Your baby is decorated cultivating real-life tricks like sucking, animate and swallowing.

Your Babe at Week 32

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

Equally your babe hunkers downwardly in your bunker to ride out the last few weeks of gestation, she's probably settling into the most common birthing position: caput down, lesser up. Anatomically it makes sense — she'southward maximizing what little space she has past dropping her head into the bottom of your inverted pear-shaped uterus. It'southward also natural since baby's bean is heavier than her tiny tush.

With only 8 more weeks to go, your busy bee is gearing upwardly for life outside the womb. Those animate movements she'due south been practicing? Well, they're almost perfect at present, changing from the short staccato bursts of only 10 seconds long to a more regular and rhythmic design that'll eventually churn out 40 breaths per minute — the normal rate of a newborn.

These breathing lessons serve another purpose as well, encouraging the lungs to produce more surfactant — the poly peptide that'll help the lungs expand after nativity and that is essential for healthy lung evolution.

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

Meanwhile, lanugo is continuing to shed, leaving only modest patches of fuzz on the shoulders and dorsum. Fingernails have grown almost long enough to be in need of a trim, but they're withal pretty soft. Baby might not need a mini-manicure just yet, but there's no reason why you shouldn't treat yourself to 1 while you even so have time. A pedicure, too — afterward 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. So even if you lot gave birth this week, your little one would probably do just fine.

Animate practice

Your baby inhales amniotic fluid to practice using those lungs.

Pare changes

Bye-farewell, come across-through baby! This week, your little bean'southward skin is now opaque instead of transparent.

32 weeks significant is how many months?

If y'all're 32 weeks meaning, you're in month 8 of your pregnancy. Only i calendar month left to get! Still accept questions? Here's some more data on how weeks, months and trimesters are broken downwards in pregnancy.

How large is my baby at 32 weeks?

What's upwards with your baby? She's starting to get ready for her big debut, tipping the scales at 3½to 4 pounds and topping out at 15 to 17 inches.

Baby'south prepping for nativity

In these past few weeks, it's all well-nigh practise, practice, exercise as she hones the skills she'll need to thrive outside the womb — from swallowing and breathing to kicking and sucking. In apprehension of that momentous transition to mouth feeding, your baby's digestive system is all set and prepare to go.

And though you're weeks away from your due date, your babe'south looking more and more like a newborn: Equally fat accumulates under her skin, it's no longer transparent and is now opaque.

Fetal position: caput down or breech?

At 32 weeks significant, y'all're likely feeling tapping and squirming instead of your baby's signature rocking and rolling. That'south considering, while comfy, your infant is a bit tight for do space right now — she'south actually dorsum to a curled-up position (you effort standing up in those cramped quarters!).

Between 32 and 38 weeks, your baby will also probably settle into the head-down, bottoms-upwards presentation in your pelvis in preparation for birth. That'southward because the fetus' head fits better at the bottom of your inverted, pear-shaped uterus, plus it's easier during childbirth if your baby comes out caput showtime.

Fewer than 5 percentage of babies prefer the lesser-downwards (or breech) position by full-term — and then don't worry if your footling bean hasn't assumed the caput-down position all the same. In that location's still a good chance she'll flip before nascence, even in the tight confines of your uterus.

Infant's slumber cycles

And speaking of the big twenty-four hour period, hope you're resting up for it because your bambino certainly is. In preparation for that first date with y'all, your baby is sleeping like a babe with regular sleep and wake cycles.

Your Body at Week 32

baby size at 32 weeks pregnant

Braxton Hicks contractions

This week, your torso may outset prepping for commitment mean solar day by flexing its muscles...literally. If you feel your uterus tightening or hardening periodically, those are Braxton Hicks contractions — irregular exercise contractions that are offset felt around mid-pregnancy and increase in frequency and force as things progress.

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

They feel like a tightening awareness that begins at the height of your uterus and so spreads downwardly, lasting from fifteen to 30 seconds, though they can sometimes concluding as long as ii minutes.

How do yous know they aren't real labor? They'll end if yous modify position, and so try getting up if you're lying downwardly or walking if you've been sitting. If they are real labor contractions, they'll go progressively stronger and more regular — so in that case, put in a call to your practitioner. In the meantime, when they're simply the practice kind, effort taking a warm bath to help with the discomfort.

Ultrasound photos

Ultrasound is a tried-and-truthful prenatal tool — and a window into the wonderful world of your womb — just this process has taken a behemothic leap from the confines of a doctor's office to a storefront at the mall, with 3D- or 4D-ultrasounds. Is it safe to accept a peek inside your tummy on the fashion to the mall?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns against having ultrasounds for fun as opposed to getting them for medical reasons. That's because the three-dimensional imaging machines and procedures tin can expose your baby to more rut and for a longer time than the ultrasound machines at your doctor's office.

Plus, many medical professionals say that only qualified technicians should perform the ultrasound and fear that nervous moms-to-be will come away mistakenly convinced there'due south something wrong with their baby. If you're yet interested in an elective sonogram, make certain to check with your practitioner for the go-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're fix to drift off to dreamland you may experience a painful spasm in your calves — though no one is quite sure what causes the pain or why it's worse at night. I theory: There'due south a lack of calcium and magnesium in your diet. Ask your practitioner if taking an actress calcium supplement is a good idea and exist certain y'all're devouring your daily dose of dairy — bring on the cheese and yogurt! Read More

Faintness or dizziness

Feeling faint or light-headed tin be a result of any number of things, including depression blood sugar. Don't forget to carry a poly peptide-and-carb-rich snack in your bag to munch on when you lot experience dizzy. Granola bars, trail mix or soy chips are a keen choice and may keep light-headedness at bay. Read More

Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids, which are actually varicose veins in the rectum, can literally be a pain in the rear, specially if you spend a lot of time sitting. Ice packs or witch hazel tin can soothe, equally can warm baths. Read More

Colostrum (leaky breasts)

Every bit your breasts get bigger in the third trimester, they may besides leak a yellowish fluid chosen colostrum, which is the precursor to breast milk. This liquid, packed with protein and antibodies, is the kickoff milk your baby will get. If the leaks are getting uncomfortable, endeavor wearing nursing pads. Read More

Itchy tummy and pare

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

Tips for You This Week

Write downwards your dreams

Keep a dream periodical! Your night visions may be extra trippy these days, cheers to pregnancy hormones.

Pregnancy dreams and daydreams tend to pinnacle during the third trimester every bit slumber is more disrupted and you may increasingly observe yourself imagining what life with a new babe volition be like.

Don't stress over stretch marks

Try non to obsess nigh stretch marks. Information technology's estimated that upwards to 90 percent of women become them, co-ordinate to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), and so you're in fantastic company!

Over time, stretch marks gradually fade abroad on their own. And look on the brilliant side: They're a sign your infant is growing beautifully.

Acquire early labor signs

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

Learn the signs of labor in case it's non obvious: contractions coming regularly and at closer intervals, menstruum-like cramps, vaginal bleeding or spotting, a constant wearisome 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 discover your appetite waning now — shocking! Try to eat regular, pocket-size snacks, like a bite of a banana with almond butter, or hummus and whole wheat crackers, instead of large meals.

Help plan your infant shower

Want to help throw yourself a virtual or traditional baby shower? These events have looked very unlike due to COVID-19 protocols (though things are getting back to normal in a lot of places), but you lot can get the political party started past talking to a close friend or relative almost acting as a host.

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

Moisturize often

Feeling kind of crocodilian? Another side event of your expanding trunk — and that belly that but keeps on going and going — is dry out, itchy skin.

Here's i skilful soothing strategy: Moisturize early on and often. Because your skin is all the same extra sensitive these days, await for moisturizers that have no dyes or perfumes and utilise them when your pare is still damp to trap wet in.

Other tips? Clothing lightweight cotton apparel that will allow your pare to exhale, switch to a dye-and-perfume-free detergent and soak in an oatmeal bath.

Do pelvic tilts

Your pelvis is crucial to a polish pregnancy and delivery, and so care for information technology well. One way to strengthen your pelvis is to practise pelvic tilts regularly. These easy exercises, which you tin do anywhere, can aid strengthen your abs, soothe backaches during pregnancy and labor, and make delivery become more smoothly.

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

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

  • What to Expect When Yous're Expecting, fifth edition, Heidi Murkoff.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Pelvic Tilt Exercises During Pregnancy, September 2018.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Dry out Skin During Pregnancy, November 2020.
  • WhatToExpect.com, 10 Signs of Labor, June 2021.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Are Pregnancy Sexual activity Dreams Normal? 10 Common Pregnancy Dreams and What They Might Mean, March 2020.
  • WhatToExpect.com, Stretch Marks During and After Pregnancy, April 2021.
  • WhatToExpect.com, How to Brand an Oatmeal Bath, June 2021.
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  • WhatToExpect.com, Baby Registry Checklist: Exactly What to Put on a Baby Registry, July 2020.
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  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Preterm Labor and Birth, March 2021.
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