Week 32

Baby's development: The baby now measures 16 inches and weighs around 4 lbs. All five senses are now developed, although the baby won't be able to taste anything until he's out of the womb. The lungs are still developing and won't reach maturity for several more weeks. The baby's bones are all developed, but are still soft and pliable.

I have gained another pound since the last doctor's visit two weeks ago, making total weight gain so far 17 lbs. It's hard to believe that of that 17 lbs, only 4 lbs is the actually baby! My doctor also felt my stomach for the position of the baby. He is currently laying sideways so that his head is on the left side of my stomach and his butt is on the right side. This explains why I keep feeling him kick my right lower ribs and I feel him hiccuping on my left side.

Ryan and I had our first birthing class last week. We learned about the anatomy of labor. It was nice to meet all the other expecting parents (7 couples) and it turns out that one of the couples lives three houses down from us. They also have two dogs, and I've seen them at the park before. In fact, both Frida and Charlie have played with their dogs before! I'm excited that they live so close. I'm happy to say that after talking about labor and contractions during class, I feel less scared of actually going into labor. I'm feeling more confident that I'll be able to deal with the pain and get through everything OK. The nice thing that was also emphasized in class was the importance of not having a strict "birth plan," so that I would not be disappointed if things don't go according to how I want things to go. After all, having a healthy baby is the ultimate goal.

I'm off to Washington DC next week, and this will probably be the last time I fly for a while. 32 weeks is still OK to fly, but my doctor advised against flying past 35 weeks. Maybe I'll try to take a belly pic with Obama.

Week 31

Baby's development: The baby is now about 15 1/2 inches in length and weighs about 3 1/2 lbs. The baby's growth slows down, but he will continue to put on weight. Eye color also appears around now, but the real color won't show for six to nine months after birth (my bet is that it will definitely be brown). His pupils start to dilate in reaction to light that filters into the uterus and his eyelids are frequently open during active times and closed during sleep. Also, for all those funny jokes about the kid being hairy, well, yes, Ryan is hairy, but we've had our fair share of hairy jokes. This kid will be more than just a ball of hair!

This is the start of month eight! We finally made two big purchases: a crib and a stroller. Ryan put together the crib in about an hour and it was fun to watch him do it. The crib turns into a toddler bed and then a full size bed, so it seemed like a pretty good investment. We also chose an awesome jogging stroller made by BOB. Everyone raves about it, so we went to go check it out. The front wheel swivels for easy maneuvering down supermarket aisle, but you can also lock it for when you want to go jogging. You can also put an infant seat in there so that it can be used with a newborn. It cost a lot more than some of the other models that we checked out, but I think it will be well worth it. We can even take it on some trails. My goal is to run the Bolder Boulder next May with the baby, so this jogger will hopefully help me achieve that goal.

I've recently started to swim pretty regularly with Jess and I cannot believe how amazing swimming has been in relieving the uncomfortable pains with my sciatica and lower back. I was in so much pain just two weeks ago, but since then, I've been swimming twice a week. My pain has gone away completely and I'm feeling stronger already. I'm not sure what swimming does exactly, but I'm guessing it helps me loosen muscles. It's AMAZING! Plus, it feels so good to float! All you pregnant ladies out there -- go swimming during your third trimester.

Ryan and I start out birthing classes next week. I'm really excited. I'm looking forward to learning about the details related to labor. Now that the end is somewhat in sight, I want to know what I'm about to get myself into. I'm finally ready to hear about all the gory details.

Week 30

Baby's development: This week the baby is about 15 1/2 inches and weighs about 3 lbs. The baby's lanugo (early body hair) is starting to disappear and the few fuzzy patches left at birth will eventually rub off. The eyelids now open and close! The bone marrow has taken over the task of red blood cell production from the liver. His skeleton hardens even more and his brain, muscles, and lungs continue to mature.

10 more weeks! Wow. I'm shocked by how quickly time is flying by. I can tell the baby is growing very fast because I can feel myself expanding very quickly. I'm having trouble bending over these days and tying my shoe laces comfortably. But, I managed to solve that problem by buying some extremely comfortable slip on shoes. I imagine that I will be wearing these shoes every day to work until the baby arrives. With the baby getting bigger, I can also feel the toll that it's taking on my body. I went for a nice walk this morning with Ryan and Sue and felt really tired afterwards. My lower back was really tight and needed a good stretch afterwards. Last weekend I played bocce ball at a BBQ and injured myself! I did something to give myself sciatica so bad on my right side that I could barely walk the next day. What is happening to my body? I feel betrayed!

So far I have gained 16 lbs, which was surprising because I had gained 7 lbs during a previous visit (over 4 weeks), but then only gained 1 lb this most recent visit (over 3 weeks). I've been eating a lot, so I'm not sure how this happened, but the doctor isn't worried, so neither am I. I'm suppose to gain another 1 lb per week at this rate, so that's another 10 lbs before the baby arrives! And, the baby is suppose to double (at least) in weight in the next ten weeks. I will be definitely be expanding a lot more in the coming weeks.

One nice thing about looking obviously pregnant these days is that I have noticed people treating me differently. Sometimes it's really small things, like someone holding the door open for me or letting me cross the street. Another time I had a man insist that he help me carry a container to my car for me (the container was empty and weighed about 5 lbs). I've even noticed that people are even a little more forgiving of Charlie, especially when he runs up to their dogs and tries to start a fight. They look at my belly and all of a sudden they aren't so mad. What else can this belly bring me? A seat on the bus? A free meal? A good parking spot?

Week 29

Baby's development: The baby measures 14 1/2 inches and weighs about 2 3/4 lbs. The brain continues to develop at a very fast rate. The head is now finally proportional to the rest of his body. His brain can also now control his own breathing and body temperature. The baby is running out of room to do summersaults, but he can still manage to stretch and kick from the inside. The baby can also now tell the difference between sunlight and artificial light through the wall of the uterus.

I had my gestational diabetes test this week. I had to go to the doctor's office and drink a bottle of this extremely sugary water, wait for an hour and then get my blood drawn. The drink gave me a headache (which is typical for a lot of women) and tasted like super concentrated gatorade. Yuck!

I have also notice some discomfort with in my ribs, especially if I hunch over. I read that my ribs are beginning to spread apart to make room for the baby, which might explain this sensation. It's weird to think that joints and bones are separating -- I hope everything goes back! I have noticed that I have developed the "linea nigra," which is dark line running from my pubic bone to my navel. It usually disappears after the baby is born, but it literally showed up over night.

Gloria (and Gabe) are going to come out to CO this May to throw us a baby shower. The date will be May 22. I hope many of you can come. It will be coed, a BBQ, and more of a get together/party than a traditional baby shower. We just want to hang out with all of our friends before the baby comes and we disappear for about a month. If we do become lame and never go out because of the baby, please give us a hard time! Please remind us that we had a life before the baby!