31 weeks

How far along?  31 weeks

Total weight gain: I gained a lot between appointments, now I'm up about 18 lbs from the beginning.
How big is baby?
31 weeks: Baby weighs as much as four orangesYour baby now weighs as much as four navel oranges. (Length: over 16 inches, head to heel.)


This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.
From www.babycenter.com

Maternity clothes:  I had to break down and buy a few more pieces, although buying maternity clothing this far along is painful.  But, I went to H&M and bought a beautiful sweater dress for 30 Euro, and I even bought a sweater for our baby shower!

Sleep:  Pretty good, weird dreams, but overall, I'm sleeping fine.

Best moment this week?:  My doctor's appointment.

Movement?:  Fewer jabbing ninja kicks, and now I think he's either trying to ride a bike or swim, his movements are very fluid from one side to the other. I had to laugh this morning, but they showed a scene from movie where an alien popped out of a man's stomach on CNN.  I had to laugh because I always feel like one of these scenes when Erbse is moving around in there and my stomach is moving all sorts of funny ways.

Food cravings?:  Cake!

Labor signs?:  Fortunately still none.

Belly button in or out?: Still the same, shallow, but there.

What I miss?:  Coffee still!

What I'm looking forward to?: Well, the obvious- we're getting very close to meeting our little Erbse!

Milestone?: Less than 10 weeks to go!

Other Erbse related news:  
We had a great appointment with the OB on Monday!  It started with another NST (Non-stress test) and I figured out that there is something about them that Erbse does not like, because he squirmed and kicked the whole 20 minutes they had me hooked up to the machine.  I love them, because I get a full 20 minutes to listen to Erbse's heartbeat, which sounds much more like a galloping horse than what you would expect a pea's heartbeat to sound like, if a pea had a heartbeat.  Then, I had a growth scan.  Even though I have an ultrasound at every appointment, they do three growth ultrasounds here:  between 9 & 12 weeks, between 19 & 22 weeks, and between 29 & 32 weeks.  I've now had all my growth ultrasounds.   We found out that our little Erbse isn't so little at all.  I noticed during our last growth scan that all of Erbse's measurments were at the 75th percentile and above, but the doctor didn't say anything about it, and I forgot to bring it up at subsequent appointments.  Well, this time, he's measuring at or above the 90th percentile in all areas!  We asked if this was a problem, but the doctor said that if everything is measuring around the same size, there is no cause for concern.  It just happens that we're on our way to having more like the Jolly Green Giant than a little pea.  He's measuring about 2.02 grams, or close to 4.5 lbs.  No wonder I gained 6 pounds in the past month!  But, our little bruiser is doing very well.
We also talked again about delivery.  Joern and I would like to go look at a few hospitals for delivery, which we will do over the next few weeks.  The doctor wants me to make an appointment at the hospital where I will deliver at 35 weeks, I have to say, its really exciting to get to the point where we're talking about delivery!  
Besides the doctor's appointment, we made a little progress in Erbse's nursery.  His furniture was picked up from my stepmother's house last week and should be loaded by now on a ship.  We only had one little blip in the process, part of the crib was left at my stepmother's house.  Fortunately, the shipping company will come and pick up the other part, and has agreed to also ship my rocking chair from Pottery Barn Kids that is arriving way late!