20 weeks: Photos

We're back from an awesome vacation in San Francisco (photos to come) and I'm at the halfway point of my pregnancy!

Over and out (west)

It wouldn't be fair to the new bundle if we didn't take him or her on a trip after taking Mirabella last year at this very same time, so that's what we're doing. We're going on vacation! Actually, we bid on two travel vouchers at a silent auction, so we were extremely lucky to be able to make it a reality again. Tomorrow (Saturday, November 21st) through the morning of Wednesday (Wednesday, November 25th) we'll be in San Francisco, California! Jeff was there when he was younger and I've been to California a few times, but never to San Fran. We're very excited for a little getaway.



We had fun picking out our destination since our vouchers were good for anywhere in the US. Originally our plan was to take Mirabella with, so it limited a few options and because of some goofy flight schedules, San Francisco was taken out of the mix. We had almost decided on a spot (leaning towards New Mexico) and then my mom threw out a very generous offer. The three weekdays of our trip she had taken off from work to start her Thanksgiving holiday early and offered to watch Mirabella if we wanted to go just the two of us. After going back and forth, we decided to go for it! After all, it'll probably be a while before Jeff and I are able to travel alone once we have two young children. I'm hoping we'll be surprised and it'll be easier than we think, but right now we're not trying to fool ourselves!

Nana and Papi were also so kind to pitch in and they offered to take Mirabella for a Saturday-Sunday shift. We can't say often enough how fortunate we are to have two sets of grandparents in Mirabella's life that are so quick to offer their help in taking care of her. We know she loves it, but it makes things so great for us too. Many, many thanks to the four of you for giving our baby so much love and affection and for graciously allowing her mama and daddy much appreciated adult time!

The big V

With all the H1N1 and pregnant women hoopla, I decided to take the plunge and get the vaccine. My doctor said it was being recommended that I get it, but at my last appointment, my clinic didn’t have the vaccine. Three weeks later, which was last week, when I called, I was told they didn’t have it and didn’t know if they’d even be getting it. What? A clinic geared towards women, several of whom are pregnant or taking care of babies under six months old, isn’t getting the vaccine when all the talking heads seem to agree that pregnant women (and those taking care of infants) should get vaccinated? Interesting. So, I began my quest to find it.

Even healthy kids are getting the vaccine now, but my first inquiry into getting it (aside from the one to my clinic) for me proved to be a dead end: no more appointments at that clinic, for anyone, even those deemed high risk (me), were being taken. After a couple other inquiries with no success, I was getting a bit concerned. At this point, Jeff and my family were champions of the cause for me to get the vaccine, so the more they talked about it, the more I felt like I should get it. But a big reason that I was on my mission in full force to get it now though is because we’re taking a little vacation (yippee!) and the idea of sitting in a germ infested plane began to make me cringe some. It made me a wee bit nervous. After a few calls, I finally learned of a (make-shift H1N1 vaccine) clinic I could go to, so I got the shot yesterday (Monday, November 16th) and besides an hour wait and today, a sore arm, all went well.

As I said when writing about Mirabella’s vaccine on my other blog, it can be tough to know what to do when it comes to this vaccine, but I do feel a lot better now that I’ve gotten it. So take that all you shivering, coughing, snot-nosed, plane-taking travelers!

(If I get sick after that last comment, I'm gonna feel real stupid.)

Update: After writing this post, I called my clinic to check on the time of an upcoming appointment, and a recorded message said they had received the vaccine.

16 weeks: Photos

Once again late on posting these now that I'm 18 weeks as of Sunday (Sunday, November 8th), but here are my 16 week photos.





And the real belly shots (my belly button had popped out within my first month of being pregnant this time I think!)...