29 Weeks

How far along? 29 Weeks...Baby is as big as an Acorn Squash!  

(Sorry no picture this week.  We totally forgot to take pictures at the baby shower.  Whoops!)

Total weight gain/loss: 22 pounds. Wohoo!  I attribute the weight gain to the weekend of gorging on yummy party food.

Maternity clothes? Just a few pieces mixed in with my normal clothes.  Still digging the wrap that allows me to unbutton my normal pants and just wear the wrap over it.  I will be keeping this wrap and use it for next year's Thanksgiving.  

Stretch marks? No.  Had to make a lotion run this week though.

Sleep: So I knocked over a water glass during one of my bathroom breaks this week.  It literally woke my husband up from a solid slumber and scared him half to death.  Sorry!  I guess I'm not as graceful as I was before (but that doesn't say much).  I had my first dream about what my son will actually look like when he gets here!  In this dream he and I were playing pee-a-boo on the ugly blue couch we have and I was video taping it.  Well if I get my hands on that video tapes (from my dream) I'll be sure to share it with you.  He was a cutie!  He looked a lot like Daniel did as a child.  Adorable!  Other than the million pee breaks I take, I'm sleeping pretty well.  I feel old because once it turns past 8pm, I get really tired and want to go to bed.  How did I stay up so late in college?  

Best moment this week: Seeing my extended Smith family and being blessed with our first baby shower!  We felt so loved to see everyone so excited about our little man.  He's going to be one spoiled and loved little boy.  At the shower, Baby Koch even got his first tractor!  It was a mini of my grandpa's old tractor, an Oliver.  I'm positive he'll love it!  The Smith clan graciously helped us begin to outfit our little nugget's room.  Everything is coming together nicely.  I even got to demonstrate my swaddling skills on my cousin's son...he's 4.  He thought it was funny at first but then realized he couldn't move.  So basically that means I'm a great swaddler if I can swaddle a 4 year old.  But overall, we had a wonderful time visiting my Iowa family.  We even celebrated my uncle's 60th birthday at his tractor party (Allis Chalmers tractors to be specific for you tractor nuts out there).  We got to visit my grandparents in their nursing home and hear the latest crazy stories.  Grandpa's first words to me were, "Are you fat yet?".  He always knows how to make me chuckle.  I feel that I could start a whole other blog and fill it up just with the crazy stories my grandpa tells me.

Miss Anything? Beer and wine.  At the parties, I wanted so bad to indulge in some celebratory beverages but I did not.  Gah!  The temptations are getting harder and harder.  I think it's because my stomach is getting stronger so I actually want to eat and drink the "bad" things now.  Soon Jackie, Soon!  I also miss taking scalding baths.  I enjoy a good bubble bath every now and then but I like my water to be so hot that it almost scalds your skin.  What's the point of taking a luke warm bath?  For some reason, I'm not allowed to take my hot baths anymore.  There's some rule about "you'll cook your baby...or something like that" if you take a hot bath.  Whatever.  I'll follow the dumb rule even though I don't like it.  I also miss sleeping on my stomach and back. I normally don't sleep on my stomach or back that much but when you are forced not to, it's gets to be such a pain to HAVE to sleep on your side.  More rules...

Still haven't gotten my hamballs yet, mom!  Just saying.   ("MOM! MEATLOAF!!")

Movement: He's getting so much stronger!  My Mom, sister Jill, and Dad all got to feel the nugget move when he was being particularly active in Iowa.  It was pretty cool!  I also felt my first case of Baby Koch's hiccups this past week.  It was kind of like an involuntary muscle twitch in my stomach...that lasted for 7 minutes.  It was kind of annoying (because it lasted so long) but it was still endearing because I got to feel him hiccup.  Awwww!

Food cravings: Scotcharoos!  They're a hybrid rice krispie treats and peanut butter and chocolate mix.  I think I ingested approximately 18 at the baby shower.  People are just lucky that I didn't know they were in the house the night before or there wouldn't have been any left for the shower.  And as usual, I'm craving and indulging in my 2% Prairie Farms milk.  I think Dan and I go through practically a gallon per day....mostly from me guzzling it.  I also made a batch of turtle chocolate cookies this week that I've been making a huge dent in.  My sweet tooth definitely took a front seat this week and I craved sugary goods like no other.  Yum Yum Yum!

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Just cigarette smoke.  I can smell that stuff from miles away and it smells so disgusting.  Pregnant or not, it's always made me queasy and overall it's just plain dumb.  But I don't need to tell you that. 

Have you started to show yet:  There's a baby in there! My cousin's kids asked me if there was really a baby in my belly because it didn't look like it.  Bless their hearts.  I had them feel my belly but Baby Koch wasn't moving.  I told them that Baby Koch is over a foot long and weighs over 2 1/2 pounds!  They couldn't believe it.  Their eyes grew so big.  Too cute!  But yes, I am showing and there IS a baby in there.  Dan and I had our latest baby appointment last week and got to hear Baby Koch's heart beat.  He had a strong one at 154 bpm.  My doctor also told me that I'm growing just fine and that it's very common for tall people like me to not look like they're showing very much at all.  Grrrrr!  I just want the big bellly!

Gender: Strong Koch Boy!  The Smith family is a little lopsided on the girl side so it's a good thing we're having a boy.  It'll help even things out a little more.

Labor Signs: No

Symptoms: Heartburn!  Gah! I think I'll take a pass on that one.  I also had another 2-day long episode of side/rib pain.  Ugh it hurt so bad.  I tried to stretch it out and it still wouldn't subside.  Anyone know of cures for horrible side pain?  Lower back pain is still there.  Also, I can tell Baby Koch is crowding my ribs which causes me to have trouble catching my breath sometimes.  Ugh!  I'll be sitting on the couch and breathing loud and deeply and it'll scare Dan and he'll ask me if I'm okay.  I'm just fine, I would just like more space for my lungs thank you.

Belly Button in or out? Innie!

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy, Happy, Happy!  It's hard not to be this happy when my handsome husband is as supportive and wonderful as he is and we got to spend time with my family, the most amazing people in the world.  I could only think of 2 things that would make me even more happy....our little man getting here happy and healthy....and if I had a dog (a big, fluffy, and fat one!).  Dan told me I'm not allowed to have a dog (wah!) because our landlord won't allow it and plus we're going to have a baby soon.  UGH!  details....  But he did say that whenever we move, that we'll be allowed to have that discussion again. 

Looking forward to: Our second baby shower!  I'm headed back home (Northern Illinois/Wisconsin) this coming weekend to see my friends and family and I'm beyond excited for our second baby shower!  Baby Koch is so spoiled and so loved! 

Anything Else: The Illini totally won their first game!  Yeah for football season starting!  Let's bring on the tailgating, chili, brats, (beer...wah!), and pumpkin spiced everything!  Dan just finished making me a new set of Illini bags boards so we can bring them to our tailgates.  Yeah!  Handiest husband ever!  Thanks dear!