31-weeks and three days pregnant. It’s been a good week and my baby has been as active as I have! I’ve been quite busy with work, training, socialising and nesting 😊
The baby and I have been feeling well this week and despite the busy schedule I managed to fit in three good gym sessions (weight training and cardio on a stationary bike) and one pregnancy yoga class, of which I’m very happy!
On Thursday I had my 31-week midwife appointment. Baby’s heart beat was strong and the bump has been growing steadily. My bump measured 28cm, still 2cm below the norm for 31-weeks, but as long as the growth is stable they consider +/-2cm just fine. No growth scan needed! Blood pressure, sugars etc were fine and my weight gain so far (~8kg) wasn’t commented on, so I suppose that’s fine too!
The one thing that was commented on though, was that the baby is in breech position… Apparently at thirty-something weeks the baby should starting turning head down. There’s no rush for her to turn but my midwife wants to keep our meetings frequent (max two weeks apart) to monitor her position.
In any case, I was happily skipping out of her office – everything is fine with my baby 😊
I’ve been feeling pretty energetic and have been sleeping better recently (cocooned in my donut). Something has disturbed my sleep a bit though – I’ve started having dreams about giving birth. And not the good kind! It’s strange because I don’t feel anxious or worried about the labour, not yet anyway. I suppose somewhere in my subconscious I am starting to wonder how it’ll all go… Yikes!
When it comes to pregnancy symptoms, I’m not having many, apart from the occasional back ache and just generally feeling heavy. The belly is growing and there’s only about 2mm left of my “outie” belly button now. My baby has started having the hiccups – or at least now I can feel it! Such a funny sensation. Especially if it happens during a meeting at work ha!
Above a little illustration of one of the exercises from my new pregnancy gym programme. I also do the same exercise sideways to target a different part of my legs and bum. It’s very important to focus on the glute muscles during pregnancy (and postpartum) training as strong glutes help to support the lower back and hips. I personally like using the cables now that my balance isn’t as good as pre-pregnancy – lower injury risk than with free weights! I still use free weights but only for exercises during which I feel steady.
As a side note, I really enjoy going to the gym together with my partner! We used to train at different gyms before my pregnancy and so it’s a new thing for us. Although we follow our own separate routines at the gym, I enjoy walking there and back together and exchanging little looks and smiles in between the exercises. After the baby comes, gym time will become a luxury for me and we definitely won’t be able to do it together, but instead we’ll be taking turns. So I’m enjoying it while I can!
This weekend I spent again a lot of time on preparing for the baby. We have most main items now purchased, even the pram which was finally delivered after weeks of waiting! We went for Joolz Geo Mono pram for the ease of single-handed steering, the large basket and a look we both liked! It converts into a double pram as well in case we would at some point have two small children, which could prove handy.
I got an Ikea chest of drawers for the baby on top of which I put a changing mat from John Lewis. I decided against a changing table as I don’t really see the need for it. I might change my mind of course but I’ll try to manage without. I got a dirty nappy bin from Tommee Tippee which I think could be useful!
I organised the baby clothes into the drawers and hung up a cute cloud mobile from The White Company above the Moses basket. Once we have moved and we have a separate nursery, I would also love the rocking mammoth in the below picture (have not bought it yet!).
My partner ordered an early “push present” for me which I’m very excited about! Being the thoughtful person he is, he got me a lovely high back nursing chair in pink (!) so that the baby and I will be comfortable during the feeding sessions. I’ll show you a picture once it arrives!
Next week will be busy as I’ll go on my very last pre-baby business trip (two nights, two countries)!
xoxoxo,
Sini