Pregnancy 2: Weeks 31 and 32

(31 weeks, taken 6/29/11)

Phew, I'm definitely slowing over here. At a recent appointment, my doctor made a comment that I should keep up my same level of activity in the 3rd trimester though it may be tempting to slow down. At the time, I brushed it off and thought "He doesn't know me. My activity level certainly won't slow!" And now I'm eating my words. Maybe I felt this way toward the end with Isla-I can't remember-but I'm finding the couch more and more appealing these days. It's not necessarily that I'm sleepy, it's more that my body aches like an 80 year old. I am trying to follow my doctor orders and keep up with the exercise but I definitely pay for it for a while after. If I hit the sidewalk early in the day though, I'm fine and came power through some pretty hefty walks (while pushing two kiddos in a double stroller even!)

Oh, so I know my due date again! It is still August 31st. I asked my doctor if he thought this baby would come early since Isla did. He said that every woman has a 1 in 10 chance each pregnancy of her water breaking to begin labor. He said if my contractions had started 2 weeks early, he might say I had a good chance of delivering this one early too but since it was just my water that broke, he said it was likely a fluke related to my having a cold. Boo hoo. I'll remain optamistic!
I forgot to mention in an earlier post that I've had a little bit of reflux/heartburn over the past month. This is totally new to me and one this that differentiates this pregnancy from my first.

At my last appointment, I was about 30 weeks and measured in a 29 cm which affirmed the fact that I think my belly growth finally is slowing. My doctor said everything looks "Just about perfect!"

I'll be transparent. I've gained 30 pounds already so I'm hoping to limit myself to only 5 more over the course of 8 weeks (don't think that's possible, particularly with my recent ice cream intake....) Thankfully, Graham gained 6 pounds over our long holiday weekend of eating indulgences so we are back to being neck and neck again. :)

I finished all the bedding last week for both Isla and baby!! Most of the pieces had a few unexpected challenges but I think I overcame them for the most part and am happy with the result. I'll post pictures someday but for now, that would involve getting up off the couch.

(32 weeks, taken 7/6/11)

Isla is showing more and more signs of understanding what is to come. We keep telling her that pretty soon the baby is going to come out. Her immediate response is "Baby out! Change baby diaper." Sounds like she's got the routine down! We ask her frequently whether she thinks the baby is a boy or girl and her answer always changes. She also likes to walk up to my belly and point and tell me either "Baby awake" or "Baby sleeping."

I have been struggling a lot of emotions over the past couple weeks. I'm already feeling guilty about the decreased amount of time I will get to spend with Isla once baby comes. It just doesn't seem fair that her whole world is about to change without warning. My mother-in-law reassured me the other day that it will be good for her to realize the world doesn't completely revolve around her so I keep trying to remind myself of that. And in the meantime, I'm trying to savor my last few weeks of having just Isla and I at home.

Our list of potential names is whittling down! We're finding it much harder to agree this time around...

As for the next few weeks, it's time to tackle the nursery! It occured to me the other day that I really need to take inventory of my newborn stuff. I was thinking I'd be totally set if we have a girl but then I remembered that my cousin loaned me a ton last time around and I can't recall what I actually own and what was borrowed! For sure I need to pick up a take-me-home-from-the-hospital girl outfit (we still have our boy one from our last go). Thanks to my wonderful coworker and my sister, I have a pretty good supply of diapers at least. Oh and TONS of blankets from Isla (I think I determined that's what everyone likes to give as gifts when they don't know the gender of the baby--she was given at least 20!)