03-11-2008 - 30 Weeks

My mood while writing this blog: Excited

You may feel as if you have been pregnant forever at this point. It might be hard to imagine being pregnant for another ten weeks, but your baby still has a lot of growing and developing to do! By this time, your baby's crown-to-rump length is a little over 10.8 inches and the total length of your baby is about 17 inches! Your baby weighs about 3 pounds now. Your uterus can be felt about 4 inches above your bellybutton. Your uterus, baby, placenta and the amount of fluid will get larger over the next ten weeks. You should be gaining about a pound a week at this time.

Because you are getting larger, you are probably becoming slower and clumsier. You should try to be careful to avoid dangerous falls. Good posture when sitting and standing can help you feel better during your pregnancy. You also should be rolling over on your side to get up after lying down because your muscles have stretched to accommodate your growing uterus.

Even though your baby is cushioned by the amniotic fluid, she can feel and respond to pain. Your baby now does `practice breathing` to get ready for life outside of your womb. If you have an ultrasound at this time, you will be able to see this. If your baby swallows amniotic fluid down the wrong passage, she will still get hiccups that are noticeable by you. If your baby were born at this time, she would be able to keep herself warm.

The skin begins to smoothen as fat deposits accumulate underneath. The fat insulates and is an energy source.
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Wow 3/4s the way through! Can’t believe my little beanie is going to be here in around 9-10 weeks! Where has the time gone? Seems to be flying by.. I really need to get his nursery finished! My shower is on the 15^th so that is something to look forward too :o) I think with the holidays coming up these last two months are going to FLY by.

Doesn’t seem like I have been pregnant that long.. considering I found out at almost 11 weeks that I was pregnant lol it only seems like it’s been 20 weeks. I’ve lost some more weight.. not sure why! If Joel is still transverse or breech when I have my appointment tomorrow I might get another ultrasound. I would love to have another ultrasound! That way I can see him and be reassured that he is still growing. I just want to see that he has gained weight. I’m still on protein shakes but unlike the warnings.. I’m loosing weight.. not gaining.. maybe he is just eating more now and he’s getting bigger as I’m getting smaller! lol wishful thinking I suppose! It says we are supposed to be gaining a pound a week now.. that would put me right around 20 pounds weight gain by the end of the pregnancy.. I was told by my midwife to expect a weight gain of 35-45 pounds due to my pre-pregnancy size.. I’m way off lol! I wouldn’t mind gaining the weight.. I am pregnant after all :) but loosing it after pregnancy I think would be difficult.

I’ve definitely noticed that I am more clumsy. I wore heels to a wedding this weekend in Tampa and about broke my ankle several times! And they were the chunky type heels!

I notice that Joel gets hiccups almost every other day lol Bobby can’t feel his hiccups yet on the outside but I can feel them inside. He has been moving a lot lately. not necessarily more movements but stronger movements! He kicks at Bobby when he kisses my belly. Lol I think Joel is protective of his beanie home! He also is rolling quite a bit. He is still sideways most of the time so the rolling feels like he is taking my organs on a ride with him! He has also been experimenting with feet down.. feels like his foot is going to come out of me! The head up in my ribs is also really painful. I guess I am used to him being sideways.. so the movement down below by his feet and his head up are uncomfortable. It also seems like he is DANCING on my bladder.. LOL I was up all night last night because thought I had to pee. I can see his head on the outside of my belly now. It’s this hard bump near the top, I can also see his placenta near the middle of my belly.. it’s soft and smushy, and then his rear is always poking out either under my belly button or to the side of it.

I have been doing some reading up on the anterior placentas and the placement of the baby. I get the feeling that he is not going to want to go head down. Apparently the lower the placenta is on the front (and mine is LOW due to a partial pravia in early pregnancy) the more pressure it will put on his head if he is head down. They say that they will normally be transverse to avoid placenta pressure or in a frank breech (feet straight down) position. Around 30 weeks is the time that they move into their final placement due to the placenta growing in size. If this is true, and I haven’t been able to find a lot of information- which is frustrating!- but if it’s true then he will prob be in a frank breech position for labor because that has been his favorite position lately. And with the anterior placenta/breech positioning they will not attempt a vaginal birth. Due to the risk of placenta abruption and babies head being in the wrong position for the birth canal they don’t like to risk it. I’m not against a c-section if that’s what it takes.. I’m just scared of the surgery. And they say that they longer the baby is head up the more deformed their head will be because they mold to the top of the uterus which is shaped differently than the bottom. I’m not too concerned about that because he has been sideways 98% of the pregnancy in the last couple months. Gosh I’m a worry wart!

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My 30 week pics!

Black just isn't slimming anymore lol!

From the front!

My baby chunk!

it's not clear in this picture but looking down at my belly I can see the three spots where he is poking out (his head, placenta, and bum!). My midwife was shocked at my last appointment that she could still see my rib outline!