New Years Eve Trip to Hong Kong 2015-2016

Having a baby in China presented a couple of complications.  The baby needed paperwork to leave the country.  Also, we preferred to take the baby to another country to see a pediatrician, get immunizations and also to be circumcised.  We were advised (and fully agreed) that doing these things were not safe in our area.  Our best option was to take Zach to Hong Kong.

The week after Zach was born we spent a day getting him a passport.  I was in bad shape.  It took every ounce of physical and mental energy to complete that task.  My body was really struggling to heal.  It was also a big worry to me to take my newborn out into public.  At the US Embassy there were huge lines of Chinese people.  The US line was just us so it was quick to enter the building.  I was surprised to see so many American families in the embassy.  We were the only family there that was not adopting a Chinese child.  All of the children had a handicap of some kind.  Only one child was under 2.  Even though this was a really tough day for me, I was so impressed with the families that were adopting these children.  It is not a cheap thing to do.  The travel alone is expensive and time consuming.  Most had families waiting at home.  Once the complicated process was complete, they would be giving special care to these children for the rest of their lives.  I couldn't help but think how lucky the kids were.

After this trip, we started the process of getting the baby a visa.  Any other country would be able to do an emergency visa but that was not happening in China.  So we waited.  This was tough because you want to circumcise a baby ASAP for the easiest recovery and easiest procedure.  It was simply not safe to do in China.

On Monday, December 28th we got the call that the Visa was done.  I called the pediatrician that day and she informed me that they don't do circumcision after 4 weeks old.  Our baby was 4 weeks and 4 days old.  What!?  She explained to me some dangers and that I would need to see a specialist now.  Regardless, Marcus and I knew we needed to get him in ASAP so we made quick preparations, booked an AIRBNB and left the next day for Hong Kong.  Tuesday we traveled to Hong Kong and went to the Dr. appointment.  The kids were really troopers as I look back.  The doctors appointment was super long.  Zach had not ever seen a doctor.  Even when they took me to the hospital, the care was for me, not the baby.  The doctors in China did take his blood once (from his heel) but later they came in and told me that they took it to see what his blood type was but they didn't like the result so threw it out. (Yep, crazy).

The pediatrician in Hong Kong was fantastic.  They did blood work, PKU, immunizations, and anything else that an American hospital/dr would do in the first month. It was consolidated into one appointment.  The poor kid was done by the end.  Zach had had a few spells of turning grayish which we hadn't experienced with any other baby and the doctor was concerned, partly because of the gray and partly because she knew if something was wrong, it might take to long to get him to good medical care.  She wanted to have some heart tests done to be safe.  And she also confirmed that he would need to see the specialist for the circumcision so he didn't "bleed out".  That night we ate a super cheap dinner at a noodle place.  It was only okay.  Then we had ice cream around the corner that was great and the most expensive ice cream I have ever eaten.  I think the bill for our family for six single cones was $41 USD.



We visited the waterfront, yelled into a huge megaphone, and walked the streets of Hong Kong.  We tried to get on a boat for the light show but just missed the last one.  We watched the light show anyway and just had fun.  We were all tired and ready for bed by the time we made it back to the AirBNB.









The next day we went to the children's science museum.




























Marcus left halfway through to go try and get the cash for the Dr. Appointment.  The doctor would only take cash and it proved to be quite difficult to come up with the cash.  We had to get special permission from the bank to do a larger ATM withdrawal (sounds so easy until you throw in a time difference of 14 hours).  Once we had the approval we had to find an ATM that would allow us to actual withdraw the large amount of money.  It took probably 3 hours.  We only had one working phone so it was just a miserable afternoon for both Marcus and I.  I have to say, I struggle being super patient and keeping hope.  Luckily, Marcus is better at both of these qualities.  He worked very hard on a seemingly hopeless situation.  Hopefully, the kids still had fun. 

Our appointment for Zach was at 4pm.  It was awful.  The doctor was very matter of fact.  He didn't use any anesthetic and I listened to my baby scream from another room for 30 minutes.  When the doctor brought him to me he was still upset.  Every time the doctor would look at him or talk, Zach would start in full screams again.  I felt so bad.  I sincerely hope that angels were with my baby during that time. 

That night I stayed in with the baby and Marcus took the kids out to catch the boat ride we had missed the night before.  They had a good time riding to the Hong Kong island and back.  Zach did really well.  I was surprised.  The doctor said I didn't need to do anything but I knew better and was generous with the Vaseline so the diaper wouldn't stick to his wound.











The next morning the baby and I headed out early to the hospital for the heart tests.  Poor kid right?  I had him in my Solly wrap (best thing ever) and we made good time.  I forgot how easy and fast it is to get around when there is only one person.  All the tests were clear and Zach was a perfect patient.  They thought they might need to sedate him but he held still and they were able to check everything they felt necessary.  This was New Year's Eve.

We spent almost two hours looking for some great restaurant, that we never could find, and ended up eating at a McDonalds that we had passed in the first ten minutes.  We were all cranky at that point.  Hong Kong was in full New Year's Party mode but we decided to head home.  It had been a fun, but long, few days.