From babycenter:

How your baby’s growing: By now, your baby probably weighs almost 4 pounds and is almost 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. He has tiny toenails now, and his fingernails have grown in, too. Some babies have a head of hair already; others have only peach fuzz.

How your life’s changing: Your blood volume (the plasma plus red blood cells) is now about 40 to 50 percent greater than before you became pregnant to accommodate the needs of you and your baby. (This extra amount also helps make up for any blood you’ll lose when giving birth.) You’re also gaining a pound a week now, and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. With your uterus pushing up near your diaphragm and adding pressure on your abdomen, you may be dealing with heartburn more often or feeling a little short of breath. To help with shortness of breath, try eating smaller quantities more often (rather than three daily feasts) and sleeping propped up. Those smaller meals should help with the heartburn, too.

As your baby grows, the increasing concentration of weight in your growing belly causes a change in your posture and a shift in your center of gravity. Plus, your abdominal muscles are stretching, hormones are making your ligaments more lax, and your growing uterus may even press on some nerves. All of this can contribute to low back pain and possibly to some pain in your buttocks and thighs as well. Let your caregiver know if you have severe pain or feel numbness or tingling in your legs.

I’m glad Jay is back although he stayed home from work today because he is sick sick sick. He has some sort of head cold which he says he caught from one of the contractors at work. I haven’t caught it (*knock on wood*), but then again Jay’s been getting sick a lot lately and I’ve managed to dodge almost all of it (except for that one time during the very very early stages of the pregnancy). However, he’s a trooper and even though he was sick and lethargic and his throat was killing him, he worked on the shower in our bathroom (which has been out of commission for over a year due to cracked grout which leaked water down the wall and into the kitchen below it). He is still trying to maintain his Best Husband EVER title and he’s doing pretty damn good. He also went shopping with me on Saturday and we found a dress for me to wear to his step-cousin’s Bat Mitzvah this Saturday. I have been a nervous wreck about finding a dress but since prom season is fast approaching, it actually wasn’t that difficult.

We also finished painting the baby’s room. Now we just need to put up the border… and wait for the furniture to arrive.

Today we had our 32 week checkup (technically it was our 31 week 6 day checkup but who’s counting?). We’re still measuring on schedule (fundal height is 32 centimeters) and the doctor told me that the baby was head down. I was so happy to hear that because I was concerned that he was lying sideways (transverse) and that the kicks I was feeling on the right-hand side were from his feet (although I guess they still could be his feet, just in a different position than I originally thought). It would also make sense that he was head down because whenever he gets the hiccups I can feel it in my vagina (and not up high like under my ribcage). While the doctor was feeling around, my abdomen started to bulge on the righthand side and he just tapped it and said, “That’s most likely his butt.” The funny thing is that he does that bulge thing all the time, at least now I know what it is.

Another thing Jay did to ensure his Best Husband EVER title was he gave all the cats a bath while I was at work today. When I came home I was greeted by a spikey and very chatty (and obviously upset) Tygris. Right behind her was Esco who, even though he was still wet, was trying to get outside. Isis was wandering around, trying to air dry the huge patch on her back that she can’t reach because she’s too fat. I didn’t see Isabelle for a while but I hear she peed herself a few times while being bathed. And she cried like a banshee — thank God I wasn’t there.

Jay left earlier this afternoon to drive down to Virginia Beach to attend his uncle’s promotion ceremony. It’s too bad I couldn’t go but I couldn’t give such short notice at work. Jay called earlier and he said the weather is absolutely gorgeous down there — it’s amazing how much of a difference 5 hours can make. He really struggled with leaving me alone but I told him it wasn’t right for him not to go if he could. Now that he’s down there I’m sure he’s glad he made the trip.

It’s really hard for me to fall asleep without him in the bed so we’ll see how I do tonight. My snoogle has made sleeping much easier although a few days ago I had to start putting a pillow under my belly — the weight of it was putting too much of a strain on my back.

The baby’s movements are getting much more powerful. It’s so weird to see my belly jiggle and move and stick out in all sorts of directions. Before his quick movements were shocking, but now they’re jarring. If he does his acrobatics when I’m sleeping then I am totally unaware of them (thank God for being a heavy sleeper!). Jay likes to reach out and put his hand on my belly when I’m sleeping but says he can’t keep it there because the kicks wake him up — it’s a good thing he’s not the one that’s pregnant. Oi.