20 Weeks + Mini Babymoon (in NYC)

How far along? 20 Weeks

Total weight gain: Eesh! Up from last week. 7.9 total.

Maternity clothes? I wore maternity tops all weekend and it was amazing. That said, I'm currently 100% in non-maternity clothes right now so there are definitely things that still fit. My favorite mom-maternity skinny jeans are starting to feel a little tight. I think I may be making the switch the maternity pants here soon.

Stretch marks? Nothing yet - fingers crossed it stays that way. I'm still using cocoa butter, coconut oils, and lots of lotion.

Sleep: Good and bad. At least twice this week I woke up at 3am for no reason and just couldn't fall back asleep and ended up for 2-3 hours. The next night I always sleep really well since I'm so tired, but it's annoying to keep waking up for no reason.

Best moment this week: Getting the spend the weekend in New York visiting family - our first little babymoon!

Worst Moment this week: I totally forgot to check us in for our return flight home this weekend and since we were flying Southwest, we ended up with a really bad boarding spot (no assigned seats on Southwest!). It was so frustrating because I totally just spaced (pregnancy brain?) and definitely had the time to check us in. Fortunately it actually worked out great - I checked with the gate agent at the airport & asked if they would let a pregnant person priority board (needing to be near an aisle to be able to get up and move around + be able to get to the bathroom quickly!) and they said yes! We ended up boarding super early and got a great seat. Thankful for Southwest!

Miss Anything? Being able to easily bend over to put on shoes. I can still do it, but it's getting difficult!

Movement: So much this weekend! She doesn't move very much during the day, but at night when I settle down she definitely starts kicking. Saturday night I just could not stop laughing because of how much she was moving - it was so much that Taylor and I just sat there and watched my stomach move. So crazy!!

Cravings: Apples - red or green!

Symptoms: Easily winded but other than that nothing major. I've been feeling really, really good (thankfully!)

Mood: Overall good!

Looking forward to: Throwing a baby shower for Hayden this weekend!!

Baby girl is the size of a banana!

6.5 inches and 10.2 ounces.

Our trip to NY was short (and primarily to see family) but we packed in a ton and got to try a bunch of new restaurants, as well as visit a few old favorite places.

We arrived on a Friday and dropped our stuff off and made a quick stop at Joe for a mid-morning snack: a cup of coffee for Taylor and a savory scone for me. Taylor pretty much has all the best coffee shops in NYC memorized at this point. We'd been to Joe before, but this time tried their Grand Central location.

Once we were recharged, we hopped on a train to grab some lunch at:

Ed's Lobster Bar
This place is a total gem. I found it after searching for a good, not super fancy seafood place (coming from Texas we knew we just had to have seafood while in NY!) and I am SO glad we went. They serve lunch from 12-3p and we arrived on the later end of that around 2pm. Because it was later, we got a table with no problem at all. The restaurant (located in SoHo) is super cute with marble tables in the back and a long bar in the front.

We started with the mussels - oh man, a-maz-ing. They are drenched in a horseradish cream sauce that is so yummy that we used all the bread they give us to soak up every single bite.

Taylor and I split the lobster bisque and a lobster roll for our mains (they are known for the lobster rolls!). The lobster bisque was good, but I wasn't totally blown away. The soup had two lobster dumplings in it (they were really good), but I was expecting the soup in general to have more pieces of lobster in it I think. Good flavor, but not quite as special as the mussels and definitely not as good as the lobster roll.....

....Now for the lobster roll. Picture this: a perfectly toasted buttery bun packed to the brim with delicious, flavorful lobster. It's heaven. Seriously. We were guessing that there's about an entire lobster's worth of meat on the sandwich!

We then set out for our next stop, which was super conveniently just a few blocks away...

Dominique Ansel Bakery
Have you ever heard of a chocolate chip cookie shot? It's pure genius.

So this time as I was researching new places to try on our trip, I was on a sweets missions since I'm pregnant (normally we're scoping out a fun wine bar or two!). I stumbled across Dominique Ansel's Bakery in SoHo and was instantly drooling as I learned about the little shop.

They are known for their cronuts (=croissant + donut) but you have to get to the bakery super early in the morning or they sell out. Since this wasn't an option, I had my mind set on trying the chocolate chip cookie shot.They only sell the cookie shots after 3pm, as an "after school snack."

The cookie: your first bite or two seems normal - just a good 'ole chocolate chip cookie (lined with chocolate). And then you take a sip of milk and can totally see the novelty and fun in the treat. But then (we can call this phase 3), you get a bite of cookie that has been soaking in milk for the past few minutes - this is when the sheer genius-ness of the whole concept kicks in. Oh my goodness. Approximately 60 seconds later you'll find that you've devoured the entire thing.

We also tried an order of their madeleines - they were hot right out of the oven, fluffy and light, and had the most delicious lemony flavor.

The bakery itself is adorable - pretty marble counter-tops and bar, a little seating in the front, plenty of seating in the back, and even an outside patio overlooking a little playground. The menu is pretty extensive - they had macaroons, dozens of different beautiful French pastries, and then of course the other things they're known for: the DKA, S'mores, and the aforementioned cronuts. I want to try them all. Next time!

After filling up on savory lobster & amazing sweets, we made our way back uptown for a little shopping on 34th street & walking around. I just love Macys and of course they had about a half a floor totally devoted to maternity clothes!

We also had to pop in to FAO Schwarz and mainly stayed in the baby section but just couldn't pass up this adorable bib:

At this point we headed back and rested for a while and then got ready to go out to dinner with my cousins at...

Beecher's Handmade Cheese
Beecher's is a cute shop right near the Flat Iron building that makes their own cheese on the first floor (and has a cafe for quick meals during the day) and then has a separate bar/restaurant area downstairs called The Cellar.

We had a great time getting to catch up with my cousins over that delicious cheese tray & piping hot mac and cheese.

Saturday morning we grabbed bagels at one of my favorite bagel shops: Ess-A-Bagel. Oh man, they are SO good. We took our bagels to go and had them at Cafe Grumpy (another amazing coffee shop) and I was totally in breakfast heaven!

We spent the rest of the day with family and got to enjoy a delicious seafood lunch at one of my mom's favorite restaurants out on Long Island: Snapper Inn. We also swung by the firehouse where my dad & uncle volunteer:

Sunday morning we only had time for one last stop before heading to the airport, and of course it had to be at our all time favorite coffee place:

Stumptown Coffee
Every single time we visit NY, we make a point to stop in for coffee (most of the time more than once during the trip!). I love their lattes (decaf this time!) and Taylor loves just about everything on the menu. I love that you can take your coffee (and pastries - they are amazing!) and grab a seat in the lounge-y lobby of the Ace Hotel. It's totally the perfect place to relax and recharge if you're running around the city.

Overall it was a great trip and a fun mini babymoon!