23 weeks

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

Belly shots:

Weight gain: 3 pounds exactly at my midwife appointment on Thursday. I'm pretty sure that number is going to jump up rather quickly between now and the next appt in 4wks, especially since my appetite is really increased lately and Baby G is at the point where he/she is all about packing on the pounds.

Movement: LOTS. In fact, last night Baby G was kicking me so hard it actually woke up me (apparently the L side is NOT a favorite for G, you would think I was laying on it's head or something) Still working on Dominic feeling it again, probably in the next few weeks.

Food Cravings: How's food in general? I am eating much more than I used too. I can certainly see how people have a tough time losing the weight after the baby because you're acustom to consuming so much more than usual.

Gender: It is what is is, thank for deciding for us Dominic!

What I'm Looking Forward to this Week: Turkey Day and getting to see friends and family up in Washington.

Best part of the last week? Getting our first Baby shower presents in the mail! Thanks Cynthia, Jenn, and Sue! We got some of our favorite things on the list including the medela pump, highchair, and mobi wrap. All necessities and yet fun at the same time.

To Do list:
We're having Chad Nice over for dinner tonight and Dominic has said we should tackle the Christmas lights on Sunday if the windy weather is gone. Seems early for Christmas decor but since we'll be out of town for Thanksgiving I figure we can start changing things over before we leave. I'd also love to get the dresser primed and painted and really start work on the nursery. Hopefully we'll have our bedding after the shower next sunday and things can really progress!