But some things about mommies-to-be are cultural, as I’m rapidly learning. And sometimes those differences can make me feel even more strangely out-of-place than normal. (And being a reddish-haired, freckled, pale-skinned American in Beijing puts me squarely in the “a little out-of-place” category even when I’m not pregnant!)

One of the things that continues to startle me is the way that pregnant women here take it easy. I’m so used to the American culture of working and remaining active pretty much right up until birth. But in China, moms-to-be often take off work for much of the first and third trimesters.  Some go work during their second trimester, but many just stop working during the entire pregnancy. Doctors regularly tell their patients to stay at home for the first 12 weeks. My Chinese friends were shocked that I was climbing the Great Wall with my parents at around week 11. (It was their first visit! You can’t miss the Great Wall on your first visit!) Admittedly, I did plead fatigue on some of the harder portions, but the mere fact I was out there seemed to be shocking to many.

As I get much more visibly pregnant, I’m sometimes greeted with awe and confusion. I’ve been asked why I’m out and not resting at home. Amusingly enough, my standard answer “I’m American. We like to stay active” seems to satisfy almost any curiosity.

Some of my closer Chinese friends have confided in me that they admire my activity levels during pregnancy. One told me recently “I really want to be like you when I have a baby. I want to go to restaurants and walk around town and do stuff with my friends!”

I’m also a curiosity in other ways. The expatriate population in Beiijing is fairly small. I frequently encounter people who have never seen a pregnant foreigner before. (For that matter, I still occasionally encounter people who have never before seen a foreigner, period.) Everyone is extremely friendly, but they do have a lot of questions. Do I plan on working after I have the baby is one. Will I have an ayi is another. (An ayi is like a nanny/ housekeeper/ Chinese granny- it literally means “an auntie” and many people hire an ayi if they don’t have close family nearby. In Chinese culture, the grandparents often come live with the family of a new baby for a while and help the new parents.)

I’m still working out the answers to some of those questions, but there is one Chinese tradition I will definitely NOT be taking part in. A close Chinese friend told me that Chinese mothers traditionally do not bathe or shower or do any work for the first month after the baby is born. They are expected to stay in bed and recover from the birth. No thanks, I say! I’m heading to the showers as soon as I possibly can after I give birth!

If anyone asks me about it, I’ll just tell them I’m American and that’s how we do things in the West.