31 Weeks

It has been an uneventful week for me so far. Which is a good thing.

I had an appointment with my doctor on Friday. It went well. My blood sugars are still low and stable, which is great news. My doctor wants to check on Kaylee's growth sooner than 36 weeks, so she is sending me for a Fetal Growth Scan at 32 weeks. Oh, and a funny thing happened at the appointment. Every appointment, my doctor measures the fundal height and listens to Kaylee's heart beat with the Doppler microphone. While she was listening, Kaylee gave a great big kick and literally kicked the Doppler microphone away and off my belly! She was quite shocked and we all had a giggle over it.

Chris and I went to the Padres game on Monday night. It was fun. I think little Kaylee enjoys the games as much as we do. She always moves around so much. Or maybe it's the opposite. Perhaps it's too loud for her? At one point, Chris had his hand on my belly as Kaylee was moving and bumping around, and she gave him a nice big kick! It's obvious we have quite a strong little future black belt growing here.

I have been feeling Braxton Hicks contractions more often and stronger, but I am told this is normal. It's just my body preparing for the real thing in a few short weeks. The third trimester is really hitting me hard now with all the aches and pains. I am really looking forward to this pregnancy ending and finally meeting our little Kaylee Bria.

Here is an update on Kaylee -

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She is around 17 inches long and weighs in at just about four pounds—about the size of a soccer ball. Although the rate of physical growth is slowing, she is beginning to gain weight in fat deposits and muscle. In fact, she will begin to grow in weight at about a half pound per week.

Her lungs are the only major organ left to complete development. Although we may be anxious to meet our little one, these last few weeks are vital. With each day, she increases her ability to breathe on her own.

The layers of fat are changing the hue of her skin from red to a rosy pink. Calcium, phosphorus, and iron are being stored and her bones are hardening.

She can now perceive information from all five senses. Sure, she can't smell anything right now, but that's only because she is still submerged in amniotic fluid and needs to breath air to get a whiff of anything. Although, my scent will be one of the very first she breathes in—a scent that will quickly become her very favorite.

So what is Kaylee doing all day? Making faces, hiccuping, swallowing, breathing, pedaling with little hands and feet along my uterine wall, and even sucking her thumb. In fact, some babies suck their thumbs so vigorously while in the womb that they're born with a callus on their thumb!