Baby Yeah- 31 weeks

Size of baby: 

A bunch of Romaine lettuce- 3.5lbs and a bit over 17"

My total weight gain: 

I don't know. Crazy, right? I've decided I'm done weighing myself daily. I'm going to the Dr. every 2 weeks now, and that is often enough to keep my weigh-ins just there. Last week I was up 22lbs.

Our scale is not the most high tech, and I did weigh myself yesterday and my scale told me I gained 4lbs from Sunday morning. So 4lbs in 24 hours. Definitely not accurate, or humanly possible. My home scale was just freaking me out more than anything, so I'm done.

I feel fine, my clothes fit fine, I'm sticking to my healthy eating (albeit a treat once and awhile).. and I'm not stressing it these last 9 weeks.

Stretch marks: 

no

Movement: 

He's a pusher. Push and stretch across the length of me all day long. I'm hoping that is a sign of another strong healthy baby since Austin was a strong mover in-utero too. 

Sleep: 

He still keeps me up at night for a bit. If I lay on my left side, he goes absolutely beserk in there!! If I lay on my right side, I get heartburn. So I'm a bit screwed either way at this point.

My strategy of late has been to lay on my left side to read a bit, let him get his wiggles out.. turn to my right side, take Tums for the heartburn my right side causes, wait for Owen to calm down, then back on my left side to fall asleep.

What I miss: 

Being able to move normally. Last night I did dishes, 2 loads of laundry, picked up the house, and scrubbed out the tub. My hips were killing me after just that. Plus bending down to pick things up is getting really difficult. I'm looking forward to full range of motion here in a few weeks! Other than I will probably have a newborn strapped to my chest. :-)

Food cravings: 

Fruit and seltzer water still. I wouldn't call it a strong craving, but I have been indulging in some ice cream lately. My lactose intolerance doesn't bother me when I'm pregnant, so I figure I better get it in now because once Owen is here, I'll be back to my dairy-free diet. I found these tiny single serve Dreyer's ice cream cartons at the store and bought a few. It's been years since I've eaten ice cream!!! Loving it. 

Symptoms: 

Overall tiredness. I get out of breath easily, and like I said above, I get sore easily. I'm still walking at work as much as possible, but that will make my lower back ache. I'm just nearing the end and starting to feel it. 

I'm Excited About:
This may sound silly, but I'm excited about that article I read and wrote about yesterday. Finally it makes sense to me, and I know now that I don't need to feel guilty for needing some alone time to re-charge from work and parenting demands. That is just how I operate as an Introvert. The fact that I finally found something published that made me go "hey, I'm not the only one, and I'm not a bad Mom because of this!" It's ok to need some alone time! It's healthy, it's what my body and mind needs to be at it's best!

Now when Owen is here, if I'm having a hard time or moment I'll know that maybe I just need to take a shower, or hand Owen over to Neal when he gets home and have 15 mins alone to feel better.

Austin is: 

Continuing to channel Mr. Charleston W. Beauregard of the deep South.

All that kid needs is seersucker suit, a glass of sweet tea and a rocking chair on a plantation porch.

"No! I wanna do it MAH SAY-ELF"

"Don't pud it in MAH HAY-ERRR!" (he doesn't like stuff in his hair)

So the nickname Mr. Beauregard was born.

It's only a matter of time until my inner Scarlett O'Hara starts coming out to join in on the Southern fun. :-)