Welcome to my 32 week pregnancy update! Yes, thats’s right, 32 weeks! 8 Weeks until my due date and I feel totally unprepared!

Life has been very busy recently and I certainly need to slow down now. The aches and pains are reminding me I’m heavily  pregnant and so are the multiple kicks and movements! This kid can move!

So what’s been happening?

I’ve been having lots more braxton hicks, ones which take my breath away and ones that feel like sharp period pains. Nothing a warm bath can’t fix, but still alarming as I didn’t experience it all with Lamb!

Last week I had a physiotherapy appointment which my consultant referred me to. I’ve struggled for a long time with what I now know is carpel tunnel syndrome. I mainly notice it when I’m holding something heavy. My fingers go stiff and I lose strength in my hands very quickly and feel like I’m going to drop what I’m holding. It’s worse in the winter and has been worse during pregnancy so I’m so glad I got a referral so quickly.

The therapist I saw was lovely. She checked me thoroughly and confirmed I have a mild case of carpel tunnel syndrome and gave me splints to wear when I’m doing things like typing. I agree thats it’s only mild as I don’t have pains or pins and needles all day, only when I’m over using my hands.

I also spoke to her about my trapped sciatic nerve, however she wasn’t able to find a reason for this. My alignment is perfect and my joints as all even so it’s just one of those things. She mentioned being aware of the way I stand, avoid picking up Lamb too much and stop doing the hoovering! 😉

I also just has a 31 week midwife appointment. Unfortunately my midwife ( who I saw at my 8 week booking in appointment) has been on long term sick, so I haven’t actually seen her since 8 weeks! I’ve had 2 different midwives since then, which is fine, but I hope whoever does my sweep (if I need one) is someone I have met before! How weird would it be if a stranger turned up to my house to, well you know, do the ‘sweep’.

Even though I’m as risk of baby having a low birth weight due to my under active thyroid, baby is measuring spot on and in fact she plotted his size on the 90th percentile! I’m trying not to panic about having a 10b baby, at my 4D scan they told me he was measuring 5 days smaller and I have a lot of fluid, so that’s what I keep reminding myself of! Plus Lamb weighed 6lb 12oz when he was born so not big at all.

Everything else was fine at my check up. Blood pressure nice and low, heart beat strong and urine check perfect. So we are on the right track for a good last few weeks!

How am I feeling overall?

These last few weeks I’ve definitely started feeling ‘pregnant’. Hence why I’ve named this post ‘Time To Slow Down’. I’ve been so busy with Lambs 3rd birthday and preparing for exhibiting at the Suffolk Baby & Toddler show I’ve completely put resting and relaxing to one side and I’ve been working my butt off. Today is the first time I’ve actually sat and done nothing (other than blogging) in weeks and I certainly need it.

I still get a little anxiety. I think it’s now about giving birth and worrying about it not being as straightforward as Lambs labour. I really don’t want a c-section, but of course I’m keeping an open mind as you really can’t predict anything. Also my midwife gave me a labour plan form to look at which I think triggered a little panic that it’s all going to happen soon!

I am still suffering with the hot patch on the top of my bump and I finally know what causes it! I had a maternity massage for Mother’s Day and the masseuse told me its my ribs rubbing on the top of my uterus and causing a friction burn, unfortunately it’s non stop hence why I’m in so much pain. She gave me some tips on how stretching can help, but like with my first pregnancy, it won’t be until the baby is born that it goes away. Ouch.

Looking in the mirror I can see the pregnancy puffiness has finally arrived. I remember it well in my first pregnancy. As soon as I hit the third trimester I filled out on my face and arms, and after looking at photos of me at the show yesterday you can certainly see my face is fatter… and I still have 8 weeks to go. *Sigh*

What have we prepared?

We are slowly getting everything we need for the baby. I recently became a Snuz Momma and have been sent a SnuzPod to review. I’m so, so excited as this is one of the products I’ve wanted to try the most as I would of seriously benefitted form having one with Lamb. I can’t wait to set it up, but of course I will be waiting a few more weeks before we do this.

I’ve been selected to be a reviewer for Kiddy UK so will soon be receiving a fab car seat and isofix base for baby. It’s a fab design and being an isofix means I can get the baby in and out of the car quickly and easily, which is perfect when you’re dealing with a toddler too! Luckily this car seat will fit onto our Baby Jogger City Mini with the right attachments so we don’t actually need to worry about getting a new pram. I’m really in two minds about this though and would love a brand new travel system for baby boy, but I know it’s not an expense we need to spend.

I still need to go through Lamb clothes in the loft to see what we have in what size. I know I kept all of the unisex stuff and tiny baby stuff so we don’t have to worry about having enough clothes for the first couple of weeks.

I have yet to pack a hospital bag for me and the baby, but there’s plenty of time to do this. I’ve been picking things up randomly as and when I see them. I bought some dark coloured towels and first size nappies ready to pack, but that’s it really!

I think that’s just about it for this update. My next post will be at 34 weeks which will include an update on my meeting with my health visitor which is this Thursday and my 34 week midwife check.

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