{Baby Davis} Counting Down from 31 Weeks!

Date:: April 2, 2013

How far along:: 31 weeks // 7 months 3 weeks // 3rd trimester

Gender:: Girl

Movement::
I think my uterus is getting too small for little Maylin! Throughout the past 4 months or so she has been a dancer, and I have relished those sweet flutterings inside. Recently, however, she has become a pusher. Or a stretcher. Or a yoga enthusiast. Or a child with an attitude that says "It's too cramped in here and I need space!" This sweet little thing has started pushing against the wall of my uterus, hard and persistent. In fact, she pushes so hard with her tiny little feet that you can actually see the lump she's making under my skin! The really neat part is that she'll leave her foot there for several seconds, and will even offer resistance for an instant if I push back with my fingers. It's really unbelievable that we can have "contact" this way.

Symptoms::
~ My clothes are getting smaller don't fit. Update:: After much thought, deliberation, and self-assessment both internally and externally, I finally decided to order my first pair of maternity pants. And now that they're on their way I cannot wait for them to get here. I am so ready for some comfortable pants that fit!! Update:: See below note
~ My belly is very firm.
~ Although it's an improvement with my yoga and Pilate's, I think I'm just going to have to live with a little back pain for the remainder of my pregnancy. I simply cannot find a comfortable sleeping position. I have always been a stomach sleeper, and I think this has contributed to my back pain since I haven't been able to sleep in my normal position.
~ Shortness of breath after doing simple activities (chalking it up to all that extra blood flowing through my body)
~ I tend to lose my balance more often. I find myself tipping slightly forward, especially when putting on socks or shaving my legs in the shower. I wonder why?

~ Alternating nights of insomnia and deep sleep. The nights that I can't sleep very much I spend thinking about this little girl. On the nights I sleep well I dream about her. Welcome to motherhood.
~ No ankle or finger swelling, protruding belly button (almost there!), or stretch marks yet.

Craving::
I've decided to list the things I eat frequently; that is, every day or at least three times a week. Since I've had no "burning desire" to eat a certain food, I'll just say these diet staples are what my taste buds want.
~ Apple juice
~ Frozen yogurt (classic tart with strawberries & pecans)
~ Dill Any kind of pickles
~ Wheat crackers with cheese and mustard
~ Oatmeal with cinnamon, raisins, and honey
~ Gala apples (every day for recess snack)
~ Popcorn (the old fashioned way- kernels popped in a skillet with organic butter)
~ Whole, organic milk

~ Cuties (those tiny, delicious oranges)

~ Homemade trail mix with pecans, peanuts, raisins, and dried plums

~ Blackberries! I buy frozen, then thaw them and add them to my shredded wheat cereal or plain Greek yogurt. They are so good!

I do not like fish of any kind, or unfortunately, salads, which I absolutely loved before I got pregnant. Now I eat a bite or two and push it away. Not even appetizing.

Looking Forward To::

~ We're taking a childcare class this week. I'm hoping to learn what to expect during those first few days after we bring Maylin home, which side to lay her on, and swaddling techniques.

Fun Baby Fact::
~ Little Miss is (supposedly) as long as a head of lettuce.
~ Maylin can suck her thumb!

Weekly Development::
~ Her brain is still working overtime connecting tiny individual nerve cells. She can now perceive information from all five senses!

Emotions::
~ Smitten by our little girl. We can't wait to meet her!
~ I am having more frequent dreams about this baby. Some mornings I wake up almost in tears because she's not here yet! The dreams seem very real. Only a little longer to wait.

~ I'm beginning to think, "Will I ever look like I did before I got pregnant??" It seems like everything is puffier these days...

~ I'm getting more excited, yes I said excited, about the labor and delivery process. As I mentioned earlier, childbirth classes are fascinating to me. I feel much more prepared and aware of what's going on now than I ever had before.

Best Moment of the Week::
~ Daddy/Daughter time. I hope I always remember this moment! Michael was lying with his cheek resting on my stomach talking to Maylin when she "responded" with a series of kicks- right against his cheek! Both our eyes widened in amazement. When she stopped kicking, M started talking to her again, and she responded AGAIN by kicking him in the cheek! This happened three times. Amazing! Each encounter that we have like that with her makes us love her even more, and also reminds us that we are about to birth a real, live human being into this world, into our home, into our family. I cannot imagine what the dynamic of a new, original personality will bring into our lives.

Worst Moment of the Week:: Unfortunately I feel it's necessary to add this section this week!

~ Moment #1:: Remember those maternity pants I finally ordered?? I was so super excited about them because I knew they would be the most comfortable pair of pants I've ever put on my body. Especially after 30 + weeks of "toughing" it out in my normal jeans and a belly band. Everybody said so. I waited in anticipation for them to arrive, ripped them out of the package, and.... could barely pull them over my thighs. Even the panel part. Yeah, too small. The maternity pants I ordered were TOO SMALL!! How can maternity pants, the stretchiest pants (or so I was told!) ever invented be too small?? It was quite devastating, not to mention disappointing. I mean, I ordered my "pre-pregnancy size" just like the description recommended! So that means I'm either not the size I was when I first got pregnant, or their sizing chart is completely disproportionate. I'm going with the latter, just to ease my bruised self-esteem :) Anyway, sending them back and trying for a maternity pair from Old Navy. I hear their maternity pants are super comfy(again) and super affordable. And considering I have 8 weeks remaining (more or less) in this pregnancy, I need these pants to be both or they're not even worth spending time on.

~ Moment #2:: Since said maternity pants did not fit, I am still wearing pre-pregnancy pants with my belly band. The purpose of the belly band is to wear your regular sized pants unbuttoned and unzipped in order to fit around/ under your belly. Then you pull the band over the waistband of your pants. This conceals the fact that the pants are unbuttoned and unzipped, and the tightness of the band keeps your pants from falling down. The band also smooths the area around the zipper so that from an outsider's perspective it seems as if you're dressed like a normal human being, instead of walking around all day with unzipped pants. It's a great system. Theoretically.

Oh how perceptive fourth graders are. I was teaching away one morning when a dear, sweet little girl called me over to her desk. She motioned me to bend down and quietly whispered, "Mrs. Davis, your pants are unzipped." My belly band had ridden up to reveal the unzipped portion of my pants. Mortifying. I quickly thanked her and pulled the band back down, hoping it hadn't been that way long and that no one else had noticed. But who am I kidding? Sigh. As embarrassing as it was I couldn't help but smile and chuckle to myself a little bit over the situation.


M and I went shopping yesterday for my birthday, and we came home with more clothes for Maylin than we did for ourselves! This is parenthood, I suppose. Other people have given us clothes for Maylin, and we've picked up one or two things spontaneously, but yesterday was the first time we shopped specifically for her. It was so fun! We came home and hung all her teeny clothes in her closet. Now I can't wait to get some Dreft detergent so I can start washing and putting away her things.

Also, the crib and changing table/dresser are coming to the nursery today courtesy of my parents. I'll post pictures once everything is in the room is set up!