Less Than 15 Weeks Left

Annnnnddddd... we're back!

After a very hectic few weeks and some much needed vacation time, hubby and I are back at home and back to our routine. Well, mostly. More about that in a moment.

My folks arrived near the end of April and spent a full week with us here in the Capital before all four of us piled in our van and headed south of the 49th parallel. We drove to West Virginia, with a stop overnight near Buffalo, NY. We headed that way because I wanted to get some shopping done in Watertown and then in Waterloo (at the outlet shops). Despite a little rain, we had no problem and made it to Ripley, WV in good time.

We found my sister's new house with no trouble and we hit the ground running. Over the course of our week in WV, we went to my BIL's graduation from Marshall University (ever see the movie We Are Marshall? Great film. Highly recommended.), we attended a party organized by my sister and my BIL's sister to celebrate. And we made sure to attend yet another local gathering of graduates in his hometown. Talk about busy! We went to dinner and brunch with my BIL's family, whom we all adore. We took one full day when all six of us went to my sis's old house to clean it up for the next tenant. We spent one full day shopping (mostly for Petit on my part). And Mom made sure to buy me some new maternity clothing to hold me over the summer; that was my birthday gift from her. All in all, a crazy, busy week. But it was so much fun to see everyone.

As a note, while we were there, my sister used a glucometer to check my blood sugar levels. I don't yet have my fasting results from the bloodwork I had done right before I left on this vacation, but to reassure my brain, and my sister, I didn't mind having the tests done. Keeping in mind that the numbers are American (Canadian numbers differ vastly as the method of measuring differs), I am pretty sure we're safe. My fasting sugars were at 80 and two hours post-prandial, I was at 96. My sister is the diabetes coordinator for the state of West Virginia and she said she wanted to see my numbers at less than 100. She seemed happy with the results. As am I.

On Thursday the 14th, hubby and I said our goodbyes to the entire gang and headed out to drive from Ripley, WV over to Woodbridge VA, just south of Washington, D.C. I have to say, the drive was harrowing! The Applachian Mountains are really something to behold, but holy heaven, the twists and turns, the hills and valleys, the plethora of dizzying drops and steep inclines had me sucking in my breath on more than one occasion. Yikes!

Over in VA, we were met by our friends and we stayed with them for three nights. It was good to see them again. We needed a little downtime and I was thrilled to have time to go for a pedicure with KH and her six-year old daughter. It was her daughter's first pedicure and she was tickled pink with the results! So cute! I got a ton of shopping done for Petit. I picked up the exact swing that I was looking for which was sheer luck. You see, what I wanted was the Ocean Wonders swing. However, it's now discontinued by Fisher Price in favour of the Precious Planet line of products, much to my dismay. However, we found one just by chance that had been returned (unopened) and was on the clearance rack at the local store in Woodbridge. I saved over $70 on that one item alone! We picked up a travel-sized play yard too, and I got some sheets and bedding, a cute mobile, and a few more odds and ends that we were looking for. I even managed to find the baby gate that we wanted with the small cutout door for my cats down in the States! We can't seem to find or get it up here, so I was happy that Petsmart had it when we went there. I really lucked out on some items, that's for sure. Mind you, we still have some things to get (lotions, cloth diapers, the monitor, etc.) but we're checking things off the list.

I'm down to under 100 days to go in this pregnancy and that alone still stuns me. Double digits! Jeez. I never thought I'd make it this far. It doesn't seem fair though. We took 6+ years to GET pregnant, and we only have a mere 9 months to enjoy it?! Talk about a cruel joke that Mother Nature plays on us infertiles. I say that we ought to revel in being pregnant for just as long as it took to get us pregnant! Not the discomfort or complications or things like that. But the glow. The round belly that everyone wants to touch. The prospect of unbridled joy. We all deserve to enjoy it to the absolute fullest, don't we?

During our time away, Petit has become much more active. Frequently Petit will be wide awake around 11 p.m., again around 3 or 4 a.m., and then again around 6 or 7 a.m. And kicking up a storm each time! There was one night that the baby kept me up for over three hours as I tossed and turned trying to settle him/her down enough to rest again. It just wasn't gonna happen. I probably got 4.5 hours of sleep that night; a harbinger of things to come I suspect. One night, I was lying in bed at my sister's house, about 3 in the morning as Petit had woken me, and I put my hands on my tummy. I felt the ripples, over and over. The weird, yet incredible, sensation of feeling the baby beneath my palms. I smiled. I get to enjoy these simple moments for such a short time; it's only a very small window of time that I have the opportunity to connect with Petit on my own, before he/she arrives in the world. It's so fleeting. Like I said, never long enough.

Hubby has been feeling Petit move as well. Just the night before last, he was lying in bed, arm around me (as he frequently does) and while I slept, Petit kicked him. And last night, Petit made a spectacular show of skills as Hubby's fingers felt every move. For more than an hour, the two of us lay in the dark and giggled and grinned, smiling as Petit reacted to Hubby's voice and the occasional poke. I am humbled by the experience; I wish nothing more than to remember exactly what this feels like. I wish nothing more than to let all of us experience these moments. We deserve it. We ALL deserve to experience this.

Now that we're home, I'm back at work and Hubby is, unfortunately, looking for work. His contract expired while we were away and financial cutbacks have seen to it that contractors are no longer requested by the organization he worked for. I expect it won't be long before he finds something, however, given his field (he's an IT support specialist), it may be harder at the moment than it has been in a long time. We're keeping our fingers crossed. Wish us luck.

Next Thursday is my 39th birthday and on that day, I believe my office has organized a shower for me. As well, I will have my last monthly OB appointment on that same day; after that I move to appointments every two weeks. I cannot believe I'm about to hit my third trimester. And I continue to hope and dream about bringing this baby home safely at the end of August.