Stand Up, Sit Down....

Whelp - I officially did to much yesterday and my body fought back.

Friday I drove to New Buffalo to meet up with Allan who was there for the day on a "math retreat". (yes, these are things I just don't really ask about). I left early with plans to hit the outlet mall on the way, traffic had other plans. As it was, I arrived at the Red Arrow Roadhouse in Union Pier, Michigan somewhat late and sat down to a new fun game. The people at the table each say the name of a move in in turn that everyone else has seen. The goal is to get to ten movies that everyone has seen. epic fail, I think the highest we made it was to three movies. It was fun though and something to keep in mind for future events with strangers at a table (well, I was a stranger, everyone else knew each other). Thankfully, traffic was fine on the way home and it took literally 1/2 the time for the return trip. We hit the sack.

Saturday we were up early and el'd it downtown for Allan to run the Hot Chocolate 5k. We hoofed it from the el, I then walked with a friend to get coffee who was running the 15k (which started 30 minutes later), walked back to the finish line (not the start), then walked to Buckingham Fountain to meet Allan, walked back to the el, had brunch at Glenn's Diner (yum, totally worth the hype) and went home. By the time we got to the front door, I was a mess. My stomach felt hard and tight and my pelvis hurt (I don't know how else to describe it).

My downfall was that it was a beautiful day. In Chicago ,when we get these days in November in Chicago there is this sense that you CAN"T waste them. So after a nap, Allan and I walked (slowly) into Lincoln Square to try to buy a book for Uncle Kent (they did not have it at the Book Cellar) and try on Vibram's at Fleet Feet (neither of us were sold). We stopped for a gelato at Pachiugo and sat on a bench in the sun eating (coconut for me, banana for Allan, vanilla for both of us).

Unfortunately, this was just to much exercise and put me over the edge. I walked VERY slowly home and needed to stop every few minutes to take a few breaths. It felt like my stomach was getting tight and squeezing While it did not hurt, it was not comfortable. When we got home, I immediatley lay down with some water and "encouraged" Allan (aka Mr. Energizer Bunny) to go get a haircut and see the Red Bull Snowmobile thing at Wrigley that we had printed out tickets for. I started writing down the times that my stomach was getting tight and hard - pretty consistently 4-5 minutes apart.

After two hours (and a period when I thought things were slowing down), I called the Dr. The fact of the matter is, it is to early for this baby to come out and while I did not want to go down to the hospital, I am willing to do what it takes for a happy, healthy baby. The Dr. on call was great. She said it was fine for me to hang out at home as long as things did not get worse and told me I had done the right thing in calling her and letting her know what was going on. We agreed on a plan of action and when I should call back/go to the hospital. Luckily, things did not progress and I am supposed to call early tomorrow morning to go see the Dr before my Friday afternoon appointment.

Today we headed up to Lake Forest for the day to meet up with N&B who were in town for the weekend. They were staying in the "tennis house" of this AMAZING estate off Lake Road. This place was crazy beautiful and huge with an indoor tennis court, guest houses, old overgrown outdoor grass court, gardens, and a main house across Lake St (on the lake side). Must be nice, I am glad I get to visit!

We picked up Aunt JT and headed to Onwentsia Club for a really lovely lunch. Aunt JT was good friend of Allan's mom and a charming lunch companion. I told Allan that I want to get to know his Lake Forest relatives better so I can take the baby up without him in the spring and build some connections. This is really the first baby of a new generation and people are thrilled. I am thrilled to have family close and we already have invitations to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since I won't be with my family, I am happy to be with new family!

After lunch we tried again to get a book for Uncle Kent (the bookstore was closed) and then dropped in for a quick visit. He looked good and it was a nice visit. He was thrilled to hear that Allan had been to Game 6 of the world series and wanted to talk about playing golf next summer. We drove back into the city (Allan drove, I napped) and I crawled into bed. Trying to keep the baby happy and don't want a repeat of yesterday! Must.keep.baby.healthy My lesson for the weekend is that I really have to take it easy. I know this, putting it into practice is not as easy for me. 34 weeks tomorrow - 2 more weeks till I am "full term".

AND...I MUST take some belly pictures this week....it is huge!