23 Week Bumpdate

>>How far along? 23 weeks, 3 days

>>How big? Size of a large mango  kebab! Officially 1 foot long and weighs 1 pound!

>>Total weight gain/loss? Up about 14lbs! I'm hoping to only gain ~30lbs throughout this whole thing (recommended is 25-35lbs)

>>Maternity clothes? Barely fitting into any normal pants, starting to stretch my tops.

>>Sleep? No complaints yet, I know those will come as my waistband increases.

>>Best moment this week? I finally felt baby girl kick on May 1st! We were laying down for bed and I was on my left side so the mattress was kind of pushing on my belly. I’ve been trying every night to devote time to holding/pushing my belly to try and feel something so at first I wasn’t sure. But then it happened again and again so I knew! Dustin was so happy but I could tell he was a little jealous that he wasn’t able to feel it.

>>Symptoms? Nothing new.

>>Food cravings? I’m to the point where I have to have chocolate at least once some point in the day. Luckily there is a little gelato shop about a ½ mile from our house that we have been frequenting since the weather is so beautiful.

>>Food aversions? Nothing new.

>>Labor signs? None. 

>>Belly button in or out? Barely in! 

>>What I miss? With the beautiful weather outside we keep on trying to think of outdoor activities but it seems there is a lot that I can’t do…so that’s sucks. It seems the only “no-risk” activities are sitting or walking.

>>What I'm looking forward to? I have been ordering a bunch of nursery items and CANNOT wait for those to get in!

>>Milestones? Biggest was feeling the kicks!

We also had our 22wk appointment on May 4^th. We met with our doctor and she went over the ultrasound images we had taken a few weeks ago. She informed us that all of baby girl’s organs are the size they should be and she is growing equal to my due date. She also let us know that our quad marker test came back negative- that was such a relief to hear! Since it is an optional test, Dustin originally did not want to take it. After we talked a little more about it, we decided to go ahead with it and I’m so glad we did. It’s a nice relief to have that little piece of our little nugget figured out. When we told the doc that I felt kicks she was super excited. She said that I have an anterior placenta which means my placenta has set up shop between the baby and my belly button, because of this, it acts like a cushion and can be the reason I haven’t felt any kicks. Women with posterior placenta (between baby and spine) tend to feel kicks in the earlier weeks.  Otherwise nothing more to report! 

I cannot believe we are already in the month of May. These weeks seem to creep by but with the turn of the new month, it means we have known about this little bun for over 4 months and she has been baking for over 5! Looking at the calendar and the upcoming months, I know they are going to fly by too but know that in the blink of an eye, we will be welcoming our baby girl and our lives will be forever changed…for the better.