You are 31 weeks pregnant

Your baby

By this week, your baby measures nearly 18 inches in total length. His eyes are now capable of tracking light, and when he blinks, his iris (the coloured part of the eye) will respond by contractin...Read more

Your body

Feeling a little short of breath these days? At this stage, it’s really common to huff and puff a bit - even when you’re just walking around normally and not particularly exerting yours...Read more

Your life right now

Not exactly feeling maternal yet? Hey, that’s OK! Some women are, by nature, selfless nurturing types. But that’s not to say that you’re selfish, or that something is wrong with y...Read more

Mums like me

‘Don't wait until the last minute to pack a hospital bag for you and the baby. I ended up waiting until the very last minute to pack my bag - so much so that I was in labour and running a...Read more

By this week, your baby measures nearly 18 inches in total length. His eyes are now capable of tracking light, and when he blinks, his iris (the coloured part of the eye) will respond by contracting to the change between dark and light (well, relative lightness at least). At this point, your baby’s lungs and digestive tract continue to develop.

Feeling a little short of breath these days? At this stage, it’s really common to huff and puff a bit - even when you’re just walking around normally and not particularly exerting yourself. Your uterus has grown so much that the top of it is about 4 ½ inches above your belly button, and it has pushed your diaphragm up from where it usually lies (directly under your lungs). That shift makes it tougher for you to draw a good breath. But know that even if you feel like you can’t get enough air, your baby is— - and this is just another one of those expected side effects for those expecting. Stretch marks may also appear around this time, if they haven’t already. Up to 90 percent of pregnant women get them, and they can occur not just on your belly, but other areas (like your thighs) as well. They may not go away once the baby is born, but the redness will fade and the streaks will go back to being closer to your usual skin tone. Consider this: despite the zillions of products on the market that may say otherwise, your tendency to get stretch marks may have more to do with your DNA than anything else. Whether creams can help rid or at least reduce their appearance once the baby is born is debatable - but some women do swear by them.

Not exactly feeling maternal yet? Hey, that’s OK! Some women are, by nature, selfless nurturing types. But that’s not to say that you’re selfish, or that something is wrong with you if those warm, fuzzy happy-mummy feelings haven’t kicked in. You should know that plenty of women don’t develop that bond with their baby until their child is actually born - or even weeks later. And that’s totally normal. So don’t worry about it, or fret that you’re not going to be a good, loving mum. You will be!

‘Don't wait until the last minute to pack a hospital bag for you and the baby. I ended up waiting until the very last minute to pack my bag - so much so that I was in labour and running around the house. I forgot so much stuff. Luckily I did pack for the baby well in advance. But when it came to the things I needed, I forgot toothpaste, underwear, batteries...’ - girl_1_der

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