Today is the BIG day. Well, not the BIG BIG day but we do find out whether this little sea monkey is hiding a banana or not! Whatever the sex of the baby is, we know one thing for sure — this kid if active!

Our friends have been sending advice on ways to make sure the baby is awake for the ultrasound. Drink OJ, do some exercise, eat a candy bar… all great suggestions and super appreciated but this mama is worried about the exact opposite!

Last time we went for an ultrasound our monkey was too busy doing acrobatics that the technician had a hard time taking any kind of measurements let alone get a peek at the goods. We’re hoping little one will be a little more settled this time around, with room for flips and parties a little more limited as the weeks have gone by.

Time to place your bets and hope for uncrossed legs!

Sailyaking, yeah we kind of made it up and it is the greatest thing to happen to this expecting mama!

In case you can’t figure out what the heck I’m talking about, Sailyaking is a combination of kayaking, sailing and surfing all wrapped up into one tricked out kayak from Costco.

Dear Hubs is an inventor through and through and just HAS to tinker with every single thing his hands come in contact with. It wasn’t really a surprise to me when before the kayak was even bought, he had talked about how he was going to rig up a sail and venture out to surf breaks far out and typically reserved for those with boats.

Just as soon as we had paddled our new toy back home (we literally bought them at the Costco in Hawaii Kai and plopped them in the water to paddle back to my in laws house), we were back in the car and on our way to City Mill for the necessary supplies.

Blue tarp. Duct Tape. Twine. Bamboo pole. Pulleys. PVC piping = sailyak

A few holes drilled in the bamboo, lots of trial and error and we had ourselves one jerry-rigged little boat. The questions and anticipation were building as we lugged the thing down to the water- Would it work? How far could we go? Would we make it across the channel? Turtles? Tuna Bowls? So much was opening up for and there was only one thing left to do, jump in and give it a go!

Our little engineering masterpiece worked surprisingly well. We were able to sail out towards the open sea and then surf our way back in, the perfect combination of exercise, relaxation, sun, sea and surf. For a mama that is finding more and more of the usual hobbies a little more difficult, a trip out on the sailyak makes everything look a little more possible….

It just goes to show — where there is a will, there is a way! A little ingenuity and a MacGyver husband also helps

Just about every minute of every single day I’m begging BEGGING my dear husband to rub my back. He occasionally obliges and to his credit does the best he can to massage out the kinks and aches of life spent crawling under high chairs and chasing after infants while also growing your very own little human being! It’s no surprise to me that most pregnant woman experience some degree of low back pain with all the changes that our bodies go through. I just feel like what I’ve been experiencing is a much higher pain level than what most women go through.

I’ve been having intense low low back pain where my legs feel almost paralyzed. If I try to move an intense surge of pain runs down my back into my legs and I get stuck in whatever position I’m in. It’s the worst when I’m sitting on the ground or moving from a laying down to sitting up position. I’ve tried to be really diligent about my morning stretching, drinking lots of water and exercising as much as I can but nothing has seemed to help.

Out of sheer desperation I finally broke down and went to a chiropractor in our neighborhood. After only a single adjustment my pain level went from almost unbearable at times to a mere annoyance. I was immediately able to sit myself up from the table without it taking forever and hollering out in pain. I’ve been going back to this miracle man every other day and I am amazed at how much better I feel. If you know anything about the spine, it was my SI joint on my left side in particular that is all out of whack. A few gentle twists with the right pressure and this puppy is good to go. I’m going to to keep up with these visits to make sure that I stay on top of this little issue and avoid falling back into the pain coma I was in for the past few weeks.

On top of all this wonderful chiropractic care, I’m also fortunate to have a friend in massage therapy school. I’ve been spoiled with pregnancy massages every couple of weeks and these also help with the little aches and pains. Heck, even if you aren’t pregnant I recommend splurging on a massage every once in a while. It feels incredible to pamper yourself and a massage is such a nice way to spent the afternoon!

Between these two approaches I’m hoping that the next 4-5 months will be smooth sailing in the back pain department. With everything else going on (morning sickness, fatigue….) it’s nice to wake up and feel like you can move!