A 32 Week Check In

I have been so bad at documenting this pregnancy. Actually, I am bad at documenting all my pregnancies and have only a handful of pictures of my growing belly from each of them. So here I am, dutifully documenting week 32 for the sake of posterity.

(Lincoln photo bomb!)

How I should be feeling at 32 weeks pregnant is happy, glowing, grateful. How I actually feel at 32 weeks pregnant is done. Which is unfortunate because I still have about eight weeks to go (seven if this little cub is anything like his or her brothers). Josh keeps saying, "only two months to go!" and I keep telling him to stop counting in months.

(I AM grateful though, just so we're clear ;)

Things of note at 32 weeks pregnant ---

The Good:

Baby kicks. The best part of pregnancy by far. This baby is actually pretty chill, maintaining a steady stream of calm but consistent movement which helps to keep me from worrying.

Oren loving on the baby. He kisses my belly constantly, is adamant that there's a sister in there for him (Wes is still pulling for a boy, so someone is sure to be disappointed) and seems really into the whole pregnancy and baby idea. He is such a lover and I can't wait to see him with the actual baby.

All seems well. Glucose test came back fine, blood work was good, baby is measuring correctly and I've had no crazy or out of the ordinary symptoms or complications thus far. Fingers crossed we continue to be so lucky.

The Bad:

Braxton hicks all day err'y day. This is a first for me to experience this many, this frequently and this early in pregnancy. I had them a lot at like 38 weeks with the boys, but not even close to the amount I have been having with this babe already. They don't hurt, but man are they uncomfortable. Especially the other day when they were coming like every five minutes for an entire day. No amount of water consumption or moving around would calm them and having my belly turn hard as a boulder off and on all day while trying to work and sleep was very distracting.

Heartburn and indigestion. Tums are my new best friend. I never had this at all with my guys before so I've been kind of surprised by this one. Doesn't that mean baby will have a full head of hair or something? I have had two dreams, one where baby was a boy with thick black hair, and one where baby was a girl who had a face just like Wes's but with a mop of curly blond hair. So, maybe that means this kid is destined to have a wild mane of hair upon delivery? We will know soon enough.

The Ugly:

What are the hideous blue veins I found bulging out of the back of my right thigh two days ago?! I suspect they've been there awhile and I've just now discovered them. It's not often I get a glimpse of much of what's going on below the belly button these days and I was shocked upon this discovery. I shouted for Josh to hurry over and inspect them whilst having a mini panic attack about the possibility of them being permanent. ARE they permanent? Just don't tell me, it's better if I don't know.

No sleep. I'm not even going to get into the insomnia discussion again because I'll start to cry just writing about it. Just know that it is easily the most frustrating thing in my life right now. I know I won't be much more (if any more) rested when the baby comes, but at least I'll have a tangible little baby to snuggle with through the long hours of the night instead of my ridiculous pregnancy pillow. And I'll be on maternity leave. Which miiiiight be two greatest words in the english language. Now THAT I'm looking forward to.

Anyone else out there in the last stretch of pregnancy? How are you holding up? I'd love to hear/have someone to commiserate with. And I know we (I) will get through and I know how lucky I am to even be here in the first place. I mean, I've got a baby waiting for me at the end of this marathon, and I can't think of anything more worth the trouble. So, let's do this. We can totally do this.

Carry on sisters, carry on.