29 weeks

Today : 29 weeks + 4 days

Weight Gain :  18.5 lbs ... I feel like I have been packing it on the last few weeks, but my belly is growing and it's pretty obvious that Samson is getting big. We also may or may not have a pumpkin shaped candy dish filled with goodies on the counter. Whatever.

Maternity Clothes : Obviously. Can I get an amen for leggings? All day, every day. 

Stretch marks : No. People keep telling me that it's bound to happen since my belly is growing so much, so fast, but I haven't seen any yet. Hopefully they don't ever make an appearance before OR after Samson's arrival. Fingers crossed!

However, my belly button is this.close to no longer being an innie... and it is freaking me out. Will it ever be the same? It's okay to lie to me if necessary.

Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha Frappucino ... such a yummy treat!

Sleep : Will never be the same. One, I'm a grade A pumpkin smuggler at this point and a back sleeper by nature. I've succumbed to sleeping on my side, but it is not nearly as comfortable for me. Two, Sunday marked the onset of some pretty awesome carpal tunnel symptoms: numbness, tingling, decreased grip strength and PAIN. Oh my gosh. From my hands up to my shoulders.. No matter what I do it wakes me up every few hours. Pray for me!

Also, I ended up working 5 days in a row.. which is a BIG stretch from my normal 2 days on, 5 days off routine. I know, I know.. rough. BUT, it really did interfere with my already changed sleep schedule (especially since one of those days I worked 3rd shift). 

Sickness : I occasionally get some pretty bad reflux, I attribute that to my rapidly decreasing stomach capacity. Thankfully very rarely do I get heartburn.. But, I did have to cancel some plans last weekend because it was so bad. 

Movement : Yep! I'm starting to get to the point where I can definitely distinguish body parts. It's fun and sometimes painful. I'm convinced our little man is trying to make his way out of my belly button, but his (getting more frequent) swift kicks to the bladder remind me he does know what direction is up and what direction is down. Maybe we should have expected it, we named our little boy after the strongest man in the Bible.

Kisses from Cash as he helped me pick out the fabric for Sam's room.

 Cravings : Corn dogs. For the record, I haven't had any... yet.

Exciting happenings : A lot of extra work at the hospital this week. After that, I got to spend some time with one of my best friends, Holli, as well as my mom. 

Also, I FINALLY picked out the main fabric for Samson's room! I had to e-mail the designer to ask if she would be able to flip the design 90 degrees for me so it would work out for the project I have in mind, her response was seriously lightning fast and a big fat yes. Hallelujah! Can't wait to get my hands on this and get to work!

Fabric by Eloisa D. for natitys design on Spoonflower

28 weeks

Today : 28 weeks 4 days

Weight Gain : 16.5 lbs ... maybe 17 lbs. Depends on if you weigh me before or after ice cream.

Maternity Clothes : Yes, I am so thankful for those elastic sided shirts. This belly is starting to look like it belongs in a diagram of a solar system. 

Stretch marks : Nope.

Sleep : I've been waking up really early and taking a long morning nap with Cash after Aaron leaves for work. Awesome. 

Sickness : Reflux at night.. thankfully no heart burn or nausea though.

Movement : Yes. I have really noticed Samson responding regularly to things going on outside my belly. When my hands (or laptop) are resting on my stomach, he'll poke or kick me. If I'm laying on my left or right side, he'll push HARD towards the side down. Pretty awkward feeling. He loves to dance on my bladder when Justin Timberlake is playing but, country music seems to have the opposite affect. Hopefully that's a sign that he'll be lulled to sleep with country music radio like his cousins Annalyn & Emelina.

Cravings : Apparently caramel truffles... I didn't realize that happened until I got home from the grocery store. They are both delicious though, I promise.

Exciting happenings : This week has been so busy for Aaron, so I feel like it just flew by. We are so excited to meet our son, but I think we both would appreciate it if time slowed down just a little.

Cash caused quite a bit of drama halfway through the week with a sudden onset of ridiculous sickness and a trip to the vet. He's on the mend though, don't worry.

Hopefully next week I'll be able to finally pick some fabric for the crib skirt, curtains and teepee I plan on making for the nursery. I was far too scatter brained this week to make it happen. However, I was not too busy to check out some cute baby things. So far I have only bought one toy and one package on onesies for Samson, but I can feel my will power slipping! Check out how cute these things are & you'll understand why... feast your eyes on some of my favorites.

27 weeks

Today : 27 weeks 6 days

Weight Gain : 15.5 lbs ... although sometimes I see this belly & think it's got to be more. Holy guacamole.

Maternity Clothes : Obviously. And it is fantastic. Fall is the best time to be pregnant, hands down. I obviously don't speak from experience here... but can you imagine squeezing all this in to shorts? No thank you.

Forgot to take my 27 week picture until Saturday night after work (which explains the poor picture quality, sorry!).. Samson is very active at night and my belly always pops out a bit (okay, okay... a lot) more. The picture below in the black and white striped shirt is a little better representation of my belly on a normal day and time.

Shameless Target dressing room selfie. Sometimes maternity clothes are too cute not to buy.

Stretch marks : Nope

Sleep : More, please. This fall weather is perfect for snuggles and naps. 

Sickness : No, but the glucose test I did on Monday put me in dire straights over some french fries. Also, in honor of Cash's 2nd birthday and me not failing said glucose test, I baked cupcakes and taste tested the icing several times in the process of frosting. Cash & I both were in sugar comas afterwords.

Why wasn't this cold? And why didn't I get a straw?

Cash in a post-cupcake stupor.

Cravings : Nothing exciting to write about until Friday when I woke up before 6 am and demanded we go out for breakfast before Aaron went to work. I was starving for eggs, bacon and hash browns. I don't even like eggs. I settled for a bacon, egg & cheese breakfast sandwich on an Asiago cheese bagel from Panera. If you haven't had one, please get one. One of my favorite things, even when I'm not pregnant!

Exciting happenings : Last weekend I unfortunately missed out on the BB King concert I planned to go to with Aaron, my brother Josh and his wife Ravelle (it was postponed).  Lucky for me, I saw some of my best friends from high school instead. Monday, I had my 27 week appointment where everything is measuring right on track. Tuesday I saw Gone Girl with Kali, where Samson went crazy for the surround sound in the movie theater. Cash had a birthday and we added some things to our baby registry.

Jamie, Adrienne & Holli!

I found some super cute things this week for Samson. I absolutely love graphic art and typography, especially when it is combined with scripture.  While I love to make and design my own things, sometimes it's fun to see what other people are doing and support them. Enter Naptime Diaries. One of my favorite places for inspiration. I love this sweet little piece and it's given me a lot of ideas for Samson's nursery.

I love this print from NaptimeDiariesShop.com

I'm so proud that I haven't given in to my impulses and purchased all-things-baby yet, but I'm trying my hardest to hold out until we have our baby showers.  One thing I'd seen & really liked online was this swing from 4moms. When I saw it in person at Babies R Us this week, I almost melted. I can't wait for this sweet little thing to find it's way in to our house!

4moms rockaRoo.

Cash's Birthday

I love to make a big deal about birthdays and holidays. So while this is super silly, and kind of embarrassing, we spent yesterday celebrating Cash's 2nd birthday.  We were supposed to start the day with donuts before Aaron went to work, but someone forgot to set an alarm so we had to skip it (cue disappointed pregnant women and totally clueless dog).  Once we finally woke up, I decided we should make some homemade dog treats to compensate.  

I'll spare you the details because I'm definitely not meant to be a food blogger, but these dog treats only take 4 ingredients (pumpkin, peanut butter, flour and eggs) and bake for 30 minutes.  You can find the recipe on userealbutter.com.  I let Cash taste the dough to make sure it was to his liking before we rolled it out & cut out the shapes ;)

I can't believe it took me making dog treats to realize I don't have a real rolling pin. I used a drinking glass instead.

Cash checking on the progress of his treats.

Notice the drool? He'll gladly balance stuff on top of his head, but on top of his snout? No way.

Although you could eat the dog treats, unfortunately, they won't taste nearly as good to you as they do to your dog who, no joke, also eats poop. So I made something delicious for the non-dog-treat eaters in the West house. Also, let's face it, I'm 27 weeks pregnant and cupcakes always sound good. I found a recipe for Snickerdoodle cupcakes on SallysBakingAddiction.com and got to work.

I know I'm not the only person who has a weird nickname for their dog. Or a few. Aaron & I call Cash "Doodle," almost as often as we call him Cash.  I think it originated from "dude," which we would say with a healthy dose of emphasis when he did something annoying or bad as a puppy. So the obvious choice for his birthday cupcakes were Snickerdoodles, which I love, and also have no chocolate, a big plus when it comes to dogs.

Seriously, this recipe: cinnamon swirled cakes, cinnamon swirled buttercream..

 Try balancing a cupcake on labrador retriever's head. Impossible.

Yum!  We'll see if Cash's birthday gets this big of celebration next year when Samson is here keeping us all busy.  Hopefully he'll be so happy to have a live-in best friend that he won't mind. Plus, if Samson is anything like me, he'll be a messy eater and there will be plenty of surprises for Cash on a daily basis. 

Super thankful for our best friend Cash and all the joy he brings to our life. Happy birthday Cash!

26 weeks

Today : 26 weeks + 4 days

Weight Gain :  14.5 lbs … seriously. Whoa, belly ;)

Maternity Clothes : It’s officially fall, which means leggings and boots. I’m still wearing my regular leggings/yoga pants but maternity tops are a yes... and often.

Stretch marks : Nope… but I’m sure feeling stretched. The past 2 weeks have felt like HUGE growth weeks for both Samson and me, according to pregnancy apps he’s 2 lbs + now.

Sleep : Starting to deal with some insomnia. Which is really not fun. It’s extra time for devotionals and browsing for fun mama accounts on Instagram though, so I’m not complaining… yet.

Sickness:  No, dealing with less heartburn/reflux this week too. Holla!

Movement: Samson’s has been flipping the other direction lately and kicking my internal organs more often than my belly button, which is a really weird feeling. He also tends to favor curling up in a little ball, mostly on my right side so my stomach looks lopsided pretty frequently.

Cravings: No. This week has actually been a really good week eating wise. I’m eating more good stuff and less junk. There have been a few days that I have been totally famished… which is which why I think both Samson and I are going to have a growth spurt. Don't worry though, I had a Dr Pepper one day and some donuts this morning.. all is right in the world.

Exciting happenings: We started some baby registries this week! Registering was fun, but fairly overwhelming.  For such a little human, babies come with a lot of stuff, yikes! If you have any good ideas, send them our way!

I read that Samson’s eyes are opening and he can see and respond to light outside my belly.  I put a flashlight up to my stomach and sure enough, ninja kicks and rolls. This baby is active and kind of crazy, Lord help us.

Boston Scream and Pumpkin Donut with a Hot Chocolate

Cash is getting excited to meet this baby everyone keeps talking about