31 weeks... wasn't 30 just yesterday?

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along : 31 wks

Size of Baby : averages say ~16" and 3+ lbs.

Total Weight Gain : ~24 lbs

Maternity Clothes : Yesterday I hung out with Lindsey and got a TON of hand-me-down clothes for Ash, but also borrowed her mid-calf boots, so I can finally wear my leggings again!  It's been too cold for me to get away with my little flimsy flats and exposed skin, but at last I can keep my legs/feet warm and look cute at the same time :)

Best Moment This Week :  All of yesterday.  I had a dr appt which went really well.  Everything is healthy and normal and on track.  I got some reassuring answers to a couple of my questions, had a hilarious conversation about circumcision (I think that's the first time I've seen my doc blush!), and can't wait to come back in 3 weeks with mom.  Then off to the AF base to say hi to Josh, drop off my shower invites to my friends at the CDC (and it's always fun to hear "you're looking GREAT" and "you don't look pregnant in your face, it's all in your belly"), then lunch with my dear hubs.  Then across town to Lindsey's to hang out with my favorite red-head and his mommy for the afternoon.  I scored more baby clothes than Ash will ever be able to wear, the aforementioned boots, and some really good sister-bonding.  Then home to hang out with hubs and pups, with a conscious effort to squeeze in a little couch snuggling before I retired to my preggo-chair.  All-in-all it was a great day.

Gender : boy

Movement : So the couple of times I've made Josh feel my belly in the past, he's said "it just feels like your stomach is gurgling" or "it's just like a muffled version of laying next to the dogs when they're dreaming", but finally this week a couple times he's felt what he'd consider real movement.  First time I was snuggled up to him in bed and Ash was kicking him in the hip :)  Then a couple times I've done the more traditional putting his hand on my belly when Ash is being active.  He didn't really get to feel a kick, per se, but could feel definite squirming that was undeniable to him as something inside moving around.  It's fun to finally have him experience it, and no matter how unattached you might feel otherwise, you can't help but reacting with at least a little surprise and wonder when you feel the baby moving... which was fun to hear in his voice.

Food Craving : still chocolate.  And also I bought some flavored creamers now that the weather is cold enough to want a hot drink most days - and my favorite is amaretto, but it makes me want REAL amaretto.

What I Miss Most : I'm leaving this b/c it's still truly what I miss most : I know I keep saying it, but truly I miss being able to eat whatever I want.  I'm having a hard time finding foods that DON'T trigger my reflux.  I think this may be PART of the reason for the slowing in my weight gain, b/c I just don't feel like eating sometimes.  And water makes it worse, so I miss being able to chug all I want when I'm thirsty.

Sleep : This past week I've mostly been only waking up to pee once a night (b/c I'm drinking less water probably), but sometimes I wake up and can't get back to sleep again.  This morning I barely slept after I got up to pee at 3am.  It was a long couple hours till Josh's alarm went off.  Then of course I fell fast asleep, so getting up when it was time for me to get up was hard. :)
 

What I Am Looking Forward To : Still to come in November : a 3 1/2 day weekend with Josh, tour of the hospital, meetings/classes with our doula, baby shower for me, baby shower for Josh's coworker, mom visiting, 4 day weekend with Josh (and mom), Thanksgiving dinner with family & friends, and another ultrasound/appt that mom gets to be here for.

Belly Button : Just barely poking out, and only one little part of it... as small as the tip of your pinky finger.  Nothing visible through my daily clothes b/c I always have 2+ layers on my belly, but you can see it through my pj's b/c I just wear 1 layer - a shirt with under-belly pants.

Symptoms : I talked to my doc about max dose of Zantac, so I'm upping my dose a little (and still well within prescription max) to make life a little less miserable.  I'm still avoiding anything with any tomatoes or chocolate in it b/c even on meds those will make me miserable.  And when I think about 2 more months of this sometimes I want to cry... but I know that these two months are going to fly by, so I try not to let it get me down :)

I haven't been sleeping with my wrist brace since the arm-burning rash incident, but might start again b/c my thumb is starting to ache/tingle.  But in general it's nowhere near as bad as it was.  I also think that trying to make sure to drink more water (hopefully the meds will counter the increase in reflux I often get from water) will help me retain less fluids and therefore experience less carpal tunnel.