21 Week Update - Baby Moon

Hey family! 

ba·by·moon

ˈbābēˌmo͞on/

noun

informal

1. a relaxing or romantic vacation taken by parents-to-be before their baby is born.

   "on the eve of my third trimester, we boarded a plane for a week-long babymoon among the quiet canals of Amsterdam"

   • a period of time following the birth of a baby during which the new parents can focus on establishing a bond with their child.

     "a babymoon is regarded as a crucial time for a family to establish itself"

     
     

     
     

     
     

B and I just got back from our Baby Moon!

I am so lucky to be married to a man who is always finding new ways of making me feel special and loved. He planned the entire trip from start to finish without asking for any help. We left from our current home town and traveled North towards Oregon. We stopped at our parents house to drop off the pups and then we were off. 

The first night, B had planned for us to go to a community play in Weaverville, but I wanted to spend time with our family instead, so we stayed in Redding for dinner. Brandon has grown so much, two years ago he might have had a conniption with me changing the plans. After dinner, we left around 9 p.m. and B drove on one of the windiest roads I've ever been on. I was supposed to keep him awake, but my body was busy making a baby all day and I couldn't keep my eyes open. Poor B had to drive, trying to keep himself awake until midnight -- He told me the next day that he almost killed 7 deer on the 3.5 hour drive. AHHHHHHHH. 

The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and set off towards our destination. Let me tell you, planning a road trip while pregnant was not our brightest moment. Poor B had to pull over multiple times so I could use the restroom. I'm pretty sure baby is using my bladder as a pillow (or punching bag).  We met our friends in Bandon, OR and after a quick lunch drove to our resort. Brandon booked us a stay at Bandon Dunes -- I guess it's a super fantastic golf resort that everyone who knows how to golf should golf at or should want to golf at or something like that....  Here is a picture of B golfing! He was able to check that off his bucket list. 

The first night we walked to the beach. I tried to run. I almost passed out. Seriously, I saw stars. Brandon wouldn't let go of my hand after that. But we made it to the beach and back without serious incident. I CANNOT wait to be able to run and over-exert myself (when I want). Let's be honest, that will probably only be a few times after Baby Smith comes, but just having the ability back will be soooo awesome!

The next leg of the trip was to Bend, OR. I'm not sure if I've ever been to a more magical place (Disneyland aside). A few hours after we arrived, a snow storm hit and Brandon and I had to leave our Kia in the shopping district parking lot. Yes, we were at a shopping district. I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised. 

Even with the snow, we were able to go to a few breweries and we were even able to go on the Deschutes Brewery tour (Baby Smith is going to be a beer expert). Before arriving, I was hoping to go on a hike or explore the outdoors. However, the snow storm added to perfect romantic element to our time there. We barely got to explore the town, but I had so much fun with B. 

Updates: 

 Stretch Marks? I still don't have any stretchies. My mom told me that she didn't get any on her belly, so maybe I won't either. Here's to hoping. 

Sleep? I have been sleeping through the night. Growing a human is hard work. 

Movement? I finally felt Little!!!  Little has been moving so much and I can now see movement on my belly. I absolutely love feeling the movements and it helps my crazy anxiety. 

Cravings? Anything that someone else is eating. I still haven't had any crazy pickles and ice-cream cravings though. 

Gender? I still can't say... One last set of parents to tell. 

Belly Button In or Out? It's popping out! Not all the way, but it's getting there. 

Symptoms: I am back to being exhausted...which I am sort of bummed about. I thought that would be in the third trimester. 

Best moment of the week? 4.5 months pregnant and I have not felt beautiful once. Brandon was starting to sense that my self esteem has been plummeting and has also noticed that he rarely sees me out of yoga pants and sweatshirts.  When we were on our vacation, he took me to a store called Maurices and told me to pick out a new outfit for our date. 

The sales associate helping me was so kind and brought me 10 different outfits, because it's hard to dress yourself when your body is constantly changing. It took an hour, all the while B was waiting patiently in the store full of girly things. It's hard to explain the sense of relief I felt when, for the fist time in months, I felt beautiful. 

What I am looking forward to: I am looking forward to telling our last set of parents the gender, so I can stop feeling like I have a giant secret and so I can post things about Little! :)

XO - Megs