31 & 32 Week Pregnancy Update

How far along?

33 weeks and 1 day 

Maternity clothes?

Nothing new apart from some underwear and practical things for my hospital bag!  As you might be able to tell from these pictures I can just about still fit into my old tops, so I might have to cave and buy a few maternity tops. The shops are full of such gorgeous clothes at the moment, which is torture as I can't fit into anything. *Sigh*

Stretch marks?

Still nothing, although the skin on my belly is so itchy so it must be stretching and growing. I am just slathering on the creams and oils non stop.

Sleep?

Sleep recently hasn't actually been that bad, or maybe I am just getting used to the discomfort! I still toss and turn constantly at night which is really odd as it takes forever to roll over!  I am so aware of the weight of baby and their comfort as I get huge kicks when I roll into a position they obviously don't like.  Third trimester tiredness has well and truly settled in now too - I just feel permanently tired all the time.

Best moment this week? 

The reason I didn't manage to do an update last week was that our cat went missing for 5 days, I was absolutely devastated and was desperately creating posters etc trying to find her.  Amazingly she wondered back, she was absolutely fine apart from looking a little thin so I can only assume she was trapped somewhere. Having her back has to be the best thing that happened as I was so sure we had lost her. We also picked up our beautiful new pram, the Uppababy Vista.  It is so wonderful, I could not be more pleased with it and I can not wait to use it once baby arrives.

Worst moment this week?

So apart from the cat saga we also had a horrible scare this week.  I have been experiencing quite a few Braxton Hicks, so on Tuesday night when they started I thought nothing of it as they weren't that uncomfortable.  However, I kept waking up needing to pee and in quite a lot of pain but just put it down to the usual aches and pains with pregnancy. However, at around 1am I couldn't take the pain anymore, I was experiencing severe period pain like cramps the worst I have ever felt in my life. The pain was also shooting down my thighs and in my lower back and it was coming really regularly and lasting for a good 5-10 minutes.  I tried everything rolling in different positions, walking around and drinking water but nothing was stopping the cramps they just kept coming in huge waves.  I woke up my husband and decided to call the hospital just to see what their advice was and thought it was better to be safe than sorry.  The midwife on the end of the phone was lovely and said that I should come in to be checked over, so off we went.  I was hooked up to a machine which monitors the baby's heart rate and my contractions and was given a hand held buzzer to press every time I felt the baby move, which happened to be a lot, little one was quite happy dancing away! The midwife then felt my bump, took my blood pressure and tested my urine sample. Then a doctor came to give me an internal examination to see if my cervix was dilating etc. Luckily everything came back negative and what they think I was experiencing was masses of Braxton Hicks and tightenings. After what felt like forever we were sent home. Apart from the internal examination which, I am not going to lie, really really hurt, I think the scariest part of being on the ward was hearing and seeing other women in labour, they were crying and moaning and it really hammered home that that was going to be me in a few weeks! 

That was definitely the scariest thing that has happened to me during this pregnancy - the thought of going into pre term labour at 33 weeks! It was amazing to hear baby's heartbeat for a good 30 minutes  but fingers crossed there will be no more false alarms and baby is happy in my womb for a few more weeks where they should be! 

Food cravings?

Nothing really although I have noticed that my appetite has died down a lot this week and I am not feeling like I need to eat anything and everything! I am also struggling with big meals as everything is getting so squashed.

Miss anything?

I can no longer reach my feet so being able to put my shoes on without struggling and being able to walk normally without waddling! Also while the weather in the UK has been so warm and sunny, a nice glass of wine! 

Movement?

Baby moves non stop I get huge kicks all the time which make me wince in pain as they are so strong now - It still feels like I have a mini Rambo in there! As baby is head down my ribs are getting a good old bashing too,  I am looking forward to when they move further down so I get some relief in the rib area as they constantly feel bruised at the moment.

Symptoms?

Lots of Braxton Hicks this week and the constant need to drink, I can't seem to drink enough water even though I get through 2 litres plus a day! My legs and feet feel seriously tired if I am standing for too long, even standing while cooking is hard work! I am still getting really out of breath when I walk anywhere which is such a pain and I just feel extremely heavy and tired.

General mood?

Happy and excited that the countdown is really on,  I can't believe in a matter of weeks I get to meet my baby!

Looking forward to?

The last couple of NCT classes, after one this coming Saturday we are all going for lunch afterwards which will be really lovely to actually get to know everyone a little better. I have my week 34 midwife appointment next week too, I can't believe how close we are now to our due date, I feel like I have been pregnant forever! 

Emi xx