A foreigner in Taiwan....with a newborn!

A few thoughts about having a baby in taiwan (in bullet point form as this fogged brain can not think in paragraphs).  Oh and these are just thoughts, not judgements or criticisms lest I be judged.  I have found my baby-birthing experience very pleasant and have found the community of locals SO kind and receiving of us as foreigners (despite our inability to speak Chinese well):

~ Admission to the hospital the night before a scheduled c-section is actually a good idea to me, except when your roommate has already had her baby and her soothing techniques are far from soothing.
~ The VIP room that you pay over $100 USD to stay in is WELL WORTH the cost, especially when your roommate's soothing techniques include making loud barking noises with a "huh" sound.
~ Taiwan National Health Care is wonderful because you don't pay a penny all year...but then you must bring your own baby thermometer and other such items or else you will be charged.  I'm not accustomed to national health care.
~An operating room seems to flow like those in the US (I am biased, thinking US standards are best). Really, they did an EXCELLENT job!
~Warming lights are the hospital's best friend...and mine!
~ After 30 minutes of skin to skin with your baby right after she is born, the four hours they say they will take your baby for observation seems like an eternity even though in reality it was only 3-which is still a REALLY LONG TIME!  I truly believe it was for this reason that I struggled with some attachment to my baby this time around that I didn't experience with my other two, spending the nights with her on my chest (and she slept 5 hours in a row as a result!).
~ Not knowing enough Chinese can be EXTREMELY frustrating, especially at 5am when they wake you to find out what has happened through the night!  I can't even speak English in that situation let alone Chinese!
~ The hands off approach of the nurses is quite nice, and yet they did a meticulous job of taking care of baby.  They have their priorities straight! :)
~Taking a baby out in public before they are one month old is almost not worth it because of all of the attention you will receive...not just for being a foreigner (we're used to that) but because Taiwanese have what's called "zuo yue zi" where the mother and baby stay indoors for one month.  For this reason, they are not used to seeing a baby younger than one month and not used to seeing a mother who has just had a baby for that matter, causing them to make comments about how BIG my belly is and ask questions like, "When is THAT baby due" (pointing to my stomach).  UGH!
~ And also due to the "Zuo Yue Zi" post-partum mothers are not allowed to have ice or cold drinks...thank goodness they excuse me because I am a "wai guo ren" (foreigner).
~ Although it is still hitting mid-80's, I must adorn Clara is long-sleeves, pants AND a blanket in order to avoid comments about how cold my baby is.  Just the other day I had forgotten to do so and was forced to cover Clara in her burp cloth just so that a Taiwanese women would stop pestering me.  They really do care about my baby!
~ Clara has had her picture taken by so many locals (and us) I can not keep track anymore and she's only 4 weeks old!

Speaking of pictures...  Here is Clara at 2 weeks (my mom and I did a photo shoot with her):

 Yes, those are cloth diapers....did I mention we are using Bum Genius cloth diapers with Clara?  It was a gift from grandma Lola! :)  Oh and we LOVE them!!  Easy to use and should last her entire diapering life! :)

And Clara at 3 weeks (she was a zebra for halloween):