Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Pregnancy Update: Week 32!

How far along? 32 weeks, 0 days. I kind of miss the over the top feeling I had when I hit 32 weeks when I was pregnant with the boys. Reading my update from back then, I wasn't expected to even make it that far. This time it was kind of a given. I'm still excited, but the level of excitement isn't quite the same. Still ... not much time left!

How big is baby? According to that 32 week update two years ago, the baby should be about 3.75 pounds (about the size of a large jicama) and 16.7 inches long. Survival chances are now up to 98% if the baby were to be born this week. Luckily that doesn't seem to be a possibility.

Cravings/Aversions: No specific cravings or aversions to speak of. However, I seem to want to eat a lot, it just doesn't seem to matter what it is.

Belly Button: Rather flat at this point. I think I can just barely see a tiny scar now too from the D & C procedure I had back in 2010.

Movement: So much!! It's fun to watch my belly shift into different shapes. The type of movement I am feeling seems so different than the last time.

Leg Cramps: No major ones, but I occasionally get woken up by the start of one. In those cases, I'm usually able to stop it before it's too noticeable. I don't like leg cramps at all, but if I have to have them, this is a much more preferable way to deal with them.

Sleep: Overall not too bad. Getting sleep, not too many interruptions, just getting tired of sleeping in the same position all night long. I try to move around, which is a bit of a feat in and of itself, but I always end up back in the same position. The worst part is the pain I wake up to in my ear. Okay, don't laugh at me (my husband thought this was hysterical), but seriously, my ear hurts!! It's smashed between my head and the pillow all night long (and my pillows are pretty soft, so that makes it even more weird) and so when I wake up it is throbbing. It hurts to even touch it. Hubby joked that he was going to invent an ear pillow in the shape of a doughnut for me. He really needs to learn a bit more about empathy.

Okay, I guess you can laugh at me if you want. :)

Weight gain: Based on my scale at home I think I am up about 16 pounds now overall. I'm kind of shocked that I'm still maintaining such a slow weight gain overall, especially with the crap I've been eating. Well, most of my meals and snacks are fairly healthy, but I do tend to munch in the evenings on unhealthy things and I've been stopping at the vending machines or walking over to the Express Stop at the student center a little too much for a late afternoon snack. Maybe the walking I have to do on campus is helping. I've been having a lot of meetings at the main library lately (it's promotion/tenure season and I'm on our P/T Committee), so I find myself walking there more than usual, plus some mornings start with meetings there, so I don't bring my lunch on those days and then have to make an extra trip out to walk to somewhere on campus to get lunch. It all evens out I guess.

[Wow, I was at +37 pounds at this point in my pregnancy with the boys!! What a difference!]

Appointment: My last appointment was last Monday (next one is 10/21). We chatted about a number of things, listened to the baby's heartbeat, and measured my belly. I forget now what the heartbeat was, but my belly was measuring right around 31 weeks. Perfect! I finally remembered to ask about her nurse who I hadn't seen since sometime in the summer. Apparently her husband found a new job several hours away so they moved this summer. I was so sad that I didn't get a chance to say good bye. I loved her, she was so sweet and always so helpful! Dr. M obviously misses her too. But she's getting to stay home with her two kids for now, which I bet she is loving, and eventually wants to go back to school. I wish her well!!

We also discussed future appointments and I made some more appointments through Dr. M's last day. So I have appointments scheduled with her through my birthday (starting weekly appointments in November) and then I'll have to switch to one of the MFMs for the remained of my pregnancy. I can't decide it I'd rather see Dr. H or Dr. O on a regular basis and have whoever I pick be the person who could be at my child's birth. I like them both and for different reasons. Decisions, decisions!

The Big Brothers: They are getting more and more curious about the room down the hall from their room that daddy keeps spending time in. He's painted it, put in a new ceiling fan, and has assembled the beds. Ethan wanted to climb in the bed tonight, but it has no mattress on it yet. We keep telling them that this is going to be their new room. We're hoping to get mattresses and bedding this weekend (and maybe some furniture?). Maybe we'll do the big switch from cribs to beds by next week.

We've also started noticing that Peter appears to be putting a few words together. Not too many yet and he still has some pauses in between words when he does do it, but I can see he's trying and working at it. I keep trying to encourage him when I can. It's so much fun to watch their language skills develop. Ethan hasn't yet tried, but he's usually not too far behind.

I've decided that yellow is Peter's favorite color. If you saw him on Monday and wondered why he was wearing shorts that did not quite match the yellow shirt he had on ... well ... now you know.

The boys' daycare has gone through some changes recently. One of those is that we now have to pack lunch for them each day. I've been using an insulated bag I had to pack all their stuff in each day. But Tuesday afternoon a box arrived on our doorstep with their new lunch boxes that I had ordered. I unpacked them and the boys carried them around the rest of the evening. I will need to take a picture of them one morning with their lunch boxes. It makes it seem like they are so old, going to school with their lunches all packed!!

Names: Hubby is on a timeline, but I think I'm willing to rule out one of my boy name choices. He thinks he can be okay with my other choice but he's still thinking about other possibilities. Maybe we'll have a girl and all of this worry over a boy name will be nothing but a distant memory!

To-Do List:
Finished or In-Progress:

  • Pediatrician: Haven't made a final decision yet
  • Signed up for the childbirth classes, reading some books, and just waiting for it all to begin
  • Boys room: done: painting, beds assembled, and new fan put in; still to do: need to get mattresses, bedding, and a dresser
  • We are signed up for the Post-Partum NFP class through CCL. Looking forward to that.
  • We've asked a friend of ours to be the baby's Godmother. And she said yes!! So excited! Now just need to ask the potential Godfather.
Still waiting to be done:
  • Stroller for snapping an infant seat in. I had forgotten about this one, guess I need to revisit this
  • Baby carrier: I missed the Bluegrass Babywearers Group meeting this past Monday (had a meeting that ran long and I decided not to try and race over there). So I've been asking friends instead about their preferences. I plan on going to the group meeting next month instead.
  • Baptism arrangements: haven't bothered contacting anyone yet, but will probably do that sometime soon. Need to make sure the Godparents take care of any requirements my church asks for. I'm thinking sometime in mid-January for the Baptism will be good.
  • Plans for the boys: Starting to talk to friends about who can to help us out. Will need to start talking details with all of them soon and making a list of names and numbers that is easily accessible to both Hubby and I (especially Hubby).
Prayers: Yesterday was National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. So I am asking for prayers for all families who have lost a child through miscarriage, still birth, or early infant death. May God bring them all into Heaven to live for all eternity with Him, the Virgin Mary our Mother, and all the saints. Please join me in praying for God's mercy for these little souls.

Thank you for following along on this journey!!

1 comment:

  1. All sounds wonderfully normal :) Love hearing about Peter and Ethan and how they are changing and adapting! Your stories about them are always so cute & funny.

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