Weekly Update :: 23 weeks!!

WEEK: 23

MONTH: 6 – yes, we’ve officially passed into the sixth month! Originally I was counting by the calendar, but then I saw that What to Expect does it differently so I won’t be saying “month 10″ during the last month, so I changed to this type of counting and now we’re in month 6!

TRIMESTER: 2

GENDER GUESS: I’m thinking probably boy, but really have no strong feelings either way.

BABY’S HOMEWORK THIS WEEK: The baby is busy putting on weight this week, about 6 oz now every week! It’s slowly putting on more fat, and it’s organs, bones and muscles keep growing. The baby has eyelashes and eyebrows now, too, and probably some hair – although all the hair is white because the pigment hasn’t come in yet, so we wouldn’t be able to know yet what color hair it will have. (via What to Expect). Also, this week the baby is really working to prepare itself for breathing after its born. It’s lungs are producing something called surfactant that keeps the lungs from collapsing or sticking together when breathing, and blood vessels in the lungs are growing and developing more as well. And the baby is even making breathing-like movements and inhaling amniotic fluid in and out of its lungs! (via StrongMoms).

BABY’S SIZE: Baby is around 8 inches long and weights a little over a pound!!

BABY LOOKS LIKE: Baby is getting bigger and looks so much like a little miniature baby now!!

BELLY PHOTO: I hate this photo of me, but it’s the only one I have and was taken on Canada Day, when I was exactly 23 weeks. Jody and I drove to Grand Beach to visit friends at their cottage for a couple hours, and then went to take a quick peek at the actual Grand Beach, it was such a wonderful and fun day! If you look at my bottom hand, you can see a glimpse of the little roundness now!

WEIGHT GAIN: About 16 pounds. It seems to be right on schedule so that’s good!

SYMPTOMS: I’ve been feeling the baby so much more this past week, and at various times during the day now and not just in the evening!! I also have started feeling it a little more in the middle of my belly, although still the majority is low down. I’m thinking the baby is head up right now, and all the feelings down low in my belly are it’s little feet and knees kicking around, and then the slightly less frequent feelings in the middle of my belly are from the hands and elbows – at least that’s what I picture! And I LOVE whenever I feel the baby move, it makes me so happy!!!!!

I also had an unfortunate symptom pop up this past weekend – swollen feet and ankles – they look so gross to me!! It was an incredibly, awfully hot weekend, and I had weddings on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday night as I was about to go to bed I thought to put lotion on my feet cause they hurt so much, and hopefully to help soothe them for Saturday’s wedding (and on the feet all day). When I sat down and started putting lotion on, and then looked at my foot, I did such a huge scary double-take cause that foot and ankle looked like it belonged to someone 150 pounds heavier than me!!! It was so scary and freaky!!! Both feet looked like it, yuck yuck yuck, I had kankles (calves that become feet without taking an ankle break). I remembered reading that swollen feet and ankles were a possible symptom of pregnancy, but of course I had to google it in bed to make sure there was nothing wrong with me. I read that usually, if it happens, it comes in the third trimester – and I’m not quite there yet, I think that starts at 27 weeks? But it also said summertime heat can help it come on, which there was plenty of on Friday. And combined with me being on my feet all day, and of course the ultimate culprit being my uterus putting weight on the return blood vessels and such – well I have fat feet and ankles now. At least it doesn’t seem to be nearly as bad when I’m not on my feet all day, and when I’m at my computer I get up occasionally and walk around or take a little break to put my feet up (which it says to do). But yes, I’m not happy with my ankles and feet looking a little fat. I wanted to get a couple cute summer maternity dresses and now I’m wondering if I can wear cute boots with them?!

My belly button is also starting to get much bigger now and spreading out a little. Normally I have a very tiny little belly button, so seeing it already spreading out is a little scary. I feel like it doesn’t have much further it can go before it pops out to an outie. And that’s a little scary for me, too – I don’t want it to look icky, and although I know this doesn’t make logical sense cause I’ve never heard of it ever happening, I have this tiny little irrational fear that it might burst open if stretched too far. So I’m keeping a close watch on the belly button now this week cause it’s definitely starting to look a little different!

CURRENT MOOD: Pretty happy! I LOVE feeling my belly now that there’s some substantial roundness there! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE feeling little movements from the baby at various times during the day, it’s such an amazing feeling that I can’t get over!! I’m pretty stressed by work this week, and have a lot to get done so I’m trying to be really productive during the days, take occasional breaks to put my feet up and read, and hopefully in a week I’ll have most of it done and feel so much lighter!

CURRENT FAVORITE FOOD OR CRAVING: Nada still, my appetite hasn’t really changed much at all. Hmmm, but I could go for a really good spinach salad with strawberries on it and poppy seed dressing (I had that at a recent wedding and it was sooooooooo fabulous!!!)! But overall I just eat normally and pretty much like I did before.