Baby... and unagi

'You are 2cm dilated.' I was told.  The contractions came on slow and mild, and so I wasn't quite convinced that the baby is arriving.  I requested for discharge, because I needed to have my last fill of unagi, my favorite Japanese food.  It had better be the top course on the menu for the delivery would demand all the stamina I guess. 

We left at 4p.m. and shortly after I regretted leaving because the contractions started to hurt.  But I put up with it, as Bear would be very mad at me. ' I told you not to leave! ' he would say. :(  More importantly, I wanted my last decent meal for God knows when would I get to eat out without a care again.  Besides, did I mention that unagi provides stamina?

By 10p.m., the frequency was like every 10 minutes and hurt like real.  I started filming my tummy, how the baby would extend a fist or foot or elbow, wherever.  I urged Bear to sleep cos I would need his full support the next day, the contractions were too disturbing so I lied about a program I didn't want to miss.

By this hour at 12.48a.m. , I was already breaking out in cold sweat.  That night was chilly like how it is now.   I was still hanging on stubbornly, so that Bear wouldn't have a chance to lecture me on risking lives for unagi.

About 2a.m., Bear woke up to find me looking pale and limbs cold.  So he decided it's time.  It was a very foggy night, the drive felt like an eternity as Bear wasn't speeding.  For the first time on expressway, he didn't.

We reached at 3a.m.  Not knowing that the contractions would escalate a hundredfold hours later, I asked Bear if he could fetch me an unagi lunchbox by takeout.  Then the nurse came in to put me on a disappointing drip.

I have the baby to thank actually.  I had unagi almost every week once the morning sickness subsided.   After delivery, we were gifted with unagi from relatives.   Bear bought them several times to help my nutrition.  The family clan's celebration was held with an elaborated unagi course cuisine.  I have probably had the amount of unagi some Japanese had their entire lifetime, in a matter of months.

I'm glad that I've had enough of unagi before its price has shot up painfully high starting months ago.  Do you know how much an unagi meal would cost you these days?  Almost tripled the price I last had it!  A word of advice to anyone traveling Japan, please give unagi a try if you haven't.  Cos if you don't, you may never will in another few years to come.