I find myself savoring every moment of this pregnancy because the journey to get here was super emotional. It took a lot of prayer and there was heartbreak along the way, but God is so good and these little kicks I’m feeling these days + my growing bump are a constant reminder that this baby is a gift from Him. I could not be more thankful and honored to get to do this!

Being pregnant during this coronavirus pandemic has been pretty wild. I’m definitely missing being surrounded by all my people during such a special time, but thanks to all the Zoom and FaceTime chats I’m having I still feel very connected. I’ve also gotten to spend a ton of quality time with my husband before we become a family of three and it’s nice to have extra time at home for all this nesting I’m about to do. Still, it would be nice to get away for a babymoon before this kid gets here. If not I guess we’ll have to make it a newborn-moon! It doesn’t sound nearly as restful, but worth it to bask in the sun and stick my toes in the sand somewhere tropical. 

I’m 21 weeks now and thankfully, this pregnancy has been pretty easy so far. In the beginning I mainly felt like a bottomless pit of hunger and only got nauseous when I didn’t eat every hour and a half. The only things I could not stand were the sight/taste/thought of sour cream and the smell of taco seasoning. Other than being too tired to move by 8pm and having to pee 24/7 I felt pretty good (which was also terrifying, cause those early symptoms felt like such reassurance). Now that I’m a little over halfway there, I still wake up a ton at night but I’m experiencing some more of the fun stuff: good hair, a reasonably sized bump, a little more energy, vivid dreams every night, and baby kicks that keep getting stronger and stronger.  

Biggest cravings so far: peanut butter toast every single day, Special K cereal (has to be the one with strawberries), spicy Indian food, cheeseburgers, any kind of Italian food, and Reser’s bean and cheese burritos (which is weird because I hadn’t even thought about those things in like fifteen years). Oddly enough, I am preferring salty/spicy/savory things over sweets these days.

We found out the gender last week and wanted to come up with a fun way to tell all of you. So naturally, I made myself a gender reveal cake!

Without further ado, it’s a…

BOY! 

And the crazy thing is, I had this super strong feeling that we were having a son weeks before we found out. I did have a few vivid dreams that I was having a girl in the beginning, and an overwhelming majority of our friends guessed it would be a girl, but after I hit the second trimester I was just convinced it was a boy. I couldn’t shake the feeling. So when the ultrasound tech said he was a boy I was mind blown that the feeling was true! We are so elated to be having a son! And just look at his cute little profile:

I’m already so obsessed with this boy and can’t wait to be his mama! Already dreaming of his birthday cakes but trying not to think too far ahead because I hear time goes fast. In the meantime, I’m savoring every moment of this pregnancy and grateful to be healthy during this crazy time in the world. Hope you’re all safe and healthy out there and thank you for celebrating sweet boy with us! 

And one last thing: If you’re wondering about the details of how I created my gender reveal cake, here’s the tutorial for the buttercream piping technique I used. The color palette for the frosting is Americolor Electric Blue and Fuschia, mixed in a few different shades and combined for the purple color. I tinted the cake batter with Americolor Electric Blue to get that pretty shade for the cake inside.

If you’re expecting and want to make your own gender reveal cake, feel free to steal this idea or check out the tutorial for these sprinkle filled gender reveal cupcakes. Be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram if you do – I’d love to celebrate with you!

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SugarBearHair is the world’s first gummy vegetarian hair multivitamin. In addition to being packed with tons of vitamins that are scientifically proven to benefit hair, they’re cruelty-free and also free of gluten, wheat, soy, dairy, and gelatin. They’re made with a synergistic blend of vitamins and minerals that work together to help your body produce biotin (aka Vitamin B), which helps with hair health and growth. Plus, one dose (two bears) contains as much Vitamin B12 as 4 organic eggs, as much Vitamin A as four cups of broccoli, and as much Vitamin C as 1 cup of cranberries! That’s a whole lot of vitamins, people.

While enjoying these SugarBearHair Vitamins with a slice of cake is the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth and get your vitamins at the same time, you don’t have to combine them with anything to make them tasty. They actually taste delicious on their own (like blueberries!), which makes me look forward to eating them everyday. My husband has started taking them as well, but I think he’s more interested in them because they taste like candy as opposed to the hair benefits. We’ll see how his hair looks after some time goes by though!

SugarBear also sent me a few bottles of their Women’s Multivitamins that are 100% Vegan and I was so surprised to hear that you can actually take them in addition to their hair vitamins! I decided to add them into my daily regimen about a month ago and am really happy with the results I’m seeing. In addition to my hair feeling great, my skin feels softer and more clear, plus my nails are growing faster than ever. In the past I’ve struggled with thin, brittle nails but I can honestly say they feel really strong and the length is amazing!

Whether you’re looking for a hair vitamin that actually tastes good (and works!) or if you’re ready to change up your multivitamin supply, SugarBear makes some wonderful options. Head on over to their shop to get your hands on some! And if you do end up trying them, let me know. I’d love to hear about how you’re liking them!

Disclaimer: I was compensated by SugarBearHair for my work of creating this cake, styling, filming, photographing, and writing about their products. As always, all opinions are honest and my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support Sugar & Sparrow.

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