30 weeks

Today : 30 weeks +  5 days ( Halloween! Today I'm actually 31 weeks.. oops!)

Weight Gain :  18.5 lbs, same as last week

Maternity Clothes : Yep ... although the clothes I'm wearing in this picture are all non-maternity & I'm pretty sure that t-shirt is from high school. Just keeping it real.

Stretch marks : Nope. Update on the belly button: still IN, for now.

Sleep : Better this week. I'm probably one of the few pregnant women who doesn't sleep with a body pillow, shockingly, I prefer to sleep next to my husband ;) However, I've learned how to prop one of my hands up on the pillows by my head and the other on one of the extra throw pillows we have laying around and it has helped reduce my carpal tunnel symptoms. Also.. I have been drinking water like a FISH to help with water retention. 

Sickness : No, I felt really good this week!

Movement : Yes. It is oh so sweet to feel this little man squirm around. I know I'll miss this time with him when he is born, but I really can't wait to meet him.

Cravings : One of my co-workers brought me a corn dog for lunch last weekend after reading my blog post and it was GOOD. Definitely lived up to the hype. So far, I haven't wanted another one and haven't had any other cravings. I did decide to bake a Texas sheet cake at 9:30 PM one night. Not sure it qualified as a craving because who doesn't love a good chocolate cake? I prefer this recipe from The Pioneer Woman, because it is fast, easy, and SO good. Also, between the cake and the frosting it contains like a pound of butter y'all. Yum.

Exciting happenings : My 30 week appointment on Monday went really well. The fabric for Samson's room came, we picked up a jumper/bouncer toy from one of my co-workers and we ordered our first box of cloth diapers. (There is a another blog post or 10 involved with that decision, but all you really need to know is no, we aren't crazy, yes, I realize there will be poop involved, no, we won't exclusively be using cloth diapers and you can still send a diaper cake made of Pampers to my baby shower and they will gladly be used). I promise I will write about how we decided to try cloth diapers in another post. 

Also, it was Halloween week! I have really fond memories of my mom making a lot of my costumes growing up and trick-or-treating with my friends.  Aaron and I haven't celebrated Halloween in several years, so the last time I dressed up for Halloween was in college and I'm fairly certain it probably wasn't something that would be appropriate to talk about on our family blog (again, keeping it real for you) but maybe next year, we'll have some fun family friendly costumes. 

Friday, it was too cold to open and close the door for trick-or-treaters in Indiana, so we had a game night with friends from church. I made this festive popcorn munch loosely based on this recipe that I found on Pinterest. I made the popcorn on the stove, spread it out on a pan, threw on some Reese's pieces, candy corn, and peanuts, melted chocolate chips in the microwave and poured it on top. Yum.

Happy first week of November! There are only two more calendar flips between us and Samson (maybe only one!) Hope you have a good week :)

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 ;)

SURPRISE!

 April 27

After feeling like I was hit by a train after my regular runs, feeling dog tired after 9+ hours of sleep, one day of the worst heartburn I’d had in my entire life, and a period that didn’t arrive on it’s expected date, I had a feeling there was something brewing in my belly. After working 12.5 hours, I stopped to buy some pregnancy tests on the way home from work. 

Aaron and I had no idea what to expect as we waited the allotted time before staring in disbelief at two pink lines. WE ARE PREGNANT!  Cue the fireworks and the sparklers and the parade and the megaphone… just kidding… it's our little secret for now & it feels wonderful.  Cash joined in on the impromptu dance party that went down in the living room.  A silent celebration in honor of the baby to be.

    

July 15

Today is the day AFTER we totally spilled the beans about our pregnancy news. About week 6, I told two co-workers who asked. Working around x-rays meant I wasn’t able to keep it a total secret, but luckily Stephanie & Amanda kept their lips sealed for me. 

Our first appointment and ultrasound were Friday, June 13^th.  We told a few of our close friends that day, my parents two days later on Father’s Day, and Aaron’s parents the next day.  That week we also told our siblings. Slowly we started sharing our big news with our closest circle and cued in the rest of my co-workers. For the most part, we let our parents share the news with the rest of our family, but got to cue in some of my extended family on the 4^th of July… talk about fireworks! 

It wasn’t until July 14^th when we had our 15 week appointment where we got a little re-assurance from the Doppler that we were ready to publicly share our news.  What a happy coincidence, that we got to share it on our 2^nd wedding anniversary!  We are so excited to announce our family is growing!