31 Weeks!!

How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

How your life's changing:

Have you noticed the muscles in your uterus tightening now and then? Many women feel these random contractions — called Braxton Hicks contractions — in the second half of pregnancy. Often lasting about 30 seconds, they're irregular, and at this point, they should be infrequent and painless. Frequent contractions, on the other hand — even those that don't hurt — may be a sign of preterm labor. Call your practitioner immediately if you have more than four contractions in an hour or any other signs of preterm labor: an increase in vaginal discharge or a change in the type of discharge (if it becomes watery, mucus-like, or bloody — even if it's pink or just tinged with blood); abdominal pain or menstrual-like cramping; an increase in pressure in the pelvic area; or low back pain, especially if you didn't have it before.

You may have noticed some leaking of colostrum, or "premilk," from your breasts lately. If so, try tucking some nursing pads into your bra to protect your clothes. (And if not, it's certainly nothing to worry about; your breasts are making colostrum all the same, even if you don't see any.) If your current bra is too snug, you might also want to pick up a nursing bra. Choose a nursing bra at least one cup size bigger than you need now. When your milk comes in you'll be grateful for that extra room!

31 weeks...just a few months to go. I think I'm starting to feel ready. I love being pregnant (especially this pregnancy...so much easier than the last) but I'm kind of done being pregnant. I'm ready to meet this baby girl. Well, I'm ready emotionally. Not ready with the things at home. We still haven't moved Dom downstairs yet. Need to really push this soon. Also, we don't have a swing, or baby monitors, or enough clothes (somehow we lost clothes from when Dom was this age...weird). I need to look up the things you are supposed to register for and go through the whole list of things we used, and then FIND them at home! I'm not even sure where our Boppy is! Lots to find... lots to do!

I'm excited that at my next dr. appointment we are going to set the date for the c-section. I'm still hoping to go on my own, but if not, it will be nice to have an actual countdown. Instead of my due date it will literally be the latest she will come. That will be nice. I'm hoping to schedule the c-section on either March 21 or March 23. Dominick is 01-23 and it would be nice to have Annabelle be either 03-21 (the opposite of Dom) or 03-23 (so they are the same date, just different months). Make it nice and easy to remember! :) We'll see when my doc is on call. That's what really determines it.

Unfortunately I found out at my last ultrasound that I do have to do monitoring again. I was really hoping that since things are going so smoothly and since I don't have diabetes that I wouldn't have to do it, but I do. Right now it's looking like I only have to go once a week instead of twice a week so I guess that's something...we'll see when we get there.

Happy 31 weeks Annabelle!

Upcoming Appointments:
Thursday, Feb. 3 - 32 week Dr. appointment
Friday, Feb. 18 - 7:30 am - Ultrasound; 8:00 am - Monitoring