We returned home on Sunday after an enjoyable and relaxing vacation. The Alaskan cruise was perfect given the circumstances — right amount of activity, relaxation, etc. L continues to feel and do fine. We’re now into the 2nd trimester (week #14 today). And it’s so far, so good.

I’m back off to Minneapolis this week for work (left this afternoon). It’s been a hectic past few weeks for me in terms of travel. I **think** I’ll have been home a total of 5 or 6 days in the past 4+ weeks. Fortunately, I should have a two week break after this trip.

FYI — I probably won’t be posting on AiF for the next week or so, as we’ll be off to Alaska on a cruise.

During past trips, I’ve created travel blogs specifically for those journeys. Going forward, I’m going to have a dedicated travel blog instead. I’ve linked to it here, if you’re interested — but, unlike AiF, I can promise relatively few posts that will be related to either pregnancy or infertility.

See you all in about 10 days! (Or, sooner if you visit the other blog!)

I’ve discovered that while men don’t seem to generally want to talk about infertility when they’re in the midst of it, they seem to positively gush out details after they’ve successfully had children. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve heard all sorts of stories related to infertility, miscarriage, and childbirth.

These same men are also really willing to “tell their stories” about fatherhood. I’m going to start recording some of the more interesting observations and experiences here (after making them anonymous). I’m particularly interested by their willingness to share the raw emotion (good and bad) associated with these experiences.

In other news…

We spent some time this weekend getting ready for the trip. L was struggling with packing, because some of her clothing is starting not to fit properly. Due to her now more ample cleavage, many of her tops are either 1) actually too small, or 2) simply looking too good on (if you know what I mean). Pants are also becoming a struggle, as she doesn’t like anything too tight. It’s a challenge…

L is going for her next OB check-up this week. I’ll make sure to post details on it.

I’m headed to Washington DC tomorrow.

I’ve been away from the blog for almost a week. It’s been very hectic. L (and the baby) continue to do well.

What a whilrwind! Starting last Sunday, I traveled to Minnesota for an early morning Board of Directors meeting. On Tuesday, I was officially named a Vice President of the information technology company for which I work. I then flew to Washington DC for meetings today and only got back home well after midnight tonight.

Next week, I’m headed back to Washington (Mon-Wed). I then return home, pick up L, and then we’re off to Alaska on Friday for a 7 day cruise. Interestingly, we got a call from Holland America to upgrade to a deluxe balcony suite for only a couple of hundred bucks extra… so, I jumped on that chance!

This pleased L and thus conforms to my policy: what the pregnant lady wants, the pregnant lady gets.

I’ll write more over the weekend.

The Bahamas trip was nice: relaxing and uneventful.

The morning drive down to Miami was pleasant.

We enjoyed lunch aboard after embarking, explored the ship (very similar to the NCL Sun from last April), and then promptly took a nap. We awoke for the muster drill (least favorite part of cruising), had “drinks” at the Atrium Bar while sailing out of Miami (note: L’s never really been a consumer of adult beverages, so the prohibition on alcohol during pregnancy is a non-event for her), went back to the cabin for the PIO shot, and then ate dinner at Il Adagio (the ship’s Italian eatery). Later in the evening, we went to the “Welcome Aboard” show, during which I became part of the act after being brought on stage by the ship’s comedian.

Saturday morning we arrived in Nassau. We awoke and enjoyed an early al fresco breakfast at the Lido deck buffet, known as The Great Outdoors. We explored downtown Nassau in the morning hours and returned to the ship in time for lunch. This was followed by a repeat of day #1: reading, nap, drinks, dinner (this time at Cagney’s, the ship’s steakhouse at sea). We skipped the evening entertainment.

Sunday was at NCL’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay (how apropos, no?). We’d just been on the island last October. So, we opted to avoid the crowds and enjoy having the ship to ourselves. Once again, the day pretty much consisted of a string of meals, followed by periods of reading, talking, and relaxation.

We returned to Miami early Monday morning and drove home.

We’re normally overseas for at least part of June. And this trip certainly doesn’t compare to last June’s 23-day European odyssey (not that we thought it would!).

But, all in all, it was a fun mini-holiday.

Best of all, it was uneventful, which I greatly appreciated as I had some mild anxiety about “things going wrong” with the pregnancy while at sea. This gives me confidence about our planned trip to London in August. Of course, we’ll have to see what the next few weeks bring.