Bumpdate - 31 Weeks

Just 9 weeks to go guys...just 9 more weeks.

My expectation lately has been that I'm about to get really uncomfortable.

As the weeks go by and we get closer and closer to the end everyone keeps telling me that I will experience the following:

Insomnia
Achy hips
Sore back
Swelling
Incredible Weight Gain

I'm still waiting for all of this.  Waiting to get more uncomfortable, waiting to feel really sore, not just minor aches and pains, waiting to get so big that I really FEEL big, waiting to have trouble sleeping, waiting for the pounds to just start piling on, waiting for giant swollen elephant feet and accompanying cankles.

But so far...we're doing good.

How far along: 31 Weeks

Weight Gain: Same...+17 lbs.  Holding steady at 139, if I gain 1 pound a week for the next 9 weeks we're right in the "goal" weight of 25-35 lbs for the whole pregnancy.  If I don't I'm gonna come in underweight, to which I say...fuck it, I don't care, baby looks fine, that's all I really care about.  I'm not gonna start sucking down milkshakes unless I want a milkshake just to gain the "right" amount of weight.

Something amusing I have to share about weight gain and my diet.  Apparently constipation is the key to a healthy diet and minimal weight gain ;-)  I can't tell you how many times I've turned down pizza or a sandwich or pasta in lieu of something else without carbs for the very simple reason of wanting to be able to poop!  Nothing else has ever motivated me to eat well in the same way as constipation.  Which is ridiculous because you would think the health of the baby would be the MOST important thing ever and yet...when it comes to cravings, it's not.  I can ALWAYS convince myself that it's the baby who wants the eclair or the pizza or the cheeseburger and that what baby wants baby gets.  But knowing if I eat cheeseburgers and pizza and pasta for several days in a row we're gonna run into some bathroom trouble stops me dead in my tracks and I'm like ok I'll have the pizza today but SALAD tomorrow and amazingly I do it without a second thought.  Anyone who's ever suffered from chronic constipation, my heart goes out to you, I have so much sympathy for you, and at the same time, DIET HELPS IMMENSELY.  If this was something I struggled with outside of pregnancy I would be the healthiest eater EVER.

What's Up With My Body:  Speaking of constipation...it's gone.  I really haven't struggled with it (minus the traveling constipation!) since the beginning of the 3rd trimester, so for now I can say that constipation was exclusively a 2nd trimester issue.

I am tired a lot of the time, NOT like the first trimester exhaustion, just generally tired, but napping is impossible.  I find this so annoying because I LOVE to nap, but naps are elusive these days.

I've started to get really irritated that I can't do certain tasks just because I'm you know...really pregnant.   Normally I love to be waited on and can find any excuse to get someone else to do things for me but apparently I hate not being ABLE to do certain things.  I know I need to slow down and ask for help when I need it, but apparently pregnancy really brings out my desire to be independent.  It's driving me nutty...and my husband too.  There's nothing quite like discovering you can't do something simple like hang a curtain and then find yourself breaking down as you tearfully explain to your husband why it's so upsetting to not be able to hang curtains when normally that's his job anyway and you would never dream of hanging the curtains when you're not pregnant because YOU CAN GET YOUR HUSBAND TO DO THAT.  Yes, still very emotionally unstable over here.

Food: I didn't mention it but that sweets craving completely went away a few weeks ago.  It was intense and lasted for a week and then...gone.  Back to my normal "not a big fan of sweets" self.

Some mornings I'm hungry at 5am, but I just can't get up to eat...it's a whole debacle where the cats want to be fed and let out and a simple bowl of cereal turns into me going through the whole "getting up" routine with the kitties and then it's like I'm UP for the day.  So, I ignore 5am cravings.

Gender: I made a decision on a girl name, that's right I, not we, LOL.  I asked the families to look into family trees as I wanted something with meaning, remember?  And VOILA, a name popped up a few generations ago that was already on the girl name list.  It's not popular, it's not made up, it's feminine.  Dom won't agree to ANY names until he sees the baby, but he likes the name too.  Of course this means the baby is BOUND TO BE A BOY because we're still stuck for boy names.

Bumpdate: So, the bump seems to have started to take on a more "basketball" appearance than it was earlier on.  I have a plethora of piccies to show you what I mean as the side view doesn't always do it justice.  I also think it looks HUGE in pictures, whereas in real life it doesn't feel very big.

Rosie Pope Maternity Dress, LOVE this dress, although I've never felt more pregnant than when I wear this dress, I think the white REALLY accentuates the bump and makes me look huge. 

Does it look like a basketball? 

My view....although I swear it doesn't look this big when I look down... 

You all know where I'm going with this right?  Basketball bump is supposed to be boy!  LOL, let the bump analysis continue...just 9 more weeks of speculation to go!