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

25 weeks

 Today : 25 weeks 6 days

Weight Gain :  13 lbs. I’m not exactly sure when my belly surpassed my boobs, but that’s a thing now… and not just in an “oops,  I just ate a burrito” kind of way… more like in a strangers can actually tell I’m pregnant now way.

Maternity Clothes : Obviously. 

 Most of my non-pregnancy shirts look like this. I'm one Natty light can away from fitting in at a Nascar race. 

Stretch marks : No way.

Sleep : Yes please.  Usually sleeping really well, but Samson still loves to practice his ninja skills at 3 am.

Sickness: No, but acid reflux is a more regular occurrence. Gross.

Movement: My belly is moving more and more. Samson’s getting big enough to make my belly lopsided periodically, which is hilarious.

Cravings: The usual… for the love of Dr. Pepper. Also, we had pizza twice this week… I don’t know how it happened, but it did and I’m not complaining.

Exciting happenings: Went to a WET wedding, saw a beautiful bride (Congrats Alyssa & Shayne!), and spent some quality time with my brother Michael, his wife Ashley and their two beautiful daughters, Annalyn & Emelina. 

Annalyn! I sure hope Samson is this cute!

 

My new "mom" glasses... for the future when I don't have time to shower or put on makeup.

I also got new glasses and highlights/lowlights. Aaron took a day off, so we got to spend some time together. I got to spend time with my sister-in-law Ravelle and mom.  Did some crafting with my dear friend Kali and made a hippie-esque dream catcher, which will most likely find it's way to Samson's room. We saw our best friends James & Jenny and their perfect little girl Gemma. Samson and Gemma are bound to be best friends and they might get married someday, who knows.

I went rogue with this... I can't decide if I need to rearrange the feathers. #hippiehomedecor

This week was so busy and so much fun! I need to stop procrastinating my blog until the end of the week, so I can include more fun details. 

Additionally, Samson got SPOILED this week. You know who you are! You guys are way too good to him (and us!) We love you!

24 weeks

Today : 24 weeks 5 days

Weight Gain : 11.5 lbs

Maternity Clothes : It's a pretty good mix at this point. I'm still small enough to fit in to most of my own shirts, but big enough to fit in to some maternity shirts. The maternity jeans have been doing me a solid for a few weeks now, but I still wear my own yoga pants and sweats. 

Stretch marks : Nope

Sleep : Sleeping more normally since I gave up on the extra pillows, although if Samson is awake, it's only a matter of time before I join the party. 

Sickness : Nada

Movement : Yep, every day. Samson seems to have a fairly consistent sleeping/awake pattern and certain times of day (or night, if you read my last post) seem to be when he is most active. A few days ago I made a video of my stomach moving, I can't imagine how much crazier it is going to look as he gets bigger. Maybe I'm just easily entertained, but I love to poke my belly and watch him kick back. 

Cash pretends he doesn't like sprinkle donut Mondays.

Cravings : My diet is fairly balanced and I try to be very conscious of making healthy choices when it comes to my food most of the time. I definitely notice myself splurging more often than normal, but I really am ok with that. To me that means I'm drinking a Dr. Pepper every few days, having a donut or two once a week, and having treats occasionally that I wouldn't normally have.  I'm still eating lean meat, vegetables, fruit and all the good stuff. I'm not craving anything crazy or doing anything nuts like eating an entire package of Oreos... for now.

How cute is this little girl? Good grief.

Exciting happenings : 24 weeks is the age of viability! It's also the beginning of our 6th month of pregnancy... 4 more months to go!  Aaron traveled for work this week and I got to tag along for the ride. We ended up spending some time with my cousin Elizabeth, her husband Ryan and their little girl Reese. We always have such a good time with them and it's really exciting to think soon enough Samson will be able to join in on the fun! 

Samson also got some fun stuff this week and Cash was nice enough to model them for everyone. Thanks Kami & E! 

Cash heard these were for "the baby," hope he doesn't take it too hard in January...

Oh Cantaloupe, My Cantaloupe

It's about 5:30 am and I have been awake for two hours because somebody, not naming names, thought 3 am is a perfectly legitimate time to wake his momma up with some tummy gymnastics. (In my sleepless stupor, I thought it was funny to reference a Walt Whitman poem, so forgive me when I wake up later and realize it was much less clever than I had anticipated). While sleep is so precious to me, so is this sweet little boy and I try to soak up the time we get to spend together, just him & I, before he makes his big debut in a few months. His kicks are small enough still that they don't do too much damage and I feel so blessed to be able to feel his reminders that he is really here, a tiny little human, hanging out in my belly.

At 24 weeks, Samson is about the length of a cantaloupe or an ear of corn, depending on what app you look at. (One of these apps uses the cantaloupe at 34 weeks & another claims a coconut is bigger, so take this with a grain of salt.) The food sized visuals always blow me away, because even though I feel so much bigger than my normal self, I don't feel over abundantly pregnant-sized... And an ear of corn is long guys. He's a month past half baked & has grown from the size of a poppy seed to the size of one of the real, living babies I see in the NICU at work. Blows my mind. 

It will always be so miraculous to me that something (read someone) that was just a dream of Aaron & I's a few short months ago is coming to fruition. What is a greater miracle still, is that this is all God's plan. He saw our lives and Samson's life and knew that they were meant to be twined together. I hope I can remember that in 1 year, in 16 years, etc... When motherhood and this little boy test my every ounce of patience.

This morning I am feeling so thankful for my sweet son, who is fearfully and wonderfully made.