23 Weeks

Baby’s Milestones

• Baby is now about 12″ long.
• She weighs over a pound.
• I think she is beginning to respond to outside sounds — like when I sing or play the piano, or when our dog plays with a squeaky toy.

Recent Milestones

• My belly now sticks out more than my boobs.
• Baby kicks frequently — like, all day every day.
• Visibly pregnant even to people who don’t know me.
• Check out other Pregnancy Achievements Unlocked.

Body Changes

• The beginnings of colostrum.
• Huge dark nipples.
• Bigger bum, hips, and thighs.
• Cellulite.
• Longer, stronger nails.
• Thicker hair, which my best friend swears is slightly darker.
• Linea nigra is more prominent.
• I can see into the depths of my belly button now, and can even make out the scar from my laparoscopy.
• Veins everywhere, including a patch of purple spider veins under my right boob.
• Constipation, the kind of which I’ve never known before…
• Breathlessness going up stairs, likely exacerbated by my prescribed low activity levels.
• Still getting up to pee once or twice a night.
• Sore boobs, especially around 4am, for some reason…
• Hard to bend over, because my belly gets in the way!
• It’s also hard to sit up from a reclining position. I have to swing my legs out of bed and push myself up with my arms. Yikes!
• I can also feel that my gait has changed, so I’m being extra careful going up and down stairs.

Successfully Avoided So Far

• Heartburn.
• Stretchmarks. (Fair’s fair, I got more than enough during my growth spurt at puberty.)

Supplements

• Prenatal
• Omega-3 DHA / EPA
• Magnesium / Calcium — taken at night, to help with constipation
• Liquid Iron  — to help with energy (vegetarian formula, so non-constipating)
• Central Chi Chinese herbs — to encourage the placenta to move up, up, and away from my cervix
• Milk of Magnesia — I take this once a week and I am guaranteed to poop the next day. Wahoo! (It’s a lifesaver, ladies!)

Cravings

I get asked this all the time. I don’t have cravings in the sense of I NEED THIS AND I NEED IT NOW, but I really enjoy dairy. I’ve always loved cheese and butter, but I’ve even taken to drinking milk, something I haven’t done since I was a child, and I eat lots more ice cream than I used to. My acupuncturist says all the extra fat is excellent for preparing for breast-feeding, which I’m hoping to do.

Oranges and orange juice also taste pretty good.

Aversions

Meat and fish. I don’t eat a lot of meat anyway, but the idea of a steak or a pork chop really turns my stomach. I’m okay with a piece of chicken or the occasional hamburger. As for fish, blech. I’ve eaten it in small quantities (tuna sandwich, fish tacos) but I’m more than happy to go without.

 Clothes

I’m exclusively wearing maternity clothes on top. Bottoms are a bit of an issue, though. [Edit: I love my maternity jeans, but it’s too hot for them during the day; one pair of maternity shorts gives me a wedgie, and I’ve had to return the other pair because of manufacturing defects… twice!] I’ve almost outgrown the BellaBand my friend, L, gave me. Not sure if I should get a bigger one… And I think I need new bras and new knickers.

 Emotions

I’ve had a few moments when I’ve cried at something I wouldn’t normally. I watched Elysium recently — a typical, dumb Hollywood movie — but I started crying when the mom was determined to get her daughter into the MRI healing machine thing. (DH looked at me in astonishment!)

♥ ♥ ♥

All in all, I generally feel okay. I have terrible moments of fear and doubt and anxiety and sadness, but these are mitigated by the love I feel for this baby. I’m nervous about next Friday’s follow-up ultrasound to look at the placenta, which will plot the course for the rest of the pregnancy; but I’m also excited to see our little girl again. Most of all, I’m looking forward to reaching next Thursday’s biggest milestone yet: viability (albeit 50/50 chance of survival). Although some babies have survived being born at 23 weeks, my OB says that life-saving measures typically aren’t performed before 24 weeks.

I’m definitely still taking things one day at a time, but, amazingly, I only have one more month of the second trimester left!