Standing By

We've officially hit the final waiting period of pregnancy. Baby P is 39 weeks! Of course the entire nine months is one long waiting game, but something happens towards the end when you realize that the baby actually could come at any time. There's some anxiety, antsy-ness, and persistent nesting that sets in, but there is also a sense of calm in knowing that the events that will enfold in the next week or two are pretty much out of your control. It's a slight shift of mindset, perhaps elevated by the fact that you start fantasizing about handing the baby off to someone else and daydreaming about simple things, like jumping, bending and generally being limber. Some days I feel like I've been studying for a test or preparing for a race, and now we are so close to the big event that we set aside our books, our flashcards, our running cleats (whatever metaphor you want to use), take a deep breath, enjoy a pasta feed or two (oh, that's just for track? ... ) and say "bring it on."

Despite the totally consuming and potentially overwhelming nature of waiting for a baby to arrive, we realize that this feeling isn't all that foreign. Waiting for the unknown, that is. In fact, Evan and I have had our share of practice planning for something we have little control over, packing bags when we don't know our destination, waiting--and waiting--to see how everything will unfold, and literally taking a leap of faith into the great unknown. Because as many of you know, for the past year and a half we've traveled around the world flying standby. As a little recap, the mysterious Mr. P is chemistry teacher by day ... airport luggage handler by night (or weekends, as in his case). Thanks to some awesome benefits, we are able to fly as standby passengers, or non-rev, nearly anywhere. [You can read more about our 2013 adventures here.]

But making a trip happen when you don't have a ticket in hand can be a daunting task, and one that requires a certain level of patience and letting go of control, while still holding on to what is most important to you. As with childbirth, you can't control what gets thrown your way--will your connecting flight to Detroit get cancelled at the last second? Will your midwife be on-call when you deliver? Heck, you don't even what time your adventure will begin! But you can know how to navigate amidst those unknowns and remain optimistic.

After our failed attempt to board the 6am Vegas flight, we checked the board to see if anything else looked appealing - or possible. Good thing we decided to stay home, because later that week I ended up with a blood clot!

I am tempted to go into detail about all the non-rev travel skills we've learned and how this applies to childbirth, but for as valuable as that all is for us, I don't think it would make a very interesting read for you. So instead, let's have some fun looking through the non-rev trips Baby P has taken with us these past nine months - in utero. 

Phoenix

Over E's spring break we headed to Phoenix for a little warm-weather reprieve. I was only about a month pregnant at the time and didn't feel wonderful, but that didn't stop me from climbing Camelback and exploring Frank Lloyd Wright's desert home. (Although I did wear those Sea Band bracelets the entire time and I believe there was an emergency string cheese craving run to a gas station at one point). We were happy just to make it home, but for the record, in order to do so, we awoke at 3:30am to catch an early flight to JFK, followed by one to Indianapolis, and finally home on one of the last flights of the day. We worked for this one!


Rapid City

One Saturday morning in April we spontaneously decided to fly to Rapid City, South Dakota. My dad was in town visiting his folks so we decided to go for it. We climbed around on rocks out in the Black Hills, enjoying some quality time with both sets of grandparents, and then proceeded to get stuck there. Yup, the flight home was full and didn't look promising for the next day, so we rented a car and drove home the long way. Mr. P had to make it back for school in the morning!








 






California

Evan's cousin got married in California in June, so off we went to San Jose (because closer destinations failed), followed by a long drive out to the Yosemite area. We stopped for a baby announcement photo shoot in the park, because I was now entering my second trimester! Baby was juuuuust beginning to show.

New Jersey

My parents made the big move away from New Jersey, where they've lived for the last 20-some years, to Massachusetts. So naturally we had to make a quick stop at home one last time to help go through boxes and say goodbye to the ol' house - and the Jersey Shore!

Germany

Our trip to Germany in June deserves a post all it's own. But in a nutshell, we flew into Frankfurt and took the train west to the Mosel Valley region, where we stayed in a B&B for two nights, exploring the castles and towns in the area. Then we stayed with some relatives in southwest Germany for a couple days, while they toured us around the wineries, pastry shops and university towns in their area. We even bopped over to France for an afternoon! Baby P especially enjoyed the homemade Spaetzle (pasta) with zucchini cream sauce ... and of course, all of the chocolate and treats.

North Carolina

My sister got married in North Carolina - right on the first day of my third trimester! The ceremony and reception were beautiful, of course, on a farm out in the countryside near Greensboro. Baby P thoroughly enjoyed the mac n cheese and all of the amazing PIES! But in hindsight, I realize I was already beginning to feel symptoms of my oncoming blood clot and wasn't able to spend much time on the dance floor. Good thing it held off another couple of weeks! Fun fact: Evan actually worked the plane that I flew out to the wedding (see the airport photo near the top of this post) - that was a first!
[photos by Hartman Outdoor Photography]

Our travels were cut short this August and September by a DVT scare (blood clot! Read all about that and my year of being "fearless," here). So we've been grounded for the last 10 weeks. But we're already looking forward to what non-rev travel adventures lie ahead, this time, with Baby P on board! Hospital bags are packed, homemade felt mobile is hanging above the crib, cloth diapers are prepped and ready to go, I've cleaned some random corners of the house and canned a batch of homemade applesauce. 

Now we're just standing by, waiting for our little passenger to arrive.