30 Week Pregnancy Update

Can I say it's hard for me to believe that I'm already 30 weeks along and in a little over 2 months we'll be meeting our baby? It's crazy how quickly the time goes! I'm trying to enjoy every minute since I know this will be the last time I'm pregnant. Pregnancy is hard work though.

30 weeks along

Side view

Due date: May 4, 2012


How far along: 30 weeks


Maternity clothes: Ha! With a belly like that it has to be maternity. The shirt in the photo is a size small maternity top and it isn't going to fit another 3 months.


Baby bump: See for yourself in the pictures.

Gender: We aren't going to find out the gender. We are really excited to announce both the gender and the name once the baby is born.


Heartbeat: My 30 week appointment was on Friday and the baby's heartbeat was in the 140's.


Movement: I do have an anterior placenta which was confirmed at my ultrasound. I don't feel as much movement as people generally feel at this stage of pregnancy though the baby's movement is consistent and increasing. I still haven't felt the baby get hiccups yet but I know that is coming too.


Symptoms: Overall I still feel great and honestly feel really blessed to have avoided terrible morning sickness in both my pregnancies. My back hurts at the end of most days but it depends on my activity for the day. If I've been sitting a lot it tends to be worse. Sleep comes and goes for me. It is definitely better than it was from 8-18 weeks which I had horrible insomnia. About once a week I have a night where I am up for and hour or two but overall have been sleeping better. Last night I slept for 7 hours almost straight. For someone who needs 9-10 hours to function well that isn't a lot but compared to being up for 1-2 hours in the middle of the night I'll take it. We finished our 6 week Hypnobabies childbirth preparation course last week and the self hypnosis and relaxation techniques really help me sleep better.

Tests and midwife appointment updates: After the drama of my 26 week appointment, both my 28 and 30 week appointments were pretty low key. Last Friday was my 30 week appointment. I had lost a pound (yay, since I have gained more than I'd like already), baby was measuring 31 cm, and my blood pressure was still great (116/74). At both my 28 week and 30 week appointments I still did have trace amounts of white blood cells and protein in my urine but neither midwife seemed concerned since I passed the 24 hour urine screen with only moderate amounts and all my blood work came back normal. I'm glad to not have to worry about protein levels and increase in blood pressure for now. My next appointment is at 32 weeks with one of the midwives I haven't seen since 14 weeks so I am looking forward to chatting with her more.

Exercise: My 2nd session of prenatal water aerobics just ended and they canceled that time slot :-( I am now going to try dropping in to the other prenatal water aerobics class that isn't at a very convenient time and also dropping into a classic water aerobics class and just doing some modifications for pregnancy since I am familiar with the routines at this point. I'm still hoping for some nicer weather so the kids and I can get out and walk but lately there hasn't been much. The days in the 40's have had 40-50 MPH or greater winds so that doesn't make for great walking weather.

Next Appointment: Thursday, March 8th.

Here is the link to the Baby Center: Your Pregnancy: 30 Weeks Some of the highlights: your baby is about 15.7 inches long and almost 3 pounds. A pint and half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume decreases as she gets bigger, and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it is not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision - which means she'll only be able to make out objects a few inches from her face.