31 Weeks

Weeks: 31 weeks . . . we are on the single digit week countdown -- 9 more weeks to go!

Weight Gain: +13 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight

This Week's Cravings: My husband and I are foodies. I think that much is a safe statement. So I have to be honest that at this point, it's really tough to discern between what is really a pregnancy craving and what is a craving driven by something I see on TV. For example, the other night, I saw someone making a thin crust pizza on Food Network. Man, it looked amazing. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the evening craving it and Sunday actually fulfilling it. {And to tell you the truth, I thought about it again as I was typing this and just called J to have him bring me home a slice of Costco pepperoni pizza} The point is, YES, the pizza on TV looked so delicious, but was my craving due to seeing it on TV, or was it part of what seems to have been a pregnancy constant of pizza cravings? Hard to tell, right?

New Maternity / Baby Purchases: Believe it or not, I actually sat here and had to think about the answer to this question this time and we actually didn't purchase anything for Cam this week {I know! Are you still alive?}. We did, however, receive a few gifts from friends -- one was an adorable pink step stool from our neighbors, Bill & Susie, that their daughter, Samantha, used. {It looks completely brand new and works great to fill a small blank corner in Camden's nursery -- at least in the meantime until Cam is old enough to use it} Another surprise was from another neighbor, Lisa, who came over the other day and dropped off a new Boppy pillow and a new pajama overall for Cam. What awesome surprises from our great friends! As for maternity stuff, I have to say that up until right around this point, I'd been able to get away with wearing most of my regular clothes. Key words: UP UNTIL. These days, the vintage t-shirts that used to fit just fine have now risen up to revel the bottom of my ballooning belly and even what used to be loose fitting shirts are, well, not so loose anymore. This morning, I put on my favorite purple and turquoise flannel shirt and the buttons were not only stretching at the top by my chest {long standing problem, even pre-pregnancy} but now at the bottom by my bellybutton as well. I was prepared before, having so many long-sleeved maternity shirts and cardigans from the previous pregnancy, since it only lasted until the late winter / early spring. Now that the weather is warming up, it's become much more of a challenge to find clothes that not only fit, but also fit the season. Gone are the navy blues and blacks and I've started to replace them with long ribbed tank tops {see 24, 29, and 30 week post pictures}. Last week, I was so excited to find coral skinny crop maternity jeans at H&M to add on to my dwindling options. At least I don't have to go through the rest of the season in drab winter colors.

Moment of the Week: We had so much fun with Cam on Wednesday night during story time. J took his usual post of laying down with his head next to my belly and read to Cam. We must have gotten her at a good {party} time because as soon as she heard his voice, she went nuts. We kept track of her movements and everytime he stopped talking, she would stop moving. He then put his face close to the belly and was talking to her and FLICK! She kicked him right in the nose! Even more, he put on our favorite Van Morrison songs on his iPhone and put the headphones on my belly to have Cam listen too -- and we caught some of her twitches on video!

{You can see the twitches the most at around 0:15 to 0:20 seconds into the video}

This Week's Pregnancy Cheat: None! What a good momma!

Things to Look Forward To: We went to our first Childbirth Preparation / Lamaze class last week and it was interesting, to say the least. We covered the tip of the iceberg on most things, which we will learn about more in-depth through the next four weeks. The most interesting part of the class was the people who were there with us. I swear, the range of people went from good and normal to the presidents of Douchebagistan. This week, not only do we have Class #2 on Wednesday, we also had a doctor's appointment today, a Baby Care Basics class on Tuesday night, and then our pediatrician interview on Thursday afternoon. We are booked solid! We don't mind, though, as we know these will just prepare us more for Cam's arrival!

Sleep Pattern: I can feel this pregnancy heading to a close, for sure! I've been exhausted lately, and despite my bathroom breaks in the middle of the night, I've been able to just hop right back into bed and pass out. In the daytime, my body has felt heavy and tired. Both J and I have been sleeping so soundly that we almost missed our 9:00 a.m. doctor's appointment today! I woke up at 8:24 and bolted out of bed in a rush to get ready!

Things I'm Really Missing: With late pregnancy comes discomfort, and I think that's all I really miss -- the feeling of being lighter and being able to move around better. Sudden movements cause round ligament pain, swift movements cause me shortness of breath, and eating a little faster than normal has caused indigestion. For someone with a go-go-go personality, pacing myself has been a challenge, but one that I welcome, no matter what.

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We had our 31 week appointment today and it went smoothly. Dr. Moore didn't even have to check cervical length this time. We're at the point now when he is just checking the size of the belly {approximately 31 cm. = 12 inches}... and according to my research, Camden is about 16-18 inches long from head to toe now. We heard a strong and solid heartbeat today, and Dr. Moore estimates that she is just about 3 lbs. now. He assured us that everything looks great, and that Cam's {and my} growth is right at the average. {Funny enough, with J and I being such Type A personalities, we laughed at our acceptance of the word "average", but we know that in this case, average is GOOD.} In about 5 weeks, Dr. Moore will be removing the cerclage stitch, which will get us even more ready for delivery!