- Cora napping on Nate's lap (and not mine) during three of our four flights
- Nate's upgrade to first class on the 6-hour flight from DC to San Francisco, which he graciously gave to his wife
- No clots in my left leg, which was a concern my midwife had with all the flying
- The chance to see all of our immediate family and even many from Nate's extended family
- No delayed or missed flights and only one rental car snafu
***Warning: the following paragraph may sound a little whiny, so feel free to skip it***
We rental a car from December 21st through the 29th, which worked great to shuttle us from Milwaukee to Madison to Oconomowoc to Grand Rapids to Chicago. It's somewhat ironic that our only travel woe happened with a different rental car that we picked up in San Francisco on January 3, the day we arrived back in California. After weighing the costs and hassles of the various ways to get from our house in Campbell to the airport (or vise-versa), we've found that a 24-hour rental is usually the cheapest and most convenient. Unfortunately, this time, we were given a car with a bad tire. Five miles south of the airport, it went flat. Of course my handy husband can deal with a flat tire under normal circumstances, but this time the lug nut had been stripped and the wrench was poorly made, so he wasn't able to remove the flat. We called roadside assistance who initially said they would send AAA to swap the tire and have us drive back to SFO and get a new car. Good thing Nate was the one talking to the representative, because I probably would have become hysterical at the mention of driving back to the airport to trade in the car. He calmly explained that he would rather drive 50 mph for the remaining 45 minutes of our trip home than have to switch cars, which meant reinstalling carseats and reloading luggage. So then we sat on the side of highway 101 for 2 hours waiting for AAA. iPads and iPhones were handed out freely after food was used to bribe, reward and distract. Louisa successfully peed on the side of the highway and Cora managed to sit somewhat peacefully in her carseat the whole time.
We rental a car from December 21st through the 29th, which worked great to shuttle us from Milwaukee to Madison to Oconomowoc to Grand Rapids to Chicago. It's somewhat ironic that our only travel woe happened with a different rental car that we picked up in San Francisco on January 3, the day we arrived back in California. After weighing the costs and hassles of the various ways to get from our house in Campbell to the airport (or vise-versa), we've found that a 24-hour rental is usually the cheapest and most convenient. Unfortunately, this time, we were given a car with a bad tire. Five miles south of the airport, it went flat. Of course my handy husband can deal with a flat tire under normal circumstances, but this time the lug nut had been stripped and the wrench was poorly made, so he wasn't able to remove the flat. We called roadside assistance who initially said they would send AAA to swap the tire and have us drive back to SFO and get a new car. Good thing Nate was the one talking to the representative, because I probably would have become hysterical at the mention of driving back to the airport to trade in the car. He calmly explained that he would rather drive 50 mph for the remaining 45 minutes of our trip home than have to switch cars, which meant reinstalling carseats and reloading luggage. So then we sat on the side of highway 101 for 2 hours waiting for AAA. iPads and iPhones were handed out freely after food was used to bribe, reward and distract. Louisa successfully peed on the side of the highway and Cora managed to sit somewhat peacefully in her carseat the whole time.
Of course this experience made us extra thankful that we had landed in California at 11:30 am on a Saturday. I felt calmer during the whole ordeal because we weren't sitting on the side of the highway in the dark and I knew that we had Sunday to recover before jumping back into real life.
Real life did return this morning, but it's been gentle on us. Louisa was excited to go back to school and while I wouldn't wish a horrible head cold on Nate, it did allow me to leave Cora at home with him while I drove to Santa Cruz for a midwife appointment. I even got to stop at the gym and walk on the treadmill while listening to This American Life...something I wouldn't have done with Cora since she also has a bit of a nose-dripping cold.
The baby seems to be doing well, although I wasn't surprised to hear that the midwife was concerned about his growth based on my baby-bump measurement. Over two weeks ago, at 33 weeks, I measured 33 centimeters, but today, at nearly 36 weeks, I measured 32 centimeters. To the ultrasound room I went! Thankfully this happened with Louisa and Cora at 35-36 weeks as well, so I've learned to stay calm and not google "growth concerns" or "low amniotic fluid."
I was sent home with instructions to drink more fluids without caffeine and less than two hours after the ultrasound was complete, I received an email that said everything was fine although his limb measurements are lagging and he could be 4 days late based on his growth. A late arrival will not surprise me, but short limbs? That would be a new one for our family.
To close, a few of my favorite photos from our midwest & east coast adventure:
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| Christmas brunch in Madison |
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| Bosscher Family Photo |
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| Watching a video (of themselves, of course) |
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| Cora was always up for a walk with me. Louisa preferred to stay inside and play |
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| Botanical Gardens Christmas train exhibit |
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| Louisa in a train engine |
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| Playing a new penguin game with Uncle JP (DC) |
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