WEEK 19

Adventures in Cabo 

I was so excited to have my anatomy scan. My husband could not come with me, so I took my parents to see their future grandchild. It was so difficult to see the baby – all it really looked like was a gray-and-white blob, just a bunch of static on a screen. Only the feet and hands were recognizable.

All the organs and measurements were normal. Already I had a stubborn baby who would not turn over so that the doctor could get a profile of the face. I drank lots of juice to get the baby moving, but no such luck. After an hour and half of the scan it was time to rush over to my OB’s office for a quick visit, and, of course, the best part of the visit is always getting on the scale.

Yikes! One Web site said that at week 19 I should have gained about ten pounds. Well, I passed that mile marker a long time ago! Luckily, the nurse just always asks what my weight is and I adjust it according to what clothes I’m wearing and to my mood. It was a very quick visit, as I had to rush home and finish packing.

My husband, Rob, and I were going on vacation for five days without the kids! Rob wanted to take me away to celebrate my big birthday – 40! My children were not so happy about us going away, but I knew they will be in good hands with my parents and that they would have lots of fun. Anyway, my real birthday was not until October 20, so I would be home to celebrate it with the kids.

I was so excited to go to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We were thrilled. We rushed to the airport. It would be a long flight, but I didn’t care. I would get to read, relax and sleep on the plane. How bad would that be?

Well, what was supposed to be a relaxing start to our vacation turned out to be a complete nightmare. As soon as we arrived we were informed that our flight was leaving 40 minutes late and that we had already missed our connection from Dallas to Cabo. We had to cancel our hotel reservations in Mexico for the night as we had to spend the night at the Dallas Hyatt Airport. Ok, I could deal with that. We were then booked on the first flight out in the morning to Cabo. Not in our comfy business class that we had paid for, but in coach. Ok, I could deal with that, too. We got up early and left for Cabo.

Oh, I was so happy to land in Cabo. It was sunny and warm. We arrived on time and headed over to baggage claim to get our suitcases. My husband’s case came off and our garment bag came off, but my suitcase was nowhere to be found. We waited and realized that my suitcase was not coming. We filed a claim and they said they would do their best and try and find it. So now I had one bathing suit, which I threw in my carry-on and three dresses for evening. That’s all! I was hopeful that my bag would show up soon.

We arrived at our luxurious hotel and ate lunch before heading to the pool. Lucky I had my bathing suit as I was not going to fit into anything that was sold at the hotel boutique. We relaxed a bit and then I started to feel really lousy. We went back to the room so that I could throw up in private. I was so sick. Perhaps it was from the food or lack of sleep and the stress of travel and the hassles with my bag or all of the above. Whatever it was, I felt awful. I went to sleep for two hours and when I awoke they informed me that instead of sending my bag to Cabo, they sent it back to NYC. Brilliant! The hotel kindly provided me with Woolite, pajamas and a few toiletries to get me through the next two days. I certainly was not looking my best. The hotel we stayed at was a “One and Only.” The joke was that I wore my one-and-only bathing suit, my one-and-only dress, shoes and undergarments. Finally, my suitcase arrived and I felt much better.

We relaxed, read and laughed for the next three days. It was wonderful to be away, and the best part was that I was really starting to feel the baby move. Rob got to feel it kick and swish around. I think that my hand was on my belly the entire time I lay out at the pool. I just loved that feeling. I couldn’t wait for my children to feel the baby move. I was very careful with the food I ate and only drank bottled water. I even brushed my teeth with bottled water just to be on the safe side. Our vacation came to an end.

Rob headed back to NYC, and I went to LA to visit my best friend Lisa. She had just had a baby eight weeks before and looked fantastic. She was already wearing her pre-pregnancy jeans. Lucky me, I got to have her maternity clothes. I was so excited to take her clothes, as we were the same size before we were both pregnant. Well, I tried on her jeans and could barely get them over my thighs. Ugh! I was expanding in all directions. Lisa thought it must be a girl as my behind is wide. So I wouldn’t be taking her clothes home with me after all. I had a great time and I also got to play with her adorable baby girl. Wow, I thought, I’ll have a little one like that soon, too. I checked out all her new baby gadgets and things so I’d know what to get. There were so many new and innovative things out there since I had my son five years ago. I was so looking forward to shopping for the baby.