Good Morning Vietnam

...or China to one of my friends : )

It is a glorious morning...because I have a day off! Yesterday was one of the busiest days ever. I had 8am non-stress test, followed by an OB appt, 11am ultrasound, 2:30and 3pm employee evaluations, 4pm student evaluation. Whew. I'm not sure I did any actual work yesterday.
Anyways, the non-stress test was much more "non-stressful" than last time. My mom came and sat with me since she had the day off, which was very nice and reassuring. I have learned that the baby likes to jump around after I drink OJ, so I brought a cup with me to sip on every once in a while. Baby performed as needed, and the nurses/doc got their readings (showing that the baby was just fine) in about 30 minutes.

OB appointment was same as always,

• get weight
• pee in a cup
• "Hey kiddo"
  
• listen to heartbeat "Let's see if there's still an alien in there"
  
• "any questions"
• "nope"
• "OK, come back in 2 weeks"

My mother confirmed my doc's lack of "bedside manner". She was in the room, and he would have not acknowledged her presence the entire time if I had not introduced them at the very end. argh.

Ultrasound took a long time, but it was fun to see Baby Cady for so long. Baby is definitely getting cramped in there! It almost looked like he (or she, we still don't know!) was sucking on his toes. We will have to wait until the ultrasound doctor looks at the results, but as far as my untrained eye could see, the heart seemed to beat right, and everything else seemed where it should be. And baby had hair on his head : )


Since last post, I had another baby shower. My hubby's family came to town, and the shower was at a home of a family friend. I had a really fun time with everyone, and baby got lots of neat items to use. We are getting pretty well stocked for baby's arrival. Thanks LaurieM for the cloth diaper! My new task is re-stocking the registry for my family shower coming up in 3 weeks. Like 1st time moms have a clue as to what and how much baby will need!

How far along? 32 weeks
Weight gained (for all you inquiring minds)?30 lbs. (I have appreciated anyone's comments on how I don't look like I've gained weight anywhere but my belly...I know it isn't true, but feels quite nice : )
Maternity clothes? I think that you can tell by looking.
Stretch marks? none on the belly...not that I can see the underside of the belly, though
Sleep: After I got over my allergy-induced coughing, I've slept really well the last few nights.
Movement: Comes in waves. Baby will be less active for a day or two, then hop into gear and kick non-stop. Yesterday=non-stop kicking.
Food cravings: Same old things, I could eat pizza at every meal.
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In. my sister-in-law told me that if my "turkey timer" hasn't popped by now, it probably won't. Yippee.
What I miss: Seeing my feet. I'm much more unsteady without that visual. I tried to kick a ball last night and realized how hard it was without actually being able to see your foot hit the ball (I was able to do it, though!)
What I am looking forward to: Shorter work hours.

How baby's growing:

By now, baby weighs about 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long (size of jicama....which I'm sure you all pick up and use on a daily basis), taking up a lot of space in the uterus. Mom's gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.