Week 32, March 25 - March 31

Thursday, March 25th (62 days to go)
Dr. Appointment Day. You'll have to visit the appointment page to find out more, but I'll post a little picture here for you.



Baby Update: At this point the baby can register information from all five of its senses. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Friday, March 26th (61 days to go)
Baby Update: While the baby's senses may be prepared to process information, certain senses have limited opportunities to operate. Since the baby doesn't breathe air inside [the] uterus, the sense of smell is on hold until after birth. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Saturday, March 27th (60 days to go)
This has been the slowest trimester yet. I thought nothing could go slower than the first trimester did... when I was anxious about whether or not the baby would make it. There are still 2 whole months to go (as far as we know anyway... Ella may have different plans). There are little things that help me realize that 2 months isn't that long. For instance, we went and saw a movie yesterday (Taking Lives... pretty good) and one of the previews was for that movie with Brad Pitt, "Troy", which of course I'll have to see. But it opens May 14th. I'll go if I can, but Isaac commented that I'll be ready to "pop" by then. Also, the parenting class begins this coming Tuesday, and all 3 baby showers are within site now. The nearest is just 2 weeks away. Can't wait for Thursday (April 1st) when I can say "the baby is due next month". It's like waiting for the wedding day all over again. And of course, saying there are 8 weeks to go is a lot better than saying there are 40 weeks to go. :)

Baby Update: The colored portion, or iris, of the baby's eye is beginning to respond to the intensity of the light by opening under dim light conditions and closing under bright light conditions. This activity is automatic and is called the pupillary reflex. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Sunday, March 28th (59 days to go)
Ella's Uncle Henry is in town this weekend and we saw him yesterday evening for dinner. I guess he had been waiting to see the belly all day. I'm glad I can amuse people. Actually, that's one reason I don't much like being social these days. I'm very self-conscious, and just plain uncomfortable. Anyways... Ella cooperated for her uncle and he got to feel her move around. She's pretty good about that. She's a good baby. (so far)

Baby Update: Within the next three days, the baby's toenails will be fully formed. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Monday, March 29th (58 days to go)
The Monday Special: Heartbeat at 32 weeks, and the Baby Center's take on 32 weeks. Since I'm sure not all of you follow the link, I will mention something interesting here that it says. It says that at this point the baby should weigh about 3 1/2 pounds. As I have mentioned, our little Ella is all ready near 5 pounds. Baby Center also says that in the next 7 weeks the baby will gain 1/3 to 1/2 it's birth weight. That means our little Ella will be between 7.5 and 10 pounds! Yikes!

We took Ella to the zoo yesterday. It was so nice out. It's all ready nice out today... 65 degrees at 9am. I get to go grocery shopping but at least it'll get me out of the house. Anyway... the zoo was fun. Of course I went to the bathroom a whole 3 times while we there, and needed to sit down a couple of times. And I went through the nocturnal house pretty quick because it was just too stuffy in there for me. I'm glad I'm not pregnant during the middle of summer. We can't wait to take Ella to the zoo once she gets here. That'll be fun.

Baby Update: The hair on [the] baby's head is growing longer. Depending on the genetic tendencies in [the maternal] family, and that of the baby's father, [the] baby will either be born with a full head of hair or a very sparse hair pattern on its scalp. Both are completely normal. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Tuesday, March 30th (57 days to go)
This will be an eventful day in babyland. At 4:45 today I finally have that meet and greet with the potential pediatrician, and then at 6:30 Isaac and I have our first of 6 parenting classes. By the time the class is over we'll be nearly to the end.

Baby Update: By today, [the] baby's toenails will be fully formed. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Wednesday, March 31st (56 days to go)
The parent preparation class last night went all right. Went by quicker than I was expecting. It was interesting, but I didn't get any groundbreaking information. I'm sure though in the next 5 weeks I will get some valuable information. I wasn't sure what all this class would entail, but the "teacher" did say to bring pillows for week 3, which I think means we'll learn a bit about breathing techniques. :P I purposefully decided not to take a lamaze class because I didn't want to be doing that in front of a bunch of people (and this is a large class). So... not really looking forward to that part. Last night's class was about infant care... how to keep them clean, how to swaddle them and techniques for quieting them down. Also talked about houseproofing and safety precautions. Oh yea... also how to diaper a baby. Next week's lesson is about feeding.

New belly picture week. The shape of my belly is really changing... not so much rounded now... it's almost more of a square. I must've scratched my itchy belly before the picture was taken... you can see 3 lines. So itchy!! Compare the belly to it's former versions.



Baby Update: Because of the rapid brain growth of the last few weeks, the circumference of [the] baby's head has increased by about 3/8 inch. The developing brain pushes outward on the skull, but it also folds in upon itself to create more of the convolutions mentioned earlier. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.