Science Project, Week 32

8 months gone, 2 to go! Sometimes, when I think about how I'm going to keep getting bigger, two months seems like a long time. But then when I think about what comes after birth, two months seems much too short!

Last week at our labor and baby class, a lactation consultant inundated us with information. The most shocking bit? In the first few weeks after birth, I can expect to be involved in some aspect of nursing for 40-70 hours per week! Good lord.

I've had a weird side affect of pregnancy appear about 3 weeks ago: I noticed I have no hair on my legs! Normally, women stop losing hair when they're pregnant, and then about three months after birth all the extra falls out. I first noticed that my head hair had resumed its normal shedding, and then I went to shave my legs, and there was nothing there! My legs look polished, but the rest of me still has hair. When I had an appointment 2 weeks ago I asked my midwives about it, and they had never heard of such a thing. I had my thyroid levels checked, and they're normal, so I guess it's nothing to worry about. Very convenient for summer! The Bean continues to thrive, so my wonky hormone levels don't seem to bother him.

I've been lucky to have a nice long torso to fill up, so I haven't looked or felt over big, but this past week The Bean filled up his vertical space and started coming out towards the front more. I also feel him under my ribs, which forces me to have good posture, since slumping makes my ribs feel like they're bending out. I took the belly pictures and strung them together, and you can see how sometimes he seems to grow a lot more in three weeks than other times.
People keep asking about The Bean's name. Well, we've got a big list on the fridge, but we haven't felt any need to winnow it down. On the 28th I'm going to Fiddle Tunes for a week, and when I come back I guess we can get serious about names, getting the car seats installed, and stuff like that.