Welcome to the world, sweet Samantha!

It has officially been one week since I first laid eyes on our newest little family member. Its hard to believe how many kisses, tears, smiles and diapers you can have in one week! Let me take you back to the beginning... 

On April 8th I had a regular Doctor appointment (39 weeks) to check up on my pregnancy. I was preparing myself for an overdue pregnancy, due to the fact that many first babies are. My Doctor was delivering a baby during my appointment so I had to wait for an hour for her to get back. That morning I had some menstrual-like cramps and a backache, but I didn't think anything of it. 

While at the Doctor I started having moments of tightness in my belly and they started to become quite regular. I told the midwife and she hooked me up to a fetal monitor. After about 20 minutes she was able to confirm that I was in labor! My contractions were about 4-5 minutes apart, though they were not very strong. My Doctor finally got back and checked me, I was about 2.5 cm dilated. (Is it weird I am talking about my cervix on the world wide web)? She told me to go home, eat a good dinner, take a shower and to come back to the hospital when the pain was a little more strong. At this point (5pm) Peyton just happened to be coming home from work. The timing could not have been more perfect. 

I got home followed instructions and then tried to work through contractions. Our sweet home teacher Greg also came over to give me a blessing with Peyton. Peyton and I decided to take one last family picture together and we even made a pazookie to kill time!

We timed my contractions (theres an app for that!) and they were about 3-4 minutes apart. Even though the pain wasn't too bad, we decided to head to the hospital since we still had a 45 minute taxi ride to get there and they suggest coming to the hospital when you are about 5 minutes between contractions. 

We arrived at the hospital at 9:45 and they had a bed all ready for me. The Doctor came in and I was at 4 cm dilation. We decided to break my water to get the show on the road. Shortly after, they started my epidural which helped me not feel the contractions so much. (Side note: I was more nervous about getting an epidural than going through labor. I absolutely hate needles. Peyton and I watched some birthing videos and I usually couldn't even get past the epidural part without almost passing out.) After they put in the epidural, (which Peyton was intrigued and amazed by) I had about an hour where I felt good and relaxed... but then the epidural started to wear off. 

 By 6cm dilation I was feeling all of the contractions and was in a good amount of pain. I was frustrated that the epidural wasn't working but I kept dilating very fast. In a couple of hours, I was at a 9cm and very ready to push! I kept reminding the Doctor that the epidural wasn't working but it was too late to do anything about it. 

I remember watching my Doctor put on her robe and getting ready for the delivery thinking that we were minutes away from welcoming our little one. I turned to Peyton and kept saying how the time had finally come. I started pushing at 12:30, and five pushes later baby girl Samantha was born at 12:45. The delivery was so much faster than we had anticipated, and everything went smoothly (Minus the lack of pain meds.) Peyton decided prior that he wanted to "catch" the baby. It was neat for him to be involved and the Doctors were very impressed that he wanted to be so engaged.

The minute she was placed on my chest an overwhelming love and surreal appreciation came over me. She was a very quiet baby and very alert. Peyton brought her over to me after she was weighed and we sat on the bed for an hour just looking at her and admiring her beauty. We counted all her toes and fingers (all there!) and gave her enough kisses to last a lifetime. In a few short minutes our family had grown from 2 to 3. Even though the pregnancy felt long and uncomfortable and the delivery was painful, I was so thankful we were given this blessing, and it was completely worth every second of uncomfort and pain. I didn't sleep much that night because I kept looking into her bassinet seeing if she was breathing and just gazing at her. I wish someone had been keeping track of how many times Peyton and I said, "Shes so cute" to each other. It must have been at least 1,000 times. 

It has been a week of elation and learning. Peyton has been such a great helper and a very hands on Father. I am so lucky to have him as my partner. Even though we are getting used to running on 1/2 a tank of gas and getting adjusted, we are so happy she is finally here! 

Samantha loves being held by Daddy and is so extremely content while looking up at him for minutes at a time. I am convinced she recognizes our voices from the womb. 

Samantha Jane Buhler 

Born April 9th, 2014, 12:43 am 

6 lbs, 19 inches 

"So...what is it like being pregnant in China?"

Being pregnant in Shanghai is very interesting. First of all, everyone loves to stare at me because I am white, AND I have a baobao in my tummy! The Chinese people are also not discreet one bit, so they do not hide the fact that they are staring at you. 

In my third trimester I had people finally start getting up on the subway to give me their seat. I was actually surprised this happened at all because seats on the subway are pretty much like gold. By my 8th month I was getting a little annoyed by not being offered a seat on the subway so I would obnoxiously throw my stomach out and look uncomfortable right in someones face until they had some heart to give me their seat. I am not proud of this, but I was 8 months pregnant, and I don't have a car. These are desperate times. 

I have also had a few instances where people have come up to me on the street to rub my belly. I heard that this is common even in America, but it is a little weird when you cannot understand what the "rubbing person" is saying to you. I was so caught off guard the times it has happened that I usually just stood there awkwardly smiling until they got their genie in a bottle fix. 

Today at the post office I was mailing an envelope when a woman who worked there started rubbing my belly and saying "baobao" (baby) over and over. She then said "boy." "boy." "boy." I had to awkwardly tell her that no, it was a girl. I am still not sure she understood my English. She called over 3 other postal workers (who were men) who then proceeded to rub my belly and giggle. At this point, I was beginning to feel like a zoo creature/puppy/buddah, so I just pushed my belly out of the circle they had created and ran the heck outta there. 

The other "interesting" thing about being pregnant in China is that they like to tell you their beliefs on what is good/bad for the baby (in womb). We went and got massages and they wouldn't use essential oils on my feet. Which okay...I get it. But then he proceeded to tell me (through my friend who knows mandarin) that I should stay away from eating more than one orange at a time, and to avoid all fruit. Hmph. I really like eating two oranges. I have also heard that pregnant women are not supposed to stand in the same room as the microwave when it is running, and I was ridiculed by a local for using my laptop. It was indeed, really bad for the baby. I wanted so badly to know Mandarin to tell her that I was actually incubating an alien so she didn't need to worry about anything. 

Which leads me to my last vent/laugh/cringe pregnant in China point. Labor.

 Local Chinese usually have scheduled C-sections so that they can choose the best "date" for their childs birthday. They want it to have a good number with lots of positive numerals...or something like that. It is also custom here for the Mother to not get out of bed for a full month after giving birth. But thats not the worst part...Women who give birth are not supposed to shower for a month after having the baby. I am going to repeat that for you. Women who give birth are not supposed to shower for a whole month after having the baby. And just in case you missed it, I am also going to put it in bold. This tradition gives me the creeps, and I can only imagine the awesome smells that permeate in her room. I am pretty sure my Husband would be renting a hotel room for that month. After birth I am also supposed to avoid eating fresh foods. Teas and stews only! Luckily, I am giving birth in an "American" hospital where I don't have to do any of this. Although, laying in bed for a month doesn't sound too bad. However, I think i'll take a shower immediately after and eat lots of fresh fruit. Hey, maybe I will even eat two oranges back to back while browsing my laptop. I do not fit in here quite yet. 

So there you have it, being pregnant and living in China. It truly is an adventure. Luckily I am due any second now, and then the real fun begins. Look for this post in the future, "Being a brand spankin' new Mother in China". That ones gonna be a hit!