Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Shanghai day trip

On Friday, my friend Mrs.Georgia and I took our boys to Shanghai to see a pediatrician who was recommended to us. We boarded the train midmorning, each carrying half ton backpacks filled with bribes to keep the boys manageable for what was cut out to be a verrrry long, napless day.

Taking the G train

The train to Shanghai main from Wuxi takes only 45 minutes or so....this is a vast improvement over a two hour drive. From the train, we hopped on the Metro and headed towards People's square and the xintandi area. I'm so thankful that I had Mrs Georgia with me, as she navigated those crowds and lines like a professional. We swerved and curved in and out of the masses with our boys and even carried them up umpteen flights of stairs when escalators weren't available.

We got to our appointments right on time. She and her son went first, while I filled out paperwork and gave our insurance information. Once we were done, we were whisked away to triage, where accurate measurements were taken (don't even get me started on where I had been taking him..he would shrink in height and noggin circumference each month) and the nurses treated him like he was the cutest thing on earth. The pediatrician was a super nice, younger guy, with a great bedside manner and sense of humor. He had a list of questions for me to answer, and told me what milestones to be expecting soon. This is much more than I have received as far as advice in the last 8 months. This was exactly what I was looking for in a pediatrician. He also explained to me the immunizations, and pointed out that ours are a little screwy due to some being done in the US and some here in China. He's going to get us back on track, but it will require one extra visit. No big deal.

Both my friend and I left our appointments feeling so much relief having finally found a pediatrician that we're comfortable with. Yes, it's in Shanghai, and will require some travel to see him, but a good doctor is worth the train ride. I can't even explain how relieved I am to finally have a doctor I trust over here.

After successful appointments for the boys, we treated ourselves to lunch at a place called Fresh Elements. And as with the theme of the day, we had to carry our strollers up not one, not two, but three flights of stairs to the top floor to eat.

It was worth it.

I had the best sandwich I have eaten since moving here. A big juicy open faced Italian sub on fresh ciabatta bread. Oh em gee, I died and went to heaven eating that thing. Just delicious.

We headed out from lunch to do a little window shopping at all the high falutin' shops like Cartier, Dolce & Gabbana and such. We ended up seeing a sign that said "import groceries", and having limited access to western goods over here in Wuxi, the grocery store called our name more so than drooling over diamonds.

I've never been so excited to be in a grocery store. I found some hard to find items to stock our pantry- green died chiles, jalapeƱo kettle chips (a treat for NZ), jelly beans and some dried fruit chips for Sal.
Lights out. Two tired boys.

The boys hung tough, finally falling asleep just before we boarded the metro back to shanghai station. They both caught a few zzzz's until we boarded the train, and at that point they had enough energy to fuel an army. Never mind the treats we took as bribes, they wanted to play with the barf bags on the floor of the train....so easily entertained.

All in all, it was a great trip to Shanghai with two of our favorite friends. Healthy check ups for the kids, and a super delicious and fun lunch/shopping day for the moms.

Looking forward to Sal's next pediatrician appointment in April cause I'm going to drag my sister along for a day in Shanghai!

Two more months til she arrives!

4 comments:

  1. That's so exciting! Congrats to finally find a doctor you trust. I know it's a pain, but at least you get a delish Italian sandwich out of the long journey! Sounds like a pretty amazing reward. I remember all too well finding a gem of something I missed while we lived in Germany. Sure, the food is closer to American food, but you'd be surprised! Things like cheddar cheese are really coveted in Europe when you're an American!

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  2. It was such a great day!!!! Aiden and I enjoy our time with you:)!!!! Thanks for tagging along on our crazy journey!

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