Mark and I just got back from our babymoon in Maui and had the most relaxing, do-nothing trip ever. We had been going full-speed for many weeks, so it was nice to pause, put our feet up, discuss baby-related topics, get massages, watch the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, feel the warm sunshine, and binge on pineapple.
On the trip we decided on a baby name (yay!!) and even ordered our first monogrammed pillow. We’d like to keep the baby name a surprise until he’s born, though. So until then, he’ll be “Goober Jr” or “Baby B”. I’ll give some hints: it starts with an “M” and there have been signs pointing to this name for over a year that we didn’t even notice until recently.
We also ate a ton of juicy, sweet, local pineapple: pineapple with my water, pineapple in smoothies, pineapple in my morning acai bowls, free pineapple delivered to our hotel room, even pineapple-shaped cookies (ok those don’t count). I came down with a cold, so the pineapple was great for Vitamin C. Pineapple also has Iron, Folate, Vitamin B-6, Magnesium and Fiber which are all incredibly important for pregnancy. Magnesium, in particular, will help reduce some of the leg cramps I’ve been getting at night. And as a plant-based pregnant woman I have to be highly conscious of my Iron intake. So, bring on the pineapple!!
We also hired a wonderful photographer to take some sunrise maternity photos for us at the beach. I heard from lots of mamas who said they loved having the memory of their baby bumps. So I’m glad we did it! Huge thank you to Love + Water Photography!
Some lowlights included Mark getting stung by two jelly fish during his swim and ending up with a pretty big and itchy rash on his belly. Yikes! Maybe it was the universe’s way of giving him sympathy pregnancy belly itches? 😛 And I came down with a cold which meant that this vacation was even more relaxing than we expected! As relaxing as it was, I missed home and am ready to get back to a normal routine in SF.
Before the babymoon we officially finished the nursery and we’re so happy with it! The finishing touches included adding photos to the wall using Mixtiles, adding bins and closet organizers, installing an Infant Coordination Bar, and adding a new “Dream Big Little One” decal on the wall. Now we just need to continue to buy clothes and other items to fill the space. Fun times!
Some other fun stuff going on:
- I scored free ice cream at Salt & Straw (our fave) because Mark asked, jokingly, if they had a “preggy lady discount”. It was quite possibly the best ice cream ever!
- On a related note, I don’t have gestational diabetes! Woohoo! More ice cream! I had to get blood drawn 3 times over 2 hours after fasting and then drinking this super sugary drink. It wasn’t pleasant, but Mark was there with me which helped so much.
- I had my first prenatal massage in Hawaii. Well, technically it was my second massage. The first one was in New Zealand when I didn’t even know I was pregnant. The massage therapist rubbed my belly and said, “wait… are you pregnant?” Turned out she was right!
- I got a thoughtful gift card to Mom’s The Word, a maternity boutique in San Francisco and got some of the cutest dresses and bathing suit! Thanks Alex!
- I’m reading “Mindful Birthing” right now as recommended by our doulas which provides meditation techniques to get through labor. So far I love it because it can apply to life, not just labor.
- We stayed at the beautiful Hotel Wailea in Maui which is an adults-only hotel. And we realized this was probably the last time we’ll stay at an adults-only hotel for a very long time! It’s all kiddy pools from here!
That’s all for now. What I’d love to hear from all of you mamas is: what can I expect from the 3rd trimester? Where should we shop for baby boy clothes? How did you decide how much time to take off before your due date?