31 weeks....plus two?

Dates and numbers:
There are 60 days until your due date on October 28, 2007.
You are 220 days pregnant.
You are 7.2 months pregnant.
You are in your 8th month of pregnancy. (huh?)
Your 1st trimester: January 21, 2007 to April 21, 2007. (0 - 12 weeks)
Your 2nd trimester: April 22, 2007 to August 04, 2007. (13 - 27 weeks)
Your 3rd trimester: August 05, 2007 to October 28, 2007. (28 - 40 weeks)

Your baby is continuing to grow each week that you remain pregnant. Your baby's crown-to-rump length is 11.2 inches and total length is 18 inches. Your baby weighs approximately 3.5 pounds at this point. Your uterus is about 4.4 inches above your bellybutton and continues to get larger. An average weight gain at this point is between 21 and 27 pounds. The weight that you gain is made up of your baby, placenta, blood supply, uterus, breasts, fat, water storage and amniotic fluid.

Because the ligaments and muscles supporting the small of your back relax and loosen in order to get ready for childbirth, your back may be aching from now on. There is usually nothing that can be done to prevent backaches, only to make them more comfortable. Many women get heartburn during these last few weeks of pregnancy because the oversized uterus leaves less room for the stomach and the contents within the stomach. Eating smaller, more frequent meals can help releive the discomforts of heartburn.

This week marks an incredible milestone in your baby's lung development. Before now, the air sacs and branches in your baby's lungs were present but not functionable. The lungs were not able to inflate properly. However, now there is surfactant being produced in your baby's lungs. Surfactant prevents your baby's lungs from collapsing outside of the uterus and the baby is able to take in air and breathe properly. The fetal ear is almost completely developed both inside and out. Your baby can hear your voice and other familiar sounds that she will recognize after birth. Your baby is putting on white fat under the skin and the skin's color is pink instead of red at this point. Your baby's fingernails have grown to the end of her fingers and she may scratch herself while she is in the womb.


That's what I'm SUPPOSED to be at right now. But at my doctor appointment today she measured my fundal height and noticed that I seemed big. So they scheduled me for an ultrasound this afternoon. He's measuring 2 weeks ahead. In fact, when she measured his head, he measured at 33 weeks, 6 days. So he's a big boy. He weighs 4.1 lbs. The ultrasound tech said the doctor would look over the pics and either call me or talk to me at my next appointment, which is on my birthday.

I also went looking at daycares today. It was rather depressing. Not the daycares, they were very nice, but the cost. One was 800 a month, the other was 1125. I about fell over. As much as I liked both of them, I don't know that we could afford it. I'll keep looking though, those were in Arnold. I am hoping maybe one in Festus will be cheaper without comprimising the quality too much. It is a very sad feeling knowing I can't provide my baby with the very best care. Someday we will I'm sure, but for now, money is going to be tight, life is going to be hard. I know it will all be worth it, of course, but I've gotten used to a "higher" (comparatively speaking) standard of living. Knowing I will have to go back to the times like I had when I was in school...of ramen, bologna sandwiches, and Goodwill clothing is kinda depressing. But we'll make it.

As for me, I'm still feeling good, except the heartburn. I eat Tums like its candy. I'm tired a lot, but I've been really busy lately too, so that probably has a lot to do with it. I lost 2 more pounds at my weigh-in today. But that could be that they have new scales too. But if not, when you consider the 15 lbs I lost initially, those 2 lbs, plus Beanie's 4 lbs and another pound or so for placenta, I'm down over 20 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight! The doc says that's perfectly fine as long as he's healthy. So that makes me really happy, all the less I'll have to lose after he gets here!