The rest of our holiday weekend and some other miscellaneous stuff. With a belly pic.

The rest of our weekend in North Carolina went well. I had actually almost forgotten that my mom had planned a shower for me on Saturday afternoon until both my sister and my mother were missing on Saturday morning. I have to hand it to the two of them – had J not told me about it I would have been completely surprised. As it was, I was pretty surprised.

The highlight of the day was that my godmother, my absolute favorite aunt, was there. The rest of the people I knew slightly – my mother’s friends from the area, and one of my sister’s friends who I’ve met before. It was a small gathering, only 11 of us, which was perfect for me – I wasn’t too overwhelmed with people OR gifts.

And people were so generous.

It was nice. And since I’m finally feeling Squishy move a lot more regularly now, it wasn’t nearly as scary as I expected it to be. So I’m really glad I didn’t make a big stink about the timing of it. Both my sister and my mom were so happy that they were able to plan something for me. It was really sweet.

Yesterday J and I caught an early plane home and spent the day catching up on errands, bills, cleaning, and cooking. And in the afternoon, when I was resting on the couch, with Mr Puck in my (diminishing) lap, I felt two distinct kicks from our baby.

Kicks. Not movement when I change positions. But a full on kick. Twice.

So freaking cool.

In that one moment, it made all the back pain I’ve been having worthwhile.

Speaking of which, I’ve taken My Reality’s advice and made an appointment for a prenatal massage this coming Wednesday. I am hoping that Adam the Massage Therapist can work miracles for me. I’ve also looked into prenatal yoga – will try out my first class next week. In the meantime, I’ve spent a lot of time with a heating pad (at night before bed), a pillow or scarf behind my back (when sitting for long periods of time), and when the pain gets to be too much, I lay down and try and stretch.

Not that I’m happy to HAVE the back pain, but if we get a real live baby from all of this, the pain will be worth it.

For your viewing pleasure, a 21w1d belly shot of me: