Today we took Makenna to our hairdresser for her first haircut!  She really doesn’t have much hair to cut, but we are hoping it might help her hair start growing faster.  She had a few spots that were longer than others, so the hairdresser (Ludivine) just cut a little to even it up.  Makenna was scared at first (and it wasn’t a salon catered to kids so I’m sure it was intimidating) and she didn’t want to sit in the chair, so Ryan put her on his shoulders and she was happy.  The hairdresser gave her a brush to play with, which was a great distraction, and she was finally able to cut Makenna’s hair.  Afterwards, Ludivine offered her a bon bon (what the French call candy) and suddenly the “coiffure” was the place to be!

Makenna still talks about getting her hair cut and every time we walk by the salon she says “coiffure”!  I think the next time around will be easier….if she ever grows enough hair to need another hair cut!

I have been lucky to find a great OB/GYN here that speaks English and several of the other expat ladies have had him deliver their babies.  His office is located at the private hospital where I will deliver, which is about a 10 minute drive from where we live which is great.

One of my favorite things about the prenatal care in France is that I get an ultrasound at every appointment.  Not every doctor does this, but a lot of them do.  Not only do I get an ultrasound, but the doctor also does a 3D ultrasound.  In the US women only get 2 ultrasounds and you have to pay extra if you want 3D.  The doctor is very thorough and he is never in a rush to move on to the next patient.

Because the doctor does an ultrasound at each appointment, he was able to tell me the sex of the baby at 13 weeks!  There is still room for error at that stage of pregnancy, so I waited until my next appointment at 17 weeks to be sure he was right.

The thing I dislike about prenatal care here is the lab work (blood, urine samples) is not done at my OB appointment.  In the US, when you have an OB appointment they do the lab work in the office at the same time.  Here, I have to go to a lab once a month with a prescription for whatever lab work the doctor requires for that month and give a blood and urine sample.  Then I have to go back a few days later to pay (I’m not sure why they can’t bill me right away, but I can’t pay online like some people can because we do not have the national health insurance).  When I pay for any type of healthcare, I get a form that we submit for reimbursement which is great because we pay very little of the total cost!

Another difference is the way they calculate due dates.  I’m not really sure how it’s done but my US due date is September 6th while my French due date is September 20th.

Lastly, midwife services are more available and affordable.  During pregnancy, women can use midwife services such as prenatal yoga and exercising in the pool and get reimbursed for it.  There is a midwife present during labor, and a midwife will come and check on your after the baby is born (at your own home!).  The doctor also prescribes another midwife service (that I will not go into detail about here) for every woman that gives birth.

My American friends that have given birth here have told me it’s a better labor and delivery experience than they had in the US.  I will have to blog about that later this year!  They also said that you are able to stay at the hospital longer here if you want to/need to- 5 days versus the 2 or 3 days that are standard in the US.

Although I really enjoyed my prenatal and hospital experience in the US, I’m looking forward to going through this experience in France!

We have some very exciting news to share!  We are expecting another sweet baby Pawlowski in September…and it’s a boy!! We cannot wait to add another little one to our family, and this is the perfect time since I am not working and can be home with the baby for about the first year (depending on when we are sent home).

I don’t the Makenna quite understands what’s going on, but I think she’ll be a great big sister.  She loves to help with anything, and she loves taking care of her baby doll and lovey.  I got her a shirt that says “big sister” and a book about being a big sister, and she always requests to wear her shirt and read the book.

Now we just need to decide on a name for this little boy!