Renovating and pregnancy

My wife and I are expecting a baby in October. In preparation for that, I wanted to start renovating. Now my wife informed me rather sternly, that such activities would disturb the god protecting the unborn child, probably endangering the latter.
Does anyone have similar experiences and/or an Idea how I can continue my work without invocing divine fury upon myself, or worse, my wife’s fury?

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Kinda sounds like when I told my wife she couldn’t dry my clothes on the balcony because in my culture ghosts will wear them.

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My cousin tied a red string around her belly to protect the baby from death vibes when she had to attend a funeral during her pregnancy.

Surely there’s a similar workaround that pleases both the gods and your wife?

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It’s funny how superstitions always seem to emerge when home buying or renovating come up. When we were buying our home in Tainan, we found an amazing spot-- but wife’s parents didn’t like the fact it was in a cul de sac and for some reason that was bad luck. Whenever there was a disagreement suddenly some feng shui rule would surface.

Good luck!

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Did you make that up so you could get a clothes dryer? :laughing:

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Well if the renovation causes your wife stress regardless of the superstition, then it’s not good for the baby. So might as well forget about it and do some minor interior design changes.

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Tell your wife that in this year’s virtual religion draft, your baby was picked by God with the following saints as protectors.

St. Margaret of Antioch

St. Margaret (also called Marina) of Antioch is the Patron Saint of Pregnant Women and Childbirth. She was beheaded in 306 in Antioch by the Emperor Diocletian for refusing to marry to local prefect. Legend says that while she was in prison, she was swallowed by a dragon, who then spat her up again because of the cross she carried. Little is actually known about her. Her feast day is July 20.

St. Brigit of Kildare (Ireland)

St. Brigit (or Brigid) of Kildare is the Patron Saint of Babies and Midwives. She lived from 451 to 525 in Ireland and knew St. Patrick. She was a nun who founded a convent and two monastic institutions. Her feast day is February 1.

St. Gerard Majella

St. Gerard Majella is the Patron Saint of Expectant Mothers and Unborn Children. He lived from 1726-1755 in Italy. He served with the Redemptorists as a sacristan, tailor, gardener and porter and also counseled the local communities of religious women. He was known to experience levitation and bilocation. Because of a miracle that happened when one woman in labour asked him to pray for her, many other women asked him to pray for them while they were in labour. His feast day is October 16.

St. Ursus of Aosta

Saint Ursus of Aosta is the Patron Saint of Childbirth. He lived in Italy in the 6th century. He was a bishop in Aosta and opposed Arianism. Like St. Briget, his feast day is February 1.

St. Raymond Nonnatus

Saint Raymond Nonnatus (also known as Raimundo Nonato) is the Patron Saint of Childbirth, Expectant Mothers, Pregnant Women, Midwives, and Babies. He lived from 1204-1240 in Spain and was a farmer who entered the religious life. He is invoked by women in labour because he was born by C-section after his mother’s death (hence his name, “Nonnatus,” which means “not born.”) His feast day is August 31.

St. Erasmus

St. Erasmus (also known as St. Elmo) is the Patron Saint of Women in Labour. He was a bishop in Italy. Like St. Margaret, he died in 303 under the persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian. Part of his tortures involved having his intestines pulled out or having hooks embedded in his abdomen, so he is the patron saint of abdominal pains, including childbirth. His feast day is June 2.

St. Gianna Beretta Molla

St. Gianna Beretta Molla was a pediatrician, wife, and mom of four children. When she was pregnant with her fourth baby, she also developed a fibroid tumour on her uterus. She refused an abortion or hysterectomy, and instead told doctors that if they had to choose between her life and her child’s, to save the baby. Surgery to remove her tumour was successful and Gianna carried her baby to term, then died from an infection after birth. She is the patron saint of mothers, physicians and unborn children. Her feast day is April 28.

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^Thank you for this very informative answer! Sadly, neither my wife, nor me are christian :sweat_smile:

Good time to convert then. Seems to be better than gods that punishes your baby for…renovating.

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Since the god in question does not belong to a religion per se, but is (imho) a superstition, converting will not have the desired effect.

I just wanted to move some furniture to make space for the baby-bed and a small table for changing diapers, paint some small parts of the wall to cover smudges and scratches, hang two pictures and quake-proofing said furniture in their new place (totally seven holes to drill). But: any activity like that is banned due to the presence of said god in our flat.
All I get is “buxing” and “meiguanxi la, just do it after the baby is born”, since we all know, that is the perfect time to paint, drill and move shit around.
Sorry for my French, but I’m quite annoyed by this.

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Wow, even that? I thought by “renovating” you meant tearing down walls and such.

How about you treat your wife to a luxury spa day and let her know when she comes back home in the evening, all of the changes will be done? Would she be ok with that?

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No way man. Wife could be good with it, but the apartment god won’t be, so no go.

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The difference between the sexes.

Wife: first trimester, nauseous, smells unpredictably making her run to the bathroom. Sleep already starting to get patchy.

Husband: Let’s make some noise, kick up a pile of dust and paint some walls!

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Exactly

Apartment dog maybe. But I would think that the “god” protecting the baby would be vicariously enjoying the luxury spa with the wife. :grin:

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She’s in her 2nd trimester now and feeling very good. That aside I would have no problem if she wanted to spend the day at a spa with her friends while I’m drilling seven holes and paint app. 1m² wall.

The only thing I would be concerned about is the paint. Paint smells and generally needs several day of good ventilation to air out. The fumes from the paint may not be good for a human to breathe, let alone a pregnant woman.

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Is your wife going to a 月子中心? That would give you a whole month with neither mom nor baby in the house immediately following birth. Plenty of time for you to fix up your home.

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I think it’s a pretty common Taiwanese superstition that they can take pretty seriously. I don’t know if most people believe in the “disturbing the god” part, but it’s just generally considered something you wouldn’t do. (Even if you weren’t superstitious you probably wouldn’t ask your pregnant wife to walk under a ladder in a western culture.)

I had an experience where a Taiwanese contractor that came to fix floor tiles explained that even if the clients don’t care he wouldn’t do any work if someone in the home was pregnant.

In my opinion moving furniture around should be fine, but the other stuff might come a little too close to “disturbing the home”. Depends on how rational your wife is willing to be, but it’s not like superstitions are rational to begin with. And don’t forget if you have Taiwanese in-laws, they probably care even more.

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