31 Weeks Pregnancy Update

I took the picture above yesterday (31 weeks pregnant.) I again, have a basketball belly. As of right now, I have just a little swelling (mostly in my hands and a little in my feet), and all of my weight gain has been in my belly.

Last week, I got a bit nervous. I walked (or waddled) my kids out to the buses. As I started walking, I noticed a sharp pain on my right side that wasn't going away. It was very hard to walk and it seemed like I was just having a constant braxton hicks contraction. The pain lasted about 30 minutes. During that time, I called my doctor since this was a pain I never felt when I was pregnant with Adia. When I called, they said to go to labor and delivery just to be on the safe side. They said it was likely just braxton hicks and round ligament pain, but to go and make sure. I debated on going, but when my contractions started coming consistently at about 2 minutes or so apart, I decided I'd feel better if I just went in. They hooked me up to the monitors pretty quick and the nurse saw what I felt, which were contractions about 1-3 minutes apart. They gave me a shot to try to slow down or stop the contractions. They slowed down so that I was having about 9 in an hour, which is still a lot, but they also checked me and saw that I was not dilated at all and that the baby was responding like she was supposed to with my contractions. This meant the baby was safe and that my contractions were not triggering labor. They told me I had to stay home the next day to rest and monitor the contractions. If I had 6 or more in an hour, they said I needed to go back to the doctor. I went home, drank tons of water, peed all night, woke up in the morning, drank tons more water, but sure enough, I was still having 9-10 contractions in an hour. I called the doctor and they wanted me to come back in. He checked me and did an ultrasound and said pretty much what they told me the night before. I wasn't dilated at all, so they are just braxton hicks. He saw in the ultrasound that the baby is head down and "very very low." He said that due to where she is, the fact that this is my second baby in such a short amount of time, and my working so much, I'm just going to be more prone to having these contractions. He said they won't get any better and that they are likely to get worse. He is correct. They are worse. I am starting to have a little more pain with them these days and they are just so frequent. I'm just super uncomfortable. I didn't get this uncomfortable with Adia until I was about 34-36 weeks pregnant with her. Today, I drank so much water. I didn't know I could drink so much water in a day. To be honest, I don't think it's helped my contractions much at all. Over the weekend, they were a little better, but I wasn't on my feet all weekend like I am at school. If I could just rest, I think they'd be better, but I just can't lay down and prop my feet up at work. I'll be honest though, I'd rather be there than to be on bed rest or anything like that. Working makes the time go by quicker.

So, pregnancy during this trimester has been harder than the last time for sure. However, I wouldn't trade places with anyone else right now. I love Isla and I cannot wait to meet her. She's worth every bit of discomfort. Last night, Micah and I were reading a book together and it asked the question, "What is your most treasured memory?" We decided that we had so many treasured memories. We both agreed though that the day we had Adia was our most treasured memory to date. I know that the day Isla comes into the world will be another most treasured memory. There is nothing like seeing your baby's face for the first time, watching your husband fall in love with his little girl in a single moment, and holding that baby so close as she finds rest and comfort in her mommy's arms. I cannot wait. I know life will be crazy, busy, and hectic, but I also know that I won't want to trade it for the world. There are a lot of things that I do that I don't always love every minute of, but I am still so thankful for. For example, I don't enjoy pumping gas in my car, but I am so thankful that I have a car. I don't like washing dishes, but I am so blessed to have nice and clean dishes to eat off of. I don't always like going to the grocery store, but I am so thankful that I have the money I need to buy groceries for my family. Right now, I don't like the discomforts I am feeling, but I am so so so so so glad that I am pregnant with my sweet Isla. I love feeling her move and I love anticipating her arrival. God has been so good to me and my wonderful little family.