How big is baby? At 32 weeks, baby is the size of a squash (again this comparison makes me think she's shrinking?). She's around 17 inches long and weighs almost 4 pounds. She feels BIG and I can feel her pushing out all the time trying to make more room.
How am I feeling? Well, the first of these two weeks was pretty great while we relaxed on the Florida beach. Living in a swim suit was by far the most comfortable way to dress the bump. Frequent trips to gross airplane bathrooms were the only bad parts of the 5 hour flights - thank goodness!
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| Showered with baby gifts! Little girl is so loved. |
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| Rehearsal dinner |
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| H loooved kicking her Grandma |
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| Best husband ever. Definitely will be the best daddy ever. |
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| <3 td=""> |
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| Gorgeous wedding |
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| Dressing up the bump. |
The week after we got home, things got a little more interesting. Tuesday night (with hubs out of town), I was in a lot of pain and alternated between a slightly warmed hot tub and laying on the couch. I wasn't sure what was going on but was happy Wednesday when everything returned to normal. Unfortunately Saturday around lunch time, contractions returned with a vengeance. I've had tons of Braxton Hicks in the last few months but these seemed a bit different as they'd come and go pretty regularly and there was nothing I could do to get them to stop. Most weren't painful, but a few were fierce enough to take my breath away and bring tears to my eyes. At around 5:00 we decided it was better to be safe than sorry and went to Labor and Delivery. The nurse at check-in was less than helpful. She never even asked when I was due and basically wrote them off as Braxton Hicks and said come back if they get within 2 minutes apart. Luckily we were persistent and eventually a second nurse came by and heard us out. She suggested we check things out just to be sure. About 15 minutes after being on the monitors they came in armed with shots of Terbutaline and said they were definitely real contractions and it was a very good thing that I stayed. Of course, that freaked us out a bit but she assured us no babies would be allowed to be born that night! After two doses and a couple hours, the contractions slowed down enough for them to let us go home.
Unfortunately, I woke up around 2am with a couple more and by late morning they were back just as frequently. We went BACK to L&D and got to repeat the whole process. Luckily, this time the on call doctor was awesome and very helpful. He again confirmed that I was not dilating as a result of the contractions (the best news) and did an ultrasound to check and make sure everything still looked good. (added bonus to the ultrasound - we learned she is head down, so hopefully she remains that way for the duration). He consulted with my OB and the decision was made to put me on Nifedipine for the next few weeks to hopefully minimize the severity and frequency of the contractions. It sounds like I'll be on it until about 35-36 weeks and then we can see what happens from there. I'm not crazy about taking any kind of drugs with a baby inside of me (considering I won't eat lunch meat or soft cheeses or even take tylenol) but I guess it's worth and we've been reassured that there is little risk.
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| getting things under control! |
At my OB on Tuesday, we did a Fetal Fibronectin test and were so relieved for a negative result. It was scary discussing the plan if it were positive so we are so happy to hear that I would probably NOT go into labor in the next 1-2 weeks. After a few days on the drugs, I definitely think they are helping if I keep up with them regularly. I'm still being very cautious with my activities and trying to take it as easy as possible (so not fun). M has been amazing through the whole process and takes such good care of us. I'm so thankful for him being so awesome.
Food aversions/cravings? Carbs and fruit are still the best but I'm trying to eat as many high protein snacks as possible to get her little brain developed and keep me from feeling overly full (hah). I find it SO hard to eat at night because I feel so stuffed.
Sleep: Yeah... no. I'm up to pee all the time and little girl has some crazy dance parties several times a night which make me smile in spite of the lack of sleep. It's amazing how her movements in my sides feel just like tickles! I actually shot up out of sleep the other night thinking Mike had tickled my side. But no, just baby kicks.
Maternity clothes: Yes... still thankful for the elastic and drawstring waist shorts Jcrew has out this year as I mostly live in those and maternity dresses. Also, it's HOT here. Summer came early and we're on a string of like 20 days with the highs over 110. This is no joke.
Best moments: All of our Florida trip- spending time with my Mom, our mini shower in Hannah's honor, seeing lots of our Florida friends. Also, getting the good news after our scare. While on the monitors, everyone remarked how strong her heart is and how well she's doing. There were also several comments on how crazy active she is... yes, I'm aware! She's constantly wiggling, hiccuping and I've experienced the weird "practice breathing" movements a couple times. I feel like I'm getting to know her little personality with all the movements. It's fun to have her reacting to my voice and rubs. She definitely wakes up when her Daddy reads to her at night and she startles when Ellie barks or other loud noises happen. So cute.
Miss anything? I definitely miss feeling like my body is my own. Spin and weightlifting are now out of the picture so I am relying on walks and am getting back into swimming laps at the pool. It's crazy to go walking and have to stop to take a break. My lung size is making me pretty pathetic these days! I know it will all be worth it though!
Nursery progress: I think I'm officially calling it done. After all the excitement, all of her stuff has been washed and sorted and essentials were ordered. All I could think last week was "but my car seat hasn't arrived yet!" Full pictures coming soon!
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| I pretty much hang out in the nursery all the time ;)
Thoughts on pregnancy: Just when I think I'm handling things well, it throws me another curveball. I'm getting more uncomfortable every day, but the scariness of this week made me so, so grateful for every day she's safe inside me. I'm so excited that the number of weeks left till we have her in our arms is in the single digits!
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Looking forward to: Counting down some more weeks. I'm so ready for it to be August!
