32 Weeks Pregnant
You’re at the onset of the 8th month of pregnancy, and have only 2 more to go. Difficult times lie ahead for the mother, but nothing can decrease the excitement that the mother would undoubtedly be feeling now, especially if the coming child is the first one she’ll give birth to. If you’re one such mother, the young one is going to force you to drastically change your life, dictating your routine and setting your sleeping pattern according to their own. Despite all your planning for the future, there will be big differences between your lives now and post giving birth. Continue reading to find out more when you are 32 weeks pregnant.
Help!
It will fall on you to be there for your baby around the clock, and to cater for each of their needs. This requires time as well as practice. Even if you have other babies, you will be wondering whether another will fit into the household and the routine in general. But take our word for it and don’t let stuff like this worry you. Keep talking to people who’re supportive so their advice and love can see you through these last two months. Listen to everything they have to say and their own experiences with their babies. Even though planning may seem too early, it’ll come in handy if your baby decides to come early. So it’s better if you prepare yourself in good time.
Image Credit: Huggies
What’s going on inside you?
- Watch for heat rashes under your breasts, which will be aggravated by sweat due to the increase in their mass. Cooling showers, a light dusting of absorbent talcum powder and good general hygiene will help you to avoid a thrush infection developing in there.
- At 32 weeks pregnant, your stomach and breasts are getting bigger. Your belly button may be “popping out” by now too. The space between your breasts and the belly becomes very limited at this point of time. It’s recommended that you wear a bra most of the time, because the sheer weight of the breasts may tire you. Some pregnant women need breast support in the form of a maternity bra even while sleeping. The extent of discomfort varies from person to person, but generally it is best if you arrange for some support. Also, keep personal hygiene a priority.
- You’ll probably be getting tired easily; even after a walk around the room or a cleaning routine. Avoid effort-requiring work and learn to set a pace that takes into account the limitations that being pregnant brings. It is going to become more difficult to sustain activity which requires a moderate amount of physical output as you near your labor. Plan your day to include a rest as that is definitely going to come in handy.
- You’re gaining weight due to your own extra nourishment as well as the growth of the baby inside you. Some gain half a kilogram a week during the last two months. Some of the weight may be attributed to fluid retention, though this can be avoided easily in the last trimester. However, if the weight shoots up rather than progressing slowly, or if you’re having a tad too many headaches, refer to your doctor immediately as these can be signs of complications developing.
- You will need to visit your doctor once every two weeks now, and from the 36th week onwards, these visits will double to one visit per week. Get used to the regular monitoring of your blood pressure, urine, weight gain and other usual stuff even if it seems a bit monotonous or boring to you. All this is to be prepared for complications like gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and premature labor that have increased incidence during the third trimester of your pregnancy.
Read more about you and your baby at 32 weeks pregnant.
Image Credit: BabyCenter
Your emotional changes this week
- At 32 weeks pregnant, you may or may not be wishing for all this to come to an end, and for you to be blessed with a child already. If you’re not, you will be soon; particularly if you’re looking after other children in addition to being pregnant. Managing everything suddenly seems a lot more difficult, doesn’t it? Simple motions like bending, lifting a small child, picking up the toys scattered all over the place will now require a lot more effort than usual, making it frustrating for you to do alone.
- You could feel as if you are doing a lot. Let’s face it, you are. Your partner needs to understand what you’ve been going through, and that can only be achieved by having your feelings known to him. Develop an understanding by confiding everything in him, as that is bound to help.
Further Readings: Medication or No Medication During Week 32 of Pregnancy?
Image Credit: 3D Pregnancy
Goings-on with the baby
- Your baby will be weighing around 1.8 kilograms and will be 50 centimeter long at 32 weeks pregnant. The little tyke has been gaining quite a lot of weight during the past few weeks; in fact roughly 250 grams a day. This brings with it a disadvantage for the mother: the increased mass means that the still frequent kicks and twists are going to be more noticeable than ever. The baby will be swallowing, sucking, grimacing, breathing amniotic fluid in and out, and frowning a lot this week and beyond. The eyelids have begun functioning and the head can now be moved around. The baby will soon fill up your uterus, touching the sides and using the room to move kick about. This may decrease the turns because the room available would be severely restricted. Things are going to be pretty crammed in there before you know it!
- The routine that the baby will have started following during this week will become permanent soon. There will be similar timings each day when you won’t be able to feel a thing inside, except of course the mass. This means that the kid is enjoying a nap. However, as soon as the first kick comes after the resting time, watch out for more!
- Your baby’s skin is becoming more and more transparent and much less wrinkly thanks to the fat deposition under it that will now continue till the baby is born.
- The bones are now maturing and hardening. Therefore, your diet is extremely important at this stage of your pregnancy, because you will need to take the required calcium as part of your diet. Make sure you have 3-4 servings of calcium rich foods incorporated into your daily diet, as they’re now of vital importance. Readily available calcium rich foods include milk, cheese, yoghurt, almonds, fish and green leafy vegetables. If you’re allergic to cow milk, go for calcium-fortified soya milk or its products.
Read few common questions women ask at 32 weeks pregnant.
Tips to help you at 32 weeks pregnant
- The time is ripe to buy some pregnancy underpants. You’ll most probably be unlikely to find one that you like, but you’ll adjust with it soon enough. They are designed to make room for your expanding belly and spare you the hassle of tugging at your underpants frequently over the next two months. All you need to do is sit the right way, so you don’t have to be conscious all the time.
- Take your time in climbing out of bed. Sudden jerks can be catastrophic for the back that already has a lot to do these days. Roll onto your side and use your hands as supports to sit up straight, with your bottom as near the bed’s edge as possible (to reduce the effort required). Give yourself a break of a few moments in this position before getting out of bed. This is to help adjust your blood pressure, which varies in the two positions.
- A camera is a must-have gadget now. You need to capture all the moments for your viewing later on, perhaps your kid’s viewing as well. Moments that you spend with your partner, panicking, happy, craving for something crazy to eat, all your expressions, make sure everything is recorded in your camera’s eye for you to cherish later on. It’s best to keep the camera in running order for the next few years, because the child’s childhood is the most memorable time of the whole of their lives, and you don’t want to be going through it without capturing it thoroughly.
- Take small, frequent meals rather than large infrequent ones. This will help your already crammed stomach in adjusting to its tighter surroundings and spare you yourself the feeling that you are carrying a brick around in your stomach. Go for light, spice-free foods that won’t require much digestion, like salads, vegetables, toasted sandwiches, crackers and so on – all this to help your stomach out. Drinking loads of water is very important, as this will help keep you mentally alert by regulating the water levels inside you.
- Talk to your doctor or midwife about the benefits of perineal stretching. This is practice for your delivery if you are having a normal vaginal one, because your perineum will need to stretch a lot to allow the baby’s head to come out in this case. An episiotomy (surgical cut) is sometimes necessary to enlarge the vaginal opening, which can be avoided if appropriate perineal stretching has been done prior to approaching labor.
Prepare yourself for the labor, read Preparations at 32 Weeks Pregnant
Video Credit: Pregnancy Best