29 weeks pregnant - 77 days to go!

"Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Your baby's very active now. Your practitioner may ask you to spend some time each day counting kicks and will give you specific instructions on how to do this. Let her know if you ever notice a decrease in activity. You may need a nonstress test or biophysical profile to check on your baby's condition.

Some old friends — heartburn and constipation — may take center stage now. The pregnancy hormone progesterone relaxes smooth muscle tissue throughout your body, including your gastrointestinal tract. This relaxation, coupled with the crowding in your abdomen, slows digestion, which in turn can cause gas and heartburn — especially after a big meal — and contribute to constipation as well."

I can certainly agree with the comment that the baby is very active now! Last week when we were being checked out the ultrasound tech asked me if he was always that fidgety. And then when I was being monitored they kept having to come in and move the little belt thing - he'd flip from one side of my belly to the other and we'd lose him for a bit. There are times, if I'm really busy, that I won't feel him - but if I just stop what I'm doing and relax for a minute I can feel him going at it again.

We put up our Christmas tree and decorated it over the last week. One evening after that, we (me, Jason, Cali, and Pickles) sat on the couch, with a fire in the fireplace and just listened to Christmas music. Jason and I think it's so wild to think that next year our little family will be bigger!

How far along: 29 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +20.2 lbs
Maternity clothes: I have a complaint here - why can't more stores carry maternity clothes?? I've been struggling to find something that I just love to wear to a shower.
Stretch marks: So far I really feel like I'm lucky in this department. Those words will probably come back to haunt me later.
Sleep: It was touch and go without my snoogle (left it at Anna's a few weeks ago) but I have it back now.
Best moment this week: Even though it was scary having to be there, I just loved seeing his face on the ultrasound last week.
Movement: See above. In fact, right now he has the hiccups.
Food cravings: This was when we were in Bloomington over Thanksgiving, but I was so excited that they had a Sonic - we had to stop and get a cherry limeade. Yum!
Gender: Boy!!!
Labor Signs: Nothing. This was sort of interesting though - I was reading my pregnancy book last night and in the week 29 chapter they talked about preterm labor. I had at least 3 of the "signs" last week - I guess I understand why the wanted to monitor me for 4 hours!
Belly Button in or out: Sort of half and half. I swear the top part of it is constantly sticking out now.
What I miss: Being able to sit on the floor to work on craft projects.
What I am looking forward to: My first baby shower, our 3D/4D ultrasound that is next week, and working more on the nursery
Milestones: Nothing huge that I know of

Now for some pictures!

Jason and I have known what our little boy's name would be since before we found out he was a boy. Well, the first name anyways - we haven't officially decided on a middle name yet. It hasn't been a secret - if someone asks we'll tell them. I just hadn't publically announced it or anything. I wasn't even thinking in my post last week and called him by his name - I've been thinking of him that way for the last 14 weeks and it just naturally came out. And I was caught! So in case you missed it:



His official first name will be Lucas, but I imagine 99% of the time we'll call him Luke. (Unless he's in trouble, then his full name might be used!)

As you can see from the picture above, we've been doing some things in the nursery. I decorated the wall letters over the weekend. Originally I was going to paint them, but realized I'd never get the circles and lines as perfect as I wanted. Scrapbook paper and decoupage were a perfect solution!

We also now have the dresser/hutch in the room. My mom came over and sanded down/painted the top of the dresser so it is now a light green, to match the rest of the accents in the room. The little wooden toys at the top, and the rocking horse bank on the right were Jason's when he was a little boy.



We also now have the old toy box that my sister, brother, and I used when we were little. It currently is filled with tons of stuffed animals. The two that were deemed worthy enough to sit on the top (for now anyways) are Jason's "Mutt" and my "Lolly." Mr. Bear sitting over on the right is the first stuffed animal we bought for our baby. He used to have a fugly bow on, so I made a tie out of some ribbon that matches the nursery.


And lastly, I got the invitation for my other shower in the mail - Anna and Anne did such a great job! Bring on the milk and cookies!!!