Month:

August 

Baby’s Size:

Weeks 20 – 23 

Banana, carrot, spaghetti squash, bunch of grapes 

I’m feeling:

Really pregnant! Weeks 20 through 23 have certainly been a transition. I can feel the shift in my body weight and balance and I’m having to be much more self aware and mindful of the things I do and how I move my body (bending over, lifting etc.,) 

Food I love:

My appetite has officially come full circle and I feel like most of my cravings have subsided. I’m also noticing that I tend to snack more now and eat smaller meals / portions. 

Food I hate:

Still never had any aversions regarding food. 

Pros of August: 

• We hired a Doula and I am seriously so so so excited & ecstatic about her! Her name is Kris and she is just what I was looking for! She has 19 years of experience on Maui with both at home and hospital births. She is humble in her experience but very much knows her stuff. She is way more affordable then what I was thinking which was a huge factor since insurance does not cover the cost! We also just felt a really good connection with her which of course was most important. The other thing that I really loved about her was that she was all about Colt coaching me through the birth and her coaching Colt (which I absolutely love and I was so happy about because I wasn’t sure I would be able to sell Colt on the idea of hiring someone) She’s also 100% on board with what I want with my natural birth plan but she is also open minded if I do decide I want pain management. She is also willing to have unlimited meetings with us over these next 4 months to prepare us for labor and delivery as well as unlimited postpartum visits after the baby is here to ensure we are all transitioning into our new roles which is great because a lot of other doulas have a set number of visits!  I’m seriously so obsessed and I just really, really love the idea of her being on our team. We are so blessed! 

• All of my tests came back normal for risks of abnormalities or defects. Thank you Jesus. 

• Both of my cervix length tests were normal which means my body is doing exactly what it needs to do to make room for him to grow. 

• Our appointment with our specialist was great and everything still looks normal and his growth is 100% on track. 

• We started the nursery! Colt is seriously a Mr. Etsy / Pinterest next level dream boat. He is so creative and can turn any idea into a reality. He built this amazing bookshelf and redesigned the whole closet space. We also ordered two dressers and put those together! It’s coming along so nice and now that we have our vision we can’t wait for after our baby shower to finish it all up. 

   
    
    
   

• I found out that the breast pump that I really wanted is 100% covered by my insurance and that all my doctor has to do is call it in so I can pick it up — stoked! 

• We celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary at the Grand Wailea and I got my second prenatal massage while Colt got a deep tissue which was heavenly!!

   
    
    
    
    
    
 

Cons of August:

• I pulled a muscle in my upper back / shoulder. It had me in so much pain for nearly a week. The day that it happened I honestly thought I was dying. I’ve never felt so much pain in one isolated area from a pull or strain. Of course there wasn’t anything I could do for it but rest (which hurt even more because laying down escalated the pain). Luckily (for me, not for her) my cousin Chrissie had a similar experience with pulling a muscle in her lower back during her second pregnancy and I remember her telling me about it. Knowing she had a similar experience really helped get me through the pain when all I could think about was how the pain was never going to stop, of course it eventually did. 

• Because of my pulled muscle I really wasn’t able to work out as much as I have been which sucked. I had to take almost 2 weeks off from the gym to heal and rest which was hard for me because I’m really trying to stay as active and as healthy as possible. 

• Even with 2 ultrasounds we were never able to get a really clear look or picture of baby boy. The first ultra sound the quality was just low and the second one with our specialist he was breech (whelp) and pushed up against my placenta so we only got a peak of the side of his face, which was still adorable of course! I’m really, really hoping that our next appointment in October will be better (especially since our sister Ashley will be here for it, ekkkkkk!!)

 

 

Currently living in: 

My Birthday suit this heat has just been too much so if I’m at home you guessed it I’m naked and tummy butter is the only thing you’ll see on me. 

Looking forward to: 

Finishing the nursery 

Dreaming about:

Having most of our family here for our baby shower in October! 

Milestone: 

We officially announced Baby Stews name (drumroll)….

Cash Olden Stewart 

We are so in love and we couldn’t have thought of a better way to have announced the news then while celebrating our 3 year wedding anniversary (6 years together) at the Grand Wailea — our most favorite place on earth!!