32 weeks

I am officially 8 months pregnant. Woah. Did you know that technically, according to the whole pregnant for 40 weeks thing, that you're actually pregnant for 10 months? I find the way that pregnancy gestation is calculated to be totally bizarre. Technically, you're not even pregnant for the first two (or more depending on when you ovulate) weeks of pregnancy because the most common way that medical professionals calculate your due date is based on your last period. And the average woman ovulates about 2-3 weeks after her last period. So you can't actually conceive until you ovulate. It's all very confusing. Though you feel pretty good when you find out you're pregnant and already have 4-5 weeks behind you. Sorry for that little detour- bet you didn't realize you'd be getting a sex ed class when you started reading this today, did you?

(Side note: Any Office fans out there? Because I totally "pulled an Oscar" and used the word "technically" multiple times in that paragraph).

So. Anyway. 8 month pregnant. This is surreal. As I feel that all the weeks following this will be. So let's just make a pact to recognize that from here on out, my pregnancy is surreal to me.

Baby
This week baby is about 3.75 lbs and about 17 inches long. This is the size of another odd fruit this week- a large jicama. Baby is now working on gaining about 1/2 lb per week and has toenails, fingernails and peach fuzz and or hair. Baby is also kicking up a storm and I feel movements often throughout my day.

Me
This week I FEEL 8 months pregnant. The back pain mentioned last week has continued and on some days it's worse than others. The bad days mean that I can't walk without a stabbing pain in my lower left back/butt area. The good days, it's only mildly painful to walk and easier to deal with. As far as annoying symptoms go, I would have to say that so far, I've gotten off pretty easy (no swelling, stretch marks, excessive weight gain, horrible vomiting, insomnia...so far) but the back pain is making me a bit batty. I'm used to being fairly active and I am finding I REALLY miss my daily walks with Paisley. Since walking is the most painful activity for my back, I've taken to swimming and I found I can also ride the recumbent bike at the gym but that's about it for activity. I might venture back to prenatal yoga (especially since I still have 8 classes left on my pass!) and just modify any painful poses. In addition to seeing the chiropractor, I'm hoping to see an acupuncturist this week. I've read this can help as well. Since our insurance covers it (via select providers), it's drug free and I'm not scared of needles, I figure I might as well try.

I had another midwife appointment on Wednesday and everything looks good. I'm still measuring right on schedule and got another comment about my apparently handsome belly. The midwife I saw, Wendy, mentioned how there wasn't a mark on it. I said that I hope it stays that way but if not, they're just battle scars! I wasn't really doing a whole lot of belly baring before pregnancy so I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be doing much after pregnancy. ;)

I have started to notice that a few of my maternity tops might not make it the full distance. Charlie bought me a t-shirt at Christmas that says "Yankees future fan" on it. At the time we laughed about how huge it was and I proclaimed that it would certainly fit till the end. Yeah, I'm not laughing now. As you can see in the picture below, it leaves a bit of the underbelly of my pants exposed now. Awesome.

Peeking belly

Preparing for Baby
This week, I didn't do too much because of the back pain. We ordered and received our crib mattress in the mail and I bought a diaper bag I had my eye on off of craigslist. Charlie comes home today (YEAH!!) so we'll be going into major "prep" mode once he's back.

Week 32
Best news of the week: Charlie coming home!!!
Looking forward to: My first baby shower this weekend
Weight gained: 24 pounds according the midwives' scale on Wednesday
Workouts: 1 swim, 1 ride on the recumbent bike+ light upper body weights. 7 days of growing a little human. ;)