Week 31

How far along? 31 weeks, 4 days (June 2, 2015)

Total weight gain/loss: Up 37 lbs. 


Have you told family and friends: Yes

Maternity clothes? Yup

Sleep: I miss getting a full, solid night of sleep! Imagine having a 30 pound weight strapped to your stomach like a gigantic balloon, then try to find a comfortable position for sleeping (but only on your sides). Next, try to change positions and roll to your other side. Or try to sit up and swing your legs over the side of the bed to use the bathroom for the 4th time in the middle of the night. Add to that terrible hip and lower back pain, swollen knee and finger joints that hurt to bend, and heartburn that is burning your esophagus constantly. That's pretty much how my nights feel these days. 

Best moments this week: Per usual, the best part of each week for me is when we get to see the boys on ultrasound. They did a growth ultrasound yesterday and we were shocked by how much they've grown in the past few weeks! Snap is weighing in at 3 lb., 12 oz.; Crackle is 3 lb., 14 oz.; and Pop is a whopping 4 lb., 3 oz.! So far they are still measuring at a "normal" range for a singleton pregnancy. Even the ultrasound tech was impressed by how well they're all growing! They may slow down in growth as they run out of space, but the tech did say that it's amazing how much a uterus can stretch to accommodate everyone. So I currently have 11 lb.. 15 oz. of baby in my belly, PLUS 3 placentas, and amniotic fluid. No wonder I've been so uncomfortable! Will and I were thrilled by this news, though. I'm so, so happy that they're continuing to grow like weeds. Our little chunky monkeys! :)

We had a MFM appointment yesterday as well, and met with a midwife on the team. She put in a request to have our c-section scheduled on July 3rd. This is pretty significant for a couple reasons. First, if you look back at some of my very first blog posts, July 3rd was our goal date from the very beginning. I will be exactly 36 weeks along by that point. It was a lofty goal back then to try and make it to 36 weeks, so I'm thrilled that it is potentially a reality now! Second, they've continued to push the delivery date back from 34 to 35 to now 36 weeks, which shows just how well me and the boys are holding up! While the request was made for July 3rd, I'm sure in reality we'll be scheduled earlier in the week since that Friday is the observed date for the 4th of July this year. I somehow doubt that they would be interested in paying 15+ people holiday hours to come in for a c-section if they could schedule it one day earlier. At any rate, it's great to at least have a date in mind as we are on the final stretch. I know it certainly helps me keep myself motivated! 

We are realistic and understand that there's still quite a bit of time left and that anything could happen between now and our hopeful due date. But we're keeping a positive attitude that the boys will live up to their nicknames and we'll have a few firecracker July birthday babies!

Movement: There are definitely more defined moments of quiet and activity now. But they've been staying fairly active. Will had a really nice "session" with them last night- they were all over the place! We celebrated Will's dad's birthday on Sunday evening and Will's sisters Sue and Cari were both able to feel the boys jiggling around. As did our niece and nephew Avery and Luke. Luke is convinced that they'll be soccer players and can't wait to show them how to play, so he was excited to feel how well they kick. Avery was not so impressed...as soon as she felt one of them move, she pulled her hand away really fast and was done. I think it may have creeped her out a bit. :)

Food cravings: Definitely getting to the point where it's tough to eat a lot. I get full very easily and just don't feel as hungry these days. I'm still making myself eat, though. Gotta keep the boys on their weight-gain plan! I haven't had many cravings lately- mainly just eating to get the boys nutrients.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Since I'm so full these days, the heartburn has continued to be horrendous. I actually woke up last night with vomit in my mouth. Gag. I will NOT miss this part of pregnancy! 

Have you started to show yet: I think my stomach may be named a new planet soon. The sonographer pretty much uses an entire bottle of gel on me at each ultrasound. Yesterday she put it on in the shape of a smiley face, and Will took a picture of me laying there covered in goop before the ultrasound began. OH MY LORD. I haven't seen myself from that angle before. I don't know if I'll ever get used to seeing how large I am in pictures- the belly is out of control gigantic!! And also covered in stretch marks. Needless to say, it was NOT an attractive photo, which is why I won't be sharing it on here. :)

And speaking of stretch marks, I am about to claw my skin off on my stomach. My skin is SO ITCHY all of the time now! If anyone has any tips on how to alleviate the itch of stretching skin, please let me know! I'll try anything!

Gender prediction: All boys!

Labor Signs: Braxton hicks contractions have continued, but they are sporadic and not painful. I'm hyper-vigilant about any out-of-the-ordinary symptoms or labor signs at this point, but so far all is good!

Belly Button in or out? It's flat and itchy

Wedding rings on or off? Off

Happy or Moody most of the time: I am feeling much better this week than I was last week. I still have moments where I get super irritated, but most of my hormonal moments are now stemming from being so damn uncomfortable all the time. I'm trying so hard to stay positive and soak in the last weeks of this pregnancy as they very well could be the only time I'll ever experience these feelings. Plus I feel like the more positive my attitude is, the less likely I am to be stressed, which means I'm less likely to go into pre-term labor. So happy thoughts, all around!

Weekly Wisdom: As mentioned above, I'm trying to take time to enjoy these final weeks of pregnancy. And, taking some time to enjoy our final days as a couple! It's crazy to think how much our lives are going to change in just a few short weeks. Will and I are so accustomed to being free to do whatever we want, go wherever we want, be lazy whenever we want, and travel wherever we want. Obviously my pregnancy has already put a big damper on that, but our world is about to be rocked! In the best way possible- we can't wait! We had some friends out to the house for a Final Supper of sorts on Saturday night. It's been awhile since we've socialized with folks- it was so nice to have one more night of adult company before our lives are dictated by babies' schedules! 

Milestones: I think the babies win for big milestones this week. Keep growing, boys!

Some pictures from yesterday's 31 week ultrasound (I love that the sonographer labeled their pictures with their nicknames!):

Snap continues to be the one who looks directly at the "camera". At least now he looks cute and less like Skeletor!

Crackle wanted all the photo attention this week- we got a few shots of him 

Crackle profile shot #2

And Crackle's foot! He's invading Snap's space in this picture- apparently that other blob is Snap's hand or some other body part...

Pop's profile shot. He was really hard to get to as he's currently folded over on himself in the very top right part of my stomach. How he's positioned can't possibly be comfortable for him...but it must be working out OK as he's our biggest boy! It looks like he is giving duck lips in this picture. :)