Your baby is busy cultivating real-life tricks like sucking, breathing and swallowing.

Your Baby at Week 32

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At nigh 4 pounds and 16 to 19 inches long, your baby is curled up in, well, the fetal position. After all, there's not much room left at this particular inn. Not to worry, though. She's totally comfy in at that place — even if you're non quite comfy out here.

As your infant hunkers down in your bunker to ride out the concluding few weeks of gestation, she'southward probably settling into the virtually common birthing position: head downwardly, bottom up. Anatomically it makes sense — she's maximizing what little space she has by dropping her head into the bottom of your inverted pear-shaped uterus. It's likewise natural since baby'south edible bean is heavier than her tiny tush.

With but 8 more weeks to become, your busy bee is gearing upwardly for life exterior the womb. Those breathing movements she's been practicing? Well, they're almost perfect now, irresolute from the short staccato bursts of only ten seconds long to a more regular and rhythmic pattern that'll somewhen churn out xl breaths per minute — the normal rate of a newborn.

These breathing lessons serve another purpose also, encouraging the lungs to produce more surfactant — the poly peptide that'll help the lungs expand later on nascence and that is essential for good for you lung evolution.

Reinforcements for the monumental task of producing surfactant come up from another source, besides. The adrenal glands, located on top of the kidneys, are hard at working starting to pump out cortisol, which will in plough help stimulate more surfactant production. These workhorse glands are producing 10 times the amount of cortisol a normal adult produces…pretty astonishing for someone so minor!

Meanwhile, lanugo is standing to shed, leaving only small patches of fuzz on the shoulders and back. Fingernails accept grown nearly long enough to be in need of a trim, simply they're still pretty soft. Baby might not demand a mini-manicure only notwithstanding, just in that location's no reason why you shouldn't treat yourself to i while you nevertheless have time. A pedicure, too — after all, bet you can't see your toes.

At a Glance

Baby organs are fully formed

All your baby'south major organs are fully developed now, except for the lungs. And then even if yous gave birth this week, your little one would probably do only fine.

Animate practice

Your baby inhales amniotic fluid to practice using those lungs.

Skin changes

Bye-bye, see-through baby! This week, your fiddling edible bean's skin is at present opaque instead of transparent.

32 weeks significant is how many months?

If you're 32 weeks pregnant, you're in calendar month eight of your pregnancy. Just 1 month left to go! Nevertheless accept questions? Here'southward some more information on how weeks, months and trimesters are broken downwards in pregnancy.

How big is my baby at 32 weeks?

What's up with your baby? She'south starting to get ready for her big debut, tipping the scales at iii½to 4 pounds and topping out at 15 to 17 inches.

Baby's prepping for birth

In these past few weeks, it's all about practice, exercise, do as she hones the skills she'll demand to thrive outside the womb — from swallowing and animate to kicking and sucking. In anticipation of that momentous transition to mouth feeding, your baby'southward digestive organization is all set and ready to go.

And though you're weeks away from your due appointment, your infant'south looking more and more like a newborn: As fat accumulates nether her skin, it'southward no longer transparent and is now opaque.

Fetal position: head down or breech?

At 32 weeks significant, you're probable feeling tapping and squirming instead of your baby's signature rocking and rolling. That's because, while comfy, your baby is a flake tight for exercise infinite right now — she's actually back to a curled-upwardly position (y'all endeavour standing up in those cramped quarters!).

Betwixt 32 and 38 weeks, your babe will as well probably settle into the caput-down, bottoms-up presentation in your pelvis in grooming for birth. That's because the fetus' head fits meliorate at the bottom of your inverted, pear-shaped uterus, plus it's easier during childbirth if your baby comes out caput first.

Fewer than v percent of babies adopt the bottom-down (or breech) position past full-term — so don't worry if your little edible bean hasn't causeless the head-down position nevertheless. There'south however a good risk she'll flip before nativity, even in the tight confines of your uterus.

Infant'southward sleep cycles

And speaking of the big day, hope you're resting up for it because your bambino certainly is. In grooming for that first date with you, your babe is sleeping similar a baby with regular sleep and wake cycles.

Your Torso at Week 32

baby size at 32 weeks pregnant

Braxton Hicks contractions

This week, your body may commencement prepping for delivery mean solar day by flexing its muscles...literally. If you experience your uterus tightening or hardening periodically, those are Braxton Hicks contractions — irregular practice contractions that are first felt around mid-pregnancy and increment in frequency and forcefulness equally things progress.

These prelabor rehearsals are a warm-upwards for the real thing and are typically experienced earlier and with more intensity in women who've been pregnant before. In fact, many novice moms-to-be don't notice them as much.

They feel similar a tightening sensation that begins at the top of your uterus and then spreads downward, lasting from 15 to 30 seconds, though they can sometimes terminal equally long every bit two minutes.

How do you know they aren't real labor? They'll stop if you change position, so try getting upwardly if you're lying down or walking if yous've been sitting. If they are real labor contractions, they'll become progressively stronger and more than regular — and then in that case, put in a call to your practitioner. In the meantime, when they're just the do kind, try taking a warm bath to help with the discomfort.

Ultrasound photos

Ultrasound is a tried-and-true prenatal tool — and a window into the wonderful world of your womb — but this procedure has taken a giant leap from the confines of a doctor'due south office to a storefront at the mall, with 3D- or 4D-ultrasounds. Is it condom to take a peek inside your tum on the way to the mall?

The Nutrient and Drug Administration (FDA) warns against having ultrasounds for fun as opposed to getting them for medical reasons. That's considering the three-dimensional imaging machines and procedures tin expose your infant to more heat and for a longer fourth dimension than the ultrasound machines at your medico's office.

Plus, many medical professionals say that only qualified technicians should perform the ultrasound and fear that nervous momshoped-for volition come abroad mistakenly convinced there'south something wrong with their baby. If you're still interested in an elective sonogram, make sure to check with your practitioner for the get-ahead.

Pregnancy Symptoms Week 32

Constipation

Your growing uterus is cramping your bowels, making them sluggish and irregular. Get some regular exercise — anything helps, from brisk walks to prenatal yoga — and drink up! Read More than

Leg cramps

Just as you lot're ready to drift off to dreamland y'all may feel a painful spasm in your calves — though no one is quite sure what causes the pain or why it'southward worse at dark. One theory: In that location's a lack of calcium and magnesium in your diet. Ask your practitioner if taking an extra calcium supplement is a good idea and be certain you're devouring your daily dose of dairy — bring on the cheese and yogurt! Read More

Faintness or dizziness

Feeling faint or calorie-free-headed tin be a result of any number of things, including low blood sugar. Don't forget to carry a protein-and-carb-rich snack in your pocketbook to munch on when you feel silly. Granola confined, trail mix or soy fries are a great pick and may keep light-headedness at bay. Read More

Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids, which are actually varicose veins in the rectum, can literally exist a hurting in the rear, especially if you spend a lot of fourth dimension sitting. Ice packs or witch hazel tin can soothe, as can warm baths. Read More

Colostrum (leaky breasts)

As your breasts get bigger in the third trimester, they may also leak a yellowish fluid called colostrum, which is the precursor to breast milk. This liquid, packed with poly peptide and antibodies, is the first milk your infant will get. If the leaks are getting uncomfortable, endeavor wearing nursing pads. Read More than

Itchy tum and skin

That swelling belly is getting itchier and itchier, equally the peel stretches and dries out. If slathering on creams and moisturizers doesn't help, try calamine or some other blazon of anti-itch lotion that soothes more stubborn cases. Or add oatmeal to your bath and have a soak in warm — not hot — water. Read More

Tips for You This Week

Write down your dreams

Continue a dream journal! Your night visions may exist extra trippy these days, cheers to pregnancy hormones.

Pregnancy dreams and daydreams tend to tiptop during the tertiary trimester equally sleep is more disrupted and you lot may increasingly observe yourself imagining what life with a new baby will exist like.

Don't stress over stretch marks

Endeavor not to obsess virtually stretch marks. It'southward estimated that up to 90 pct of women become them, according to the American University of Dermatology (AAD), so you're in fantastic company!

Over fourth dimension, stretch marks gradually fade away on their own. And wait on the brilliant side: They're a sign your baby is growing beautifully.

Larn early labor signs

Unless you lot've gone into labor before, you're probably wondering how you'll know your labor symptoms are the real thing.

Learn the signs of labor in case it's not obvious: contractions coming regularly and at closer intervals, period-similar cramps, vaginal bleeding or spotting, a constant dull backache, diarrhea and a tightening feeling in your uterus. Your water might even break earlier you get to the hospital, though don't count on that!

Snack away

With your large uterus crowding your insides, you may find your appetite waning now — shocking! Endeavor to consume regular, modest snacks, like a seize with teeth of a assistant with almond butter, or hummus and whole wheat crackers, instead of big meals.

Help plan your baby shower

Want to assistance throw yourself a virtual or traditional infant shower? These events take looked very unlike due to COVID-19 protocols (though things are getting back to normal in a lot of places), merely you tin can become the political party started by talking to a shut friend or relative near acting as a host.

Earlier you send out invitations, create a infant registry — this fashion, your guests will know what to give you lot. Skip some of the big-ticket items, such as cribs and strollers, and instead inquire for things like onesies, bibs, blankets and other baby-care essentials.

Moisturize often

Feeling kind of crocodilian? Some other side effect of your expanding body — and that abdomen that just keeps on going and going — is dry, itchy peel.

Here's one good soothing strategy: Moisturize early on and oft. Because your pare is still extra sensitive these days, look for moisturizers that have no dyes or perfumes and utilise them when your skin is still damp to trap wet in.

Other tips? Wear lightweight cotton wool dress that volition let your skin to breathe, switch to a dye-and-perfume-free detergent and soak in an oatmeal bathroom.

Do pelvic tilts

Your pelvis is crucial to a shine pregnancy and commitment, so treat it well. One way to strengthen your pelvis is to exercise pelvic tilts regularly. These like shooting fish in a barrel exercises, which you can do anywhere, can help strengthen your abs, soothe backaches during pregnancy and labor, and make delivery go more smoothly.

Now that you lot're in your third trimester, tilts should be done in a standing position — so find the nearest wall. To do a standing pelvic tilt, stand straight and relax your spine. Breathing in securely, press the small of your back against the wall. Exhale, and then repeat for virtually five minutes.

From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author ofWhat to Expect When You're Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Larn how we continue our content accurate and upward-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.

  • What to Expect When Yous're Expecting, 5th edition, Heidi Murkoff.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Pelvic Tilt Exercises During Pregnancy, September 2018.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Dry Skin During Pregnancy, November 2020.
  • WhatToExpect.com, ten Signs of Labor, June 2021.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Are Pregnancy Sexual activity Dreams Normal? x Mutual Pregnancy Dreams and What They Might Mean, March 2020.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Stretch Marks During and Subsequently Pregnancy, April 2021.
  • WhatToExpect.com, How to Brand an Oatmeal Bath, June 2021.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Best Healthy Pregnancy Snacks to Satisfy Your Cravings, June 2020.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Infant Registry Checklist: Exactly What to Put on a Baby Registry, July 2020.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Baby Shower Etiquette, July 2018.
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  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, How to Tell When Labor Begins, May 2020.
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  • American Higher of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Ultrasound Exams, June 2020.
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  • Cleveland Clinic, Fetal Development: Stages of Growth, April 2020.
  • Food and Drug Administration, Ultrasound Imaging, September 2020.
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  • Mayo Dispensary, Fetal Development: The 3rd Trimester, June 2020.
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  • Merck Transmission, Abnormal Position and Presentation of the Fetus, January 2020.
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  • UT Southwestern Medical Center, Why to Avoid 'Keepsake' 3-D and 4-D Ultrasounds, Oct 2016.

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