31 Weeks

How far along? 31 weeks & 1 day!
How big is baby estimated to be? According to my What to Expect When You're Expecting app, he is now the size of a head of lettuce! But he should be around 18 inches so that is one biiiiig lettuce! Haha. The Bump says he's the size of a pineapple! I like that comparison better ;]

Total weight gain: My official weigh-in at my prenatal appointment this week has me at 16 pounds gained. I'm up to 140lbs. Eeeeek! Seeing that number on the scale is so weird for me!! But I'm gaining well and still right on track so I can't complain. I only gained 2lbs this month, so I'm staying on the lower end of gaining during pregnancy. Which makes me happy. And my doctor still has no concerns with my weight gain so I'm not concerned either. Just trying to stay active and healthy for my little boy!
Wearing maternity clothes? Some! I'm fitting into a few more maternity shirts now! I like that :]

Symptoms this week: I feel fabulous, really!! Well, aside from the lovely chest cold I came down with... I tried so hard to stay healthy but with my family spewing their germs all over the house and not sanitizing, it was impossible. Ugh. Other than that, I got a little nesting spurt this week! That was fun. I did a lot of cleaning and straightening out. I felt very accomplished but it made me hungry and tired, haha. So far my energy level in my third trimester has been just as good as my second trimester. Luckily! I'm waiting to hit that wall and be really tired and uncomfortable but so far so good! I still absolutely love being pregnant! Oh, I'm still having some random Braxton Hicks, too.

Food cravings: Baked macaroni and cheese!! Homemade by me, of course. I like to make a light cheese sauce (with fat free cream cheese and skim milk) to toss the elbows in before layering them with some reduced fat cheddar cheese and topping it with fat free cheese slices. YUM. It's so good! Lucky for my mom, mac 'n cheese is one of her favorite meals so she's enjoying this craving too, haha. Other than that, I'm addicted to Yaki Soba from a local Japanese restaurant. It's like lo mein but with whole wheat noodles and no saucey stuff on it. Man, I could eat it everyday!! And seeing how I just found out that the restaurant I like does carry out, I very well might eat it everyday now, hahaha. Other than those two deliciously carb heavy meals, I'm eating lots of veggies. Not so much fruit since all the good stuff is out of season. Besides bananas. I eat a lot of those. Still trying to keep up with plenty of produce. Snap peas are one of my favorites as of late. And spaghetti squash. Camden is definitely growing a lot lately because my appetite has increased quite a bit! And it seems as though he does not like raw broccoli. I got some icky indigestion after eating raw broccoli this week.

Food aversions: Nothing at all! Well, I probably won't be eating raw broccoli after above account but it isn't really an aversion.

Any movement from baby? Ohhhh yes!! Little man loves to make my belly dance! He's been all over the place. My OB said that my uterus looks like it's positioned more on the right side of my stomach so that explains why I've been feeling more movement over there. I feel him all over the place but it is concentrated more on the right side. Silly boy ;] I also feel him get the hiccups almost everyday, sometimes twice a day! I love it. It makes me chuckle. I was FINALLY able to capture a really good video of Camden moving to send to Jacob! I was so excited about it! It's so cool to see his movements so clear and strong. His movements feel more squirmy these days than kicking. I can feel him roll around and push against my belly a lot more. I still get kicks and jabs but it's mostly wiggles as space gets tighter for him. Nonetheless, it's cute and I love it!

Gender: BOY <3 <3 <3

Emotions and experiences this week: This week was much better than last week. I'm so happy that the holidays are over. I never realized how depressing the holiday season would be without Jake. So I am VERY happy to say goodbye to 2012 and move into this new year full of possibilities! I had a lot of fun ringing in the New Year with some great friends. It was nice to just get out, goof around, laugh, and have an all-around wonderful time! Not having my hubby to kiss at the stroke of midnight was crappy but I know we're both saving that New Years kiss for each other. And all the laughs with my friends made the night so fun and a lot less lonely than I expected! Also, tt's nice to be able to say that Camden will be born AND Jacob will come home this year!! Yay for 2013! I just know it's going to be an incredible, life-changing year. I can't wait to see what it has in store for us! Other than that, I had a prenatal appointment this week! That went excellent! Like I said, I've gained 2lbs since my last appointment a month ago and my OB said I look "perfect!" (her word, not mine! Haha). Camden is growing and I'm measuring exactly where I should be! She said that the best indicator of how big CJ will be is how big I was at birth. I weighed in at a whopping 6lbs and some-odd ounces (my mom thinks 2-7oz), so it looks like he should be a pretty small baby! I'm very happy with that, haha. I mean obviously his health is my first concern but the smaller he is the easier it should be for me to deliver him. Should. We'll see ;] I also got to hand in my paperwork for Camden's birth certificate and my per-registration for labor and delivery at this appointment! Man, that makes things feel very real! And I talked to my OB about my desire to have a natural childbirth. She was extremely supportive and said that everything is up to me, pending no emergency. It's just very nice to know that my doctor is supportive of my decision and is on the same page as me. It gives me peace of mind. She said that since I'm young, healthy and fit, she doesn't see any reason why I wouldn't be able to have a natural birthing experience. Of course, it's impossible to predict what will happen with my labor but I'm happy to know that she's on board with my plan. I'm going to continue reading and educating myself as much as I can about natural birth and I might take a birthing class as well. It's crazy to think how quickly his due date is approaching! I'm praying that everything goes smoothly and that God guides my preparation for CJ's birth. I'm SO so excited but still nervous! I have bi-weekly prenatal appointments from now until mid-February and then we move into the weekly visits! Ahhhh! I can hardly believe it! Little man is going to be here so soon!! In the meantime, I plan to do as much as I can to prepare myself. I've been reading A LOT about natural birth, pain coping techniques, what to expect, etc. Educating myself is making me feel a lot less nervous about the whole labor and delivery experience. I think I'm going to take a birthing class soon, too. Hopefully that will be helpful. What else... I've been REALLY good with my workouts lately! I usually aim for 4-5 days a week but I've been doing more (*cough*everyday*cough*) since I've been feeling good and I love the new workout DVD I got for Christmas. It's so good. Working out has been a huge help throughout my pregnancy. It lends some semblance of normalcy to my otherwise drastically changing life. Working out is my catharsis, no doubt about it. I'm really hoping that I kick this cold fast so I can get back into those workouts! But for now I'm taking it easy with light pilates/stretching. Not being able to workout is seriously one of the worst parts of being sick for me! I'm dying to do my full hour long workout and I've only taken two days off! Wahhh.

Looking forward to: I guess the next big thing I'm looking forward to is my baby shower in February! I'm very excited to see some friends from out of town who will be coming up for it! And I just think the whole experience will be fun! I'm still looking forward to watching my bump grow even more :] I love it. And since I'm not uncomfortable yet I'm just soaking it all in! :D Oh!! I would be remiss to neglect to mention my sheer excitement over hockey season starting up again!!!!!!! Seriously, I am thrilled!! I've been missing my beloved Bruins way too much! I CAN'T wait to watch every game of this short season! It's better than nothing! Fear the bear!! CJ is totally going to be born a Bruins fan!