How Far Along?: 32 weeks! It's wild to me that there's only 8 weeks left until my due date. And really he could here in 5-8 weeks with my history!
Weight Gain: The last I checked I gained about 16-18 lbs. I'm definitely gaining faster now that I'm getting closer to the end, which is a good thing because we want him to be packing on the pounds before birth.
Gender?: BOY! I really can't wait to see what he looks like!
How Big is Baby?: He's the size of a squash and is weighing in at around 3lbs 8oz and 16.7in long. We had our first weekly NST today and thankfully he's head down. I'm just praying he stays that way!
Sudden loud noises may make him startle by week 32. Fetal hearing is fully formed by about week 29 of pregnancy, which means he can hear and begin to process a lot of what’s going on outside of the womb. That doesn’t mean his hearing is fully matured: In fact, the period from 25 weeks of pregnancy until baby is about 5 to 6 months old is critical for the development of the ear-brain connection. Stimulation—especially meaningful sounds like speech and music—is critical to help him learn to discern and understand the world around him.
From here on out, his objective is to put on weight—which will make symptoms for me, like breathlessness, even more pronounced. He's accumulating fat at a breakneck pace, which he’ll use to keep warm outside of my temperature-controlled womb. At birth, about 14 percent of his body weight will be fat; body fat stores will increase to around 30 percent by the time he's 6 months old!
Symptoms: I've actually been feeling pretty good. I have the occasional mood swing, and randomly can't sleep, but over all I feel okay. BUT...this last week I've been experiencing my first external hemorrhoid...safe to say I do NOT recommend and would like for it to go away now...I've been using tucks cream and pads and I will say it's helping but very slowly. I've also been nesting like crazy and nothing in this house is safe from my decluttering.
Any Food Cravings?: Ice cream and red meat. Weird combo I know. I've also really been loving making iced chai tea lattes at home with homemade creamer. YUM.
Sleep: Not horrible, I just need to get to bed earlier than I have been lately. I'm not waking as often to go to the bathroom which has been nice. I just need to get better quality of sleep I think.
Stretch Marks?: No new ones that I've noticed. But my old ones are just more pronounced.
Maternity Clothes?: Yup! This belly is large and in charge and I basically live in maternity leggings at this point. My regular tees are starting to not fit at all anymore so I've been doing a lot of "crop" looks with my leggings.
Wedding Ring On or Off?: On!
What Do You Miss the Most?: Not having this stupid hemorrhoid...
What Are You Most Excited For This Next Week?: I'm so excited to have a friend over for some home baked goodies and coffee/tea. Having community is so important to me and I hope that I can do this more often.
Labor Signs?: Nope!
Favorite Memory From Last Week?: Sounds weird but decluttering the house! It's been so therapeutic for me.
