32 Week Update

How big is baby? According to BabyCenter.com, almost 4 pounds and 17 inches! That is probably more than half her birth weight, and just 2 or 3 inches to go until she's at her likely length. Crazytown.

Weight gain/loss: My next doctor's appointment is a week from tomorrow, but I'm guessing I'm up a couple of pounds since I last weighed. So maybe 14 or 15 total pounds gained?  

Sleep: As with the last time I updated, sleep is still unpredictable! I've been taking diphenhydramine HCl (Benadryl) if I can tell it's going to be a rough night. I've had a few nights recently when I'll wake up at 3 a.m. and just not be able to turn my brain off and go back to sleep (miserable). I should be grateful that it's not discomfort that's keeping me up, but I still chalk it up to pregnancy, because my mind is racing with things I need/want to do, projects I want to take on, thinking of meals I should make/freeze, etc. Then I'll have a random night like last night, where I fell asleep at 10:30 and slept like a ROCK until 6:30, no Benadryl required. That was nice! 

Movement: Still kicking and punching often. Earlier I think I had written that she was just as busy as Ford in utero, but I take that back. She's chilled out a ton. Ford was like a wildcat in a potato sack the whole time he was incubating. This one has strong, frequent movements, but not constant. 

Symptoms: Oh, you know. Still leg discomfort due to the weird circulation issues. Then here's something weird. I don't think I have ever felt a Braxton Hicks contraction (lucky me!), but I'm pretty sure I had some REAL contractions yesterday. I was one contraction away from calling my doctor on the way to the hospital! We go on family walks as often as we can -- daily when the weather is nice. We were taking advantage of the gorgeous weekend weather, walking around our neighborhood with Ford in the stroller. Then in an uncanny series of events, we found ourselves with a runaway stroller, and Ford (who was tightly strapped in, praise the Lord!), ended up hitting the curb HARD with his forehead, with the weight of the stroller crashing down on him. It was just a wild accident, and HORRIFYING to watch. He is fine now, but has a little goose egg on his forehead. About 10 minutes after the accident, back at the house, I felt a really strong, super painful (couldn't talk through it) contraction that lasted at least a minute. It was enough to really worry Brad, though in the moment I was thinking it must just be my first BH contraction. Google, however, assured me that BH contractions aren't supposed to be that painful, so I went to lie down just in case. Then, about 10 minutes later, another REALLY strong and painful contraction. And then another one 10 minutes after that! Brad was trying to convince me to go to Baylor to get checked out, so I told him if I had one more contraction before 5:30, I'd at least call my doctor's office. Fortunately, I haven't had another contraction. I think it ended up being just triggered by the stress of seeing Ford fall like that. I'm honestly not worried about it at this point and just planning to take it easy and low-stress until Baby Girl is fully baked!

Belly button: Top part is out, bottom part is in. Such a weird little belly button. I realized this week that I don't have linea nigra like I did with Ford. Wonder why?? Pregnancy is so weird and random.

Food cravings: Nothing to speak of this week. I am trying to stay away from diet soda after the Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry bender, so I'm drinking lots of sparkling water with lemon or a splash of orange juice. In one sitting, I ate a bunch of Texas Trash that my grandmother made for me. I think I'm preferring salty stuff lately, though a recent visit by MeeMee (my mom) means I have lots of delicious sweets to enjoy! And enjoying them I am! 

Gender: Sweet Baby Girl! Still stumped on the name. I actually thought we had one nailed, but Brad told me yesterday he's rethinking it. Ahhh. She will eventually have a name! Sidenote, there are a LOT of initials that are pretty horrible with the last initial G. I was liking one name and realized the initials would spell VAG! Nooooooooooo.
What I miss? Not much! Just focusing on being grateful. 

What I'm looking forward to? Knowing what will happen with our house. We've had a TON of showings over the last nine weeks that it's been on the market, but still no contracts. We've even had lots of second showings, and a couple of people say our house is at the top of their list, but they want to keep looking. I want to be able to start organizing Ford and Baby Girl's shared closet, really getting going on the nursery (sewing some bedding, moving the printer, scanner and router into the closet, and the like), and even rearranging or replacing some of the furniture in our den. There's just no point until I know if the house is selling or not. Listing ends Jan. 31, so we'll see!

Big Brother: Such a sweetheart these days. He definitely has his dramatic toddler moments, but ohhh, how I am just cherishing him at this sweet, brief stage of his childhood. He is loving playing with his cars and stuffed animals (really using his imagination!!!), reading books, ABC-related activities (ABC magnets, bath toys, books, flash cards, the ABC song) and he's fanatical over anything Elmo. He is crazy friendly, waving and saying "hi" to every other person we see in the grocery store. He's showing lots of signs of being ready for potty training, but at 17 months, I think he's just too young. And his world is about to change with a new sibling, so I don't want to rock the boat. I love how verbal he's becoming, so I can start to understand how he sees the world. One morning last week, he was following me around the house as I was getting ready for the day, and he stopped cold in his tracks right outside our hall bath. He held his hands up and started clutching at the air, saying his word for "stars," which sounds a lot like "taws." I was stumped for a minute, trying to figure out what he was doing... then I realized that the light streaming through the bathroom window was illuminating the multitude of little dust particles floating in the air. My sweet baby boy was looking at the dust and thinking they were little stars! OH, how I wanted to scoop that precious little life up and hold him tight! Still don't think he has any idea that we're going to add to our family in a couple of months, but he is starting to respond a little more when we talk to him about it. If we say, "Ford, do you want a little sister?" he'll say, "Baby?" and if Brad says, "Mommy has a baby in her tummy!" Ford will squeal, "Belly button!" and try to lift up my shirt (ha).

Doctor's appointment a week from tomorrow. Every two weeks from now on!!!!