32 Weeks Pregnant (Baby #4)

This week started out with our family driving many miles on the road for our family vacation! It was a very different week from what we usually experience, but we had a great time visiting family and friends, and spending time as a family with just Nick, the boys, and myself. We were also able to go through some of the things I'd left at my parents' house when I married Nick, deciding what would be brought back to NC with us. My main purpose of this trip was to see family on my dad's side, particularly my grandparents since they are both in their 90's. Being 32 weeks pregnant, I didn't want to overload the trip with a hefty schedule, and I'm so glad I didn't, because we had some unexpected things happen! 

How Far Along: Recapping week 32 (picture taken at 32 weeks 4 days pregnant, with my long-time friend who is 13 days ahead of me in her pregnancy)

How I'm Feeling This Week: So relaxed compared to last week. We chose to stay in a hotel instead of staying with family, and that decision worked out great as we had our own space to retreat to whenever we wanted. Plus, my pregnant body handled the 19 hour drive (one way) very well, so that was a relief.

Braxton Hicks Contractions: Very few this week, which was a pleasant surprise considering the long driving time, and the new environment we were in.

Aversions: Only to the smell of vomit. Yeah, Nick experienced his first bout with food poisoning within minutes after checking in to our hotel room! It was awful, and his condition kept us cooped up in the hotel room for the first two days of our trip, since at the time we didn't know what it was and didn't want to pass anything along to the family and friends we planned to see.

But, my sister was in town while we were, so we loaded up the boys and went to a nearby park, and that helped us all let off some steam, and give Nick the space he needed to recooperate in peace.

Pregnancy Symptoms: 
•bleeding gums when I brush 
•vivid dreams 
•dark hair on my belly 
•light heartburn
•darkened areola
•linea nigra, my belly's "tiger stripe"
•bigger breasts (not as fun as you'd think!)

New pregnancy symptom: Clumsiness. I feel like I'm tripping over my feet a lot this week. Must be because I can't see my feet, or where I'm stepping!

Doctor/Midwife Appointment: None this week. 

Gestational Diabetes: I had a hard time monitoring my blood sugar levels this week, but I did it anyways. Being on the go so much, and eating foods that other people prepared had me guessing sometimes about when to do my blood draws, but I only spiked my blood sugar one evening, so I consider that a pretty successful week.

17P: The shot was skipped this week since we were on vacation. I talked to the nurse at the OB/GYN's office about our vacation time away, and she said to get the shot as soon as I could when we got back.

 Weight Gain So Far: Now that I'm in the third trimester, I'll be allowed another 100 calories (added to the 300 calories I was allowed in the second trimester) if I'm hungry. I'm already eating about 2,250 calories each day, and I'm using the My Fitness Pal app. to help me keep track of my eating habits. 

If you'd like to see my diet, you can look me up and I'll add you on my friends list. I'm listed as horseopeaceranch. 
For the third trimester I'm supposed to add 400-500 extra calories to my regular diet each day, which translates to about one peanut butter and jelly sandwich with maybe some carrot sticks on the side.

Starting Weight: 119 lbs. 
Week 31 Weight: 136 lbs.
Week 32 Weight:  No idea. I didn't see a scale while on vacation, and that was fine by me!
Goal Weight Range For This Pregnancy: High: 154 lbs. Low: 144 lbs.

Food Cravings: Being on vacation didn't change my want/need for ice cream one evening! It was one of those days where I just needed to get out and drive myself away from the kids for a few minutes, after being in close quarters with them for so many days in a row, plus taking care of them solely by myself because of Nick's food poisoning sickness.

I knew of a small health food store nearby, where they were one of the first places that carried my soap when I began the soap business. When I say small, I'm talking two double backed shelves stacked with healthy foods, and shelves/displays on the outside walls. Very tiny store, but packed with memories for me! And, they had healthy ice cream, which was what I was wanting. It was a perfect blend of flavors. I ended up eating the whole pint myself, since the fridge in our hotel room wouldn't keep the ice cream cold enough to last, and Nick didn't want to share since he wasn't trusting his stomach quite yet. 

Regular or Maternity Clothes: Both. I'm grateful to use most of my stretchy normal clothes now, but they definitely need to be accomodating for my growing belly. 

Missing anything: This week I was missing something completely different. I missed my parents. A lot. They live in the area where we were staying, and they chose not to see me. It had been 2 years since I last saw them. Having a bad relationship with them over my decision to leave home at the age of 25 and marry Nick without their blessing, has meant not having them in my life due to their beliefs. If it were up to me, I'd call home everyday just to say 'hi'. And boy, can I use their wisdom in rearing the boys Nick and I have been blessed with. It's a situation that we pray to see change one day, when they are ready to have a relationship with me.

Boy or Girl: Still a secret. Nick is so good at keeping a secret this big. I can't wait to find out in a few more weeks!

Baby's Chance of Survival this Week: Still at 95%.  The last few weeks there was only a 90% chance of survival, so it's good to know the statistics are going up!

Baby Movement: Tons of baby movement, especially during the long car ride! I'm not sure if that was because I was more aware of his/her movements since I had nothing else to do, or if he/she were just particularly active. Anyhow, I loved feeling our baby so often.

Size of Baby: By now our baby weighs at least 3 3/4 pounds and is over 16 3/4" long. About the weight of a jicama.

What I Did to Prepare for Baby's Arrival: Compared to last week when I had a list a mile long, this week was so much more relaxed, being on vacation. 

Pregnancy Thoughts this Week: My only thought was, "Don't have the baby 1,200 miles away from home!"