Your pregnancy: 31 weeks

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Yes, the moving around does get to be a little bit much at night-time, that's when he seems to be the most active. That, along with the hiccups and some Braxton-Hicks contractions make my stomach feel like a rollercoaster ride. But, I'm still doing very well. I do think yesterday was my last bike ride, however. Mj and I have enjoyed going walking and bike riding in the evenings, but yesterday my legs kept hitting my stomach when I pedaled and it wasn't the most comfortable thing, so I think I'll stick to walking from now on.

Baby Shower

The dessert table. The whole theme of the shower was "Rubber Duckies". It was decorated very beautifully.

All the gifts. Terry is responsible for giving me the huge duck on the left. It's almost person-sized!

These bowls with the duckies were the centerpieces at every table. The decorations were just so beautiful, and the party planners (Patsy, Lonna, Rita, and Katie) thought of every detail!

Patsy bought this sash for me to wear, it says "Mom to Be"

The cake was almost too pretty to eat! Thanks to Lonna for choosing such a beautiful cake.

My friends Diana, Lacy, and Robin playing a game. We melted different candy bars in a diaper and everyone has to guess what kind of candy bar it was. Too gross!!

Another activity we did was to have everyone there decorate a onesie for the baby, so that I can think of them everytime the baby wears it.

Sister-in-law Katie helping me with the gifts. There were so many, everyone was very generous.

All in all, it was a wonderful day and a great celebration.

Nursery

Patsy, MJ, and I spent all day yesterday setting up the nursery with all the wonderful gifts that we received at the baby shower. Here are the pictures of our work-in-progress nursery. There are still some things we need to purchase, but not many thanks to the generosity of our friends and family!

Photos

This first picture was taken at 18 weeks, and this second picture was just taken last week at 28 weeks.

Boy, what a difference 10 weeks makes!

Baby's Growth

Your pregnancy: 29 weeks

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Baby's Growth

The baby shower on Saturday was so wonderful, I will post more details and pictures as soon as Patsy emails them to me.

Updates:

The doctor's appoinment on Thursday went well. I passed the gestational diabetes test, so that's one less thing to worry about. I now have to go to the doctor every two weeks, so I'll be back on Thursday the 18th. The unpleasant development is that I seem to have developed insomnia. I fall asleep just fine, but on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday I have woken up around 2am and just can't fall back asleep. Thank goodness I actually slept through the night on Saturday! At least it's summer vacation and I don't have to be at work at 7am, I'm able to take a nap later to make up the sleep that I lost at night.

Your pregnancy: 28 weeks
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.