27 weeks

27 week bump

Holding baby Barrett

How far along? 27 weeks

How big is baby?  A rutabaga

Total weight gain?  As of Thursday at the appointment I was right at 15 pounds and baby could weigh over 2 pounds already! 

Maternity clothes?  Maternity and regular clothes

Sleep?  Sleeping good. I can feel Barrett moving when I lay down at night and every morning when I wake up. Feeling his movement right when I wake up puts a huge smile on my face. 

Best moment of the week? Getting his crib in! It is all set up and the only thing in the nursery. We love it!

Food cravings? Peanut butter, oreos, vanilla ice cream, fruit...still anything sweet

Food aversions? None

Symptoms:  My feet start to hurt so easily now! I also had some bad cramping over the weekend. I think it is from my stomach stretching. 

Mood this week: Emotional. Excited about my growing belly...not so excited about my feet pain.

Movement: I still feel him all the time! I can tell he is getting bigger because I can feel him on both sides now and not just the left side. I think he still likes to try and cuddle up on my left side though. 

What I’m looking forward to: So many things! Getting the rest of his furniture, my family baby shower coming up, and starting the third trimester!

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach. We all went to my Aunt Carolyn's house for Memorial weekend and I was able to lay out on my stomach in this pool floatie and it felt so good to just relax laying that way. 

Next appointment: June 7th. I had my glucose test done on Friday and it was the best experience I've ever had giving blood. The nurse only had to stick me once (this has never happened) and Steven said my blood was flowing fast. Usually, they stick me at least three times in multiple places and only give a tiny portion of the blood they need and I end up passing out or getting sick, so this was such a pleasant surprise! Having more blood in your body is a great pregnancy symptom for me :)

Little Boys

Barrett will be the fourth little boy in our big and crazy family. I am excited that he will have these three adorable cousins to play with and do boy things with. I just love these little guys so much! Here are Barrett's three future best friends!

My adorable nephew Remi who is so lovable and full of personality!

My sweet little nephew Roen. Perfect angel baby!

My precious cousin Collin who I just want to steal and keep for myself :)   

26 weeks

I am 26 weeks and growing every day! We finally went shopping for baby stuff and picked out some of the big items we will need. We had so much fun, but I think I overdid it because after folding and unfolding stroller after stroller I started to get cramps in my stomach. We ended up going home a little earlier than planned because I needed to get off my feet and relax. My belly button has been sore and I noticed it has changed just this week. It's starting to flatten out- you can see inside of it now! Barrett must be growing so much this week. He is still kicking and moving just as much as he always does and Steven finally got to see one of his super strong kicks. The other day I had my laptop in my lap and he seriously kicked me so hard that my laptop moved! I've been telling Steven about these crazy hard kicks and on Sunday (at 26 weeks exactly) I could feel the pressure and his kicks starting so I called Steven over to see if he could catch a glimpse. When Steven sat down, Barrett started having a dance party and my stomach was moving so much! Steven couldn't believe how much my stomach would move and he said it looks like it hurts. It hasn't hurt at all so far...I actually love it and look forward to the moments when I can feel him move (kick, punch, dance, or whatever he is doing in there). Here comes the serious prego belly! I'm excited that I really look pregnant now :)

My new weird belly button

Getting big!

Sophie wanted to be in a picture.

Embracing my bump!

How far along? 26 weeks

How big is baby?  A head of lettuce

Total weight gain?  I'm not sure...I'm guessing around 15 pounds. I'll find out Thursday at my appointment.

Maternity clothes?  Both...t-shirts are getting tighter! 

Sleep? I'm sleeping fine, but I wake up with my stomach feeling kind of achy. I think I am just starting to feel the pressure of the extra weight.

Best moment of the week? Shopping for Barrett

Food cravings? Still wanting sweets all the time. I have even started to like oreos more! I will indulge and have a couple and dip them in peanut butter! Oreos have never really done anything for me so Steven thinks Barrett loves oreos like him :)

Food aversions? None.

Symptoms:  Some stomach cramping, sore belly button, some lower back pain.

Mood this week:  Very emotional. I cry so easily (and it's usually because of something I watched on tv or just because I am so happy). I honestly didn't think pregnancy would make me more emotional because I was already that way...but I was wrong.

Movement:  I feel him all the time and I love it! 

What I’m looking forward to:  Getting my glucose test over with! I am a nervous wreck when it comes to blood work. 

What I miss:  Sleeping on my stomach for sure!

Next appointment: Thursday, May 24th

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day Steven woke me up to chocolate covered strawberries, a kindle, and two very sweet cards- one from him and one from baby Barrett. I know next year will technically be my first mother's day, but I already feel like a mom to this tiny little baby growing inside me. I love that Steven was so thoughtful for my first "expectant mother's day".

Later that day I met my family for lunch to celebrate. Me, my sister, and brother have been blessed with an amazing mom! She has always been there for us and never missed a moment in our lives. Through all the sporting events, cheerleading, piano lessons, ballet, tap, and plays she never missed anything and was always our biggest fan. I feel so lucky to have a mom who I know would do absolutely anything for me. Thank you Mom for showing me what unconditional love is.

25 weeks

I am 25 weeks into this pregnancy and feeling great! When I woke up I was about to take my weekly belly picture and I laid down on my back and looked at my belly and Barrett was completely on my left side! My stomach was lopsided! It was so crazy looking that I had to take a picture. 

25 week bump

25 weeks from the front

Baby Barrett hanging out on my left side!

From the side while laying down. 

How far along? 25 weeks

How big is baby?  A head of cauliflower 

Total weight gain?  I still haven't unpacked my scale, but I feel huge. 

Maternity clothes?  There are absolutely no cute maternity shorts, so I just wear one size up and use a hair tie through the loop. I have some linen maternity pants, but it's too hot to wear jeans. 

Sleep?  Great.

Best moment of the week? Celebrating my first mother's day and waking up to a card from Steven and a card that he wrote from Barrett. He is the sweetest!  

Food cravings? Nothing particular. I eat cereal and a banana every morning and I love to eat fruit and sweets. Steven got me some delicious chocolate covered strawberries for mother's day!

Food aversions? None.

Symptoms:  I get out of breath easier when I am working around the house and my lower back is still hurting. My stomach is also feeling more tight. 

Mood this week: Getting anxious about not having anything really picked out besides the crib, so we are planning to get some things on our baby check-list done next week so I can stop stressing. 

Movement:  Still moving quite a bit. He is most comfortable on my left side and loves to kick me when I sit down.     

What I’m looking forward to: Having a baby shopping day next week. 

What I miss: Nothing at the moment...my pity party from last week is over. Being pregnant is worth missing out on all the things I cannot do.  

Next appointment: May 24th

24 weeks

I am six months pregnant and I cannot believe I am almost in the third trimester already! I had my six month doctor appointment and everything is right on track. The next appointment is in two weeks and I will have my glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. He is kicking and moving all the time and I feel like he is pretty low. He has definitely found his comfort zone and hangs out on my left side most of the time. We listened to his heartbeat and the doctor said he is on the left side and breach, but that he has plenty of time to move around. I guess the really low movement I feel are his little feet kicking me. I have gained 13 pounds which is on the low side, but the doctor said I was right on track to gaining about 25 pounds for the whole pregnancy which will make my weight loss a lot easier after he is born.

My favorite part of the day is when I feel him move and every day I can watch my belly move with his movement. Steven has been able to watch on the outside what I am feeling on the inside. He is definitely reminding me of his presence throughout the day. We have ordered his crib and bedding and are slowly trying to pick out the other essentials. There are so many options when it comes to strollers and car seats and it's hard to find something that is both safe and cute without being ridiculously overpriced. Any advice would be greatly appreciated :) Okay, here is my 24 week belly picture and I have to say that I am at that point where I feel like my belly is taking off.

How far along? 24 Weeks

How big is baby?  The size of a cantaloupe. I think I wrote this for month 5 but he is actually around this size for month 6!

Total weight gain? 13 pounds! 

Maternity clothes?  Regular and maternity

Sleep?  Great!

Best moment of the week? Walking across the stage receiving my diploma with baby Barrett with me. He kicked me quite a bit through the ceremony and I loved it. 

Food cravings? Sweets of any kind. 

Food aversions? None.

Symptoms:  Lower back pain and my feet hurt if I'm on them all day. 

Mood this week: Emotional about all of the changes, but also excited.

Movement: All the time. My doctor said that my placenta was most likely toward my back (which I think is more common) because I can feel him and see him move constantly.  

What I’m looking forward to: Getting the crib and bedding all set up.

What I miss: There are a lot of things that I miss lately...drinking coffee whenever I want, wine, cookie dough, eating steak that isn't well done, and probably most of all is sleeping on my stomach. 

Next appointment: May 24th. I will now have a doctor appointment every two weeks.

BARRETT JACK WALKER

Naming our son was so difficult in the beginning. I looked at baby names for hours and hours and could not decide for the longest time. We had a list of names that were our top picks, but making the final decision took forever! Steven's middle name is Jack and he is the third generation with the middle name Jack so his middle name was set in stone. Our son's middle name has been Jack since before we even talked about first names. We initially had the name Weston Jack picked out which I really love, but right when I found out I was pregnant I wasn't crazy about the name Weston Walker...it sounded too country and cartoonish. I had only really thought about the first and middle name without really thinking about what he will be really be called his whole life, which is the first and last name.


So I came across the name Barrett on a baby website and immediately loved it. It was a name that I could finally see naming our little boy and I knew it would fit. I told Steven the name and I couldn't believe what he responded with...he not only loved it but he told me this name has been in his mother's side of the family for generations! It was meant to be! The more we said his name, the more we loved it. His name is set and also has history from Steven's mom's and dad's families. We love our little Barrett bear so much and cannot wait to meet him!