MacNut Week 31

Technically, this is what's going on this week:

• MacNut is the weight of four navel oranges - ~ 16.18 inches and 3.31 pounds.
• She should more than double her weight again between now and birth.
• The eyes have now completely opened and are responding to light and darkness.
• A loud noise near you may cause your little one to jump.
• Baby's lungs and digestive tract are very near to being mature.

Physical:

• Weight: 149 lb (+23)
• Belly circumference: 39.25 in (+8.75)
• Fundal height: 29 in (Yep, still at 29!  I think my uterus is just really squashy.)
• Cravings: I haven't really craved anything during this pregnancy.  But recently, I've just been craving a lot of sweets!  Oh help me, Lord!
• I have noticed that my voice has changed a bit as I get bigger.  I guess that makes sense since all of my visceral content is pushed up and my poor diaphragm is hanging on to dear life!
• I've been trying to keep my legs elevated the best I can.  They are a little "fluffy," but not too bad if you take into consideration how hot it has been the past few days.
• I went swimming three times this week!  Thank God for the pool in our complex.  It's pretty cloudy and there are quite a few dead bugs & leaves, but boy, it is niiiice to be in the water and feel weightless.  Side note: I can no longer float on my back.  Which is weird, since I always imagined that my rotund belly could be used as a flotation device. :-/
• My midwife decided to do another fFN test this week and it turned out positive.  Urgh.  I know in my heart it doesn't mean anything, but it's just another thing.  I was even asked to come in to get monitored on Thursday.  It was a complete waste of time!  Anyway, next time I go in to the hospital, I'd better already be crowning!
  

Spiritual & emotional:

• It's hard to believe that in just 6 weeks (at week 37), Camille will be considered full term.  I will still have one more week of school left in the quarter...but she can come anytime after week 38! :)
• I almost forgot to add this part because it occurred early on this week, but I had my first baby shower!!  The baby shower was thrown by my sisters and a friend, Annette VoLam.  It was a really fun time with friends and family.  Annette is an amazing cake/cookie maker and the food at the party was amazing!  Camille and I had a great time :)
• Some people have asked us this week if we felt "ready" or what else we think we might want to do before Camille's debut.  To be quite honest, I don't know!  I don't think we can ever realistically be "ready" for this next stage in life.  And I'm okay with that.  I'd be more okay with that, though, once we get a couple of new dressers to put all her junk in!
• Self consciousness...Okay, so before I got really big, I thought, "I don't want to be one of those pregnant women who feel ashamed of the way they look in their gravid state."  And, I don't feel ashamed at all.  I love my big belly!  But there are subtle ways that I feel self conscious about my pregnancy.  For instance, I feel self conscious that freakin' relaxin started releasing big time starting at week 21 when I started having pelvic pain...which resulted in "the waddle" that early on in pregnancy.  So, yeah, sometimes I feel self conscious about my waddle!  Or about the fact that I have to walk a lot slower because my hips hurt like a mo' fo'.  I also feel a little self conscious of my stretch marks when I wear a swim suit.  Those are pretty normal feelings, I realize, but I just didn't think I had such poor self image...since I love myself so much.
• Emotionally, this week has not been as bad as some of the previous weeks.  Although one night, we received news that Caleb was no longer able to chew or swallow solid foods.  This news was a deep stab to my heart.  I lived with Joshua & Caleb (twins) for the first three years of their lives.  I was there when they were introduced to solids.  I just don't even want to think about it...