So what is one of my favorite end of pregnancy must do? A prenatal massage, of course!
Tucked away on teeny tiny Fidalgo Island (Washington) is a little town that I love called Anacortes. Over the last 10 years I have visited often as my in-laws live there and it's just such a beautiful place. I honestly think that the weather is somehow always great in Anacortes; it's got to be the quickly changing pace of the winds of this little port town. From Anacortes you can take ferries to the San Juans and Victoria B.C. There are tons of delicious seafood joints, bakeries, thrift stores and antique shops to peek around in.
One of my favorite places to visit periodically has been the historic building of the Majestic Inn and Spa. Anacortes was founded in 1891 and the Majestic Inn, though it has had several job changes, remodels and restorations, brings Gilded Age beauty with modern luxury to 2017. My husband and I have snuck away for anniversary lunches at their restaurant and my girlfriends and I have enjoyed lemon drops on their rooftop lounge. It's truly an amazing piece of Anacortes (and Skagit) history, but at the very least a beautiful building to look at. A tidbit of information that I learned was that the whole building was relocated about 20 years after it was built by being rolled up the street on logs by a team of horses!
In addition to being a hotel and bistro, The Apothecary Spa is located on the second floor of the building and I have waited with so much anticipation for my chance to go experience what so many of my friends had told me to be "hands down the best spa ever!" That's a big pair of boots to fit into, don't you think? Let me tell you without a whole lot of gushy fluff (and quote me to your husband when he asks you what do you want for your birthday/Mothers Day/Christmas) - "The Apothecary Spa at the Majestic Inn in Anacortes IS the best spa ever!"
What are my qualifications? Well, I am no spa connoisseur (though I wish I could have a blog completely devoted to spa experiences) but I will say that my husband does the right thing and sends me for a massage or spa experience usually once or twice a year. I have maybe a dozen experiences to draw from, ranging from budget to swanky. However, The Apothecary Spa takes my #1 slot over several other very high quality (and more expensive) spas for a ton of reasons.
Let me give you a run down of my time there.
The Apothecary Spa encourages their guests to check in 15-30 minutes before their treatments to get changed into their robe and sandals, take a steam in their steam room (something I'll have to go back another time for, as it's not a good idea for us preggos), lounge in their sanctuary room and have a little snack and drink of various infused waters or teas. Which is exactly what I did!
The spa menu is vast; I will make note that although most spas offer a short list of "upgrades" such as paraffin treatments, choices of oils or different techniques, The Apothecary Spa had a robust list of enhancements that in my opinion fully rounded out my 60 minute massage. In addition to my massage I opted to add eye brow waxing, a honey glaze treatment for my dry hands and a nourishing scalp massage.
Prenatal massages can be hit and miss. I've had a few massages in previous pregnancies where they were called "prenatal massages" but unfortunately they really didn't know how to arrange a very pregnant mama or how a woman's physiology changes and that it's a very different experience to get massaged late in pregnancy versus earlier on. My massage therapist, Cynthia, made sure that I had everything I needed to be supported while being massaged on my side and when I switched to laying on my back she adjusted the table to be tilted so I didn't feel the full weight of my belly pressing up onto my lungs. Her massaging technique was gentle but confident; there wasn't any hesitation or uncertainty of the elephant in the room and she very effectively massaged my whole body without the impression that she was afraid of my belly. When we chatted before my massage I asked for a full body massage with the focus on my back (as that is normally what aches most during pregnancy), but as she got to work I realized that really what I loved was getting my legs and feet rubbed - and she very fluidly switched to spending more time on that. Both of my girls were born in March so I guess I've never really had issues with swelling at the end of my pregnancy, but this time around I have definitely noticed the cankles making their appearance and Cynthia had the perfect technique of gently massaging those areas directly with oil and later switching to massaging over the draped blanket. I really want to go back just for that part!
Towards the end of the massage she let me know that she would be starting my honey glaze hand treatment followed by the scalp massage. She massaged my hands, applied the glaze and wrapped them in warm towels. While the glaze soaked in she started my scalp treatment. I'm a believer of the amazing uses for coconut oil, and have heard about using it as a hair and scalp treatment but have never done it personally - and Lordy I am hooked on this as well. She poured coconut oil along my hair line and then spent the next 20 minutes or so working it in through my whole scalp and base of my hair. Then she cleaned off my hands, gave me a whole decollete, arm and hand massage and finished off with another glaze on my feet and more massaging! Cynthia knows how to treat an expecting mama right!
After my treatments I was invited back into the sanctuary where I attempted to come down from my post-massage giddy high with a shred of maturity with another glass of cucumber + blueberry infused water. My experience was the perfect storm of truly needing some end of pregnancy pampering and an amazing spa staff. On my way home I called my mom, whom I would say probably is the closest person I know to being a spa connoisseur, and told her that I kind of need to get gift certificates for all my friends and family to go because there is no way you can go through life without experiencing this. There goes my attempts at quelling that "post-massage giddy high with a shred of maturity" spiel. But it wasn't said in haste - seriously. Go. Do it.
Visit The Apothecary Spa
419 Commercial Avenue, Anacortes, WA
Disclosure: I received a complimentary massage in exchange for my honest review.
All photography and opinions are my own. In case you couldn't tell, visiting The Apothecary Spa was the highlight of my third trimester and I can't say enough lovely things about it!
