The big 2-0 week ultrasound

**In all honesty, this post was written on Friday and is being posted today, Tuesday. I’ve been having internet problems and haven’t been able to access Blogger. Sorry for the delay!**

Today I'm blogging from Maan Coffee, the coolest new coffee shop in Nanjing. Seriously. It's so fun. And I'm blogging on my iPad, which always is a challenge but totally doable. It's raining, Frank Sinatra is playing in the background and baby is kicking and rolling around like a champ (I think it was that waffle with strawberries I shared with Steven). Good day? I would say so. Except for the massive influx of allergy inducing pollen flying through the air lately. 

April has flown by & we have been so busy...I've been wanting to blog about our 20 week appointment and ultrasound but really haven't found the time lately. Well, today, 4 weeks later, is as good a day as any! 

First things first, it's a GIRL!! My intuition proved correct. I had a sense she would be a girl, but was afraid to expect a girl. We already had a girl name picked out, so I'm happy to say that name picking is over. One more thing to check off the list. 

Baby Girl’s profile

Also checked off the list is finding the doctor and hospital we want to deliver at. I was really struggling with where to have this little one. I knew I wanted to go to Shanghai to an international hospital, but didn't feel excited about our options at United (one of the larger hospitals). I have many friends who have delivered there in the past and had good experiences, but I didn't really have peace about it. Plus, the doctor I was seeing was American but had been on maternity leave in the States. I had this sneaky suspicion that she wasn't going to return...well, I was right. We had our 20 week scheduled for United on a Saturday but ended up with a conflict. I called to reschedule and found out two things, 1) my doctor had resigned and would be staying in America and 2) they couldn't reschedule my appointment and so I would, in their words, "have to keep it." So....we changed hospitals. I was nervous, but felt we needed to try something else. We are hiring a doula to help us navigate the crazy of having a baby in China, and she recommended a brand new hospital called Redleaf. She also gave me the name of a doctor on staff there she felt was really supportive of her patients. I called & they had an opening! 

So, we went to Redleaf. And it was amazing. I will sum up the experience by saying the hospital staff, doctor and whole process exceeded our expectations. Here's why...

1) Personilzed care. From the moment we walked in the door to when we left the staff took extra care to make us feel comfortable and taken care of. They each made an effort to know my name and never once did they "call" for me to come to reception, go back for my appointment, etc. Instead, the nurse or receptionist would find us where we were sitting and, by name, ask me to fill out a form or to follow her back to see the doctor. I was a person, not just another patient to see.

2) Our doctor is amazing. She's German and has been practicing in China for awhile. She was so kind and took almost an hour with us answering questions, getting to know us and talking about what kind of birth we wanted. When we went in to the ultrasound, baby was hiding, our doctor quickly came to our aid to ask the tech what she needed me to do so we could have the ultrasound. She understood we came to Shanghai specifically for this ultrasound and was not willing to let us be disappointed. We ended up being able to come back after lunch. Also, the doctors at Redleaf are on a rotation for delivery, however, our doctor has opted out wanting to be able to deliver all her patients' babies. She really impressed us. And I felt totally at ease with her. 

Easter Sunday - 24 weeks!

3) The ultrasound was amazing. They had a 40" TV mounted on the wall for us to watch as the tech measured and took pictures. It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. Being able to watch our baby on the screen and feel her move at the same time was amazing. Wow. Steven said it was one of the highlights of his life. Awww.... They also gave us a DVD with all 95+ photos they took of her! At no extra cost. 

By the time we left the appointment, I knew we found "the one". And it wasn't their state-of-the-art equipment, fancy new building or meticulously maintained grounds that made us choose Redleaf. It was their personal approach to healthcare. I'm so thankful to have an option in China like Redleaf. 

Meeting with doctor and seeing our little one on the ultrasound made it all more real for me. A little nervous, but mostly excited to meet our daughter in August.