31 weeks...and a name reveal!!!

Hey everyone! So we only had to wait 3 weeks from the last appointment to have another one--that's why I am posting at 31 weeks (kind of random) instead of 32. And we are now on a schedule to see Dr. New every 2 weeks--so our next couple of posts will be on ODD weeks. The appointment went well--nothing too exciting to report! But I will update anyway-this is where we are at 31 weeks (and a few days):



Baby's stats: So as of today, I am 31 weeks and 4 days along--so we have 8 weeks and 3 days (technically) left. The baby could be up to 19 inches long (by now you my theory on how "long" our baby will be) and weigh up to 3.9 pounds. I feel gigantic, so maybe he does weigh that much!! He's a "head of lettuce" this week. According to Dr. New, his femur measured at 32 weeks the day of our appointment which was 31 weeks and 2 days. So for two appointments in a row, his femur has measured about 5 days ahead (I hope that means he wants to come a few days earlier than his due date!!).

Development: His digestive system is getting close to being ready for something other than sucking up amniotic fluid! He's also depositing more and more fat under his skin, so he'll be nice and "fluffy" at birth! Something that's exciting to me, is that the neural pathways in his brain are developing more and more quickly these days (I'm such a nerd), and he can now perceive information from ALL 5 SENSES!!! He could also be sucking his thumb (or fist), though we haven't caught him doing that on a sonogram yet.

Weight Gain: I'm thinking somewhere around 20-21 pounds at this point. And let me tell you something, I feel EVERY pound of it!!

Pregnancy Symptoms: Nothing super new these days. Still having lots of back pain!! I wake up almost every night because of my heartburn/reflux--but Dr. New told me to start taking Zantac to help with that, so we'll see! It is getting a little more challenging to get up and down from the floor each day at work! And the worst part of my back pain is that it is at its worst when I'm sitting down (in ANY position), which makes trying to sit down and get ahead on my documentation REALLY challenging! The newest thing, is that I have to pee ALLLLLL of the time these days--like seriously, I lose count around 8-10x/day. UGH!!! But, good news is that my sinuses have cleared up a little bit-which is a huge answer to prayer!! Oh, I just remembered one other symptom: I HAVE CANKLES!!! OMG--they are ridiculous!! Some days are better than others (ie. if I actually prop them up and drink an appropriate amount of water), but seriously--it hurts to take the first few steps in the morning because there is just too much fluid down there!

Cravings: Nothing new in the past couple of weeks! Milk, Rainbow Sherbet, Blueberries, Pretzels and Dr. Pepper---what an assortment!!

Belly Button: So long innie, HELLO outtie!! My little belly button is officially NOT little and NOT an innie these days! Startling fact I learned this past week: I can push my outtie in and it will disappear for a few seconds--I have to push out really hard and it eventually pops back out! WEIRD!

Baby's position: This is a new topic and one that I am requesting prayer over: our sweet little boy is currently breeched! Good news is: this explains part of the reason why I have to pee all of the time and why I can't ever seem to catch my breath. On our sonogram, his head was tucked right under my ribs and he was sitting square on top of my bladder! Dr. New said that at this point 1/3 of all babies are still sitting in the breeched position, so not to worry yet!! He said it isn't a big deal until we get about 4 weeks out! I am not worried at all right now, because I feel him moving around so much, but I definitely would prefer him head-down before it gets to the point of worry! So I am asking for prayer that sometime in the next 2-4 weeks, our little man will flip himself over!

And the finale: NAME!! We are excited to announce that our sweet little boy finally has an official name! It took a lot of thought, and a lot of prayer, and a lot of talking it out but we are proud to say that our son's name will be.............................

Jonah Porter Forbess

Porter is a family name: it's David's dad's middle name. The tradition in his family is that the boys are named after their grandfather! Jonah came partly because we just really like the name! I also have always liked the story of Jonah. I think that we almost ALL have a time when we know what the Lord is calling us to do and choose to run in the opposite direction. How sweet it is to know that God doesn't just let us run, but loves us enough to throw us into the belly of a whale until we figure out that his plan is better than ours!! So that is his name!!

And I will leave you with a picture from 31 weeks (and 3 days):

Please take time to note the size of my ankles--they're huge! And this is NOT at their worst! It's a pride issue with me (I used to think I had cute feet--sigh). Anyway, thanks for reading! If you can, post any comments on the actual blog instead of on facebook--I think it would be fun to be able to look back and see what people said along the way!! Thanks!!