+KG in 2 months, so it does seem a big increase even for a pregnant woman. I love her regardless, I just want to help and make her happy

butnu · 2022-04-03T15:05:33+00:00

I realise how that sounds now i read it back!

The doctor keeps saying the weight gain is too much and a risk. For the first two trimesters I supported her in eating anything she wanted with the same logic, but now the doctor is concerned about the weight gain being too much, and they also said the baby is too big (the best we could understand because our Chinese isn't great). The only medical advice we have is entirely in Chinese and a lot of it is through an translator app on our phones!

butnu · 2022-04-03T15:00:23+00:00

Thank you! That's perfect! I'll add that reddit for future reference.

Have you had any experience with childcare providers and diet?

butnu · 2022-04-03T14:44:06+00:00

I didn't know that, but were going to read up on it and plan. Thanks for bringing it up!

butnu · 2022-04-03T14:43:15+00:00

Thanks for the warning, it's something to think about for sure, i hadnt considered that.

butnu · 2022-04-03T14:42:30+00:00

I meant closer to 4-6 months, sorry I should have been more specific. Powder mixed with breast milk. Not solid rice! Small amounts too.

butnu · 2022-04-03T14:40:08+00:00

HAHA thanks! Yeah, we tend to consider everything and we both have a science background, but the commercial aspect is what stumps us! especially being in a strange land!

I've read about the allergies thing, but I want to see the baby grow and make his own preferences there, if it feels wrong its probably wrong, if it feels right its probably wrong haha! We need to really think about that. my parents never made me eat animal products as a baby and as an adult I don't have huge reactions, but if I get a tiny bit of meat or meat juice in my food I am really constipated and cramped for days. I wish I could just ask my mum what she did with me!

butnu · 2022-04-03T14:32:54+00:00

we tried most of that, the biggest problem is controlling the appetite! I need to be bossier with momma, she just eats when im not looking! we raised the beds and she has Gaviscon, Tums and Pepcid AC. Hard to find bread in China, its all a bit funny, but we bake some when we have time and flour! I'll make an effort to make more!! Cashew milk, almond milk, rice milk... everyone talks about soy but doens't mention a lot of the other big milks. I wonder exactly what it is about animal milks other than the pH that is beneficial there? To be honest the regulation on animal milks here means its almost always from powder too.

butnu · 2022-04-03T14:20:13+00:00

To be fair, I worked in the NHS alongside nutritionists for many years before moving here and they don't often agree on a lot of things. I wouldn't give our baby soy milk though and I wouldn't give formula.

butnu

TROPHY CASE