18.12.07

a newborn in south asia

Yes it's been awhile since I've updated this. That's because as of November 30, we've had our hands full with Baby. It's been a lot of fun, and we've had some uniquely South Asian moments after she made her debut.

For starters, 2 days after we returned from the hospital (5 days after giving birth), I came down with what I am convinced was the worst stomach virus known to man. I literally slept in the bathroom!! After 3 days of severe sickness, and 3 completely ineffective Immodiums, my doctor told me to go to the emergency room. So we trekked back to the hospital for 2 more nights. Severe gastroenteritis (or possibly an amoeba?) definitely gave my otherwise uneventful labor and delivery a South Asian twist!

Also, I'm still trying to learn an honest but vague answer regarding Baby's age to those who ask while I'm out with her. It's pretty common for women and their newborns to stay indoors completely for 40 days, and I've already been on the receiving end of a stern lecture once by a shopkeeper.

And finally, this weekend, the eunuchs came to our house. We've been very nervous about this ever since we heard from our friends that they come after a baby is born. The eunuchs have their own little community here and come to your home demanding money during weddings or when you have new babies. They dress like very stylish women. Our friends did a more in-depth blog about it here. Anyway, we had been warned, so we've kept our doors firmly locked since bringing Baby home. But yesterday, for a brief moment, the door was unlocked, and guess who showed up? Not only did he ring the bell, but he walked right on in and asked for money. Husband told him it's not our custom (many South Asians believe they will be cursed if they don't give money), so the eunuch left! There were about 6 others waiting on the street, and they discussed what to do, then I guess decided we weren't worth it, so they all left! It was very anti-climactic, for which I am very, very grateful.

6 comments:

SouthAsiaRocks said...

Maybe when people ask you her age you could joke with them and say 6 hours or something... and then change the subject... maybe that would work... hmmm...

I'm glad your eunuch experiencs was anti-climatic!

You know, we're going to have to think of a lot of things to tell people when they ask us certain questions. Why isn't your baby wearing 13 blankets?? haha!

five_solas said...

Creepy. But that would be creepy if anyone barged into your house and demanded money, wouldn't it? Hmmm....
And as for the age thing... just start telling people that she's like 2 or 3 and that she's just very small. See what they say then!

Love you a lot!
Alison

Emily said...

Haha Alison, my mom and I joked about that too. Since she was 2 weeks, I thought about just saying she was 2 and see if people assumed I meant 2 months. Especially since Asian babies are smaller than most American babies!

Deanna said...

So sorry you were sick! Stomach stuff is the worst - and I can't imagine being sick the first few weeks baby was home. Glad you made it through.

Sarah said...

I read South Asia's blog and the link about Eunichs. Very, very creepy. Glad they left you alone. I don't know what you should tell them about baby's age when you're out. Ashley sent me a comic strip after I had Micah. It's a lady in a restaurant saying to another woman at a nearby table, "Thank you for the unsolicited parenting advice. Now, let me tell you an excellent way to remove those age spots." It stayed on my fridge for months!

Andrew and Liz said...

That is freaky...see over here in the US, we just deal with guys in black and white suits who ride bikes knocking on our doors. :)