Pizza Hut, Pickled Veggies, and Placenta (and 坐月子)

Hours before Connor's birth, Kim eats a hearty breakfast of steamed bun, veggies, eggs, and rice porridge. Those are pretty lame translations.

So, food is a pretty important part of the whole "having a baby" process, and since the hospital gave Kim 4 meals a day, we got to experience hospital food in China. Kim rates it as "not terrible, but if she had a choice she wouldn't eat it". She managed to usually eat almost all of it, but after the surgery, her appetite was pretty small, and also she couldn't eat a lot of types of food for the first day.

One of the funniest things is the stress put on eating soup after birth. I was talking with another new father, and we were both like "wtf, if eating soup is so important, why don't they give us more soup (in the hospital)". It is part of recovery here, and considered part of 坐月子, the sitting month (30 days) that almost all women in China do after giving birth. There are many guidelines for it, and I can highlight some of the main ideas, based on what advice we have been given  (listed in order of frequency heard):

1. Wear long sleeves. Short sleeves = no good. Basically, falls under "fear the wind".
2. Drink soup, lots and lots of it.
3. Don't shower.
4. No brushing your teeth.
5. Can't drink cold water.
6. No TV (I am sure this extends to computers, also)
7. No going outside, leaving the house.
8. The baby also shouldn't leave the house for 30 days.

Gotta love 包子!

There are more that I am forgetting, and it varies from area to area. The sitting month is very serious in China, but it is changing a little, recently. For example, our doctor told us she did the sitting month, but still brushed her teeth and showered. And we saw plenty of TV's rocking out in the VIP rooms, with new mothers blatantly keeping up with their soaps.

As far as Kim and I are concerned, we have been openly telling people we don't do this in America, and just politely listen to their advice. Sometimes they are fine with this, and understand. Sometimes, they won't shut up about wearing short sleeves!

To me, the sitting month is understandable, if a bit foreign and "outdated" sounding at times. But, many countries still do this. It isn't unique to China, and it does have benefits to the mother that our American-style postpartum mothers sometimes might not get. I don't know, but maybe there is a connection between postpartum depression and variances in recovery methods.

Not bad, but damn...cold pizza. Thanks, Connor!

Anyway, back to food. So we totally ordered a pizza, which I wasn't able to successfully order online (even with 3 nurses helping, turns out the problem is Wuhu doesn't offer the online option yet, but next year probably). I walked a few blocks to pick up the Pizza Hut pizza, which was a real treat for us at 98RMB. We ate it around 9pm two days after his birth, but of course it was cold by the time we got a chance to eat it. Still, pretty damn awesome!

By the way, Pizza Hut in China doesn't suck. It's actually pretty good, and all fancy dining. Pretty opposite of American Pizza Hut.

What is healthier for a mother than a chicken foot? What, I ask you?!

But, our prize food really came from Kim. When I was in the surgery room, after I cut the umbilical cord, the surgeons asked me if I wanted the 胎盘. I had actually studied a lot of pregnancy and birth vocab, so I knew that was placenta, but it still took me a second to respond. I just wasn't quite prepared to be asked that question. But, I said yes (as per Kim's request), and they had me sign a pretty serious document (to show they gave it to me, and didn't sell it). A couple doctors got pics of me signing, and they gave me the placenta. Just like "Here, your wife's placenta."

Anyway, Kim wants us to try to cook it into some dish. Any suggestions? I was thinking 青椒胎盘丝 or maybe Kung Pao Placenta. Maybe we can save it for when Mom and Bob come.

The placenta. Still in our fridge. Gonna get some recipes to cook up a nice dish.

Well, we are back home now, so that means back to cooking at home. I am learning how to cook Chinese food, and now that I can read most recipes easily, I am trying out different ones. Glad to be going to the market for fresh goods, and saving some money also!

Feeding the baby!