Here in Beijing, there are basically public hospitals and private centers, which cater a lot to the expatriate foreign population and upper-middle class Chinese. I’m going with a private birth center, which only handles prenatal and birth, as opposed to a general hospital, which also has many other patients.

One of the considerations I had to think about was finding a place that would be fairly hand-off with regard to my birth experience. I’m planning on having a natural birth using relaxation and breathing techniques and wanted to avoid the common thing in hospitals where the doctors try to encourage meds to “ease pain” or “get things going faster.”

The center where I’m going to be birthing, Amcare in Beijing, seems to be pretty good about that. A friend of mine had her daughter there last year and was pleased with the experience. She told me that the staff was really good about letting her do things her way- not pushing meds and such- and mainly staying out of the way unless needed.

Other people look for other things- I know some women who want all of the latest drugs to take away pain, want to be induced or schedule a voluntary C-section and have their baby at a specific time and date, or have a water birth. I think choosing where to give birth is an important part of the whole process, since being somewhere that is uncomfortable or that has a birthing philosophy quite different from what you want or expect can be stressful to the mother, which in turn can cause the baby to become distressed, leading to potential complications.

To other moms-to-be, I would recommend thinking about what kind of birth experience you want early in the pregnancy, so you can decide where you might want to choose to have your baby. Talk to some of the doctors and/or midwives at the place you’re thinking about to help decide if it is a good fit for you.

Most importantly, I think being an advocate for your own care and the care of your baby is something every pregnant woman should be thinking about. If you want something particular, speak up and let the staff know. It’s far better to figure all these things out beforehand, but remember, things might not always go according to plan. So considering how you want to handle possible emergencies or complications is another thing to discuss with your potential birth center or hospital.

It all started before we learned the gender of our child-to-be. I wanted to buy something for the baby, but I wanted to wait on buying whole outfits wait until we knew whether to buy the pink or blue onesies with matching socks, mittens and cap. Instead, I wandered the baby stores, looking at gender-neutral blankets, toys and clothes, trying to decide on something small for the baby, but something that would be useful once he or she was born.

Then I stumbled on the socks. The first pair was a neutral grey, perfect for either gender, and inexpensive, something to consider while we’re making our seemingly never-ending list of purchases the baby will eventually need.  A few days later, I found a pair of even tinier green and white socks, designed for a newborn. Holding the little socks in one hand, I could barely imagine the tiny feet that would be small enough to fit them. It was cuteness overload, and I was hooked.

Now, even though I know we’re having a boy and can buy him all of the other clothes he’ll need, I keep coming back to socks. They’re just so darned cute! Some have patterns, some are solid colors, some have little animals, and some just bring on the sheer adorable thought of how tiny his little feet will be. I can barely wait to touch each of his miniature toes and slip on his baby socks.

Meanwhile, the sock collection piles up on the dresser, waiting for those feet -and the rest of the baby -that will still be a few more months until arrival.

I figure it isn’t a problem, though, since my baby is due on January third, in the midst of a cold northern winter. As I told my partner, at least he will be assured of having warm feet.