32 Weeks!

How my baby's growing:

By now, my baby weighs 3.75 pounds 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 my 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 my own and my baby's growing needs, my blood volume has increased 40 to 50 percent since I got pregnant. As my uterus is pushing up near my diaphragm and crowding my stomach, I often find I'm short of breath, and I can't eat a lot (at once).

I have some back pain, which I blame on my growing uterus and hormonal changes. My expanding uterus shifts my center of gravity and stretches out and weakens my abdominal muscles, changing my posture and putting a strain on my back. Hormonal changes in pregnancy loosen your joints and the ligaments that attach your pelvic bones to your spine. This is why it's so good to be married to a chiropractor, especially one that specializes in babies and pregnant mums (it seems-- they're always crowding his office!).


Below: Notice the baby bassinet in the corner. That's where our little bubba will sleep the first few months of his life! Underneath is my hospital suitcase, which I still haven't finished packing...