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...