Pregnancy Week 32: I'm a Waddler

8 weeks (56 days) to go!! We’re 80.3% (224 days) of the way through.

The Baby:

*Baby boy is at his peak in activity – after this, he grows too large to move freely in the uterus
*At this point, 80% of babies have settled in a head-down position. Most of the remaining 20% do the same over the next 6 weeks
*Fingernails and toenails reach the end of his digits
*Sleeps 90% of the time (my ass, he’s kicking me all the time!)
*He weighs about 4 lb, 16.7 inches long!
*Skeleton is turning quickly from cartilage to solid bone – making kicks harder (yes!) and visible through clothes

I chose this picture because I was focused on how BIG the baby is & how SMALL that cervix is :/

The Mom:

*Blood volume has increased by 50%
*Uterus is pushing up into my diaphragm causing shortness of breath and heartburn
*I spoke too soon in my week 31 update.. or forgot to knock on wood… because I am NOT sleeping well anymore:

The hormone relaxin causes the ligaments in my pelvis and lower spine to become loose – preparing my body for labor.

I’ve been having sore hips for awhile, but only at night and I figured it was from having to sleep on my sides all the time. Nope. My hips now hurt ALL the time, all day long. There’s nothing I can do about it and I still have 8 weeks to go!!?! A warm bath, ice pack, stretches, heating pad, tylenol… all temporary relief. People have suggested I see a chiropractor, but I’ve never been to one & am not sure if my insurance covers it… I think I’d have to go once a week for this! I feel like this is just one preggo symptom I have to suck up and deal with. It’s the worst one yet (Yes! worse than the heartburn!!)

Some women don’t get this hip pain, so I’m telling myself it’s a sign I’ll have an “easy” labor – as easy as it can be, right?!

And the result?? It’s official: I waddle. Maybe I should be a penguin for Halloween this year.

The Dad:

Ok, my husband is a nerd, I know. In this picture he’s making breakfast and wearing some dorky (fake) glasses my mom bought at the party store. He makes me laugh

He’s working overtime right now… around 12 hour days, 7 days a week! I still get to spend time with him at night, but he’s exhausted by then (as am I). Soon he’ll be back to 8 hour days, 5 days a week.

We move into our new apartment next weekend!!! And my first baby shower is this afternoon! Good news all around!

**Thebump.com’s $1000 Best Blog contest has been disabled and restarted. People were cheating by using fake votes (no wonder the count was near a million)! I don’t feel like as much of a loser anymore and if you’d still like to vote for this blog, they are taking COMMENTS instead.. as to WHY you think we/our blog should win. I believe it still ends on Monday night so head over there if you’d like and talk us up! Click here & scroll down to leave a comment (you may have to register): Best Overall Blog Thank you!!