32 Weeks and Some Thoughts About the Birth

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Information according to Babycenter (italics are me talking):

How your baby’s growing: By now, your baby probably weighs almost 4 pounds and is almost 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. She has tiny toenails now, and her fingernails have grown in, too. Some babies have a head of hair already; others have only peach fuzz.

How your life’s changing:
Your blood volume (the plasma plus red blood cells) is now about 40 to 50 percent greater than before you became pregnant to accommodate the needs of you and your baby. (This extra amount also helps make up for any blood you’ll lose when giving birth.) You’re also gaining a pound a week now, yikes! and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. With your uterus pushing up near your diaphragm and adding pressure on your abdomen, you may be dealing with heartburn more often or feeling a little short of breath. Yeah, heartburn has become pretty much a constant thing in the evenings. I am keeping Tums on my nightstand- out of the bottle and ready to go so I can grab them anytime!

To help with shortness of breath, try eating smaller quantities more often (rather than three daily feasts) and sleeping propped up. Those smaller meals should help with the heartburn, too. Smaller meals seem to be mandatory now. If I eat too much, I am horribly uncomfortable.

As your baby grows, the increasing concentration of weight in your growing belly causes a change in your posture and a shift in your center of gravity. Plus, your abdominal muscles are stretching, hormones are making your ligaments more lax, and your growing uterus may even press on some nerves. All of this can contribute to low back pain and possibly to some pain in your buttocks and thighs as well. Let your caregiver know if you have severe pain or feel numbness or tingling in your legs.

Decision Guide: Who should be in the labor room with you?

Childbirth is an intensely personal experience, as is your decision whether to have additional family members, friends, or labor coaches in the birthing room with you. Here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare your guest list:

• Labor and delivery nurses come and go according to their shifts, so if you’d like to be attended continuously by one person, a private labor coach or doula is a good option. I briefly thought about getting a doula. There is a mom, Vicki, in the playgroup that I’m in with Alison. She just finished her training or whatever to be a doula. But then I also think that might be more for people interested in natural childbirth, which I’m not- AT ALL! We are planning to get an epidural, but first I’m going to see how long I can go without. Just because I don’t want it to slow down the labor too much… but if it starts sucking really bad, I’m not holding out!

• Some husbands or partners may be confused about their role in the birth or reluctant to participate if others are present. If you bring outside relatives or coaches in, make sure your partner is on board with the plan.

• You may be under pressure from mothers or mothers-in-law who are eager to be in the delivery room for the birth of their grandchild — regardless of your wishes to keep the experience private. If you want to be alone with your partner, don’t be afraid to enlist hospital staff for support in carrying out your wishes and keeping relatives out of the delivery room. We are planning on not having anyone (other than hospital staff of course) in with us. No moms or dads or friends. Except: I am reserving the right to call my mom into the room in case of emergency. Emergency being extreme panic on my part. For some reason she can calm me down better than anyone else. Jonathon knows this, and knows that it is a possibility for her to come in at some point. But not stay. I imagine my parents coming to the hospital sometime during the labor/delivery so that they can see Bailey fairly soon after she’s born. Once she’s clean and we have a little time with her, then I want the grandparents to come in. Well, not Jonathon’s parents. Hopefully they will still be in Oklahoma at this point. I don’t want them to even come in town until we’ve been home from the hospital for a week or so. And even then, they’re not staying at our house. They already know this, and I am sticking to it.

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