We are back from our very first trip to Hawaii, and let me first just say I GET IT NOW. It’s paradise.
Maui blew us away (more about Maui on our guide here).
Looking back–and still refusing to put my sunscreen away (I just like to smell it, ok?)–this was by far my favorite trip since our honeymoon.
We loved exploring the island and relaxing on all of the perfect beaches. And the heavenly pineapple didn’t hurt either.
Most of all, this trip will always hold a special place in our hearts because it’s where we found out that our baby is a little girl! (Read about how I surprised Tyler when I found out I was pregnant here).
We always said we wanted to do a “babymoon” in Hawaii. Neither of us had ever been to Hawaii, and we knew it would be a beautiful place to relax and connect before our lives are altered just a tiny bit this fall.
The weekend we ended up booking just so happened to be when I was at 19 weeks, just before my 20-week anatomy scan where we’d find out if the baby was a boy or a girl.
Once I had the vision of Tyler and I finding out sex of our baby on our babymoon, I couldn’t let go of it. (My best and worst quality, according to my mom, Tyler, and everyone). Our idea was to open a box holding a blue-for-boy or pink-for-girl lei.
After a *few* persistent phone calls, I finally convinced the ultrasound office of the importance of performing my 20-week anatomy scan just a few short days early. My OB had mentioned that “the baby is trending a few days ahead anyway,” so the receptionist broke down and let me schedule the appointment the day before our flight.
The baby looked perfectly healthy at the anatomy scan, and we were (and are) SO happy and thankful.
We asked the tech to not tell us the gender. Instead, she stepped out and hopped on the phone with someone at the hotel who I had asked to help with our reveal. I had a vision, who can fault me??
Fernanda, the sweetest lady from guest services at the Fairmont Kea Lani, was kind enough to pick up a blue or pink lei depending on what the ultrasound tech told her. Seriously, so nice.
Since we arrived late on Thursday night, Fernanda brought us the lei in a box at the pool on Friday morning. There were tons of people around, so we took the camera and the box down to a garden on the property to open it by ourselves.
Warning: we are still getting the hang of video and didn’t think twice about the running fountain that we set up next to–so the sound quality could be better.
I honestly had NO idea if it was a boy or a girl. I don’t get how people can know??
We of course would have been happy either way, but I had been saying the whole pregnancy I had a small hope it was a girl. What can I say? I want a bestie and thought it would be convenient for my nerves to have the girl first just to be sure.
So at times I thought maybe it was a girl, but I think I just felt that way because I sort of wanted a girl if that makes sense. Tyler didn’t have a feeling either way, but I think he was hoping for a boy just a tiny bit. Maybe next time, sweetheart.
Anyway, it took us a few minutes to compose ourselves before we opened the box (Tyler is a notorious cryer–we’ll have to post our wedding video on here someday, lol).
When we saw the pink lei, we both just started cracking up through our tears. We’d been referring to our hypothetical child as “Charlotte” for years, so it was just so funny that it ended up being her.
We are SO thankful and beyond excited to meet our baby girl, Charlotte Tyler Nuss, this fall.
Now knowing it’s her makes me feel so much more connected and in tune with the baby growing in my belly and making weird things happen to my body. I haven’t felt her kick yet, on account of something the internet is calling an “anterior placenta,” but hopefully I will in a few weeks.
We will post more about Maui soon, but for now, I’ll leave you with a very sappy, slightly muffled video of us opening the box.
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