Well, we did it! We mastered
Manhattan. We had a very busy but much
accomplished weekend. Starting the trip my stress level was
definitely in the
red zone. Throughout the weekend it got better and now being home and looking back I think we did pretty darn good with all things considered. There is quite a bit to write so for the readers that want to skip parts I'll try to
categorize as best I can so you can pick and choose what you'd like to read. So here goes...
Ramsey's first flight:
He did really well. I am so proud of him. He was fussy both times we got on and sat down but after a bit of light motion he dozed off. He slept about 1-1.5 hours of the 2 hour flight. I can't tell you how stressed out I was that I would be that person that EVERYONE dreaded walking on the plane seeing an infant in my arms. I wasn't sure what the pressure would do to his little ears and if he would cry the whole time or not. Well, thankfully none of my stress came to fruition. He really did great! I wanted everyone to get up and clap for my little boy who had just had his first flight flawlessly. I guess they were too busy to notice but I cheered him anyway. I honestly can't tell you how proud I am of him for this small miracle on the to and from flights. We also used these things called "ear planes" that just fit in his ears to help with the ear popping. They seemed to work because he did not fuss once.
Logistics of a baby in the city:
I wasn't quite sure how every aspect of bringing Ramsey into
the city would be. You have to use a car seat (you bring your own, including the base) in the cabs, and an
umbrella stroller for space purposes. My step-Dad Morgan and I have mastered quickly installing the car seat in less than a minute.
Seriously, we did it at least a dozen times. The umbrella stroller was great and I am super glad I decided to bring that one
instead of
the "SUV" version that is part of the travel system. Though I will say I was totally out of style with my
Chicco stroller. All other kids had fancy
McClaren ones. Who cares. I like ours and it serves the intended purpose.
NY Partys:
On Friday we had a get together at Josh's (my sister's fiance) Step-moms apartment. She lives in some art museum which is weird in itself and the apartment is even weirder. We got to meet Josh's Dad and his sister, brother-in-law, and 15 month old nephew Luke. He was really cute and he seemed to like Ramsey's toys a lot. I used to not really be into kids but now having my own and understanding just how special each one truly is I love to just watch them. I like to see what kids are doing at different stages so I can can get some insight as to what I might expect from Ramsey.
On Saturday night was the engagement party at Josh's mom's apartment. She has a huge apartment by most NY standards at probably about 1000 square feet. She had great views of the city from 3 balconies. I find most NYC apartments fascinating at how small the spaces are for how much they cost. It is truly mind blowing. Anyway, the party was nice with champagne or wine at every turn and butlers with trays. Pretty fancy. Oh, and yes, I had a 6 month old on my hip the whole time. Was it really appropriate to bring a baby to a party like this? Nope, but my sister wanted us there so there we were. I could tell the night would be a bit off when Ramsey spit up on his freshly ironed white oxford right before we left for the party. That was just the beginning. At the party I was being introduced to someone and he proceeded to vomit all over me and himself. At this point the oxford was total disaster. Though one party guest did say Ramsey was great dresser in his sear sucker pants. The party did not start till 7:30pm so by 9:00 (Ramsey's usual bedtime) he was in full meltdown mode. Needless to say after holding a 6 month old on my hip for an hour and a half in a hot, standing room only party I was ready for a meltdown too. I wanted so badly to be there for my sister late into the night but I was content to take care of Ramsey's needs and I feel like we did the best we could do all things considered. So we dipped out of the party a little after 9:00 and off to get Ramsey to bed we went. I will say too that I was offered the option of getting baby sitter for him but I just did not feel comfortable with that idea. It is funny that now usually my thoughts are focused on what is truly best for my little guy.
Overall the weekend was super fast paced and I tried to keep up with it all the best I could. We did accomplish helping my sister find a really great wedding dress!!! She looked great in it and I hope she is able to get it. We stayed at Paige's apartment which is "cozy".
Ramsey had a port a crib
which he slept really well in. We did not really do any tourist stuff as that was not the mission on this trip. I feel like we
definitely do more
actual NY living when we visit now. The city does make for really good people watching and as I
evaluated I wondered what all the
hustle and
bustle is really about? Why are so many people drawn to the city life? All I can really figure is that it makes
sense to them. Some people live a more quite, less congested life and some people absolutely thrive on the big city thing. I
think the one thing that we as human beings all have in common is that we are all just trying to live a life that at
the end of the day simply matters. So Ramsey has his first flight and major trip under his belt. Now we can move on to getting him ready for his greatest adventure of all...meeting his Daddy.
Ramsey playing with his duck from Paige and Josh:
Ramsey pretending he is camera shy:
Ramsey enjoying eating out in his big boy chair:
We found swings!:
He made a new friend: Ramsey (6 months on right) Andrew (5.5 months on left)
Trying out different things on the playground:
