NYC woman gives birth on the street

When we moved to Manhattan we immediately sold our car, and honestly, we haven't missed it at all. Sure, it's expensive to rent one in the city (we paid more than $900 for an SUV at Thanksgiving), but without a car we don't have to pay huge monthly fees to park it in a garage or fight to find street parking.

But as much as we love New York's public transportation system-- there is at least one time in your life you realize you really need a car. When you're having a baby.

I'm 7 months pregnant (today!) and people often ask when the time comes, how am I going to get to the hospital. I usually joke that we'll either hop on the cross town bus and pray for as few stops as possible, or we'll hire a bike cab and pay him extra to pedal his little heart out.

In all honesty, we'll need to catch a cab, but lord knows, when you really need one in this city, they are no where to be found. No one knows this better than Polly McCourt. She's the New York woman who gave birth on the street this week because she couldn't find a cab. Yikes! It was 3:30 in the afternoon at 68th and 3rd on the Upper East Side which is a time and location that you should be able to catch a plethora of cabs. But nope.

No cab = giving birth on the crowded street in front of a bunch of passers-by. Doesn't that sound like fun? I guess the good news is that New Yorkers are used to seeing all sorts of crazy things, so bodily fluids don't scare us.

My Fox NY

What makes this hit even closer to home is that Polly gave birth just a few blocks away from the hospital I'll be delivering in. So that means if she couldn't even make it a few blocks to that hospital, what are my chances of making it from the Upper West Side?

So I guess when we talk about a birth plan, my plan includes not giving birth on the street, in the back of a cab or on the subway. That means I'll need to work this whole "miracle of life" thing around rush hour, holidays, construction, when the cabbies take breaks and concerts in Central Park.

This might be tough.

Outback Steakhouse in Manhattan

When you ask any city dweller (who grew up in a small town or the 'burbs) what kind of food they crave most often, the answer likely won't be Thai, Sushi or Italian. They will probably tell you some generic chain restaurant like Taco Bell, Dairy Queen, Carrabba's, Taco John's, Chick-Fil-A...well, you get it.

In the four years I've lived in either New York or Chicago, I've eaten at some really amazing places. I've had filets that melt in your mouth. Pasta Carbonaras that make you cry with happiness. Sushi that tastes like it has just come off the boat.

But sometimes, a girl just wants a dirty bean burrito.

In most major cities, you won't find a ton of chain restaurants. Perhaps it's the super high rent, or the fact that people have so many other options--either way, take a look around. The food selections look a lot different than they do in Cheyenne, Wyoming or Canton, Ohio. And perhaps it's human nature that when you can't get something, you want it really, really bad.

Yesterday, Mike and I were watching an episode of 30 Rock. I was cleaning house and not paying a ton of attention, but all of a sudden when I looked up, I saw Liz Lemon and Jenna Maroney leaving an Outback Steakhouse.

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Wait, what?? I said to Mike, "Do you think there's an Outback in New York City?"

"I don't think so."

Me: "I bet there is! Google it!"

With trembling hands, racing hearts and a silent prayer to God-- our Google search discovered the most beautiful site ever....an Outback Steakhouse right here in Manhattan.

 

Oh, you'd better believe I called immediately and got us "call ahead" seating for 7:30 pm. We practically skipped to the #1 train we were so darn excited. And yes, I made Mike take a picture of me out front. (I wonder what people thought about these funny "tourists" who were that pumped about eating at Outback.)

Thank God for that 30 Rock episode or we might never have known! See, you really can learn important stuff from TV. Oh, and the filet, blooming onion and cheese fries I had were totally worth the wait.

Sandals Royal Bahamian

Well dang, that was sure fun. Last week, Mike and I got back from our "Babymoon" in the Bahamas. We decided that since our lives are about to change BIG time, we needed a little time away to enjoy our last couple of months being footless and child-free.

A travel agent girlfriend of mine set us up with a 5-day getaway in Nassau, Bahamas at the Sandals Royal Bahamian. It was awesome! Since this will likely be our last vacation for 18 years (right?), we decided to splurge a bit and upgraded rooms to a Honeymoon Suite which included butler service. I tell you what, if you're going to go to an all-inclusive, I would highly recommend the upgrade. Cory, Mark and Thomas spoiled us by taking care of all our dinner reservations, reserving chairs and umbrellas for us at the beach, bringing us food wherever and whenever we wanted (we just called them on the cell phone they gave us), leaving us snacks in our room, turning down our bed each night, setting up spa treatments and leaving us little surprises like a hot bubble bath after dinner. 

We even joked that they must have had a GPS tracker on the cell phone because they knew just when to leave us these special treats (like the hot bath).




Along with the special treatment, one of my favorite experiences was taking the boat to Sandals' private island where Mike and I enjoyed our own cabana at the pool (reserved by the butlers, of course) before having his/her massages in a couples tiki hut. I got a pre-natal massage while Mike got a tropical one.

Hearing the ocean waves hitting the rocks while getting a back rub was one of the most relaxing experiences of my life. I loved every guilt-free second of it.
 

Here's the outside view of the massage tiki hut. Oh, and did I mention we weren't able to get cell phone or Internet service our entire vacation? It rocked. I didn't even bring my laptop so I wasn't tempted to work.

Now, I only have one question for you. If I'm 6 1/2 months pregnant, how far along do you think the guy next to me was?

 

And more importantly, do you think he'll be able to wear that speedo the entire 9 months? :-)