Am I correct in thinking that it is impossible for a family to travel together into China?

My husband is about to apply for a Z1 type. We have all the required documents. We were planning on getting our applications (my husband's, my 18-month-old son's, and mine) in the same trip, and buying our plane tickets as soon as we had our entry permits. Obviously, my and my son's entry permits would be an S1, but we can't have a scan of my husband's residency permit until he has been in China long enough to obtain one.

So, it seems there is no choice but to be separated for a while, while we wait for his residency permit. Is this true? I guess I have a hard time believing it because it seems like there should be a way for families to stay together :( international travel alone with a toddler is hard, haha. (We've done this before, but didn't have a chance to even try traveling together. And I was so excited that this time would be different!)