32 Weeks 3 Days!

How our baby's growing:

Our baby weighs about 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in my uterus. I'm gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to our baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

How my life's changing:

To accommodate me and my baby's growing needs, my blood volume has increased 40 to 50 percent since I got pregnant. With my uterus pushing up near my diaphragm and crowding my stomach, the consequences may be shortness of breath and heartburn. I definitely have shortness of breath. Luckily I haven't experienced heartburn...yet.

It's getting more difficult to exercise because my back seems to be in constant pain and my pelvic bones have been achy. I have 7 1/2 weeks left so I'm just hanging in there. We had our Luau baby shower this weekend. I can't even begin to express how much fun it was. I will give the baby shower it's own blog post, so that's all I'll say about it for now.

I can't believe my stomach has grown two inches in just two weeks. No wonder it's been so itchy. My belly button is teetering right on the edge of no longer being flat, but it's threatening to become an outey. Our boy's movements are getting much stronger and his kicks are a lot harder. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, I'm curious to see if he's still head down or now.