32 Weeks

Well, it appears that all is still well in babyland. I had my 31 week appointment last Friday and Abbey is still measuring right on schedule. I gained another 2.6 lbs. putting me at a total weight gain thus far of 18.4 lbs. which I'm content with.

Now, for the bad news. I recently discovered that due to my short torso and the fact that I'm carrying high, my ribs on the right side are beginning to seperate from the muscle connecting them in order to make more room for the baby. While I'm glad to finally have an explanation for the fact that I've been in so much pain lately, I'm dismayed that there is nothing the doctor can do about the situation. I was advised to simply take Tylenol for the pain (which does nothing, by the way) and to wait until Abbey starts dropping for the pain to decrease. Thankfully, my ribs should return to their normal position after giving birth although that provides little reprieve for me in the meantime.

[Insert a long and drawn-out sigh here.]

The best I can hope for is that she will begin to drop shortly.

From Baby Center this week, by now, our baby weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in my uterus. I should be gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes directly to the 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.