32 weeks pregnant

Well, here I am at 32 weeks pregnant, on the home straight to meeting little Gracie-wiggle. My bump is expanding steadily and along with it, my range of pregnancy perks. Matt the Husband took this pic about half an hour after I woke up so I apologise for my startled expression - I don't enjoy having my photo taken at the best of times and least of all first thing in the morning before the straightening irons have had the chance to tame my hair!



Anyway, back to pregnancy perks. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, would you believe. As you know my hands and ankles have been swollen for a few weeks now, then this little pleasure came out of the blue on Monday. I got cramp in my hand trying to use a tin opener! At the time I didn't think much of it, went to bed, and in the morning woke up with both hands numb and tingly, and a weird sense of not being able to send messages from brain to fingers to grip or make a fist. It seemed to pass by lunchtime, then same again the next day. Evidently the swelling in pregnancy puts pressure on the nerves in the wrist, causing temporary CTS - allegedly it passes soon after birth.
Last night really brought it home to me - I didn't have enough strength in my hand to pull the duvet back out of Matt the Husbands death grip..... It's now on my list to see the ante-natal Physio about this - there's a real risk it will worsen and I wont be able to flip the ring pull on my can of coke!

I've seen 2 midwifes since my private growth scan last week - the latter of the two referring me to the Consultant at the Hospital. I saw her yesterday and she agreed I did appear to be measuring big (36 weeks) but that she couldn't rely on the results of the private scan and would need to refer me for an NHS one. She also wants to rule out Gestational Diabetes which a big baby can be an indicator for. I'm having the test for that on Monday, and am due back to see her next week. Apparently the hormones flying around the body in pregnancy can fight the right of insulin to control levels of glucose in the blood, which leads to a type of diabetes which lasts until the baby is born and hormones subside. I'm not looking forward to the test - its a starved blood sample, followed by the consumption of a sugary syrup, a 2.5 hour wait then another blood sample. I HATE having blood drawn. Oh the joys!

As far as little wiggle is concerned, she's happy enough in there, poking me on and off all day. Although her lungs wont be fully developed until just before she's born, she's busy inhaling amniotic fluid to exercise her lungs. I'm putting on about 1lb a week, and about half of this is said to be baby weight. With that in mind, if I go to full term, I'm looking at a plump dumpling, somewhere in the region of 9-10lbs. That's enough to make a grown woman weep. Ah well, time will tell.

32 weeks down, 8 to go, and 12 days left at work.....