Weekending it

We had a really busy weekend that ended rather eventfully.

On Saturday we hung around the apartment and worked on random chores and then we headed to the new crepe place we're suddenly obsessed with for lunch. We actually went to the store for real food and I did some meal planning so for once we'll be eating more than eggs or quesadillas for dinner.

Saturday afternoon we hopped on the subway and made the hour and a half journey all the way to Flushing Queens for a 100 Day celebration. I regretfully did not take any photographs.

A 100 Day celebration is a tradition in Chinese culture for a baby when they turn 100 days old - it's sort of like a baby shower. The event was at a Chinese banquet hall where they serve a traditional 10-course meal. This is a big cultural experience for white people. The food is not "American Chinese" and includes a lot of seafood and animals with their heads on the plate. We sort of knew what to expect since we've been to a traditional Asian wedding which was very similar. I couldn't eat much of what was offered (jelly fish, squid, and whole fish) because I was too scared with the baby but Dan really enjoyed it. I liked the fried rice and sponge cake. It was a fun evening getting to chat with people at our new church and experiencing something so different than what we are used to. Plus, we got a ride home! Score one for having friends with cars.

On Sunday we decided to go to church via ferry instead of subway. A new ferry line just opened at our local pier and it drops off right near where we go to church. We didn't time things very well so we ended up having to run to get to the pier with enough time to buy tickets. We barely made it and let me tell you, running with a bump and several more pounds than I was the last time I ran was not a fun experience. But we got on the boat and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

I'm so excited for the ferry this summer. It's not really convenient for me to take it to work because it nearly doubles my commute time (after you factor in the extra walking) but it will make for a great treat if we ride it to church. Also, the ferry goes to Governor's Island which is one of my most favorite places to go in the summer. Can't wait for Mandy to move to the area and take her on the ferry.

Sunday after church Dan and I had to stall around before heading into the city. We had a meeting scheduled with an agent at New York Life to discuss wills. We met her at the NY Baby Expo and she told me she could give us information about writing wills. We got to Grand Central at 3:30 and our appointment was at 4 but we went to the office to see if she could meet earlier. The door was locked, no one was there, and there was no A/C so we went back down to the building lobby. Security kicked us out of where we were sitting so we roamed around a crazy crowded Grand Central terminal until 4 pm. Then I get a text from this lady that she is running 1/2 late. Grrrrr. By this point I was tired and pissed and ready to leave but we aren't like that so we waited. She finally showed-up and let us into the office which, unbeknownst to her apparently, was under construction and we couldn't get to her office. So she took us to some random non-air conditioned conference room where she proceeded to try and sell us life insurance. She knew nothing about wills. We listened to her unorganized and scattered spheel and agreed to nothing. We were both annoyed because she couldn't seem to wrap her head around the idea that we do not want to purchase a home in New York. And she kept calling Dan a lawyer. I was like, um, we told you his salary...does that look like a lawyer's salary????? Unfortunately we have another meeting with her next Saturday but I'm a hot second from canceling. I want to know about wills before I invest in a million dollar life insurance policy.

Anyways, due to weekend trains, we didn't get home until 7 pm. We had been out and about for far too long and I drank far too little water and eaten hardly anything. After making dinner I decided I needed to sit down and focus on the baby because I hadn't really felt him moving much during the busy day. So I drank two bottles of cold water and laid down on my side. Food + cold water + laying on your side is supposed to get the baby to move. Well, he wasn't moving. So we tried playing music loudly, lightly bouncing the belly, and Dan talked to and rubbed the belly and we did literally everything the internet said to get the baby moving. After an hour of no movement I freaked out. Hysterically cried for a bit and then called the on-call doctor who advised us to go to the hospital to make sure everything was okay. By this point it was 9:30 pm.

We scrambled to get an Uber who drove us to our delivery hospital in lower Manhattan. A nurse in the ER escorted us up to the 6th floor maternity ward immediately and they put me in a bed. It was so fast and kind of chaotic. They separated me and Dan while the nurse put the fetal monitor on. After a few minutes on the monitor and the nurse asking a bunch of questions about my medical history and and stuff about domestic abuse (I think that's standard) they let Dan back into the room. I had to lay still and push a button every time I felt the baby move. After a few minutes I could tell from the heart monitor when the baby moved even though I couldn't feel him. But he had a heart beat and that's all I cared about at that point. Such a relief.

The nurse wasn't very nice and gave me no information about the baby except repeatedly telling me to push the button when the baby moved and I was like "I told you, I can't feel it." Then the physician's assistant came into the room and she was SO nice and reassuring and sweet. She did an ultrasound and we finally got to see the baby after 10 weeks. He is so big now! And she showed me the placenta, measured the fluid, and we watched him move around a bit...still couldn't feet it but we saw it. She said because of my placenta placement I might not feel him very strong and to drink more and try not to do so much so I can focus on feeling the baby more during the day. But she said we absolutely did the right thing by coming into the hospital just to check. She said everything looked great and the baby was perfect so she sent us home. The whole ordeal lasted one hour. We were home by 11:30 pm.

We certainly did not enjoy the experience but we had a bit of a dry run with going to the hospital and seeing how that whole process works. We have a formal tour at the end of the month but this was a bit more "participatory."

Today we are zombies but extremely grateful ones. We already love this little guy so much that we can't imagine life without him (and he isn't even here yet!!).