Baby #2: Weeks 31 - 32

31 weeks

Dates: May 6 - May 19, 2014

Highlights: I celebrated my third Mother's Day at the end of week 31. The boys got up early and made me a gourmet breakfast of dark chocolate waffles with whip cream and strawberries. Later in the morning, we headed down to my favorite grocery store in Austin, Central Market, and picked out all the fixings for a delicious steak dinner. We also visited the park in our old neighborhood (near Central Market) and marveled at how much Nicholas has grown since he last visited the park at just eight months old. At the end of week 32, we took a day trip down to San Antonio to look at a few cars (we're in the market for a new-to-us SUV), and although we didn't end up making a purchase, we were able to meet up with my good friend Anne and her husband and son for a fun dinner out.

Symptoms: My back is still killing me, and I've had to completely stop all unnecessary physical activity. An hour spent walking through Costco was excruciating and landed me on the couch with a heating pad for the rest of the afternoon, so I've completely stopped walking or doing other types of exercise and I'm really trying to avoid lifting Nicholas as much as possible. Third trimester fatigue has also hit with full force. I feel like I have a huge list of stuff I want to accomplish before baby girl arrives, but I am struggling to find the energy or motivation to get it done.

32 weeks

What's Different: The back pain is definitely an unwelcome new symptom. I'm also starting to feel contractions multiple times every day. I can tell some of them are just Braxton Hicks, but some of them feel pretty legit. I didn't have much in the way of contractions with Nicholas before I was induced, so this is new. Hopefully this means I'll wind up making a little progress before I actually do go into labor.

What's the Same: My nesting instinct is rearing its head and I am definitely feeling the familiar pressure of a massive to-do list. This time around, it's less about baby prep and more about just getting our lives and household in order. 

What I Miss: I miss being physically active. I am getting to the stage of fantasizing about going for a run (which happened last time as well) and I've been assembling the perfect running play list in my head. It'll be a while before I hit the pavement again, especially because it will probably be about 103 by the time I'm cleared for exercise, but I'm looking forward to getting back into an exercise routine.

What I'm Looking Forward To: I'm looking forward to making our car purchase and crossing a bunch of other items off to-do list.