Home » BLOG » Archives for January 2017

Month: January 2017

16 Weeks and Growing!

This baby coconut is growing faster than I could have ever imagined. I mean, 9 months seems like such a long time to be pregnant for… but the days and weeks really do go by fast.

It seems such a short time ago I walked into the doctor’s office for the first time with no idea how far along I really was. My guess was about 5 and a half weeks but the doctor decided to do an ultrasound that very day just to be sure since there was a possibility I was actually 9 and a half weeks. My mom knew it and the ultrasound tech confirmed it – 9.5.

I really thought the first ultrasound would have to be scheduled for another day so Peter wasn’t even there to see our little one for the first time with me. I looked up at the screen and was amazed at how much this little fetus was already so much more than just a little blip on the screen. There was a real baby inside of me. I saw the heart beating and I saw tiny little legs and arms stretch out in quick jolts. It was incredible.

We had been quietly sharing the news about our new little coconut with family and our closest friends and were even more excited to share the first ultrasound picture!

All-day nausea had set in around 7 weeks and continued all the way through the 11th week before tapering off. I never threw up but definitely felt nauseous and survived almost completely on crackers. My appetite had vanished and I had also become aware of my strong aversion to coffee – something that should have been an obvious sign for this Seattle girl.

Everyone wants to know if living and working on a boat makes morning sickness worse. Truth is, I actually felt better while we were sailing. When we came back into flat waters my nausea kicked back in.

At 12 weeks we got another ultrasound to make sure baby was growing properly and all was well. So much bigger already.

Fast forward to now.

At almost 17 weeks my baby bump has definitely started to look a little more obvious. I’m starting to feel less fat and more pregnant though its still hard to distinguish the difference. My energy level has not really resumed as most people say it’s suppose to in the second trimester, though my appetite is returning to normal. Orange juice is pretty much flowing through my veins and it seems hard to start the day without yogurt or some other kind of dairy. Sleeping through the night is already a distant memory and I can feel my belly starting to stretch even more.

Everyone around West End knows I’m pregnant so they constantly remind me to slow down and take it easy ;) I think about the days when getting on and off of our boat will be a challenge. I think about how we’ll prepare the forward cabin for our little one. I think about how our life is already changing and how blessed we really are. Our home is filled with love and the excitement that Peter and I share is growing stronger every day <3

In case you were wondering… we will definitely keep living on our boat. There are zero plans in our foreseeable future to move back to land. We love the life we’ve chosen and will do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Thanks to all the other amazing boat mommas out there I am absolutely 100% sure that we can do it too. Its an incredible and fortunate way to raise a child.

P.S.

In just two more weeks we’ll hopefully find out if its a boy or a girl! 

Any suggestions for names?

 

We Eloped!

Most of you have already seen our social media posts but if you haven’t… SURPRISE! We eloped!

Though we’ve been together for years already, on December 16th Peter and I made it official. They say that one year living on a boat together is like 7 years on land. Ha! If we’ve made it this long together in such a tiny space there’s no doubt in our minds that we’re destined to share many more wonderful years to come.

We’ve been so busy with work that we originally thought we’d make wedding plans for the following summer to give our families plenty of notice to arrange flights, lodging and time off work to be there for the big day. We also knew that we’d have a few more days off to spend with them when the charter season slows down a little. Although I love to plan things out, our lifestyle is much more focused on going with the flow and being adaptable to change. The original wedding plans of course didn’t stick for long…

You guessed it… We recently found out we are growing a baby coconut of our very own! Our little one will be arriving sometime around June 2017 :)

We both decided to have the wedding sooner rather than later. It made the most sense to just elope, keep it simple and small, and not have any family come down for the wedding since quite a few of them will be coming down to see the baby in July anyway.

After choosing a wedding date literally less than two weeks away, the clock was ticking to get it all arranged. On a random day off, Peter and I went into a little shop near our boat where I found a flowy and casual beach dress and Peter found some new surf trunks and a new button up shirt. After a quick google search I was up to speed on the requirements and procedures for getting married in BVI and made a couple phone calls to secure an officiant. He and his wife took care of their part of the marriage license application and Peter and I went into town to submit the application. Luckily Brittany and her mom were going to be in town as well and were able to sign as witnesses, a crucial part of the submittal requirements.

Thanks to our friend William at Mango Media, his friends at Surfsong allowed us to use their gorgeous beach both on the public side of Well Bay on Beef Island (East end of Tortola) as well as the private portion of their property for our ceremony. I couldn’t think of a more perfect location for our special day!

We had only a few of our closest friends that were already in the Virgin Islands attend the ceremony. It was important to us that someone was there to help celebrate even though our family was far away. Even though I had no decorations, arch or even chairs, Brittany surprised me with an incredible bouquet of flowers!! It was more than I could have dreamed of and a perfect finishing touch.

The best part of all is that I had asked Genevieve to capture the photos, and she said yes! I absolutely love her eye for photography, especially of people and magical moments. Plus of course that meant they would be coming to visit us in BVI after taking a ferry over from St. Thomas! It wouldn’t have been the same without them there.

After the ceremony we all drove back into town for dinner and drinks at Island Roots, hosted by Xtian. It was a lovely evening. Scott even surprised us with a few extra days off!! Thank you Scott! And a HUGE thank you to everyone that was a part of this very special day!! xoxo

 

It’s taken me a little while to get around to posting these, but I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out! Take a look… 

Pictured above:

Bride, Groom and Betsy – Where The Coconuts Grow
Genevieve, Eben, Arias and Ellia – It’s A Necessity
Brittany, Scott, Isla, Haven and Mira – Windtraveler
Darcy, Luuck, Stormer and Rio – Sunkissed Soeters
Rebecca and Brian – Summertime Rolls
Kara and Todd – B&G Yacht Management
Clare and Blade – Voyage Charters