Early in the pregnancy we felt no need to rush out and buy practical things for the baby. Instead, we bought things that were fun for us. We found a store that sold toys made for export to Germany. They fell off a truck and ended up staying in China. We bought a whole menagerie. Our little baby will be a year old before she is as big as this giraffe, but we are having a good time playing with it for her.

Now we are getting close to D-day. She is due on July 10, but we are hoping she comes 3 days early. A birthday on 07/07/07 would be pretty darn cool, but it is only one month away. We have so much to do before she arrives. We still don’t have a crib or a stroller, and we don’t have nearly enough diapers.

We are in a somewhat better position when it comes to clothes. Some friends threw me a baby shower (thanks, ladies!), which is a thoroughly American tradition, but one worth keeping. If our baby were born tomorrow she would have no place to sleep but she would have plenty to wear.

Luckily, we are in a good position to shop for baby stuff. All of the stores have expanded their baby departments to accommodate the Golden Pigs.

The Pig is one of the more desirable signs in the Chinese zodiac, since pigs are such fat, happy creatures. And gold is the most precious of the five elements (the others being fire, wood, water and earth), so the Golden Pig year, which comes around only one year in sixty, is a very popular time to have a baby. Chinese demographers say that this could be bad news for people born this year, since they will face more competition for schools and for the job market.

The baby boom is good news for us, since all of the stores are chock full of baby stuff. The choices are overwhelming, which is probably why we are behind in our shopping. There are so many cribs and strollers and clothes to choose from. Where do we even begin?

We are as clueless as we ever were, but we have to take the plunge anyway. This weekend we will go out and spend thousands of Renminbi on baby furniture and baby vehicles.

Luckily, we already have the thing that she will use the most - her name.

Artemis.

Artemis is on her way. I just hope we’ll be ready in time.

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davesgonechina says we need a theme song for the delivery room and has provided a video. Thanks, Dave.