31 weeks.

Another week down, 9 more to go. Here’s what’s going on at 31 weeks…

Baby is somewhere between 16 and 19 inches long and weighs about 3.3 lbs. The books and websites say he is heading into a growth spurt very soon, though I wonder if maybe he’s already there. He was moving a ton for a while and less so over the last few days. I definitely still feel him, but the movements are smaller and I wonder if maybe he’s getting a little cramped in there. I try not to worry about the decreased movement since everything I’ve read says it’s normal toward the end as they run out of space. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t worry just a little bit. I guess that’s part of the “PGAL brain.” There’s always a little bit of worry in the back of my mind that something might go wrong.

They say he is likely in the head down position by now, and I think it feels like he is too, but it’s hard to tell. I have felt what feels like a foot lodged up in the right side of my ribcage for several days now (though it could be a hand), and I often feel a large mound roll from side to side up toward the top, which I think is his butt (though it could be his head). At my last checkup I asked the nurse practitioner if she could tell which direction he is facing and she said they probably wouldn’t check his position until closer to the end since he can still flip around and there’s no sense in causing any worry if he is in fact breech. Likewise, there’s really no sense of security if he is head down already. It simply doesn’t matter yet.

Mama is up 1.2 lbs this week for a total weight gain now of 19.2 lbs. Belly button is sticking out more and more every day, but still no stretch marks, thankfully.

On Sunday I had quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions, which worried me just a little bit. I typically get one or two a day and have been for several weeks now. My doctor said I don’t need to worry unless I’m having more than four per hour. Well, on Sunday, I had about 2 per hour for a good six hour span. It still wasn’t the four per hour that would be cause for worry, but that was a pretty significant change from my normal 1 or 2 per day! I drank a lot of water and they seemed to subside by the end of the day and things have been normal since. Weird.

This morning I caught sight of myself in a reflection of a window as I was walking to work and I think I’m starting to waddle a bit. Lovely. I’m definitely feeling very large. I’m also craving sweets like none other. Last night I was watching the Bachelor and I had the most overwhelming craving for something sweet and chocolatey. I’ve never had such a strong craving before — like, I HAD to have it and we had nothing in our house. I tried to convince D to run to the store and get me something (hello, I couldn’t leave the Bachelor!), but he was already in his sweats and said he didn’t want to go to the store. So I said he could drive through Dairy Queen and get me a blizzard and he wouldn’t have to get out of the car, but he still whined about it. I think I almost had him convinced when he suggested I just make myself some hot cocoa. I had forgotten we had some, and that seemed to satiate the craving. So no need to send him out to get me a blizzard at 9 p.m. but I was thisclose to becoming a major pregnancy cliche. I did leave work this afternoon to run out and get some Cadbury Mini Eggs. Those are my weakness even non-pregnant, and I have been munching on those all afternoon at my desk!