Biophilliac Mommy: Hiking Pleasant Mountain Pregnant

Monday, May 30, 2011

Hiking Pleasant Mountain Pregnant

Robbie and I had a great weekend. Our good friend Paul, who recently relocated to Atlanta, came to visit for the weekend. So we enjoyed hanging out with him and our other friends by going out to coffee shops, taking walks, going out to dinner, and bowling. Amazingly enough I won the first game of bowling against the other 6 boys...not bad for an 8 month pregnant lady who is usually among the low scorers! We also had an opportunity to visit my Dad, Step-Mom and all the pooches. The just did some major landscaping in their yard, so it was pretty incredible to see how different everything looked. Plus it was fun catching up and going out for ice cream with them. There is a local ice cream shop near by that has the most delicious ice cream, and they serve such huge portions; a small is three giant scoops! I enjoyed some coffee ice cream on a homemade waffle cone dipped in rainbow sprinkles. Mmmm!

The other exciting thing we did this weekend was go for our first hike of the season. For the past two weeks it has been raining, so the warm, sunny weather of the last couple of days has been very welcome. We decided to go for a hike before it starts to get ridiculously hot and before I get even closer to the end of my pregnancy. It was the perfect day for hiking because it was a slightly breezy, which kept off most of the black flies, and about 78 degrees Fahrenheit making for comfortable shorts weather. We hiked up Pleasant Mountain in West Bridgton, Maine. This is the highest peak in southern Maine, but is a pretty moderate hike compared to others we have done. The elevation gain is about 1,900 feet over the course of 1.8 miles (3.6 miles total) and it usually takes about 2 hours to go up and 1 hour to go down.

Since I am super pregnant at this point, we wanted to be extra careful that I didn't harm the baby or go into early labor. So it was extremely important that I stayed well hydrated (dehydration can trigger early labor) and took my time. When I breath, I am providing oxygen for both me and the baby, and if I start to get out of breath, the baby will not get as much oxygen he needs and this could also trigger early labor. So my midwives (and pregnancy books I've been reading) all say that a good measure that you are not over exerting yourself while pregnant is that I should be able to easily carry a conversation without sounding out of breath. Thus we took care to take lots of breaks so that I kept my breathing rate reasonable. Luckily, my legs are pretty fit and strong from all the exercise I've been getting, so I didn't feel really tired until the end of our hike on the way down. But it was warm and the trail was pretty steep so it didn't take much for me to feel a little winded and thirsty! Overall, with a lunch break at the summit, it took us five hours to complete our hike.

We saw lots of cool things while we were hiking. First of all, the view is spectacular. The mountain overlooks a pretty lake, then rolling hills and mountains covered in unspoiled forests stretch as far as the eye can see. When I am hiking up there I feel a little comforted that their still great chunks of land that are still untouched by mankind...it is beautiful. We saw lots of wildlife including butterflies, a hawk, some songbirds, and some super cute chipmunks. We also saw lots of beautiful flowers including pink lady's slippers. I think the flowers were all made more lovely by their brilliant green backdrop of fresh, new spring foliage.

Robbie and I really enjoyed the fresh air, the beautiful scenery, the peace and quiet of nature, and the adventure of hiking with a baby on the way. Below are some pictures from our hike.