Any chinese mothers out there???

[blossom2]

I was just wondering

DH is english and DD is a wonderful mix of both of us. people say she looks english/white when out with Dh and chinese when she's out with me!!!

csa - congrats and hope the jaudice is sorted out soon. Hugs all round! Nice name too.

Hello blossom - everything will be fine so don't worry. I am very much looking forward to my scan to ensure all is well and then roll on November that seems soo far away.

And what happened to all the other chinese mums, come back and tell us how you are doing???

Congratulations CSA!!! We'll need a photoboard on here soon so you can all post pics of the new babies!

I've been a little distracted with trying to find childcare for my return to work so haven't been online as much. Am having no joy finding suitable childcare and have been turned down for part time hours too sigh

Also cooking for DD is keeping me busy too - I make her congee pretty much every other day - I cheat by just bunging everything into the slow cooker and letting it cook away. (no stirring involved!)

thanks all. got a call from the paed this morning to say that the jaundice level is going down so no follow ups required. hurrah!

pam, i thought bunging everything into a slow cooker WAS the way to make congee....? can't remember - are you in london?

Does your rice cooker have a congee setting? We had a Malaysian one with a "porridge" switch, and we used to add three times as much water than usual

and congratulations on your new little boy, btw

Congratulations CSA, glad to hear little ones jaundice is clearing.

wow you managed 5 days I'm impressed!. What confinement food are you eating apart from the herbs? I avoided curries and brocoli and cabbage for first 3 months of breast feeding for both babies they objected very badly by wailing the next day. So I'm with you regarding dhs food looking good.

Pam sorry to hear about the job front, they really don't seem to have a flexible attitude, I think to be frank NI attitudes are still 10-15 years behind. Hope you have more luck with child care. Have you collected toy yet?

Blossom my second sat low for last 3 months, I think after first child your womb changes and not unusual for baby to sit differently to first. To be honest by 36 weeks was desprate for early birth! If you get worried contact MW.

Yingers when is your scan due? hope it goes well.

Where does time go? During pregnancy it seemed to slow down (except at work where deadlines came by fast) Now 4 months have gone by so quickly and before I know it I'll have to go back to work.

hi rai, the base is largely the same - ginger, sesame oil, rice wine and oyster or soy sauce. and then there is the addition of kei chi, dong gui or red dates and then the occasional other stuff like wood ear fungus, dried mushroom, dried lily buds, etc. still haven't muster the enthusiasm to cook the vinegared pork trotters yet.

have just reread what i wrote and this will seem very peculiar to some other mn

any bets how long i will last on this diet? mcdonalds - here i come!

Hello!

CSA - am very impressed with your knowledge, i tend to eat just what my mum gives me, but have no idea what it is or how to cook it. My mum would love you!

rai - my scan is not till 9th and I really can't wait as I want to make sure everything is ok. I think once that is done i will be able to relax and just let nature take its course!

lol yingers. the reason why i know is because i refuse to have a confinement lady and the only way i could prevent my mum descending on us for a whole month in our tiny house is if i said i will be able to cook it myself

good luck for the 9th. would that be the 12 weeks scan?

I was just checking out this website: www.britishbornchinese.org.uk/pages/culture.html

specifically the pages on pregnancy and child birth and thought I'd ask how did you all go about choosing names for your children?

I have an English and Chinese name but my Chinese name is not on my birth certificate, my parents rectified this omission with my brother.

My ds and dd have two English names and their Chinese name next their surnames registered as mine and dh's but not hyphenated. This means that they have 6 seperate words to their name. I asked my mother to give them their Chinese names, she chose well. I like their meanings, though it is difficult give their meanings justice when translated into English.

I think sometimes that they won't thank me when they have to write their name in full for application forms in the future but mostly my thinking was to ensure that they recognise their Chinese heritage is important.

great website rai. have to show dh. know what you mean about the translation to english. somehow, it just does not sound the way it should do.

Hello all,

I let my mum descend on us for the month, saves a lot of arguing. I think that was the strategy me and my brother used with our parents to make our lives easier!!!

I only have a chinese name although now my surname is english so it all sounds abit weird. DD has a chinese middle name which appears on her birth cert, my mum chose it. I have to admit as we rarely use it I often forget how to write it in chinese characters.

Have not looked at the website but will sounds interesting.

9th is my 12 week scan although i think i might be a few weeks more than that.

have a good bank holiday monday.

Hi all - playing catch up again

csa - am in Belfast
Suzy - have very archaic rice cooker - only cooks rice and keeps warm - must investigate a more modern rice cooker!
Rai - no still have not picked up toy and Alexander is pestering me to go to house where "the chinese boy and girl lives" to pick up his sword

How do you all get away with your mums descending for only a month???? My mum came for 3 1/2 months for the birth of my son and then was suppose to come for 3 months for DD's birth but we managed to cut this short to 6 weeks!!

I have an English and Chinese name on my birth cert and my kids have a first name (English / European) followed by a Chinese name, Irish name and surname - had to keep all parties happy - first names picked by DH and myself, chinese names by my parents and Irish names to keep Irish set of in-laws happy.

To complicate matters, I didn't take DH's surname so DH sometimes gets called my surname and he doesn't look Chinese at all!!

ok speak soon

cheers

P

yesterday. day 12. ordered domino's pizza for dinner - peperoni, ham, smoky bacon and peppers!!! hmmm... it wasn't absolutely yummy but at least it tasted different
back to sesame oil and rice wine tonight tho

csa - I'm really quite impressed - that you've just given birth and are doing all your own confinement cooking! Is your DH and other child also eating the confinement stuff or are they on a separate meal plan??

hiya pam, no, 3 different meals. ds has lunch at nursery. so, for dinner, i just try and cook a 15-minute one-handed meal for him (ds2 refuse to have his short naps anywhere else except in my arms!). so, it's mainly stuff like pasta, sausage & mash, fishcakes or fried rice. as for dh, most of the time he has to sort out his own dinner altho some days i feel sorry for him so i cook him a curry or something

by the way, 3 and a half months! wow! hats off to you

hello all,

had scan, bloods etc today and went well although they seem to have done away with one to one midwife care for my area so no more home visits for me, boo hoo.

anyway, am 14 weeks and 3 days according to the scan and due nov 4th, slightly earlier that I had guessed.

Yingers - Glad to hear all is well, I was thinking of you on Sunday.

hi yingers, glad to hear all is well. take care now.

Hi all

My mum is over on her annual visit - only staying a month this time cos we were back visiting with her and my dad for 2 months in February.

The pros are - there's an extra hand and she cooks!

csa - I think I'd have given up on the confinement cooking in your position!!!

hiya pam, have given up on the red dates drinks! lasted 3 weeks and gradually giving up on confinement food too! too boring!

I have just had a quick look through this thread and thought I would say hi. I am white British and dh is (mainland) Chinese. I studied Madarain at university. We met in China a long time ago(!) when I was teaching there, got married, came to UK and now have three children aged 5, 10 and 13. They have a Chinese surname, English first names and Chinese middle names which sound a bit like their English names but also fit the Chinese family name pattern (ie same first part as their cousins in China) That took some thought! They respond quite happily to their Chinese names from dh.
They dont speak much Chinese although they understand basic stuff: 'hurry up and brush your teeth', 'do you want more rice?' etc.
We very rarely get to visit as the family live in the far SW of China. But we have invited mil and sil to come over for a holiday this summer so hope that comes off, although it will be culture shock all round.
Anyway, nimen hao and I will try to keep an eye on this thread.

soya - welcome to the thread! Only speak cantonese myself, and am always impressed with anyone who can learn a language, i am pretty rubbish at that.

But Yingers you speak English too! Thanks, and I should have spelled it 'Mandarin'- bad start.

how is everyone? i think my morning sickness is beginning to wane so hopefully can start living again! Although hope my mum will still be willing to come help me once a week - am so cheeky!