23 Weeks- Development

Your Baby This Coming Week

Your baby is now about 8.4 inches from crown to rump (21cm) and weighs about 1.2 pounds (530g).

Your baby's face and body now look more like a full-term baby. She now looks close to how she will look at birth.

The eyes, though they are still closed, are now close together on the front of the face and the ears are in their final position. Eyelashes are fairly well-developed and hair is growing on your baby's head.

Your baby's movements are becoming more restricted now as she fills up the uterus more. Cartwheels and somersaults inside the amniotic sac are no longer possible, but she can still hold the umbilical cord and touch and feel around her. Though your baby is already living in tight quarters in the amniotic sac, she will soon have even less room to move around.

Her vital organs are now quite mature. However, since the lungs are not yet fully formed, your baby would have breathing problems if born prematurely at this stage.

Your baby is becoming increasingly conscious of the world outside and may feel startled when you are startled.

Your baby may alternate between having very active and very calm periods.

Your baby may have facial expressions such as frowning, squinting and pursing of the lips.

Your Body This Coming Week

The top of your uterus now reaches about 2 inches above your bellybutton.

You may be feeling Braxton Hicks contractions. These "practice" contractions pump blood to the uterus and prepare the body for labor.

You may continue to feel mood swings, fatigue and heartburn. You may sweat frequently as your body temperature is high during pregnancy.

You may have extra weight on your upper arms, shoulders and on your face due to water retention. Your weight gain may be causing bladder problems, sore feet and fatigue. To combat the fatigue and sore feet, wear comfortable shoes, put your feet up whenever you can and rest whenever possible.

23 Week Journal

How far along? 23 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Up another pound.
Stretch Marks:Nope.
Sleep: Decent, even with the heat wave we've had, thanks to a couple of AC units from friends of ours.
Best moment this week: Getting another peek at the little one during the ultrasound and fetal echocardiogram. (See previous post.)
Gender prediction: No clue. But I did appreciate that at the place I've been going for my extra tests, on the front of my chart is says we don't want to know. And then the ultrasound tech first greeted us she confirmed that we still didn't want to know. I like that they were a bit more sensitive to that.
Movement: Yup. Looking forward to Chris being able to feel movement though.
Labor Pains: Nothing yet.
Belly Button in or out? Still in.
Wedding rings on or off? On, although on some of the hotter days they've gotten a bit stuck.
Milestones/Fun Moments: Seeing Baby again. Can't wait to finally meet the little one. Only 4 more months.
What we need to do: Working on getting the nursery put together. Did a little bit of rearranging (it's going to be tight in there!) and started to make the bedding. We're going with a British theme, so I'm making a Union Jack quilt and coordinating bedskirt, bumper, and valance.

More pictures of the little one

We went back today for a Fetal Echocardiogram. Pretty much everything looks good. And apparently all babies have holes in their hearts. They need them in utero, and then they usually heal when born. Anyway, there is some slight "leaking" as the blood flows between two of the chambers of the heart, but the doctor said it's nothing to worry about; it's not something that concerns him. This was wonderful news! Just to be safe, we go back in another 4 weeks to get another look. Oh, and the heart is now about the size of a quarter. Definitely a lot bigger than a few weeks ago when it was the size of the tip of your pinkie.

And then after the fetal echo, they did a very quick ultrasound. I liked one of the profile pictures so I asked if we could have it, and then she kept printing more. She printed out 8 for us- here are my favorite three. But we were shocked. In the past we've only walked out with one or two pictures. I think the one with the feet is my favorite of all of them.

22 Weeks

Your baby has stretched to the size of a spaghetti squash and weighs almost a pound. (Length: nearly 11 inches.)

22 Weeks- Development

Your Baby This Coming Week

Your baby now weighs almost 1 lb (450g) and measures about 8 inches (20cm) from crown to rump.

She is becoming plumper as her fat is being laid down at a high rate, but her skin is still wrinkled and reddish. The wrinkled and loose appearance of her skin is due to the faster production of her skin than the fat that fills it out. The reddish appearance of her skin is due to the deposition of pigment as her skin loses its translucent appearance.

Your baby can kick and punch vigorously by now, but she may also be gently feeling the umbilical cord and rubbing her hands and face against the inside membrane of the amniotic sac that holds her.

She is still swallowing amniotic fluid (which provides an important nutritional supplement to the nutrition she gets from you via the placenta) and is passing some of it as urine. The swallowing of the amniotic fluid may cause your baby to get the hiccups and you may even be able to feel this as her body jumps inside yours.

The lanugo hair on your baby's body may turn darker at this time.

Your Body This Coming Week

Most women have gained between 10-15lbs (4.5-6.8kg) by this time, though your experience may vary. Your doctor should be able to tell you what is the best weight gain for you.

Your doctor or midwife can feel the different parts of the baby through your abdominal wall by external palpitation.

Your legs may feel swollen. Heartburn, round ligament pain and fatigue may persist or may disappear.

As your uterus enlarges, it puts pressure on your bladder and you feel the need to urinate more frequently.

You may have an occasional stitch-like pain down the side of your belly. This is the uterine muscle stretching and the pain generally goes away if you have a rest.

You may begin to feel Braxton Hicks contractions around this time. These are "practice" contractions that help your uterus to prepare for labor. You may notice them getting stronger as your pregnancy progresses, but they are rarely painful or regular like real labor contractions. If you are not sure whether you are experiencing real labor contractions or Braxton Hicks contractions, it is best to talk to your prenatal care provider.

22 Week Journal

How far along? 22 weeks.
Total weight gain/loss: Up a pound, for a total of 16.
TP test: I've decided not to do this test any more as it is silly and I don't really believe the "measurements" I've been getting lately.
Maternity Clothes: Yup. Even ordered more, which arrived last night. Tried them on and one or two even make me look more pregnant than I am.
Food cravings/ aversions: Nope.
Signs of Pregnancy: Just looking at me, there is no hiding it!
Stretch Marks: Nothing yet.
Sleep: Pretty good. Except for last night. Couldn't fall asleep and couldn't get comfy.
Big things this week: Started to register, although we are no where near complete.
Gender prediction: Not a prediction, but Boy Chris confessed that he's secretly hoping for a girl. :)
Movement: Starting to feel the occasional kick/punch.
Labor Pains: Nope. Too early.
Belly Button in or out? Still in. Much shallower though.
Wedding rings on or off? They're still on.

21 Weeks

Your baby -- currently the length of a carrot -- weighs about 3/4 of a pound. (Length: 10 1/2 inches, head to heel.)