31 weeks (Pregnancy #2)

How Far Along: 31 weeks! Down to the single digits in the countdowns: 9 weeks to go!

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Size of Baby: He is the size of a coconut! I believe it! He should weigh over 3 pounds now and be about 16 inches long. It’s so crazy to me how much/fast he is growing. I still don’t think my mind has caught up with the fact that I have a full-grown baby in me. And that full grown baby is going to have to come out! Ha!

Weight Gain: 20 pounds!

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How I’m Feeling/Symptoms: I’m feeling…sluggish. Sluggish and very pregnant. I have slowed wayyyy down this week and I keep trying to convince myself that I’m the home stretch. But 9 weeks with a very busy toddler does not feel like a home stretch to me!

And I had the emotional breakdown this week. You know the one, pregnant Mamas. All of a sudden…nothing fits. I was bending over trying to pull up a pair of maternity shorts and it was SO DIFFICULT that I just burst into tears. I mean…maternity shorts! I’ve outgrown maternity shorts! And don’t even get me started on my maternity jeans. I can barely even get them over my thighs. These are the jeans that I wore the entire pregnancy with Tera. It’s a little depressing. Theo’s words of comfort? “It’s ok! You can just start wearing my clothes now!” Thanks, babe. (For the record, Theo is extremely comforting and emphatic when I have irrational emotional breakdowns).

I’m having hard time sleeping at night, mostly because this baby likes to wake up right when it’s time for me to lie down. I’ve also been SO thirsty before bed, so I’m up half the night peeing.

I’ve been reading up on my birth stories and I cannot believe that I have so little time to prepare for going through labor and delivery again. I think I’m more anxious this time going into it because now I know what to expect. I am planning another natural birth at Family Beginnings (the Birth Center), and while I’m really excited about this, I’m also getting nervous! There is just so much that my body will have to endure to get this baby from point A to point B. Yikes!

I’m also trying hard not to think about all the potential outcomes of having a really fast labor. Tera’s labor was only 7 hours from start to finish, which is apparently pretty quick for a first baby. I’ve heard the second one can go even faster! But then again, I’ve also heard from ladies whose second labor was much harder than their first, so I know that it’s not a cardinal rule. Ha! I don’t think labor has any cardinal rules!

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Dr. Appointments: I had another appointment this week, and everything is looking great. I mentioned that I have been having contractions, and each of the last appointments they have kind of just rolled their eyes at me. I guess all women have contractions during their second pregnancy. However, this time, I had a full-blown contraction while sitting on the exam table. The midwife’s eyes got kind of wide and she was like, “woah. That was a strong one.”. Yep. All day. Every day. I don’t think my labor is going to last very long with this baby boy!

Food Cravings/Aversions: I’ve been really exhausted again this week, so the nausea has come back. At least now I’ve narrowed it down to only feeling nauseas when I’m really tired!

I have had a series sweet tooth the last few weeks. And for someone who doesn’t usually have a sweet tooth, this has been a new experience for me!

I don’t seem to have any aversions this week, which is a fabulous place to be!

Best Moment this Week: This week it was fabulous to just be home. I can’t think of any particular moment that was absolutely fabulous, but I’ll take just being at home with my little family to be pretty fabulous!

Worst Moment this Week: Tera spiked a really high fever on Thursday night. It always causes me a lot of anxiety. She was sick all afternoon, and then in the evening her fever seemed to peak. Then, she up at least once an hour on Thursday night, and that was ROUGH. I was dragging on Friday, but thankfully today has been a bit better and she seems to be on the upswing. There were absolutely no other symptoms…just a high fever and the lethargic/not feeling well that seems to go with it.

What I’m Looking Forward To: My parents will be here in less than 2 months!!! It has been two years since we have seen them…and I’m SO excited to have them here again. SO EXCITED.

And dare I say it…I’m actually ready for cooler weather! This might be the first time in my life that I’m ready for summer to be over so that we can have some cooler nights and mornings. I still love the heat and the warmth during the day, but I think I’m ready for fall! I seriously can’t believe I just said that.

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Exercise this Week: Ha. Haha. That’s a funny one. Again, I’m hoping that with the cooler weather I’ll be motivated to start walking again? Here’s to hoping…I know I need to get my body more ready to weather labor, so this is a goal for next week.

 

And just for funsies!!! I put on the same shirt that I wore with Tera, and here I am at 31 weeks with baby boy (on the left) and with Tera (on the right). It’s SO eerily similar! And yet…I look smaller with baby boy, but rounder over all?

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31 weeks with Tera

3 comments

  1. jehava says:

    You are absolutely adorable! It is so exciting as labor approaches to meet your new blessing! My last baby only woke up at night when I was the most tired but, luckily that didn’t indicate how he would be when he came out! Stay encouraged!

  2. Nancy says:

    I was starting to read this, saw the pictures and thought, “Wow! She can still wear a skirt she had in college!” Then you said your melt down was about not fitting into anything. I had one of THOSE meltdowns when I was pregnant with Daniel. My friend was visiting and I heard about all these appointments she had and I just lost it because it felt like I wasn’t going to get any time with her. We were at Dean & Peggy’s and I left the table bawling. Peggy came and and kept telling me it’s ok, it’s just hormones. And I told her, It’s NOT hormones. I’m sure she thought, yeah right!
    I also panicked when you were born because I thought it would be as awful as when Daniel was born, but it was nowhere near as bad.

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