Last day in paradise, April 30, 2012

After getting sufficiently sunburned the day before, we really didn't feel like doing a whole lot on our last day in Maui, at least in terms of being in the sun (I know, we are insane...) But I guess we sort of OD'd on sun, kind of like how in Seattle we OD on rain. So we went to the pool in the morning and actually did catch a few rays there but mostly spent the morning reading by the pool and taking occasional dips. We then decided to head here:

The Maui ocean center. It is a pretty cool place to visit to see the Maui marine life, especially if you want to see if from inside the glass versus up close and personal in the water (like yours truly who does not care for looking a fish much). After we walked around here for a while, we headed to Lahaina where we had planned to meet our friends Bryan and Michaela who happened to be vacationing on the island at the same time as us. We went to a little place called Mala Ocean Tavern that was right on the ocean in Lahaina. It was quite good especially once we got there. I made the mistake of telling Justin to park at the very south end of Lahaina assuming that this place was pretty close (I mean, it's in Lahaina, right?) Yeah, it was probably a 2.5 mile walk.... whoops. My husband loves how I give directions sometimes... I think my saving grace was that I was as miserable walking there as he was. Eventually we made it and spent a few hours with our friends having drinks and appetizers. It was perfect. We then headed back to our condo to just hang out for the evening. It was the perfect end to a fabulous week in paradise for my birthday and a pre-baby sun trip.

Paradise day #4, April 29, 2012

Day 4 in paradise also coincidentally happened to be my birthday. My 30th birthday. What better way to spend your 30th birthday than in one of the most beautiful (and warm) places? (And by the way, holy CRAP, I'm 30...how did this happen?) To kick off the 30th year, I wanted a morning stroll along the beach and pancakes. I'm thinking the baby might have influenced part of this decision (clearly, the pancake part... although potentially the walk part- maybe he wanted a nap? I'm convinced that when I move, he sleeps...)

Hey, what do you know, it's sunny on my birthday! A few more to follow of our early morning beach walk:

God awful picture (of me), but whatever....

Seriously. Love. (and also related: I want to go back now).

Second love... so delicious. These were my first two. I went back for a third. Complete with coconut syrup. The baby was very happy. 

Justin at breakfast.... once again the brunch at Duo was quite amazing.

After breakfast, we headed out for my second birthday request: a hike. We had researched where to go during breakfast and found one close by that we hadn't been to yet. It was at LaPerouse bay, which is a popular snorkeling spot and pretty much the most east you can drive on the south side of the island. We didn't really know what we were in for but were ready to give it a try.  

When driving to the hike, the one thing we noticed as we passed the point of familiarity (meaning: unexplored territory by us), was how desolate it was. It was total lava rock, undeveloped land. Pretty cool.

We started the hike and had amazing shoreline views at first. To the right is where we spotted TONS of surfers and snorkelers. I'm not sure about the snorkeling here but I could vouch just by eye the surfing...it was SO windy and the waves were so big.

We continued along and had even better views behind us of the Maui coast.

At first on the hike we went through woods, which was sort of weird since the whole drive was pretty desolate and then all of a sudden: woods!

After the woods, the hike opened up to a white sand beach...

And then we got to a black sand beach...

And then we hiked on rocks for miles and miles and miles... it's actually quite the workout to hike over big stones. I had no idea.

In the background was Haleakala, the volcano that formed Maui. It was cool to see this view of Haleakala from the lava rock point of view. You could tell where the lava had run down off of the volcano into the ocean as the island was formed.

Eventually we made it out to some eastern point where there was a random lighthouse. I'm not really sure what the lighthouse was for but it was pretty cool. The coolest part was watching the ocean here... both Justin and I were almost knocked off our feet from the wind so the ocean and the waves were just insanity. I think our conversation was something like "I wonder how long it would take to get killed if you fell in the ocean right here?"

A picture of Justin taking pictures of the crazy ocean... I tried to get this to capture the wind but this really doesn't do it justice.

But we did have great views of the neighbor islands...

As we started to walk back, we noticed another trail that was the king's road trail... it was the original trail we were supposed to take and it takes you 2 miles to some remote beach. We'd already been hiking for quite a while at that point but we decided we'd take the trail and see how we did. Well, we did make it to the beach despite hiking on all of the rocks and in the blazing sun for what felt like FOREVER. Here is a shot of the beach, below us.

Here is Justin on the beach... again, stupid iphone... not sure what the gray thing is but you get the idea. I'm too lazy to try to fix it.

And a shot of the kings road going back from the beach. Somehow there were cars down by the beach and we couldn't figure out how in the world they got there. The rocks were really rather large and there really weren't any roads.

As we were almost FINALLY back (to the woodsy part) after 9 miles (we tracked it via GPS and it ended up being WAY longer than we expected), we saw wild goats in the woods. Crazy.  

And one more up close and personal. 

After we finished our hike, we headed back home and set out to have another beach day (birthday request #3). Unfortunately, on the hike, we both got completely fried. It was so windy that we didn't even feel it and despite applying a ton of sunscreen, it just wasn't enough. Fortunately, we were saved in that it clouded over shortly after we got to the beach... unfortunately, that meant for a rather cold afternoon by the ocean so we didn't last too long.  

For my birthday dinner, we went to Nick's fishmarket which is one of the places I love on Maui. It has great views of the ocean and amazing food. Kind of spendy, but it's Maui... so it kind of comes with the territory. 

A picture of the sunset... gorgeous.

The waiters were notified it was my birthday and brought us some custard-y type thing. I really dislike custard so of course we had to get something different...

So I got a chocolate something... I don't even remember exactly what now other than it was amazing.

And Justin satisfied his yearly craving for creme brulee. All in all, it was a pretty spectacular way to ring in my 30th year. I had put a text on facebook that morning on how very lucky I felt to have such a wonderful husband, a new little baby, two great stepsons, an awesome family and friends... I truly think that this decade is going to be amazing and I can't wait to see what it holds!

Paradise day #3, April 28, 2012

This was probably my favorite day that we spent in Maui. My birthday was pretty awesome too but this day was pretty incredible. We decided to get up first thing and go on a hike on west Maui. Conincidentally, it was the same hike we went on in August after our wedding (see post on that hike here). We wanted to do it again because it was so awesome and I was only slightly hesitant as I knew what we were in for so I was a little concerned that at 6 months pregnant it was going to be rough.

Beginning of the trail...I believe it is about 7 miles round trip. Before we started, we had to get really good at peeing in the wilderness. Or rather, YOURS TRULY, had to get really good at peeing in the wilderness since at that time I had not peed in about 1.2 hours and that is about my max time of not peeing in this preggo state. Fortunately, one of my good friends taught me the best pee trick when you are in the woods. Unfortunately for me, it requires a tree and there were none of those around. Needless to say, we made it to the trail head with empty bladders. Probably more than I really needed to say about that...

A view of the valley as we got in to the hike. What we love about this hike is that it starts off farmy (thus the no tree thing), then gets into trees (like our Washington woods), then opens into these types of views, and eventually you get to the top of these peaks where you have views of the whole island. It's pretty amazing.

My cute husband hiking... Maui coastline in the background.

And another...

Beautiful Maui coast...

And mountains...

Eventually we made it to the top where a nice guy from Florida took our picture. And yep, I sure did hike in a bikini again. And white shorts (last time it was a white bikini). No shame in hikining in a bikini at 6 months preggo. It was hot!

And one more shot... we looked at our watches and couldn't believe it but we made it to the top in the same amount of time as we did when I was not pregnant in August. YES! Not that that was an expectation but I was still pretty impressed with myself although I will say that it was SO much harder being pregnant and attempting to hike.

We continued our drive around the west point of Maui... it's a pretty cool drive but also, there is an AMAZING banana bread stand that we (me) had to stop at again. First part of the drive: Hawaii cows.

And gorgeous views!

One more shot of the amazing scenery.  We eventually made it around the island, got our banana bread, and headed straight to the eastside where we packed up snacks, drinks, and beach gear (this time complete with umbrella) and went to the ocean where we spent the remainder of the day. Only at one point did it get a little traumatic as I failed big time at going under a wave and instead let it completely mutilate me... the waves were really big that day and one came at me and I was sort of an idiot and just watched it. Flipped around, had a wild ride, got the beejebus scared out of me all while Justin sat and watched my feet flip around in the air. Regardless, it was still a pretty amazing few hours at the ocean.  

A shot of Justin in the water right before sunset (and a few more to follow)...

(not sure what the gray thing is all about... iphone photo)...

After watching the sunset, we headed home to grill vegetables and steaks and relaxed for the evening. It was pretty amazing.

Week 26

We are edging closer and closer to 7 months. It blows my mind at how fast these 9-10 months are going by. Some days it seems like forever, but mostly it feels like the next thing I know, he is going to be here. Crazy.

Week 26 picture, view 1

Week 26 picture, view 2

And week 25 picture. Looks funny compared to week 26- I think the baby must have been sitting funny to make my stomach pooch out more in week 25. Pretty cute.

How I'm feeling?

Pretty much just quite large.

I also had some weird sort of cold thing this week. It wasn't a full blown cold but for a good day I was convinced that it was going to be. I sneezed about 4,000,000 times an hour and felt a bit like crap (achy and just wanted chicken noodle soup for one night) but nothing ever materialized. I did eat some raw garlic so maybe that was just enough to get me over the hurdle between actually getting sick and not getting sick. I'm glad I stayed on the healthy side... I can't remember the last time I had a cold and I would not like to add that to my "things I did while pregnant" list. No thanks.

This week marks the end of the "honeymoon" trimester and starts the beginning of the last trimester... what is known to be the really uncomfortable one. We shall see, but somehow I think that's probably an entirely accurate description.

How I'm changing?

The whole belly button inverting and hair thickness things are still blowing my mind this week. Both are products of continued hormones and continuing to get larger. It's also getting harder and harder to bend over, you know, even to put socks on.

I also experienced my first braxton hicks contraction. Weird. It's very odd as you basically just feel your belly get really tight. Also a necessary sign that your body is preparing itself for labor.

 

What I'm eating?

After I mentioned pitas in last week's blog post, they made a comeback to my diet. Sounded so good. So, I ate quite a few pitas last week with hummus and veggies. Delish.Other than that, pretty much just been eating normally.

Weight I'm gaining? 

I am officially part of the 140 club. Oh man. Everything says that I should have gained 16-22 pounds by now... um, check. From here on out, apparently I'm supposed to gain 1/2 inch in belly size a WEEK. Seriously?

How I'm sleeping?

Great, really nothing too notable here. The baby seems to get active right before I go to sleep but it hasn't seem to impair my ability to fall asleep. I guess I'm just going to sleep well while I still can.

What's the baby doing?

-The baby is 14 inches and 1.75 pounds, or the size of a hothouse cucumber

-The baby's lungs and brain continue to develop more and more and he can hear outside voices better and sense light 

-Basically from here on out, everything is developed, the baby is just growing and preparing for the outside world.

What we are doing to prepare for the baby?

-We are still in our baby classes which manage to freak me out on a weekly basis. Since it is a natural birthing class, there is really no holding back on what has or hasn't happened in labor to the "general" population of women who go through labor. Some things seem manageable, others just seem beyond comprehension until I actually live through it. What it comes down to is that I really just have no idea what to expect out of my labor and that thought alone, as someone who likes control, scares the bejeebus out of me. We are still debating a doula....

-We also went to our midwives for our monthly appointment. It was also the glucose test. And WOW. Yuck. That stuff was SO sweet. Again, it's an optional test but one they look for you to have done if you get transferred to a hospital so better to be safe than sorry. Also good to know if you are prone to gestational diabetes so you can modify your diet. I got no call back which was the sign for all clear. But WOAH. That stuff gave me such a headache. I'm pretty sure I haven't eaten or drank that much sugar in YEARS.

-We've also wrapped up our registry stuff for the most part and have our three registries down- Amazon, Buy buy baby (a midwest store that is owned by Bed Bath and Beyond), and Target. I'm still not totally sure that we have all the bases covered or really, totally what we were doing, but at least we have something. I will say that when we were in Missouri and registering at Buy buy baby, the people there were extremely helpful and informative.

Random thoughts on pregnancy (pregnancy brain?)

I totally freaked out at the midwives this week because as I was leaving, the midwife said "well, we'll see you in two weeks." Huh? I'm on a monthly schedule. She says, "nope, you are now on the every two weeks schedule-it's that time. Welcome to the 3rd trimester." It was a total whack into reality, one that I wasn't quite prepared for...but, here we are and we need to get cracking. The second trimester went entirely way too fast and I'm sure the third will too. Time to get this party started (meaning, get our shit organized so that we are ready to meet this little guy).

Paradise day #2, April 27, 2012

Ah, these pictures make me miss Hawaii. Especially as it pours down rain in Seattle...

The second day in Maui, we got up and since we had no food in the condo, we decided to go out for breakfast. We first drove past a rather highly rated placed that basically looked like a shack that could cave in on itself at any minute. Being that I am sort of sensitive (or maybe snobby) to what I deem as "weird" hole in the walls, we ventured elsewhere. We settled on Duo, a place renowed for the breakfast buffet and it actually ended up being a great choice as we got to walk along the beachfront to the restaurant.

...and we had a pretty great view once we were there.

Another shot of Justin... we both decided on the buffet since it got such stellar reviews and even for $35 a pop, it was pretty amazing. I am still drooling over the pancakes I had that the guy there made for me right in front of my face, complete with coconut syrup. AMAZING.

A picture of Justin before we walked back to our car. After breakfast, we headed to Safeway to pick up some necessary snacks and food. We had decided to have a beach day so we also needed some beach snacks.

Complete with rum for some fruity drinks for Justin... and of course, once we got home, he had to try them out to make sure they were ok.

Apparently rum at 10am does not taste so fabulous. We then packed up and headed straight to the beach. We were sort of dumb, though, as we didn't bring our umbrella and it was totally sunny on this day. So of course, we both got decently burnt despite coating on the sunscreen (apparently pregnant women are more prone to sunburn?? Who knew). We spent a big chunk of the day running in and out of the ocean and reading by the ocean before saying enough was enough and heading home to relax on the lanai out of the sun.

Evenutally we made the decision to walk to dinner. We had looked at Duo's menu for dinner at breakfast and it was in both of our heads. So, yes, we went back to the same place for dinner as we had gone for breakfast. I had the great idea to walk there...I figured it was a good idea since we hadn't done much all day and it was really only 1.5 miles each way.

It was an absolutely goregous sunset walk there... 

And one more...

And once there we settled in for the evening...glass of wine for Justin, sparkling water for me. Then, I had fish and Justin also had some fish along with some local Maui beef that was amazing. I always forget to take pictures of the food part but luckily this isn't a food blog so who cares.

We also had a great sunset at the restaurant.

And we ended the night with a GIANT thing of cotton candy (that, truthfully, we didn't touch but it's one of the things the restaurant hands out, like bread....interesting). We then realized we had to walk 1.5 miles home on full stomachs, in the dark. IT.WAS.MISERABLE. I think if Justin wasn't so miserable himself, he would have gloated about how right he was in that it was not a smart idea to walk to dinner. But luckily he didn't do that as I was in too much pain and probably would have decked him if he had even tried to gloat. I wore flip flops and my feet are unaccustomed to such exposed footwear. So much so, that by the time I got home both of the bottoms of my feet were bleeding and I had giant blisters on them. But, we made it (barely) and cuddled the rest of the night... along with something that we heard in our condo that we thought was a bird squaking. We thought maybe either our condo was haunted or the bird had gotten in through the eaves and was going to die there. It was a little freaky and we both felt bad for it. More on the bird thing in later Hawaii posts.