I moved from the US to Paris and had a baby. A lot of things have surprised me about living here with my kid.

• I'm an American who moved to Paris and had a baby — now, I've lived here for 5 years.
• I'm surprised the French put perfume on babies and don't use baby wipes.

In 2018, I packed up my New York City studio apartment and moved to Paris to be with the French guy I met on vacation two years earlier.

After five years of living in France and having my first child here, many things have surprised me.

Giving birth wasn't very expensive in France — and I stayed in the hospital for a long time

Giving birth in the French public hospital system is much cheaper than giving birth in the US.

I gave birth in the private system and after an extended 10-day stay I left with a bill of 1,500 euros. I cannot begin to imagine what this number would have looked like if I had given birth in New York City.

I'm always shocked when I hear how my friends in the US are paying thousands of dollars on top of what their health insurance covers.

In France, I also found it's normal to spend a few days in the hospital after giving birth. My maternity ward required first-time moms to stay for five days minimum or seven if they had a C-section.

As a first-time mom, I loved the extra care and attention I received during my stay. I learned how to take care of my baby and breastfeed, plus I was able to get some sleep at night while the nurses looked after my daughter.

When we left, I felt rested and confident about bath time and breastfeeding. Meanwhile, in the US, some people go home within 24 hours of giving birth.

French people eat 4 meals a day

The French typically eat four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, goûter, and dinner.

Breakfast is usually on the lighter side — yogurt and bread with jam or maybe a croissant paired with an espresso. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day and sometimes contains more than one course. Dinner is typically lighter, maybe a quiche and salad or soup and salad.

A favorite meal of the day is goûter, an afternoon snack children typically eat around 4:30 p.m. when they leave school. Many continue this tradition into their adult lives, too.

A common goûter is a piece of bread with a chocolate bar inside. Other options include a croissant or pain au chocolat, a fruit compote, or even a slice of brioche. Either way, the snack almost always involves sugar.

A lot of French kids eat better than I do

French kids are exposed to a wide variety of foods when they start eating at day care and school.

One of my first viral videos on TikTok was about the menu at my daughter's public day care in Paris. The diverse menu included organic fruit, vegetables, and grains, along with meat and fish several times a week.

When kids start school in France, their lunch menus follow the same daily format: appetizer, main course, side, cheese course, and fruit/dessert. These kids are eating better than me!

Lunches in US public schools aren't exactly known for being healthy or varied. Common school lunches in the US include pizza, burgers, or chicken nuggets served with things like frozen veggies, chocolate milk, and fruit in syrup.

Baby wipes aren't really a thing here, and French babies wear perfume

One of the most popular newborn gifts in France is baby perfume — many popular brands even have a signature scent. It's generally non-toxic and water-based but the idea of putting perfume on my baby shocked me.

I was also surprised to learn baby wipes, which are super popular in the US, aren't really a thing here. I'll never forget when a French nurse scolded me for using one on my newborn daughter. She informed me that French parents don't use baby wipes because they're too harsh.

Instead, many people use liniment, a product made with olive oil and limestone water that's applied with a cotton pad. It gently cleanses the diaper area while leaving a protective layer on the skin to help prevent diaper rash.

Kids here also start school fairly young

In France, mandatory school starts for all children the year they turn 3. This means children like my daughter who are born late in the year start school at just over 2 ½ years old.

When kids in France start school, they're expected to be potty-trained, able to eat in a cafeteria with others, and put on their jackets and shoes on their own.

I often think one of the reasons people see French kids being so well-behaved comes from the fact that they are used to being quite independent from a young age. For comparison, children in the US are not required to be in school until they are 5 years old.

In France, time off is important for everyone, including kids

The minimum amount of paid time off of work in France is five weeks per year. Meanwhile, paid vacation isn't a legal requirement in the US.

I've also found it's common for some French families to take all of August off work and go on vacation. Many local stores, restaurants, and businesses close for August, too.

Kids also get lots of breaks throughout the year. The school holiday schedule consists of six weeks of classes followed by two weeks of time off. In the US, breaks tend to be much shorter and more spaced out.

Here, my kid has four two-week breaks through the school year followed by all of July and August off.