Adventure: mini-hike in Banner Forest
About two miles away from our house is a huge forest park (635 acres, guys) that I rarely venture into because… bears. For real. But my husband wants to film a few scenes for the short movie he’s working on in the forest, so we decided to take a little “hike.” Which was really more trail-walking, because there is no real hiking up hills in Banner Forest.
It’s really a gorgeous piece of land; dense trees, wild undergrowth, well tended pathways, and a maze of trails that can lead you literally anywhere. To me, it’s a bit scary, but I’m probably just paranoid. There was one incident of a bear mauling a dog a while ago, and I’m kind of afraid of bears, so… y’know. It was super fun taking Asa out for a little walk, though! As you can see, he was pretty delighted to be outside, and riding along in the hiking pack that my husband is testing out for a possible hike next weekend.
Quite a few people have gotten lost in this forest, due to the vast size and the winding of the pathways, which is probably another reason why it’s a bit intimidating to me. But with Asa jabbering the entire time, and my husband by my side, it was much less scary, and actually pretty fun to explore. For a short time, since pregnancy is not being kind to how far I can walk without sitting down. 
I would really love to go on a real hike, except that I get winded very quickly and the whole I-can’t-walk-very-far-without-hurting thing. Did any of you experience ligament pain while pregnant? For me, it’s all in the crotch area; walking too far, sleeping on my side, stuff like that; it just hurts. I’d love to be able to relieve it some, or figure out ways to hold it off if I can. 
But that was entirely off subject. As the weather gets warmer, I am excited to be able to be outdoors more often! I am hoping to challenge myself to take a walk every day or every other day when it’s sunny, to stay healthy through pregnancy without pushing myself too far. This pregnancy is already quite different from Asa’s — cravings, food aversions, ligament pain, more weight gain, belly shape, it’s all different. And of course, everyone guesses it’s probably a girl (we find out in 7 weeks) just because it’s such a different pregnancy, but I know people who have vastly different pregnancies for the same gender of baby, so… I won’t set my heart on one or the other!
Even if I have been sifting through girl names just in case…
I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!
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10 Comments
Caleb
I miss those wooded places.
Jess
O, the ligament pain! It was so bad by the end with both of mine, but getting out and walking helped, even if it made it worse for a bit, in the end, I got it less if I walked more. I did most of my exercise on an elliptical with my second, and realized that the ligament pain was specific to the walking motion for me. But I always figured it was a pay me now or pay me later thing because by time I got to labor and delivery I would be all stretched and strong. Lol. At least that’s what I tell myself so I can keep walking!
Jessica
These photos are freakin’ adorable and I love your sweater!
http://midwest-muse.net
Pam
I try to exercise five days a week during pregnancy but that often doesn’t happen. My husband is always surprised that 2.5 kms is my max. Ultrasound in 3 weeks. I am excited!!!
Grace
Sounds a lot like my second pregnancy pretty much identical. Weight gain, showing fast (you get very tired of the twins question) can’t breath, sore constantly. The ligament pain never went away, by the time I had my girl I was so tired and sore I could barely walk and ended up having an epidural. I think it was because I had mine close together and didn’t get my stomach and pelvic floor muscles back in shape. The only thing I found for relief was a maternity support band. My sister in laws went to a Chiropracter that specialized in maternity care and they got a lot of relief from that. Hope you get feeling better soon.
dani
They say that you have more extreme symptoms with girls… sort of like foreshadowing the classic mommy/daughter relationship. We’ll see, though!
And what a lovely place to hike! Don’t worry about the bears- you probably won’t see much wildlife at all during the daylight hours!
Taylor
OMG! You are so cute with your little pregnant belly! What a beautiful family you have!!!
xoxo
Taylor
http://www.nothingbutapigeon.com/
jacquelinefrey
What a beautiful place – looks like a fairy land!
Nan
That looks like so much fun! I moved to the Pacific Northwest region, so that kind of scenery still gets me. Your pregnancy sounds complicated–I’m sorry to hear about the ligament pain. I get tendonitis in my elbows and shoulder from rock climbing, and my doctor said I needed to do push ups and pull ups to help strengthen those areas. I don’t know if that’s something that would help (or if it’s even safe while pregnant), but maybe ask other mothers to see if anything like that helped?
I also like your outfit. It looks stylish and functional, which is hard to accomplish when you’re going outside!
Mom
I got those pains regularly when pregnant. Just take it slow and remember to not take too large of a stride. That helped me a lot. Maybe chiropractic would help?