Dear Little One,

People might have thought your dad and I were crazy to have you when we did. When I got pregnant with you, I was in the final year of my master’s degree, your dad had just started his new job, and we were about to move to China. Maybe we were a little crazy, but in this profession the timing will never really be perfect–we will always be moving and there will always be some level of uncertainty about the future. But we were certain we wanted you in our lives and, despite the chaos of it all, the timing felt right.

I found out I was pregnant just a few days before we had to pack all our things to ship to China. I was ecstatic that my nausea and headaches were a result of a little person growing inside of me, but those symptoms prevented me from effectively monitoring the movers while they packed our things. We found out after all of our stuff arrived in China that somehow almost all of the baby supplies ended up in storage in Maryland instead of with us in China. I’m still kicking myself about that.

A few weeks later, your dad, brother and I hopped on a plane to our new home. About eight hours into our sixteen hour flight I got a migraine which left me vomiting the rest of the journey. Your dad was a trooper handling your very energetic big brother while I used up all of the barf bags.

People often asked me what it was like being pregnant while living in China. My answer is that it isn’t any different than any of the other places I’ve been pregnant (Hawaii, Japan, Colorado, D.C.), except that there are some pretty gnarly smells that are unique to China that left me avoiding certain streets and tunnels.

Normally I’m a pretty adventurous with my food, but I was extra careful with my food selections while I was pregnant with you. There aren’t strict food regulations like there are in the United States, so you don’t always know what is in your food. It didn’t bother me much, though. I just steered clear of fish and mystery street food! Your dad, however, had no excuse for escape when presented with fish-skin salad…

On the topic of food – if you don’t know already, I love cold cereal. I could eat it breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and for a midnight snack. And when I’m pregnant, I could also eat it for second breakfast, elevenses, and supper.* This isn’t an option in China, so I attempted to satisfy this intense pregnancy craving with any other carbs available: noodles, rice, and waffles from our hotel’s apartment’s daily breakfast offering.

I think I saw a record number of health care providers while I was pregnant with you. First I visited with the doctor at the Guangzhou Consulate’s Health Unit. Then I completed my routine prenatal visits at an international hospital in Guangzhou. I traveled to Hong Kong twice to see a doctor for prenatal testing and ultrasounds and finally finished my prenatal care in Colorado.

My favorite medical experience was right before we left China to return to the United States. I had to get an ultrasound to prove I was fit to fly at 34 weeks. During that ultrasound, you were already measuring over 5 1/2 lbs with super long legs and a big head. Both the ultrasound technician and the doctor both told me (in separate rooms so they didn’t know the other had said the same thing), “Too much watermelon and rice! He’s so big! Don’t eat any more watermelon!” They didn’t say anything about ice cream so I guess that’s why you still weighed in at 9 lbs 1 oz at 39 weeks…

So many doctors meant you had a range of due dates, but my angel of a doctor in Colorado chose to follow the earliest one, August 4th, and agreed to break my water a week early. Praise!

After you came into this world (that is a whole other story), we immediately had to begin the paperwork that would allow you to return with us to China. The State Department gave us 45 days from the day you were discharged to get everything order. We had to expedite your birth certificate, ensure you had a medical clearance, and get you a diplomatic passport with a Chinese visa.

The following photo sequence shows how hilariously challenging it is to get a newborn passport photo:

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The combination of a busy travel season plus strained U.S.-China relations meant your passport and visa were delayed so we didn’t make the 45 day cutoff. That meant we had to move for the third time since your existence! (Rixey –> Ascott; Ascott –> Waterford; Waterford –> grammy and grampy’s house.)

Your passport is in a UPS truck on its way to us this very moment, and then we will be ready to take you home to China. I have to be honest, you’ve been a challenging newborn so I am dreading the flight! But we will all get better at traveling together – that’s our life and I love it!

I had no idea that bringing you into this world would be such an adventure, and now that you’re here we get to share the adventures with you! Our lives together won’t always be predictable or easy, but you can count on your family every step of the way. We love you, Little One.

Welcome to the world.

*These are the meals included in a hobbit’s day from J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings. But since you are my son, you should already know that by now.