Luke James Bryant was born April 3rd, 2017 at 11:12pm. He came 3 weeks early and was 8lbs 2oz and 20.5 in long. We are so in love.

Winner's Circle Baby Shower

We have been so blessed with a shower thrown by our church, my preschool, and now my closest and oldest friends. On Saturday, my friends Meredith and Hannah and their mom hosted the sweetest shower for us. Here are tons of pictures:

My sister MADE this elephant and baby blanket. I love them so much. She taught herself how to crochet a couple of months ago and she is so talented. :)

A selfie stick pic was necessary to get everyone in. :) We missed Emily and Jordan.

We're ready to be Mimi, Mommy, and Aunt Rebekah in a MONTH. (Please don't come late, baby.)

I'm so thankful for friends like Meredith and Hannah who I've been able to grow up with, live with in college, and call with all of my crazy pregnancy worries (they're both nurses). Can't wait for them to be able to love on this sweet boy in person. :)

XOXO

30 Weeks

How far along: 30 weeks 2 days (picture) 

Josh got me this cute Valentines shirt that says "Mom's little Valentine" :)
Questions - 30 weeks 6 days

How big is baby: The size of a cucumber or cabbage! 15.7 in and 2.75 lbs!

Weight Gain: I have gained about 23 pounds. 

Maternity clothes: My jeans are starting to annoy me. I think I need some good maternity leggings...

Stretch marks: I have several now. :(  I'm trying to find a better cream for them. 

Sleep: Josh took the bed frame apart and put the box spring and mattress on the floor for me and it has made it so much easier to get in and out of bed all the time. :)

Craving: McDonalds cheeseburgers....

Sickness: I'm having some more acid reflux over the last couple of days..

Feeling: Overwhelmed. 

29 Weeks

How far along: 29 weeks 1 day (picture)
Questions - 29 weeks 6 days

How big is baby: The size of a butternut squash or pineapple! 15.25 in and 2.5 lbs!

Weight Gain: I have gained about 20 pounds. 

Maternity clothes: I'm not changing this answer from last week :) >> Maternity jeggings are my favorite. I'm down to slippers for shoes. 

Stretch marks: All of a sudden my one stretch mark has a few small friends around it :( Still just on my right side.

Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty good. Love my pillow.

Craving: Right now I just really want some cheesecake...

Sickness: A little nausea is coming up every once in a while. I think the baby is invading my stomach area and bringing back some acid reflux.

Feeling: Very anxious and excited. We had our last Lamaze class this week and our baby shower is a week from Sunday. I can't believe it. As of tomorrow only 10 weeks until the due date. Ah!!

28 Weeks Pregnant

How far along: 28 weeks 1 day (picture)

How big is baby: The size of a eggplant or coconut - 14.8 inches and 2.25 lbs!

Weight Gain: I have gained about 18 pounds. 

Maternity clothes: Maternity jeggings are my favorite. I'm down to slippers for shoes. 

Stretch marks: I have one stretch mark to the right of my belly button that has grown a little more. :/

Sleep: I have been completely knocked out at night and sleeping really well other than getting up to pee a time or two during the night.

Craving: Mixed Berry gummies from Target. 

Sickness: A little nausea rarely comes up, but I haven't been sick since week 20. 

Feeling: Excited and nervous to finally be in the THIRD TRIMESTER! We had our second Lamaze class last Tuesday and it helps to feel a little more prepared. Our church baby shower is planned for February 19th (31 weeks) which is exciting! But it is really scary to think about giving birth and bringing a baby home in less than 12 weeks. 

XOXO

26 Weeks

How far along: 26 weeks 1 day (picture)

How big is baby: The size of a lettuce head - 14 inches and 1.75 lbs!

Weight Gain: I have gained about 15 pounds. 

Maternity clothes: Maternity jeggings are my favorite. I like to wear stripes on my belly. :) I have a few maternity tees that I like to wear with long cardigans. I think being pregnant in the winter is the best.

Stretch marks: I have a small mark a couple inches to the right of my belly button. He balls up on that side a lot so I think he's stretching it more. :)

Sleep: Over the last week I have been completely passing out at bedtime and sleeping hard. Also the last couple days I have napped in the late afternoon. SO tired all of a sudden.

Craving: Mixed berry gummies from Target.  

Sickness: A little nausea every once in a while, but I haven't been sick in a few weeks (since week 20). 

Feeling: Still having right side hip and pelvic pain and I found out I have a small bladder infection after a trip to the doctor last week. /// We registered at Babies R Us on Saturday and felt SUPER overwhelmed. Registering at Target was much more enjoyable. :) /// Also we're both excited after buying a new car on Monday! :)  We're excited to have a safe car for the baby that can also fit strollers and all of our future baby gear. :) /// We also started Lamaze classes on Tuesday and it scared me and made me really excited at the same time! :) This was a very busy baby week!

25 Weeks Pregnant

How far along: 25 weeks 1 day 

How big is baby: The size of a rutabaga or cauliflower - 13.5 inches and 1.5 lbs!

Weight Gain: I have gained about 14 pounds. 

Maternity clothes: Maternity jeggings are my favorite. I like to wear stripes on my belly. :)

Stretch marks: Still nothing yet. I'm still using lavender vanilla belly butter and I love it!

Sleep: We found a body boppy on clearance at Target and it is so great. I have been sleeping so much better with it.. and pushed Josh out of the bed once. Oops :)

Craving: Chocolate chip cookies from Chick-fil-A. 

Sickness: A little nausea every once in a while, but I haven't been sick in a few weeks (since week 20). 

Feeling: I've been having lots of hip and pelvic pain since our trip to Atlanta. As long as I feel little guy moving though, I'm okay. Some days he is super active and other days a little calmer - I think that has to do with his position too. I'm feeling a little panic-y and glad there are still 15 weeks left.. I am not physically, mentally, or emotionally ready to do this yet. *wide-eyed emoji goes here*

23 Weeks Pregnant

How far along: 23 weeks 2 days - Christmas Day (Picture)

How big is baby: The size of a Grapefruit or "large mango" - 11.5 inches and 1.1 lb!

Weight Gain: I have gained about 8 pounds. Generally I've been feeling much better and haven't been sick in a few weeks so I've been able to eat more.

Maternity clothes: Still LOVE my maternity jeans and want to wear them forever. I have a few more pieces that I can wear. I slowly am adding to my collection without going overboard.

Stretch marks: Nothing yet. I'm using lavender vanilla belly cream and I love them smell!

Sleep: I have tried using a body pillow but there's not much room in our full size bed. I'm sleeping okay so we'll see how that keeps going...

Craving: Nothing really... I really wanted green beans on Christmas day and bananas are always a go-to.

Sickness:  Like I wrote above, I haven't been sick in a few weeks (since week 20). 

Feeling: Happy and excited and a little achey :) I can't believe 2017 starts in less than a week.... and then our boy will be here before we know it.

21 Weeks Pregnant

How far along: 21 weeks and 2 days (picture)

How big is baby: The size of a pomegranate or a banana :) 10.5 inches and 12.7 oz!

Weight Gain: I have gained about 5 pounds now that I have finally stopped getting sick. I threw up once the day after I was 20 weeks, but have not since then.

Maternity clothes:  I have a small collection now and wear them often. I LOVE my maternity jeans. I wear those every day. I have some Target tees that I bought big so I can still wear those now.

Stretch marks: Nothing yet.

Sleep: Laying on my side is now pretty uncomfortable. I feel my belly pulling and stretching so we are planning on getting a body pillow ASAP. 

Craving: I have wanted steak the last couple of weeks. Typing this makes me want Longhorn...........

Sickness:  Like I wrote above, I haven't been sick since week 20. Before that one night I hadn't thrown up since the day before the election. Thank you, Lord! 

Feeling: Happy and excited :) We got our crib this week and it's very surreal to look in the nursery! Only 4 months left....

Hancock-Bryant-Rowberg Thanksgiving 2016

Josh and I drove up to Virginia for Thanksgiving this year. We had lunch at his Uncle's house near Roanoke with lots of family. We went to Lynchburg for dinner at his Memaw's house, but I did not get any pictures there. Here are some family pictures we took that afternoon:

We're adding 3 great grandchildren to the Hancock family within 5 months of each other! :) Very exciting! There is so much to be thankful for this year!

XOXO

18 Weeks Pregnant

How far along: 18 weeks and 3 days

How big is baby: The size of a sweet potato :)

Weight Gain: Still no weight gain from being so sick, but I am finally able to eat more than before.

Maternity clothes:  We've gone to buy some maternity clothes and I've started to wear a few things. My favorite are the maternity jeans. They are so much more comfortable than normal jeans!

Stretch marks: Nothing yet.

Sleep:  I'm still sleeping well. My doctor prescribed me some new nighttime nausea medicine 2 weeks ago and it has helped my sickness and sleep. 

Craving: Recently I have been wanting grilled chicken nachos from Mexican restaurants, East Coast Wings, and Pizzeria 66. The other night I was craving steak and mac and cheese. The last couple of weeks I've been eating a lot of Subway. I have been eating tons of bananas, 2-3 a day.

Sickness:  As of today, I am 2 weeks with no throwing up! Yay! Still nauseous everyday but it is definitely getting better. The sickest I've been the whole pregnancy was at 16 weeks, but after a day and a half of throwing up EVERYTHING, I have not been sick since. 

Feeling: Excited and happy :) Thanksgiving is this week and we've already started decorating for Christmas! It is so exciting to think about having this baby boy next Christmas! :)

Gender Reveal Party

The day we told my parents that I was pregnant, my mom started planning a gender reveal party. We thought we'd have to wait for the 20 week anatomy scan (20 weeks starts on December 2nd), but Josh and I got too impatient and scheduled a 3D ultrasound at the beginning of my 16th week. 

We had an appointment on Friday afternoon, where we found out we are having a boy! I was so nervous the baby wouldn't cooperate, and then so happy when he did. :)

It was VERY hard to keep it a secret until the party the next night. I didn't realize how convinced I was that this baby was a girl, until the ultrasound tech told us he was a boy! On the way home from the appointment I had to call my friend April, who has two boys, so I could get it out.

We decided to pop a balloon to make the reveal. My mom cut up tons of blue and pink hearts and Josh took both to the store to have the balloons blown up with blue tissue paper.

It wasn't a big party, we just invited our closest family and friends who live close to us. (Except for Josh's family who drove up from Atlanta.)

My mom, sister, and her roommate Caitlin worked so hard to make this party special. We felt so happy, excited, and loved. It was a great night. And now we can't wait to meet our baby boy sometime around April 21st! :)

XOXO