Twenty-Three Weeks

Today Nick is 23 weeks old. Only 119 days to go! I feel him moving a lot, and Jeff has been able to feel him three times now. For some reason he almost always stops kicking and moving when I tell Jeff to try to feel it! I read that I could start having Braxton Hicks contractions soon - not sure how I feel about that. Maybe it's good practice? I went to my first La Leche League meeting tonight. I didn't learn anything new, but it was nice to be around other moms and lots of kids. I am so excited to nurse!

According to The Cradle, fine, downy lanugo covers the baby’s entire body, including the head. During the next six weeks, the baby will grow in ways that will safeguard its survival if born prematurely. Every day the baby spends growing in the womb is a day filled with developmental progress!

According to Pregnancy Weekly, Nick now weighs about one pound and is approximately 11.5 inches head to heel. He is continuing to develop facial features and I am probably feeling a lot of movement as he continues to explore his body and world in the comfort of his own personal "living womb." Nick now has eyes that open and close, ears that can hear, and a thumb well worth sucking. If I feel him making regular, jerky movements, I shouldn't panic - Nick just has the hiccups!

According to Baby Center, I should turn on the radio and sway to the music. With Nick's sense of movement well-developed by now, he can feel me dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), I may be able to see him squirm underneath my clothes!! Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that his increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as a dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

Here is the stocking we bought for Nick. Each of us in our little family has a blue stocking now :) I can't wait to fill it for him next year! Who am I kidding - I'll probably buy a *little* something to put in it this year :) Maybe a wrist rattle?