Baby and I just returned from an international adventure to Toronto, Canada this week. Well, it may not have been as much of an adventure as it was five days filled with meetings, scientific sessions and work. We traveled to Toronto for a medical meeting called Heart Failure Society of America where the results of the study I am currently managing were being presented.
Before leaving we had another visit to the midwife. Baby's measuring right on and his heartbeat continues to be strong and regular. It's always reassuring to hear his heartbeat when we're at the clinic. Everything checked out okay and we got the approval to fly to and from Toronto. The midwife provided a copy of my medical records with a note indicating that it was safe for me to travel, just in case one of the flight personnel decided they didn't think I should fly. As it turns out, there was no fuss and I didn't need the medical records to prove it was safe for me to travel. But it was reassuring for me to have the papers in my backpack.
Peanut and I left for Toronto on Saturday at noon. Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to book a non-stop flight so there was a layover in Chicago O'Hare both directions. I am certain that it was quite the humorous sight to observe me pregnant and slightly waddling from terminal to terminal wearing a backpack and pulling a carry-on suitcase. Fortunately, there was time between flights to stop for a snack and plenty of water as I made my way through the airport. Both legs of the flight to Toronto were uneventful. We arrived in Toronto at about 8:30 in the evening and made it to the hotel around 9:30. One of the major roadways form the airport into the city was closed so the cabby had to make detours to avoid the large backups.
I spent Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and half of Wednesday in meetings and scientific presentations. It was a nice learning opportunity but I found myself missing the outdoors. Every-time I looked out a window at the warm sunny weather I wished I had a few more hours in my day to relax and take a walk. My hotel was actually attached to the convention center so I didn't even have to walk outside to go from my hotel room to the conference. It was very convenient. Finally Wednesday after the end of the conference I walked down to the waterfront and found a nice little restaurant where I could look out over the water while I enjoyed my lunch. After lunch, I headed back to the airport to start my trip home. Unfortunately we got stuck on the runway at O'Hare for an hour while we waited for lightening to pass, so I arrived back in Minneapolis an hour later than planned. I was beat, but all in all it was a good trip.
So the little peanut has already taken his first airplane ride and he seemed to enjoy it very much. Each time the airplane took off he woke up, kicked, elbowed and wiggled for about an hour before he fell asleep again. This little guy may end up being a jet pilot like his uncle if his excitement about flying at this stage of his life is any indication of his future career.
