Baby 3.0: 32 Weeks

32 weeks with Mr. Crosby man... that means 8 weeks or so left!

I am feeling: Let me just say I am getting SO EXCITED to bring this little guy into the world. It's becoming a bit more real every day! I also really, really enjoyed our weekend at home altogether. Tony has every other Saturday off and it is so so so great when he has two days off in a row. You can just tell the girls thrive with him home as well, too. So these days I'm feeling grateful. (Check back in with me after next weekend when Tony has to work Saturday... I might be feeling more frazzled!)

Tony & the girls pretend sleeping this weekend before bedtime

Cravings: I suppose my cravings lately would be Thanksgiving dishes. A few days ago I whipped up some green bean casserole and a few days later it was sweet potato fluff. Last night I made some amazing cheesy potatoes that hit the spot & made me miss our family get togethers every Thanksgiving! I am soooo craving having my body back for just myself - to be able to move with ease and to sleep on my back or belly! I'm craving easy breathing, too.

Baby's size: At 32 weeks gestation, Crosby is about four pounds & 18 inches long! No wonder I feel like I am really, really running out of room for him this week. Also, babies born this week have around a 90% survival rate!

L: 32 weeks with Crosby R: On top, 32 weeks pregnant with Molly and bottom, 32 weeks pregnant with Presley

High for this week: THE OLYMPICS!!!!! Yaaaaay! I've really been enjoying the indoor women's volleyball. It reminds me of watching Ashley play at Germantown and absolutely falling in love with that sport. Swimming and gymnastics have been super exciting to watch as well. I've also been cooking a lot more at home lately and while I'm totally not loving the constant dishes (though it's honestly not my least favorite chore) I have really enjoyed the yummy homemade food and saving money! Some of the dishes I've made recently: Stuffed pepper soup, chicken in coconut mango verde sauce, homemade lasagna, and a paleo chicken spinach stew.

The beginning of tonight's stuffed pepper soup

On deck for the rest of the week will include one of our FAVORITE dishes - coconut chicken curry! I plan on including this meal super soon in a blog about easy meals I plan to make to stock our freezer before the baby comes. I also promised a certain someone (aka, my husband!) that I'd whip up some yummy potato skins for us to eat while watching the Olympics so that'll be coming up here soon, too. Another favorite thing I've been up to this week is crafting various things for our upcoming co-ed baby shower!

Low for this week: The girls' play tent was on top of the guest bed in their playroom and both Presley and Molly were inside the tent hiding from Tony and I (neither of us had a clue this was going on) and somehow the girls and tent all tilted backwards and everyone fell off the bed and got hurt. We heard the screams and cries and that was an awful sound. Both girls were pretty upset and it seems like everything is okay but I hate that you can never be sure if there are any undetected injuries. I hate hate hate hate when my babies get hurt!!!! Another thing that sucks lately is sitting on the floor and then having to get back up... that's becoming increasingly cumbersome. Having to pee in the middle of the night has been no fun. Also having little to no energy throughout the day can be brutal.

What I'm excited about: I'm SO happy we're done looking at hospitals and have picked where I'll be giving birth. Baptist Women's seems like a wonderful place to bring our child into the world and that it'll be a great fit. They encourage baby to stay with mom but also offer a nursery as needed, the hospital was beautiful, the staff was friendly, and I love the separate rooms for birthing and recovery. Though, I would be interested to hear anybody's experience in an all-in-one birth/recovery room. For some reason I just find it comforting to leave the room where I labored and pushed after it's all said and done and time to recover. What do you guys think about all-in-one rooms versus separate labor/delivery and mother/baby rooms?

I don't know about you guys, but when it comes to sharing my thoughts, feelings, and experiences - especially when it comes to these big life moments - I'm very conscious of the balance between keeping it real and sharing my immense gratitude. I am so aware that so many precious couples are struggling with infertility and would absolutely give anything to be pregnant - and yet here I am complaining. I also really desire & strive to keep it real in my writing, though I don't ever want it to come at the expense of another's feelings. Pregnancy (and parenthood), for me, has been anything but glamorous but I have also been very fortunate with relatively good health. I don't ever want to be perceived as anything but grateful and extremely aware of the fact that the little things I am taking for granted or complaining about are directly attached to the big things that someone else is currently praying for. I know how fleeting this life is and more than anything I want to write down every big and little moment that I can so that when these moments pass that I will have something to look back on. And maybe even some day my kiddos will glance at some of the things I've written here.

Thanks for hanging with me through it all.