Hello there, and welcome to Week 31 of my week by week pregnancy guide. If you want to refresh your memory of the previous weeks, scroll to the bottom.
Week 31
Right around now you are going to start feeling shortness of breath. This is nothing to worry about for the most part. If you are really having difficulties, contact your doctor.
Another bit that may or may not concern you is your calcium depletion. I personally never felt it, even though it was probably happening to me, so you too may have no idea about it. But as your baby’s bones harden and become the structures which will shortly support your baby, the calcium needed in his bones will come directly from you. If you are carrying multiples this is more of a concern than if you just have one in there. For the most part it is not a huge deal, but just something to keep in mind.
Are you waddling around yet? If so, it is not so much an imbalance issue, but has more to do with your pelvis widening in expectation of giving birth. I didn’t waddle so much with Munch, but with Ducky, I was looking like, well, a duck. Hubby thought it was hilarious. I didn’t.
If you haven’t already, now would definitely be a good time to firmly decide how you are going to give birth. And then make the proper arrangements. I was so glad I had gone ahead and done it. With Munch I was preregistered at the hospital, so when I went into labor I walked in and they had everything ready to go. With Ducky, I had obviously preregistered again, but unfortunately the hospital lost my paperwork so I was able to experience what it would be like if I hadn’t been preregistered. If they had had me fill out any more paperwork I would have given birth in the lobby.
When you establish where you want to give birth, you will also want to figure out how you want to give birth. Not every place has the same options, so you will definitely want to make sure that you pick a place that will allow you the most freedom. For example, if you want to use an epidural(which I highly recommend), you should be aware that some places don’t have them. And that is not something you want to find out about when you are actually in labor and about to give birth.
I have also known of some couples who wanted to do it in a non traditional manner, and have a water birth. It sounds pretty interesting but again, not something offered at every facility.
Aside from induced comfort like an epidural, or different types of birth, there are other factors you may also want to take into account. I had read that walking during early labor makes it easier later on, and also helps you feel better. Sure enough, it did all of the above for me. And my hospital actually condoned walking, letting me wander around the hallways of the maternity ward to my heart’s content. I have heard of cases where that wasn’t so, and the woman was confined to her bed from the second she set foot in the hospital.
Essentially, since you will be giving birth in a matter of weeks, you want to make sure you are tying all the loose ends so there won’t be any last moment panicking at the end, especially since there is a chance you could go into labor earlier than you had planned.
What are you deciding on? Any special preferences in mind?
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