Preggo at the Fair

26 weeks 6 days

We took a trip to the State Fair for a friend's birthday yesterday.  I came armed with a 2.2 liter water bottle, and my husband came prepared to buy me whatever food I required while we were there.  We scouted out a park and ride lot to reduce our walking back to the car at the end of the day, and I put on my comfy walking sneakers.  I knew I was going to be so sore after this excursion, but I needed out of the house anyway.  Besides, I love the fair!  I just couldn't go on any of the rides this year.

At first, walking around wasn't too much of an issue.  The fair was so crowded that often we were reduced to a speed that was comfortable for me anyway.  But then we ended up taking a wrong turn in the festival.  The map made it look like it looped back around to the rides, so we kept on the path.  It did loop around... all the way back behind the rides where fences kept us from rejoining the throng!  We must have added an extra mile by taking that long-cut.  However, the crowds were thinner back there, so hubby had to flag down the group a few times to slow down for the waddling pregnant lady.

Luckily, before we took this side-route, a friend and I took a detour to get deep fried cheesecake.  To the uninitiated, it doesn't sound appealing.  But I had the pleasure of trying one last year, and it heaven on a tray!  Just the mention of the state fair a few weeks ago made my cravings go into overdrive for deep fried cheesecake.  Indulging served to qualm my craving, but it also gave me the energy boost I needed to survive the scenic route.

We finally circle back around to the rides, and I find an eating area to sit down.  For the next hour or two, our group went off and rode rides, but someone always came and sat with me to keep me company.  I munched on a few corndogs and experienced the sensation of feeling loud music reverberating in my abdomen.  Baby was twitching a little bit, but overall he must have been rocked into a deep sleep from all the walking.  I wish I couldn't done a few rides, but having someone sit with me while my aching legs and feet got a break really made the time go faster.

By sunset, I'm just about ready for us to be heading home, but there was one more thing we had to do first.  I wanted to go on the ferris wheel, mostly because it was the only ride I could really go on.  5 of us ended up going on it.  While most everyone else in it was too preoccupied with our friend who was freaking out because she's afraid of heights, I looked out over the fair and all the lights on the rides and stands.  I thought back to an image earlier that day of a dad holding his probably 1 year old daughter and seeing her face full of amazement looking at all the flashing lights.  It's made me excited for next year and the years after when we get to bring our little boy to the fair.  It's a magical place for a child, and I couldn't wait to share it with him.

Naturally when I got home, my feet swelled, my back ached, and I was incoherently tired.  However, D got to watch baby kick so hard that my entire abdomen twitched and changed position.  I've never felt him kick so hard before!  I guess baby had a fun day too. :)