How Far Along? 31-weeks 1-day. 6-weeks to "full term" and 9-weeks to "full 40-week pregnancy". I keep singing "The Final Countdown" song in my head 
Size of Baby? About 17.5 inches long (almost at her full length!). For comparison, baby is now about the size of 4 navel oranges and weighs about 3.5 pounds!
Maternity Clothes? Fully in them now but I am still able to alternate maternity clothes and pre-pregnancy clothes. So far, I can still fit into some pre-pregnancy items.
Stretch Marks? Can't see around the belly so I am not so sure if there are any new ones there. Also, I have noticed some skin discoloration in the last week. Not thrilled about them but I have read that they go away after baby arrives! One of the "joys" of being pregnant I guess 
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Sleep? I do think our little girl LOVES Italy. She moved the ENTIRE time we were there. A couple of nights, she moved so much that I couldn't sleep! And now she has mastered the act of kicking! And they don't feel like baby kicks from the inside. Some actually cause my to flinch! But its all good. I guess its a constant reminder that she is there and doing OK.
Food Cravings? No real cravings. J and I shared a serving of gelato everyday while in Italy but that was about as much of my "sweet indulgence". Our little girl is determined to help her mom stay healthy so I really haven't found anything that I just had to have.
What I Miss: My regular size feet! They are swollen constantly and sometimes they hurt! I miss my shoes...they no longer fit. I miss being able to sleep for at least 3-4 hours before having to get up at night to use the restroom. But I keep reminding myself its all for a good 
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What I'm Looking Forward To: We're looking forward to getting more items for the baby. Now the countdown's officially begun. We also will be doing our maternity photo shoots at some point in the next couple of weeks and I'll share some once we get them. Would be nice to see. Also, we get to go to the design center next week Monday for our new home to pick out items. Looking forward to that.
Symptoms? Sleepless nights, swollen features (face, hands, feet). ALL my 1st trimester symptoms are back with a vengeance! Now I know why they say the 2nd trimester is the best of the 3. I have more nausea, heartburn, aches, tiredness and sleeplessness in the 3rd trimester than I did in the 1st. Oh and a host of other symptoms that I am sure J won't miss once they are gone 
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Movement? YES! LOTS AND LOTS of movements.
Belly Button In or Out? Still in but it has taken on a different shape. I don't think it'll pop but I think it'll stretch a little more. For now, I am fine with that.
Labor Signs? Braxton Hicks!!! I feel them more now and while they aren't entirely painful, they can sometimes be uncomfortable. Drinking water and changing positions is supposed to help. So far, its helped a bit but not completely.
Best Moment of the Week? Climbing 414 steps up the bell tower (also known as the Giotto Campanile) of the Duomo! I did it!!! I did it!!! 
Even took a picture up there as proof that I did it. Granted, it was not the 463 steps of the main dome but still! Baby and I did great and John was very supportive. We had already walked 41-miles in about 4-days so I knew I could do it. J encouraged me to drink water every few steps and I had an apple once I got up there. Totally do-able . Oh and celebrating my birthday of course! I turned 30 (w/ 5-years of experience) on Tuesday.
Weekly Wisdom: Avoid negative people. All they do is bring you down.
Pictures? Yup. Here's one of the weekly progress from week 15 through week 30.
Thoughts/Random Questions:
If you have kids, how did you handle the last few weeks before your baby arrived? Did you feel like you were ready as a first time parent?
If you don't have any kids, have you thought about what things you'd like to do while pregnant to help you stay in shape or in touch with your pre-pregnancy self?
I hope we get to see pictures of your trip to Italy :) I've never been and hope to one day!
ReplyDeleteI haven't really thought of what I will do to stay in shape or my pre-pregnancy self. I'm hoping that I'll be healthier because I'll be aware of a baby living inside of me. But besides that I just hope I'll be me.
Have a great weekend!!!
I just blogged and posted some pics from our trip.
DeleteI am like you in that aspect. I have always worked out so I never really thought about what I'll do to stay in shape during pregnancy. I just assumed I'll be able to do all of the same things. While I still can do a lot of the same things, its a little more challenging now. Kickboxing is actually more fun than Step because it doesn't involve a riser. Who woulda thunk it? :-).
Have an awesome weekend!
Maternity photo shoots are so fun!!! Can't wait to see yours and to see pics of that romantic Italian babymoon!
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to the shoot. Feeling a little self conscious about the line on my stomach but I guess its a right of passage so I'll have to get over it OR have it air brushed out :-).
DeleteI just blogged and posted some pics from our babymoon.
You look great! Congrats on making it up all those stairs!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was a bit of a challenge but I felt great once I got up there. It helped that we had lots of water and a snack. :-)
DeleteMaternity photoshoot is so worth it. I did it with both my kids and I am so glad I did. I wouldn't worry too much about the linea negra, it goes away after pregnancy and like you said it's a right of passage.
ReplyDeleteOh and I recommend you get the belly bandit (I got the bamboo version) it helped me get back into shape in no time. Well it helped my belly go back down to normal. I am almost 4 weeks postpartum and I look like I did pre pregnancy. It's all jiggly and not toned so I am looking forward to exercising in the near future.
Oh and to answer your question, I was so unsure about how I was going to handle a baby and clearly we manage do to well. It's easier said than done but try not to worry, you will do an awesome job (clearly because if you are worried about it that means that you are concerned and will take steps to make things happen)
Thanks for the info Pegster. I definitely plan on getting the belly bandit. I read and saw your testimonials and also checked with a few other people who swear by it so I plan on getting it.
DeleteYour words of encouragement definitely do help. I truly appreciate it. Thank you! :)
I pampared myself few days before her arrival. Other than that we just enjoyed the remaining weeks as couple with no kids. Also, though we couldn't afford a professional photo shoot, we had a DIY version which is part of the experience. And after baby was born we just listened to our heart and read few note about newborn phase and it work. The key is team work. For body i was back into my pre-pregnancy jeans weeks after the birth, but now i can't fit them due to bad eating habits and lack of workouts. But i just started a healthy eating and pilates, hope that will help me back onto a confident post partum body.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about doing more with hubby but we are very busy during the week and on Saturdays, hubby has classes from 9am until 5pm. So that doesn't leave us much time to try to do day trips. I am hoping we can sneak in a day off work here and there to do that.
DeleteI will have to remember that after baby arrives, I can't continue to eat 300-additional calories. I hear that's where things get tricky because folks think they're still eating for 2.