Junebug Update

23 week update! Technically, today is 23 weeks and 5 days, so I'm almost a week late. I did take a 23 week photo though. I was feeling artsy and a little tired of the same ol' mirror shot, so here's what you'd see if you were me looking down trying to find my toes.

Of course, I broke down and took another picture today so you can fully understand how plump I'm becoming.

 

Also, I'd like to note, the font I've been using for the last few photos is called "Patient Paige." Totally coincidence that I picked that font and that Paige is the name at the top of our list. Matt has settled on the name, he was even calling her that when he was talking to my belly last night. It's definitely my favorite, but I can't seem to get to the point of saying "Her name is Paige." Maybe because I'm still getting used to calling the junebug a "she" rather than an "it"? Or maybe I need to wait until I see her little face to make sure she really looks like a "Paige". Not that I know what a "Paige" would look like.. The only Paige I've ever known was my grandparent's cat (and NO, I'm not naming my baby after a cat, I just love the name!)

Other than the name-game, this pregnancy is easy peasy. It's pretty amazing how identical my pregnancy is compared to my mom's when she was pregnant with me. We both got pregnant when we were 23 and gave/will give birth when we're 24. It took us both about a year of trying before we conceived. We both had only one day of real morning sickness. And according to her, labor wasn't awful. Let's hope I can have that too! Oh, and a sweet little 7 pound baby. That would be fantastic.

According to What To Expect.com this week marks the beginning of some serious weight gain. Her weight in the next four weeks alone should double! She weighs around a pound and a half now and has a crown-to-rump length of about 8.5 inches (standard letter size!). Her face is almost fully formed, so if we could see her now we'd know what she'll look like as a newborn. She still doesn't have any fat, which makes her skin  transparent. Creepy. Fortunately she's gaining about 6 ounces each week at this stage, with most of that weight coming from fat.

I have been feeling at lot more kicks and wiggles the last couple weeks. I notice it mostly after a meal and when I'm sitting or laying down. She seems to be a bit of a night owl, doing crazy dances as soon as I go to bed. At my appointment on Monday the midwife put the doppler on my tummy to listen to her heartbeat. I noticed it was a little slower than the last time I heard it and asked if that was normal. She said yes,and that if she is napping it should be slower than if she's kicking around. It was at 140, which is smack dab in the middle of "normal", which is between 120 and 160. As soon as she said "kicking around" I felt a big kick against the doppler  and her heart rate went up immediately! Apparently she heard us talking about her.

Well, there's my tri-weekly update. I have a fun little story about a three drawer nightstand, but I'll save that for another day. That's right, I'm leaving you hanging. It makes things exciting, don't you think? I mean, as exciting as a three drawer nightstand can be. Trust me though, you'll get a kick out of this story. Stay tuned..