32 weeks

Week 32: 56 days & counting....

How your baby's growing: By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.


So we're hanging in there during the countdown, both of us are getting very anxious, nervous, and excited. We have a lot to plan for and think about over the next few weeks to prepare for another person to come into our life. It's quite scary to think that it won't be just the two of us anymore, but at the same time, we are very ready to become a family of three!

Our childbirth classes are going good; the first class we learned some really good breathing/relaxation techniques and talked about some of the basic birth plan choices and the pros/cons to each. Last night we got to watch a video on the first stage of labor including all three phases, and also got good (and intimidating) information on contractions. We also did a pain threshold test by holding ice in a closed fist for a couple of minutes while incorporating our relaxation and "mind trick" excercises. (If only it were going to be that easy)!!!

We go back to the Doctor on Thursday and take our Infant/Child CPR class that night. I also have my first baby shower on Saturday, so it is a busy week. I haven't been sleeping well at night, so my days are quite tiring, but I've been trying to walk and do Prenatal Yoga, which helps a little. I have also noticed some swelling over the last couple of weeks, so that's a sure sign we are getting close to the end. The heating pad has become my best friend and getting foot rubs are almost as good as eating chocolate!