25 Weeks

(photo courtesy of Aidan and Ella...the handwriting is practically a dead ringer for mine though)

How far along? 25 Weeks - Baby is as big as cauliflower!  He's over a foot long and approaching the 2 pound mark.  It just blows my mind that he took ~22 weeks to gain 1 pound and within 3 weeks he's gained a whole other pound!  This kid is going to be putting on some serious weight and fast in the next couple weeks!  Babies amaze me!

Total weight gain/loss: 17 pounds.  Didn't gain a pound last week but I didn't lose any either.  We had our doctor appointment last Thursday and baby Koch is hitting all the growth points he's supposed to.  When we first got the chance to listen to his heart beat, the doctors had to search for 15 minutes for it and it was quite faint.  At this past appointment, they barely put the heart rate device thingy up to my stomach and you could hear a loud "BOOM BOOM BOOM".  The doctor said, "That's one strong heart beat!"  Of course my kid has a strong heart beat...he's actually getting to eat food now!  His heart rate was perfect at 144bpm.  What a stud he already is.  Anyways, that was my tangent on how my son is developing just fine so I shouldn't be concerned that I didn't gain a pound this past week.

Maternity clothes? I did wear that dress I bought at the maternity store this past weekend to show off my little burrito bump.  People were so happy to see that I was finally able to show off the bump.  I started my maternity aqua aerobics class this past week and decided I would wear my maternity swim suit to the class.  I had major bump envy when I walked into class.  Granted two of these ladies were about to pop (aka due anytime within the next 2 weeks) but their bumps were adorable and I couldn't help but be envious.  Wearing a lot of my leggings, sweatpants, and dresses because they're more forgiving.

Stretch marks? No stretch marks.  Still lotioning up.  I logically know that none of these goofy lotions will actually prevent stretch marks but that doesn't stop me from thinking that if I do put all these lotions on that maybe they might work.  Yeah...I'm a bit crazy.

Sleep: I slept like a bear all weekend, mainly because we were up really late with all the fun wedding stuff.  I danced my little heart out and wore myself down.  So needless to say, I slept pretty well.  I'm down to just 2 pee breaks a night but during the day is a different story.  And yes, I'm still having really weird dreams.

Best moment this week: I would have to say the wedding.  I felt sooo good at the wedding and the days leading up to it.  I actually got to eat all of my dinner and a piece of cake.  (I got to the cake table late and all the red velvet pieces were gone so I had a hissy fit/heart attack and 'my night was ruined'.  I went back to my table and sulked for a good 5 minutes before my amazing husband came galovanting to my table with a magnificent piece of red velvet cake!  He went on a quest all over the room amidst 500 people to find me the last piece of this holy red velvet cake.  Once captured, he made a bee-line for me and presented me with the trophy.  My mood suddenly changed and I made sure to give my handsome knight a kiss of gratitude)  After cake, I went back to the dance floor only to be dragged on the stage by the bride because apparently I embarrassed her at her bachelorette party (who me??  would I do that?  umm  YEP!) so I had to do the honors of playing the tamborine for the band while she got the way cooler cow bell.  Needless to say, we rocked the snot out of the cow bell and tamborine.  As the night dragged on and my shoes kept getting stuck to the dance floor, I could tell that little baby Koch was telling me, "Mom, I'm rather tired.  It's time for both of us to go to bed."  Fine son.  So around 1am, I gathered up my handsome husband (who served as the Best Man) and a few other stragglers and we headed back to our hotel where we slept like bears.  My only wish was that I could have partaken in some celebratory wedding wine/beer/cocktails but it wasn't a big deal.  I had a fantastic time without it.  Soon, Jackie, soon.

(This is at Dan's brother's wedding.  Isn't he the most handsome groomsman you've ever seen?  Well this is the only photo we apparently took together all evening.  I must have been glued to the dance floor more than I thought.  Sorry for the poor quality of the pics, but you're probably used to that now. Maybe next week I'll get an updated picture of the bump.)

Miss Anything? Beer, wine, cocktails, and especially coffee.  I could use a little go-go juice in the morning because I'm dragging.  Guess that means I need more sleep so I won't need Go-Go juice.  I did find myself salivating when the prego ladies at my aqua aerobics class talked about wine (I like this group of ladies.  They talk about babies, food, and especially beer and wine.  We are going to be close friends!).  One lady said she had a few sips of wine for dinner the night before and I asked her intensely, "How did it taste?  Tell me everything!".  She said it was a delicious Pinot Noir and went into detail about the flavor profile.  She assured me she only had a few sips and that was it.  (So don't go thinking she is a booze hound)  As much as I would love a full glass of vino, I don't think I can bring myself to do that while baby Koch is inside me.  He's too precious to indulge in just a sip.  I'll get my wine soon enough.

Movement: The little nugget has started kicking my ribs!  He does it ever so gently though...for now.  I noticed that my ribs were aching the other day as I had to take deeper breaths because it was getting more difficult to take normal shallow breaths then I realized he was kicking me.  Not very nice, son.  I'm okay with the flutters and flips but please leave mommy's ribs alone.  I need those too!

Food cravings: Chocolate cookies, chocolate brownies, chocolate cake, chocolate shakes, chocolate cheesecake....or just regular bars of chocolate.  The chocolate bug bit me hard this week.  I gave in to some (a lot) of its temptations.  I already told you the story about Dan saving the day by finding the last piece of red velvet cake at the wedding.  Thank you again dear!  And as usual, I'm guzzling my milk like a champ.  Dan was traveling this week for work so it was pretty clear how much milk I, alone, go through in a week.  And the answer: over 2 1/2 gallons. (and that was technically only for 5 days)  It's just so good.  Thank you yet again God for creating milk for us.  It's just so yummy and delicious.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not this week!  Just yummy and delicious smells!

Have you started to show yet: I call it my little burrito bump because it looks like I ate a few too many burritos.  The bump is growing though!  I still have a huge case of bump envy though. This was especially evident to me when I was staring at all the pregnant ladies' bumps in my aqua aerobics class. Like I said, I know that a few of them are ready to pop but it doesn't stop me from thinking their bumps are so adorable.  I do have to admit though, that I had my "moments" this past week where I was hysterical complaining one second that my bump isn't big enough then 5 second later that I'm getting too big.  This little momma is having body issues.  I blame the hormones because clearly I'm the most rational person on the planet but at the moment, all my level-headed'ness has gone to the birds. It's definitely the hormones.

Gender: Baby Koch is a boy!  All the Koch's were pretty stoked about adding another boy to the family.  

Labor Signs: Nope

Symptoms: My lower back is still getting sore.  My ribs have started to see some action.  I had a couple moments where it was difficult to breath because of the rib action.  I had the heartburn thing again....weird.   Also, turning and twisting it difficult especially when I'm trying to get out of bed in the morning.  Guess that means I should just stay in bed. 

Belly Button in or out? Still very cavernous

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time:  I was ecstatic this past weekend....borderline hysterical....when Dan's brother got married to the gorgeous Meggie.  I cried during the ceremony (who doesn't happy cry at weddings?).  I had a little ridiculous freakout that was the cake incident.  I already acknowledged my hormones are causing me to have body issues.  I might have shed a tear or two during the Olympics this past week.  So basically, I'm a hot mess.  I'm not in control of my body and hormones right now so just go with it.  In fact, the best thing to do when dealing with me is probably just to feed me...preferably chocolate or ice cream.  Other than the ridiculous moments I had, I was a pretty happy camper.  I'm a much happier person when I get a full 8 hours+ of sleep and I got pretty good sleep this past week so overall I was pretty happy.  Now what would make me even more happy is finally getting started on this whole baby room thing.  

Looking forward to:  Sleeping in on Saturday.  Haven't slept in on a Saturday in a while.  Looking forward to putting up some final shelves in our new places and finishing unpacking (crossing my fingers that we can actually get it all done this weekend!)  Also looking forward to going home next weekend and getting to see my Japanese sister, Reiko. Reiko was our Japanese foreign exchange student 10 years ago and we've still kept in close contact with her.  This is her first trip back to the states and I'm beyond thrilled to get to see her!  I knew we would be lifelong friends at the time because she loved ice cream as much as I do, she loved to cook with me, she laughed at my dumb jokes and always kept me laughing, and she was always down for ordering pizza.  Everyone knows that if you can find people who love food as much as you do, you will become lifelong friends (1st grade rules...share food,  make friends).  I'll have to post pictures of adorable Reiko and me next blog.

Anything Else: Hmmm....after much pressure from my sisters (who are making shower invitations), Dan and I have decided on a theme/direction to go in for little baby Koch's room! We didn't want something too baby'y. We're practical people who like simple, cute, and understated. It was harder for me because I know that any bedding or fabrics we choose for the baby's room, that these items won't be clean and cute for long. Babies are dirty creatures and I know that if we had gotten some cutesy animal themed bedding that the animal's head would be stained from baby juices (puke, poop, pee, etc.) in about a week. So therefore I wanted a cute patterned fabric that can stand up to baby juices rather than whimsical baby animals. But below are some rooms we agreed would serve as inspiration to the direction we want to go in. Simple.

The following 3 images are via Roomzaar.  I like the colors and the simplicity of the room.  This room was done for twin girls.  Dan and I are having one boy.  This room is to serve as inspiration.

These next two images are more along the lines of almost exactly the direction we want to go.  We love the dark brown furniture and the cute, yet understated patterns.  I also liked how they maintained the same color yet mixed up the patterns.  I like the combination of different patterns, textures, and fabrics.  Simple. Baby. Practical.  These images are also via  Roomzaar

Gosh I can't wait for our little nugget to come!  As soon as we start getting our act together for the baby's room, I'll post some pics.