21 weeks

Today : 21 weeks 5 days

Weight Gain :  Probably about the same as last week 8ish pounds.  I’m not sure if any pregnant woman really wants to know what the scale says though.

Maternity Clothes : Wore some super comfortable maternity jeans from my sister-in-law Ashley this week. I went shopping and bought a few things size medium instead of size small… the extra room feels awesome

Stretch marks : No

Sleep : What is sleep? Waking up pretty regularly at about 3:30 AM. On days that I work (12.5 hours) that’s not really a welcome early wake up call…

Cash obviously isn't having problems sleeping...

Sickness: No! Feeling awesome!

Movement: Aaron felt Samson kick for the first time on Sunday.  I felt him kick from outside my belly for the first time a few days before that. Now I can feel him moving or kicking almost anytime I touch my belly or am sitting still. I can also see his kicks from the outside, which happens to be the weirdest thing. Ever.

Cravings: Dr. Pepper.  Something about that sugar/caffeine/carbonation/leaching the goodness from my teeth/adding pounds to my waistline keeps me coming back for more.  I hate to admit this, but this week Aaron picked me up a Dr. Pepper on his way home from work and then several hours later we went on a McDonalds run for another Dr. Pepper and some French fries. It was date night. We watched Harry Potter. It was awesome.

Exciting happenings: Completely emptied my “Monica closet,” (Friends, anyone?) purged, organized and put it back together. Perfect timing because I had to find a new home for all my craft supplies. They were previously in what will be Samson’s closet and little man’s stuff just happens to be accumulating pretty quickly around here.

Also, finally picked a paint color. We decided to paint over the chalkboard wall (gasp) which requires sanding, deep cleaning and oil-based primer.  Wish Aaron luck, I think he’ll be doing all the work this weekend when I’m at work.  I'll keep you guessing until I'm sure I actually like the color once it's on the walls.

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Drumroll...

 Our son has a name! 

Samson August West

While some people choose to keep their baby's gender or name a surprise from themselves and/or others, we chose very early on that we would be sharing all the good news as it came.  Honestly, it's been very difficult for me to believe we're pregnant (a little less difficult now that Samson's been squirming, punching & kicking regularly).  It's been such an important part of our bonding with this sweet little babe, to know who he is, to call him by his name & to pray for him as a person.

His name is so special to us and has such significant meaning.

Samson means "sun," in Hebrew.  We picked it because of the biblical story of Samson.  His parent's struggled with infertility until God chose them to be Samson's parents. God blessed Samson with infinite strength, but he was ultimately consumed by his human nature.  Samson's final act was one of obedience though, and he asked God to grant him strength one last time to fulfill his purpose. To us, Samson means that God is faithful, merciful, and just.

August, is the German form of the latin name Augustus, and means venerated. To be revered, exalted, respected, adored, honored. This name is so special to us for a very personal reason, but I also think it speaks volumes even on a superficial basis. Then sun of our lives will be respected, honored and adored... like every good and perfect gift from above should be. 

My heart is so full to know that in a few months a little boy will come home with us and make us parents. God's timing is perfect and we feel so honored that he has chosen this moment and this child for us.

Cash is making sure all of Samson's toys stay safe until he gets here ;)

Pregnancy So Far

I'll be the first person to tell you when it comes to procrastinating... I could win a contest. It's hilarious because I'm extremely on top of it when it comes to certain things and my obsession with list-making can get to extremes sometimes. I'm a planner by nature, but just to throw a wrench in all my plans, God also gave me the ridiculous ability to throw caution to the wind and NAP. That being said, it's probably not one of my finer qualities. I'll try and post a few times a week, to keep friends in family in the loop with baby West, our household happenings, and obviously Cash, because he runs the show around here.

Without further ado, here's a little update about our pregnancy so far:

Today : 20 weeks 2 days

Weight Gain : 8ish pounds, although, last night when I weighed myself I was only up 6 pounds. All I really know is it has gotten pretty dang uncomfortable to button my pants and I’m not one to walk around with a ponytail holder holding my pants up. 

Maternity Clothes : For the most part I’m a yoga pants girl so I’ve not had to make any big commitments yet.  The photo above is a pretty good representation of where I'm at style wise right now. Hopefully I won't look back on this one day & shudder (I will).  Also, I did go up a scrub shirt size this past Sunday. My sister-in-law, Ashley, hooked me up with a HUGE bag full of maternity clothes last week for when I can’t fit in my normal clothes anymore.

Sleep : Such weird dreams. I’m usually a belly sleeper and this has gotten increasingly difficult. I often find myself waking up on my back, so I think I’ll have to invest in a big pillow soon. Thankfully, middle-of-the-night bathroom visits have decreased… for now.

Sickness: Still have some occasional nausea periodically, mostly when I’m hungry. I was super nauseous/vomiting weeks 8-18… It’s been nearly 2 weeks since I’ve thrown up!

Movement: Kicks and jabs, especially at night and after lunch. I started feeling movements about 18 weeks & it was about week 19 I realized what they were. I have an anterior placenta so it’s not very often that I feel baby rolling around, but when I do it is so bizarre.

Cravings: In the beginning, when I was getting sick multiple times a day it was frappucinos, milkshakes and smoothies. I'd just skip out on food for the most part. Once I started to enjoy food again, I craved steak, a bologna sandwich (which was not nearly as satisfying as I anticipated), donuts (per usual, this is also a non-pregnancy craving), steamed broccoli and Dr. Pepper. The only thing that has seemed to stick around was the Dr. Pepper. 

Favorite moment(s): Two ultrasounds, hearing the baby's heartbeat with the doppler, feeling the baby move, finding out our baby is a BOY and giving him a name!