31 weeks (and 2 days)

I think my belly growth has definitely slowed down after the burst of late second trimester. Miles is just fattening up in there. I can tell he's running out of room now because I feel fewer kicks and punches and more rolling and stretching. He's still very active, though, and his movements are strong. I can feel and see my belly stretching and rippling as he rolls, which I would love to catch on videotape, but that little bugger is still shy. He'll only do it when I have my belly covered, and I have a hard time even getting Mr. Ibis to catch him in the act. If I lift up my shirt or Mr. I touches my belly, baby goes still.

Sometimes I feel something shoved way up in my ribs (feet? knees?) which is slightly uncomfortable but not so bad. Less often, I will get weird sensations, pressure, or even shooting pains down low where his head is. Even his hiccups are stronger now. Fortunately none of this keeps me awake at night and I still sleep like a champ.

However, I am up to two pee breaks per night now, which is a drag. Early on in pregnancy I hatched a plan to start sleeping downstairs on the pull-out sofa once I was at the point of getting up to pee a lot, but I like my bed and sleeping next to my husband. I'm not ready to give up yet. So I just shuffle downstairs twice a night now.

I am still getting a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions, but I've changed my point of view on them. If my natural-mama friend and my doula tell me that they are healthy signs of a uterus that's warming up for birth, I'm happy with that explanation and inclined to believe that the doctors are being a little over-cautious when they want me to go to Labor & Delivery for more than four an hour. If I ever get timeable Braxton Hicks or painful contractions, I will certainly call again and do what they tell me. But with my irregular BH coming 4-6 an hour some nights, I have decided that that's just "my normal." I have a very active baby and I'm sensitive to every sensation - last night I counted 76 baby kicks in 30 minutes, so 6 BH don't seem that unusual for me. I don't want to go to the hospital two or three nights a week just to drink water and get another shot of terbutaline. I feel like I will know if my body is really trying to tell me something.

This coming week we have childbirth class, I'm going to try to attend a La Leche meeting, and then my shower is Thursday evening. Third trimester is a busy time! Next week I have childbirth class and my first "meet the pediatrician" meeting. In December I'm going to try to visit in home daycares and more doctor meetings. I have a feeling the rest of my pregnancy is going to fly by!