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Day 230 of 280 · 32 weeks + 6 days

Names

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 5 sources · Plain-text version

Thirty-two weeks and six days. Your baby is starting to recognise voices. Tonight the two of you each bring three names, and nobody vetoes anything.

Size this week
about the length of a bunch of celery
Length this week
around 42.4 cm from head to heel
Two women on a rug in a lamplit living room, one with a full bump in an oversized jumper, both laughing as they read names aloud from folded slips of paper, evening light.

Thirty-two weeks and six days, the last day of week 32. Some people have had a name ready for years. Some will still be arguing in the delivery room. Either way, tonight is a gentle round of it, with one rule.

Your baby

A single bunch of celery with its leaves on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around now your baby is probably lying head down, and it's fine if they aren't yet (NHS). They're around 42.4cm long from head to heel (NHS). From around last week, the NHS says, babies start recognising voices from outside the womb (NHS). Whatever names you say out loud tonight, they're hearing the voices that say them.

Your body

Earlier symptoms can come back in the third trimester, and pelvic pain is one of them (NHS). For backache, MedlinePlus suggests sleeping on your side with a pillow between your legs, and bending your knees rather than your waist when you pick things up (MedlinePlus).

The NHS's week 32 page also says plainly that bleeding needs medical advice (NHS). About 1 in 10 women have some vaginal bleeding in the third trimester, and MedlinePlus's rule for late pregnancy is to always report it to your provider right away (MedlinePlus). It's in the Watch for list below, too.

Try today

  1. The names conversation

    Time: 30 minutes

    1. Separately, each of you writes three names you'd be happy to say every day for the next eighteen years.

    2. Swap. Read each name on the other list out loud, with the surname after it.

    3. The rule: no vetoes tonight. For each name, say one thing you like about it, even if it's only the initials.

    4. Keep both lists somewhere safe, and come back to them next week with fresh ears.

    Make it work:

    If you're on your own, do it with a friend or your mother. Saying names out loud to someone else is what shows you which ones you actually want.

Watch for

  • Normal

    a little spotting after sex or an internal exam (MedlinePlus).

    Call your provider

    right away for any other bleeding; Call 911 for heavy bleeding, a stiff and painful belly, or strong, frequent contractions (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    pelvic pain coming back, which the NHS lists among the earlier symptoms that can return (NHS).

    Call your provider

    right away for constant, severe belly pain, or pain that comes with bleeding or fever (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    rings feeling snug by evening.

    Call your provider

    right away for extreme swelling of your hands or face (CDC).

For you

A name can carry a lot: family, faith, a person you've lost, a promise. If one name on a list matters more than it looks, say why. That's a better conversation than whether it sounds nice.

And no name has to be decided before the birth. The baby will still be yours while you take your time. If the talk gets heavy rather than fun, that's worth noticing as well; the NHS asks you to talk to your midwife or doctor if you're feeling anxious or low at this stage (NHS).

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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