31 weeks: four oranges

Thirty One weeks: 3.28.12





Photo Thoughts: It's hard to hold four oranges at once. And I really do love my 'new' clothes my friends have let me borrow.
 
Size of baby: Very random. Four oranges according to BC and still a squash or maybe even a pineapple. But I'm going to use that bad boy around 33 weeks-ish. I guess not all of the remaining fruits are totally random but this week...four oranges is just a funny choice.

Cravings: Nothing really. I fought off an urge to have a glass of wine last week after the stress of a sick toddler and moving came to a head. Mostly because I knew I'd be asleep in 0.2 seconds, not because I was really that worried about it affecting baby girl. Very much looking forward to a day I can have a glass of wine and not feel guilty and also not fall asleep immediately. Wonder when that will be?

What I love: Being just 9 weeks away from d-day. This is no joke, guys, she is going to have to come out sometime very soon!

What I'm looking forward to the most: The birth itself. And nursing. Both of those things have been on my mind a lot this week.

Worries: I wasn't too happy with baby girl last week when she scared me with very obvious Braxton Hicks contractions. I even got out the contraction timer on my phone and they were consistently every 9 minutes apart. But then I decided to just chill out a bit and drink water and it did get better. It was also a night (early morning?) when I was lugging my sick boy around and a little stressed, and as many of you commenters said---second time around the body knows what to do and gets prepared a little sooner. I still want to ask my OB about the BH contractions on Thursday when I see her and hopefully she does not care at all.

What is different this time around: With Truman's pregnancy at 31 weeks, I was getting a chubby face, I finally bought my own maternity wardrobe, we had just attended our childbirth class and found out we were going to get five freaking baby showers. This time obviously no showers and no classes and luckily I have amazing friends who have upped my maternity wardrobe very nicely this time around. Also, I think maybe my face is not yet *that* fat and my bump is just about caught up to last time. For being 31 weeks I feel both more prepared and somehow less prepared than last time. I guess more prepared because I just don't stress about all of the little details this second time around. But less prepared because baby girl does not even have a nursery set up yet and only has about 10 outfits to wear for her whole life. I realize it will all come together in good time and I'm hoping the next 9 weeks provide for lots of nesting/baby prep time.

Symptoms: My skin to the right side of my belly button is KILLING me at times! I keep checking for a stretch mark but there is nothing---just really sensitive skin. I vaguely remember something like this from last time but it was much higher up my belly. Getting BH contractions also goes down as a symptom. And it's still odd to feel so clumsy when changing positions.

Sleep: Still, no issues. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I ever had true sleeping problems even with Truman's pregnancy. Count me lucky on this one!


Movement: I love it. She's wild and the movements are definitely more rolls and vague jabs instead of jumpy little kicks. I've been worried that she won't get head-down in there but this week I swear most of her movement is up under my ribs, so maybe her feet are finally settling in a bit.

The belly: It's there and I know it's just going to get bigger in the next 9 weeks but man, it already feels pretty big! My belly button actually pops through some shirts now. I can definitely feel the baby across my entire torso now and she seems really high up there. This is a week when I love the baby bump and can't help rubbing it at times.

Milestones:  She is a big girl in there at 16 inches and almost 3.5 pounds. I remember my two friends Erin N. and Erin R. saying that week 31 was the MOST movement they'd ever felt because after that the babies run out of space in there. I believe it and also cannot believe it's my turn to be at the 31 week mark when the Erin's were JUST HERE, it seems.

Amusing comments from the general public: Mostly good this week, actually! While furniture shopping I had one lady ask when I was due, and when I told her she said, 'You look SO good for being that far along.' Then the next dude at a different store had an interesting approach. He asked when Truman was going to be a big brother (since T was with us) and I told him 'end of May.' The dude stopped for a second and asked, 'Of what year?' Never heard that one before!

Best moment of the week: Sort of a rough week around here with Truman being sick and Nate working a ton, and with the realization that we are moving NEXT WEEK on Friday. I think the best moment was probably on Sunday when Truman really turned a corner and started feeling good enough to laugh and play again. Everything before that was just crap but we are hanging in there, and very thankful that Nate and I didn't get the Virus From Hell.