Fancy staying in bed and doing no housework for a month after giving birth? Move to China! The Chinese tradition states that a new mum must rest at home for a month after the birth, with an attendant, usually her mother-in-law, to do all the housework and take care of her and her new born baby. The new mum must not take shower, wash hair or brush teeth during the one-month-rest. The reason was said to avoid the risk of catching a cold, therefore have better recovery from delivery. The first one month after delivery is called "sit the month".
(Mum says: the Chinese tradition still dominates in rural area, but in modern cities its impact is starting to wear off. I may try to avoid catching a cold by wearing warm clothes in chilly weather, but definitely not obey the rule of not washing myself. In my opinion this tradition originated from the bad living conditions of ancient China, but with today's modern shower and central heating, I don't think new mums should pay attention to such nonsense. No housework, staying in bed for the whole month, it's not me!)
The Chinese Zodiac plays a big part in the new baby's life. The year, month, day and hour of his birth represent which Zodiac character he's born under - which is thought to determine his future success.
(Mum says: For instance, the people think the pig year is luckier than the rat year. Well, understandable, probably because pigs don't need to worry about food, but rats do. Pigs are also thought to be lucky in Germany, aren't they? Before 06.02.08 (the Chinese New Year's Eve) it's still the pig year, so JJ will be a baby of pig. How lucky, Huh...)
It's considered unlucky to name a Chinese baby before he or she is born. Baby boys are often given plain names so that spirits overlook them, while girls are given more beautiful names.
(Mum says: Alex, fortunately you are not in China, otherwise you would miss much fun of choosing baby names for Tara before she was born. )
On the baby's one year birthday, Parents place a variety of objects in a basket -- a pen, silver, official seal, needlework and some toys -- and offer the basket to the child. The object the baby grabs signifies the child's future.
(Mum says: I often watched scenes on TV that Chinese historic figures grabbed a pen (if he became a famous writer later) or an official seal (if he became a politician). How could a one-year-old recognise the meaning of different objects. I believe most of the babies would pick up a colourful toy!! I am sure JJ will also. Will you, JJ? Hang on a sec, how about a baby who doesn't want to pick up anything and just starts to cry, what does this mean?)
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A good idea might be not to feed the child until it is given the basket, and then to put some sweet foods in it too. That way it will surely pick something (and stick it in his mouth), and it can always become a Chinese restaurant cook - anywhere in the world! That's a very flexible career path ;-)
here I love to share about tubal reversalis a process for those women who would like to restore their fertility in order to have more babies. This surgery, also known as tubal ligation reversal, microsurgical tubal reanastomosis, and sterilization reversal, is done by opening the previously blocked fallopian tube so that the egg can be fertilized by the sperm. It is a very safe procedure.
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