32 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

I’m 32 weeks pregnant and time is still flying by! I can’t believe it’s been 2 weeks since my last update and it’s feeling very real that we’re no more than 8-9 weeks away from meeting our little one! I’m really starting to feel the pressure to get things done around the house and checked off my “before baby comes” checklist. That list includes finishing up the biggest house projects: our 2nd floor, living room, and kitchen are top priority, unpacking all our boxes once we finally move upstairs into our master bedroom and set up the nursery, freezing food to live off of for the first while after baby gets here, and generally making sure life is pulled together. There’s so much to do and knowing we’re running out of time is a little stressful.

One of the fun things of the last 2 weeks is that my childhood friend, Lisa, got married! I was a bridesmaid in her wedding and I am so thankful for 2 things looking back now. First, that it wasn’t a week later because the day of her wedding was overcast and generally cooler/lower humidity and this past Sunday was hot, sunny, and very humid. I would have really struggled! Second, on the timeline of weight gain, I had a major growth spurt last week and as the dress was altered, it would not have fit me at all if it had been this last weekend! 

This past Saturday we went to the beach for the afternoon which was the nicest. It was 80F with a breeze and the water was about 68F which was cool at first but felt beautiful after a minute adjusting. We only waded for a few minutes before we settled into our chairs on the beach and spent the next couple hours reading and enjoying the sounds of the waves.

While I was relaxing, I felt a stinging feeling on the bottom of my foot and quickly looked to make sure it wasn’t a bee or something (I’m allergic!) and it was a horsefly! I’m not sure if I’ve ever been bitten by a horsefly before but it was and still is miserable! At first it was a light sting with a bit of itchiness but it kept getting worse and worse. We went and spent about 15 minutes standing around in the water hoping maybe that would get it to settle down but no such luck. It was miserable enough that we decided to pack up and get back to the car. I was sad to cut our time short since it was such a nice day. We picked up my fave fries and soft serve ice cream before starting our drive back home. 

I was proud of myself for wearing my bikini without feeling self conscious though! It’s a lot easier when the beach is full of strangers I know I’ll never see again.

32 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

Size of Baby

At 32 weeks, baby is now 17.7 inches, about the size of a bok choy, and weighs around 3.8 pounds! 

Weight Gain

As I mentioned above, I went through a major growth spurt towards the end of last week and over the weekend. I have no idea where it came from but it’s like I suddenly popped! Over the weekend I suddenly gained a few pounds without any real reason. On Monday Brady was looking at the bump and was like whoaa, you’re huge! Always so nice to hear. Haha. But it’s true, the bump looks so different now and I’m really feeling preggers. This shift has really affected my sleeping and other things which I’ll touch on in a moment. I believe this is my biggest weight gain jump as I’m now up 17-18 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.

New Developments/Symptoms

So one of the biggest changes brought on by this sudden weight gain is all the pressure now on the muscles supporting my underbelly. It can be extremely painful to walk at times but it’s always horrible in bed. If I try to move, shift, or roll in bed at all, I have a lot of pain that kind of feels like ripping under my belly! I thought it was hard before but we’ve reached a whole new level and now I have no idea if I’ll even be able to get out of bed at 9 months pregnant! 

I’ve never realized this before… but stretch marks are ever changing. I’m slowly getting more, mostly under my belly where it feels like most of the stretching is happening but the appearance of them changes from day to day. Some days they look more red and deep and others they are lighter and look more smooth. I’ve been using a sugar scrub and belly balm that I made but not because I expect to make them disappear but just to help calm the skin and reduce itchiness. 

I’ve noticed that I’m not losing as much hair recently when I wash it. I’ve always been one of those people who loses a handful of hair every single time I wash my hair so it’s nice for now. I have a feeling my head will take revenge after the baby is out and hormones change. I am planning on getting a haircut next week and I cannot wait to chop off a few inches! On a similar note, my nails have been really strong this pregnancy. I’ve always had strong nails but I feel like being pregnant has made them even tougher.

One of the weirdest symptoms I’ve been experiencing lately is a sensation that I call “lead hands”. It comes on kind of suddenly during the day where my hands suddenly feel like they weigh 100 pounds each. I can use them normally but they feel freaky weird. I’ve had it happen about 3 times in the last couple of weeks.

I’m starting to feel the baby hiccup more – sometimes even 2-3 times a day. It’s a funny feeling because it’s like little taps or bubbles popping inside your belly. All a good sign that baby is developing!

Food Aversions/Cravings

I’m currently craving delicious fresh peaches but I haven’t found any amazing ones yet and we’ve got at least a month until we’ll really start getting them locally. Otherwise things are about the same as they’ve been – nausea hasn’t been too terrible in the last 2 weeks but everything I eat makes my stomach sour and makes my mouth taste bad. It’s been worse so I’m not complaining. 

Exercise

Most of my exercise lately has come from working on things around the house. Regular home chores as well as home reno stuff. We’ve been doing a few neighborhood walks in the evenings if the humidity isn’t too high which has been nice as well. I have a neck ice wrap with handles that works really well to keep me cool for most of the walk which makes a huge difference.

Maternity/Baby Purchases

We made a few major purchases in the last week! First, I grabbed some coupons for $15 off 50 from Carters and got 9 super adorable outfits for $78 which I’m pretty happy about. This was my first really baby clothes shopping trip and probably my last real one until after he’s here. I’m in love with all the sweet outfits. Brady picked out this really adorable one for football season so that one is his favorite. He liked the stars on the knees in the second photo because it reminds him of the Cowboys… *rolls eyes*. 

 

I coupled a 20% off coupon with a $25 gift card and I was able to pick up the Skip Hop changing pad from BuyBuyBaby that I really wanted for less than half the cost out of pocket. I’m really excited about this changing pad so I really hope it works out the way I want it too. Less laundry and mess *crossed fingers*

We also made a huge dent in our Target registry. I finally received the 15% completion discount which I used to buy some postpartum recovery items, nursing tanks and bras, a pouf for the nursery, a rock’n’play (35% off!), trash can/diaper pail, squishy baby blocks and balls, baby nail clippers, a wall hanging, and a couple other small items. It’s so nice to have the majority of the things we need now! We saved over $70 with the completion discount, I didn’t have to pay tax (over $15) since I sent it to my Sister-I-L in Delaware, and I was able to use over $200 in gift cards. There are a few more things to get from Amazon before the baby comes, but we’ve got most of the stuff covered! Now it’s time to finish painting the nursery and put it all together.

Overall Feelings

I said this at the beginning but Brady and I are both starting to feel how real this is! We have so much we want to do to prep before the baby gets here and we’re also trying to soak up these last moments of it being just the two of us. We’re spending time going through the baby books that I mentioned in my last update. We’re learning a lot of things and hoping that between the books and our 3 prenatal classes – that start next week – we’re going to be as prepared as we can be for this little one’s arrival! Counting down the days!

 

Thanks for reading today!

 

Previous Updates:

15 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

Baby #1 Gender Reveal!

17 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

18 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

20 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

22 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

24 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

26 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

28 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

30 Weeks – Pregnancy Update