Week 31

As far as growth goes, Ansley’s still on a roll, measuring an approximate 18 inches and weighing in at more than three pounds. Her brain is working overtime these days, developing faster than ever. Connections between individual nerve cells are growing at a frenetic clip, and 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 be breathing air to get a whiff of anything. So what's my little ninja doing all day while I’m busy planning for her arrival? Making faces, hiccupping, swallowing, breathing, pedaling with little hands and feet, and even sucking her thumb. (of course the only thing she did while we were having the 3D sonogram is sleep and scrunch up her face when the technician tried to get her to wake up and move around. She’s like her mom, don’t mess with me while I’m trying to sleep:) In an effort to provide spacious-enough accommodations for my not so little girl, my uterus has compressed my lungs, limiting their ability to fully expand when I take a breath and causing me to feel like I’ve just run a marathon when I’ve only climbed a flight of stairs. (I notice this the most when I am in the middle of one of my highly animated conversations and suddenly find myself losing wind) While this shortness of breath during pregnancy may feel uncomfortable to me, Ansley is blissfully unaware and unaffected. She gets all the oxygen she needs through the placenta. That out-of-breath feeling may get better toward the end of my pregnancy, when she drops down into my pelvis in preparation for delivery. Until then, I am standing as straight as I can (given the extra weight I’m carrying around) so that my lungs have more space to… well, breathe.

I am leaving after work on Friday to go to a shower that my mom's family is throwing for me. I'm more than a little excited:):) I will post pics when I get back next week!