31 Weeks Pregnant

Wow, it is hard to believe that Aria will be here in only 9 more weeks! Since I haven't posted in a while, I have a ton of updates.

Let me start out with Aria's movements, since she is kicking me now, was kicking me 5 minutes ago, and has been kicking me every few minutes all day every day for the past couple of weeks. Oh, did I mention how much she likes kicking? And let me just say that I LOVE IT! I love when she kicks, punches, turns, dances, or hiccups. Yes, I said hiccups. About a week and a half ago she hiccuped for the first time ever. I could tell they were hiccups and not just small kicks because they lasted for about 5 minutes straight and were very rhythmic at one hiccup every 5 seconds or so. The best thing about her first set of hiccups was that Shaun got to feel them too! Shaun has been missing out on a lot of her firsts since he is not always with me, but he got to be there for this one. Back to her kicking... My coworkers also notice Aria moving on a regular basis now. Everyday this week at least one person has gasped at me and said, "Oh! I saw her move!" The women love watching, but the men are grossed out by it, hehe. Even though it is REALLY distracting at work having her move all the time, I cherish every moment she does. Oh, and there she goes again :)

Shaun and I had our first birth class on Saturday. This class is a 3 part series for a total of 9 hours. Last week we learned about all the details of the labor process itself. We now all about what to expect during the labor process. Overall the class was very informative. Some highlights include getting a back massage from Shaun (the instructor rewarded the husbands by switching the roles and having us give them back massages too), realizing that some of the other couples were due in only 4 weeks, and, my personal favorite, seeing examples of dilation sizes. The instructor pulled out 2 cards that had holes cut out of them. One represented 2 cm dilation, which is what I will be in the beginning of labor. The other represented 10 cm dilation, which is what I need to be at to start pushing. The second the 10 cm card was shown, I think both Shaun and I took a big gulp and thought, I need to dilate HOW much before pushing?! That hole was HUGE! This Saturday we will be learning about all the pain medication options and in two weeks we will be taking a tour of the hospital.

Speaking of the hospital, I am already registered for admission! I sent in my paperwork last weekend so that we won't have to do anything when we show up on the big day.

I am still exercising, though not as rigorously as I was a couple months ago. My joints are starting to ache a little and I don't move/walk the same way as I used to, so I am sticking to low impact activities. I am now on my fourth pregnancy fitness DVD from Netflix, and so far they are hit-or-miss. I love the harder workouts where I am lifting light weights, doing some cardio, and breaking a sweat. I don't like the workouts where stretching and posing are the main focus, as in yoga and pilates. I just don't feel like they are a workout at all. Although maybe my mind will change in a few more weeks.

I have also been getting our house ready for Aria's arrival. Nick, Shaun, and I started refinishing Shaun's dresser from when he was a child. We are just waiting for a dry day to prime and paint it. I washed Aria's first load of laundry and will be doing another load this weekend. I bought a mattress pad and sheets for the crib, so her sleeping quarters are ready for her. Yesterday I bought a small package of newborn diapers and wipes, because I realized I didn't have any! We are *thinking* about part-time cloth diapering, but will not start that until she is out of newborn sizes. I bought a lightweight stroller frame on craigslist, and received her car seat in the mail a few days ago. The list goes on and on for things we have bought and are doing in preparation for Aria.

I've officially put in my notice at work for the time I am taking off. In short, I will be taking off 1.5 weeks before she is due and 10 weeks after her arrival. I am VERY fortunate I have a good job that is able to pay maternity benefits for taking the time off. I don't get paid my normal salary during that time, but it will be about 70% of my normal pay, using a combination of state disability leave and my accrued vacation and sick leave.

And so, I will end this post with a picture and some information about myself and Aria at 30 weeks. I would have done 31 weeks, but I don't have a new picture yet, and I don't like the fruit options for 31 weeks. Therefore, here is my belly at 30 weeks pregnant:

At 30 weeks, Aria was the size of a head of cabbage. She now weighs at least 3 pounds and is just over 16 inches long.

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