Road Trip

My dad, who lives in Oshkosh, WI, was getting married, and since airlines will not let me fly so close to my due-date, my husband and I found ourselves on quite the road trip over Labor Day weekend. Normally, I love road trips; I love to travel, and I have been privileged to see a lot of the country with our various road trips, but I was not prepared for the toll this particular trip would do on an 8 months pregnant body.

On the drive there, we went up through Wyoming, and across South Dakota and Minnesota. Wyoming was painfully boring to drive through, but once we got to South Dakota, if was wonderful. The Black Hills were rather refreshing after hours of yellowish- brown fields of nothing. We were able to see Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore (which was my first time seeing them, but Richard had gone as a family when he was a child), and even better, we got a chance to stay with our friends, Michael & Alisha Gruber. We have missed them since they were relocated (Michael is in the Air-force), and it was so nice to catch up a bit. The only problem was that the drive there was only supposed to take about 10 1/2 hours, but with my having to stop so frequently, it took us 15 hours. ULGGGHh!! Then, the drive from Rapid City to Oshkosh that was supposed to take 12 hours took us 16 hours. We didn't arrive at my dad's house until after midnight, and my calves/ankles/feet were SO incredibly swollen - I felt like the blueberry girl on "Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory."

Wisconsin was fun. It was nice to spend some time with my dad, and I really like his new wife. We arrived late Thursday night (well I guess technically it was Friday morning), talked for a bit and went straight to bed. Then Friday, we spent most of the day getting things for the wedding that was that night. It was supposed to be outside, but it was raining and had to be moved in. Saturday, we drove down by Lake Winnebago and saw some boat races. Then we went to Appleton and did some shopping and some dining, and my dad & Deb bought us the cutest play-yard for Judah - I absolutely love it. Finally, we went to the movies and watched "Inception" which was SO good!! I have to watch it again when it comes out.

Sunday morning, we began our drive back for home. We decided to go down through Iowa and across Nebraska on the trip back, and I am so thankful that we did. Not only was the drive shorter, but the scenery was so much nicer. We did stay the night in Grand Island Nebraska, but we tried our best not to stop as much or for as long of periods, and by Monday night we were sleeping in our own bed; I was so relieved to finally be home!

I would have taken more pictures, but I forgot to bring the charger for the camera with us. All-in-all, it was a nice trip, and it was fun to get away with the hubby one last time before our baby boy gets here in about 6 weeks =D

Third Tri Relief

I've always heard that the third trimester is the worst part of pregnancy, but I my experience thus far is proving differently. While I do miss my waist-line and being able to bend, and I hate having to pee all the time, I am finding that my third trimester is actually somewhat of a relief.

The first trimester was awful. I was so sick all the time, and I hated it. The worst part was that I didn't even throw up that much. Normally, you get nauseated, you puke, and you start to feel better. For me it was just the constant up-chuck feeling that found me wanting to vomit and move on but to no avail. Everyone kept telling me to wait for the second trimester, and after about week ten, I woke up to find the nausea completely gone. It was miraculously amazing!

The second trimester; however, brought about something almost worse: sciatica!! :/ The weight of my uterus and the baby put so much pressure on my sciatic nerve that I was in constant pain. There were days I could barely walk, and if I tried to bend over, I could just forget about straightening out again. It was starting to seem that the entire pregnancy was going to be nothing short of miserable.

As the Third trimester was approaching, I found myself trading in sciatica for intense heart-burn and acid reflux. "Seriously?!?" was my only thought. I had never had heart-burn before, but oh did it come at me with a vengeance. Thankfully, though, my doctor put me on a prescription that is helping so much. The sickness is gone, the sciatica is no more, and the fire in my chest has been extinguished; I am finding that for the first time in this journey, I am able to just enjoy the miracle of life growing inside me.