23 weeks tom.

I was just reading the facts on pregnancy tickers. At 23 weeks the baby is supposed to be the size of a papaya, about 12 1/2 inches long, have fully formed ears, fingernails and fingerprints. I certainly feel like I have something the size of a papaya in there when I look down, my feet have disappeared I noticed this morning, I have to bend over a tiny bit to see them. Other than the hardness of my belly and that my normal clothes no longer fit, I really don't feel very pregnant yet. I guess having had twins the first time around and feeling huge from the first trimester onwards, this girl is easy to carry by comparison (so far... I reserve the right to complain in the 3rd trimester!)

I had an OB appointment a few days ago. It went well. She told me I was doing "Awesome" :) My BP was way lower than it had been a month ago. I have really cut salt out of my diet this past month, and it seems to be helping. I am amazed by how much salt is in everything, reading labels is key. My taste buds seem to have adjusted to having way less salt too. I took a bite of a pickle the other day (1/2 salt baby dills) and it was so salty I could barely stand it. I used to eat dill pickles all the time. Also trying to take life easier, let people help, ignore my messy house and avoid stress.

I have gained 1 pound so far this pregnancy. And since the baby weighs over a pound now herself, I think that is pretty good. Unlike with the twins where I was told I needed to gain some weight, I have no need to gain any weight with a singleton, maintaining or just a small gain is fine. I figure if you take the baby, placenta, fluid, etc. into consideration I have actually lost weight. I am sure that the scale will go up during the 3rd trimester, but for now I am happy it is staying where it is.

I haven't really bought anything for our new little girl yet, but I did order some newborn cloth diapers. I am excited for them to arrive in the mail. I got prefolds, flats and small sized fitteds and some different styles of covers (including a recycled wool one). I am not sure what else I will really need. I did give away some of Anna's smallest clothes to a friend who had a smaller baby than expected, so I might need a few more newborn and 0-3 month sized outfits. And every baby needs to have a few things that aren't hand me downs anyways...

Team PINK

Earlier this week we went in for the 20 week ultrasound (actually 21 weeks 1 day). I always find ultrasounds nerve wracking. I think it is because the first time I ever had one it was the day we learned our first baby didn't have a heartbeat and that I was going to miscarry. So, since then, I tend to get a little worried.

Everything went wonderfully. They managed (after much poking and prodding to get baby into the positions needed) to take all the measurements, check all the limbs, organs etc. The Dr said everything looked great, that baby was around 1 pound and was measuring around the 60th percentile. Big sigh of relief!

The Dr also knew what the sex was and asked if we wanted to know. We are having a GIRL!

The 2nd part of the ultrasound was done transvaginally to check my cervical length. With the twins at this ultrasound (done earlier at 19 weeks) my cervix had gotten really short (13mm) and I was admitted for a cerclage surgery and spent a week in the hospital on bedrest, before being sent home on bedrest. This time there was much better news. My cervix is staying long (around 50mm) and showed no signs of funneling. Again, big sigh of relief!