All photos in this post by Whitney Norko Photography. This blog post contains affiliate links via RewardStyle. By shopping these links, you are supporting New Cotton Blend at no additional cost to you . Please note that I only recommend products that I personally use; and I always have my readers’ best interest at heart.
Laughing to myself that already a month has passed since our babymoon, and I’m just now sitting down to compile a blog post about out trip! What the heck will the timeline of posts look like once Baby Wilson is here!? Need to consult some blogger mamas on that.
If you follow along on Instagram @nataliecottonwilson, you’ve seen a few peeks at our week long babymoon the Outer Banks of North Carolina at the end of April. I was 26 weeks weeks along in my pregnancy then, and what a sweet time in the second trimester that was to fly cross country! 30 weeks this week, and I’m starting to feel that ‘large n in charge’ vibe (which I know will only worsen over the next 10 weeks) but boy, am I glad we took that trip when we did! Medical advisory of not flying beyond 28 weeks aside, I physically and emotionally couldn’t imagine an 8 hour travel day feeling as heavy as I do in this third trimester.
Tay and I were so jazzed to find a week of availability at Saltwood Cottage in Kitty Hawk, NC. This tiny house had been on our AirBnB wish list for a few years already. The stars truly aligned for the availability to work out with the timing of this babymoon, and both Tay and I having been vaccinated before then! We were both blessed to take a week off from work to sneak away to the wooded coastline of the Outer Banks, to spend some sweet, uninterrupted time together before Baby Wilson makes their debut!
In This Post:
How we spent our Week in the Outer Banks
Tips for Traveling While Pregnant
Our Maternity Photoshoot with Whitney Norko
Where We Stayed
Saltwood Cottage is a cozy, tiny house tucked away in the The Woods of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. We loved the indoor/outdoor living spaces in this cottage – every morning we worked out on the patio (yes, we brought our resistance bands!), I drank coffee in the hammock, and we soaked in the outdoor tub. At night, we lit a bonfire and roasted marshmallows to the tune of crickets and wind through the trees. Tay and I used the kitchenette for breakfasts and coffee. Close to a shopping center, we filled the fridge with some groceries and goodies for the week and purchased sunscreen and bug spray, so convenient! Saltwood Cottage came equipped with beach chairs and cruiser bikes for our use while visiting. The Woods of Kitty Hawk is lined with paved biking/hiking trails just steps away from our front door. At 26 weeks, I felt well enough to go for a jog a few mornings!
Where We Ate
Tay and I had no idea Outer Banks had such a southern feel to it! We were expecting seafood, but we were so pleasantly surprised to be eating some southern favorites all week. Think Carolina BBQ, shrimp n grits, crab boil pots, hushpuppies, and fried okra! Check out this list of the restaurants we ate at, not one bad spot!
Trio Restaurant & Market | Tropical Smoothie Cafe | High Cotton BBQ | Outer Bean Cafe | Ocean Boulevard Bistro | The Spot | Barefoot Bernies | Henry’s |
What to Do
Visit Luke Street Beach & Kitty Hawk Beach | Walk the Kitty Hawk Pier | Visit the Bodie Island Lighthouse | Bike Ride in The Woods of Kitty Hawk | Take Home a Crab Boil Pot from Outer Banks Boil Company | Picnic on the Beach with Charcuterie from Trio Market | Grab your spouse a Beer/Wine drive-thru at Brew Thru |
Tips for Traveling While Pregnant
- Wear full length compression stockings while flying. I hated this suggestion, and hated wearing them. But this suggestion from my Midwife before our trip was an important one! With an increased blood volume in pregnancy, the risk increases for deep vein thromboses and pulmonary emboli post air travel! Tay and I split up our trek from San Diego to the east coast with layovers in Chicago on the way there, and Dallas on the way back. This made our travel day longer, but it broke up the time I had to stay seated. With more time on my feet to move around, and the gentle compression provided by the support hose, I was in good shape for travel! I purchased a 6mmHg compression hose from Walmart, pack of 2! Also available at drugstores like CVS, Walgreens, and my favorite – Amazon!
- Drink water! This seems simple and obvious, but I didn’t listen to my own advice on this one. While I thought I was hydrating enough during our trip, I came home to experience a yucky case of pyelonephritis just a few days after our trip. I understand the risk of infection is higher in pregnancy, but I attribute that unexpected trip to the hospital to my lack of fluid intake and added stress while traveling! Pack a large Hydroflask or Yeti, and take it with you EVERYWHERE. Aim for a gallon of water intake a day!
- Ask for an aisle seat if you can. You’re advised to get up and walk every hour during a flight, not to mention the frequent full bladder you’ll have sending you to the bathroom so often. This wasn’t an option for Tay and I as our flights were packed, but something I’d try to advocate for myself next time.
- Pack low rise bikini bottoms. If you’ve read even one blog post on this site, you’ve noticed my frequent mention of a good high waist piece. Workout leggings, skirts, jeans, bikini bottoms – high rise all the way. Not with a bump! The low rise bikini bottom I’m wearing in these maternity photos came in so clutch with the baby bump. I was comfortable on the beach, and rocked the belly in a way I hadn’t ever done before. Embrace the low rise on this one occasion.
- Pack Tums in little baggies. Have a bag in your suitcase, a bag in your purse, a bag in your rental car, a bag in your husband’s pocket (kidding…but ya never know when heartburn will strike!). Reflux hasn’t been a huge issue in this pregnancy, but with the higher fat and salt content of the food we were eating all week, I experienced more frequent heartburn than I had in the previous weeks of pregnancy.
- Bring a weekly organizer for your prenatal vitamins and supplements. Tay and I were gone for seven days, which meant seven days worth of prenatal vitamins, baby aspirin, omega 3s, magnesium, and cranberry supplements. I purchased this pill organizer from Amazon to help keep me on track while traveling.
Our Maternity Photoshoot with Whitney Norko
Tay and I had the privilege of working with one of OBX’s best photographers during our babymoon. I was so excited to document this season of our lives in the most beautiful beach cottage! Highly recommend Whitney Norko for her talented + creative eye, but also for her sweet, personality. She made Tay and I feel so comfortable, as posing with a baby bump was obviously new for us! A mama of four herself, she shared some great family stories, while capturing our cozy morning together. Check out more of her work here.
Sharing a few of our favorites here, plus my outfit for the shoot! Linked on LIKE.to.KNOW.it, you’ll find the Amazon bikini top, Walmart bikini bottom, kimono coverup, sunhat, and MAMA necklace that I wore for our photos. I loved how the bright white worked with the neutral decor in this space. And I was grateful for the way the kimono coverup helped me feel modest, while flaunting a new area of growth on my body – Baby Wilson!
During our babymoon, Tay felt Baby Wilson kick for the first time! While I had been feeling kicks since week 19, with my anterior placenta, it wasn’t until week 26 that daddyo could feel em too! Such an excited milestone in this pregnancy together, to feel our little one movin n groovin!
Mama’s craving for fruit really amped up in this week, making OBX’s famous açaí bowls that much more enjoyable! Half of the days we spent there, we took açaí bowls or smoothies to-go and enjoyed them on the beach!
Mama friends, did you and your spouse go on a babymoon before you welcomed your first little one? Share your experience in the comments. Join in the New Cotton Blend community on Instagram by following @nataliecottonwilson. Let’s connect!
