31 Weeks - Oh, my!

Nearly each day this week, I stare at my belly just to observe the movements going on inside it.  It's really quite fascinating.  When you put your hand over the most prominent lump, you can almost discern a body part.  So far, my guesses have been 'butt' and 'leg'.  At least that's what they feel like to me when he moves around.  I have yet to see a distinct foot through my skin, but my hopes are not high for seeing this, much less being able to catch it in a snapshot with the camera on my phone.

I spent the afternoon with my mom on Friday and then saw her again last night.  In just 2 days, she says that she could tell I got bigger.  The 31-week picture is up on the The Baby Bump page, and holy moly, the rate at which my belly is growing is almost unbelievable.  I look at the differences from one week to the next and can't help but stare in amazement at my growing girth.  My belly seems to be developing low, at least that's how it feels to me, AND that's how it looks.  How heavy is this kid gonna be when he arrives?  Seriously?

For the most part, I've felt good...all things considered.  I'm nearly always tired, no matter how much sleep I get.  Some nights I'll sleep for 5-6 hours straight, other nights I get up to pee a couple times.  If I only have to get up once, I can usually go back to sleep.  The second trip to the potty within a couple hours usually does me in and I'm just awake...kind of like this morning.  I've been up for nearly 20 minutes now, and I'm slightly jealous as Dave continues to sleep.  I'd like to still be snoozing, but I figured I'd take the time to write a blog post while I have some extra time.  I'm constantly hungry (nothing new there), and if it wasn't for the subsequent nausea that I feel if I put off eating, I would try to "pace myself" as a Facebook friend tried to advise me.  As a matter of fact, I think I do pace myself.  I eat every 2-3 hours, and I try to vary up the snacks (yogurt, cottage cheese, fruit--or fruit smoothie, protein, crackers, etc.)  I usually have my veggies at mealtimes, and that usually involves kale (often found in my smoothies, too), brussel sprouts, broccoli (if I have it), definitely spinach, zucchini, carrots.  I like to think it's pretty balanced, and the crazy jump in my weight gain has more to do with the Bebby growing than me overeating.

At my last prenatal appointment, they flagged my blood pressure as "great" so far, no mention of my weight gain being a problem, my uterus was measuring on target (30 cm at 30 weeks), and all my other reported symptoms have been normal (excepting, of course, the yeast infection that was nearly gone).  The midwife told me to eat more garlic to help get rid of the last vestiges of the infection and to eat more yogurt to keep it away.  I have done so...and happily.  I don't normally eat yogurt (because of my dairy issues), but while pregnant, those normal rules don't seem to apply.

Getting in and out of bed has become a bit daunting for me.  The shift in weight puts pressure on my loosening hips, which hurts and is extremely uncomfortable.  It feels as though my lower half of the body is going to detach itself from the whole when I try to sit up, so climbing out of bed is somewhat dreaded.  I find myself not wanting to go to sleep because of it, but once I'm appropriately positioned, I fall asleep nearly at once.  When I wake up in the mornings, it feels as though I haven't moved at all while sleeping.  Normally (meaning, when I'm not preggers), I shift and change positions throughout the night...usually from side to back or vice versa.  Nowadays, I wake in the same position as when I fell asleep, and the side of my body on the bed is stiff and sore.  My guess is lack of movement, probably because I have to fully wake to shift positions.  It really is such an ordeal to switch sides now.  It's, literally, align hips, brace with one leg before shifting weight, but be sure to squeeze the core muscles as much as possible, move hips in one continuous motion...all the while, trying to hold the belly up to suspend the baby (which doesn't really work, but I try anyway).  Ugh.  Whatever.  It's just easier to stay on one side and be sore the next morning.

I'm beginning to be paranoid about falling.  Typically, I will stand with both feel planted (Yoga's Mountain Pose) and make sure my balance is solid before I shift my weight to walk.  I'm a bit scared of falling over and hurting myself and the baby.  Mostly, my balance is still good, but a constantly changing center of gravity does not make adjusting easy, and I've caught myself wobbling every once in a while.  Sometimes a foot will catch on the floor/ground 'cause my hips are misaligned, but those are the simplest to catch.  On Saturday, I was upstairs cleaning up a bit and my foot caught on the corner of the bed that was sticking out.  I didn't see it because it was covered by blankets and sheets, but luckily, when I fell back, I fell onto the bed.  That's really the moment that I realized how careful I need to be.

Well, for the most part, I have been in good spirits (I think so, anyway), and I'm just taking it one day / one week at a time.  I can hardly believe I'm already 31 weeks.  In just a little over a month, I will be considered "full term" and we could have a baby!  I'm beginning to see the appeal of having baby out outweighing the fear of labor and giving birth.  My hope this kid decides to come a week or two early, or at least on time.  BUT, I'm also bracing myself for him being a week or two late.  A week or two early will make him a Halloween baby, but a week or two late will make him a Thanksgiving baby.  Someone had said Christmas, and I thought, "Oh, no!  They will induce way before we get to Christmas!"  Hah!  Oh, please, Kid...  I'm hoping early because I'm starting to get really uncomfortable in my own skin.

I catch myself looking forward to having my body back...mostly to myself.  I've been told that your body post-baby is never really quite the same again, but at least the relaxin will dissipate, I can sleep on my back again, and (after a few weeks) I can start getting my agility back, and most definitely lose some of this girth.  Oh...  how I look forward to then, but I will definitely miss the baby moving and kicking from inside the womb.  For me, that truly is my favorite part about being pregnant.