23 Week Belly

It's been a while since I posted a belly shot, so here it is, lol.

23 Weeks

23 Weeks

Your baby now weighs a little over one pound/ 500 grams and measures about 11.4 inches/ 29 centimeters from crown to heel. Her hearing is well established and she can make out a distorted version of your voice, the beating of your heart and your stomach rumblings. Loud noises often heard in utero, such as the barking of a dog next door or the roar of a vacuum cleaner, probably won't bother your child when she hears them outside the womb.

Numerous studies seem to indicate that the unborn prefer classical music, especially Vivaldi. Play The Four Seasons for your child and pay attention to her movements. Does she quieten down during adagio sections and speed up for the allegro portions? You may have a budding conductor in your womb.

In addition to advances in your baby's hearing, her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing. She's swallowing but she normally won't pass her first stool (called meconium) until after birth.

Photo info:
My last baby at 23 weeks, this baby's big brother. Isn't he cute? Baby girl probably looks very similar, as all my babies have been little clones of my dh.

Appointment Update

I got busy, sorry, lol.

My appt went relatively well. I gained 7lbs between 18w and 22w; my grand total is 7lbs so far. BP was 120/68, a bit high for me. I was fighting with my shoes, lol. Baby is doing well. My belly measured right on. baby's heartbeat was 150bpm. The OB had to chase her a bit.

I've been transferred to the prinatologists full-time. Because of my history I need to have a surgeon on call all the time, so that no matter when I have the baby, someone will be able to do a hysterectomy should I need it. The people that deliver with the clinic are all family medicine people with no real surgical (c-section excluded) experience.

My first appt is 11 December, we'll see what they say. Apparently I was closer to a hysterectomy last time than I had thought.

Update

Nothing is really going on, hence the lack of posts. I'm finally feeling the baby regularly, and form what I'm feeling, I'm pretty sure she's breech. My babies seem to stay that way for a while, my last didn't turn til around 30 weeks. So far I haven't had to go into L&D for contractions (I did with my last 2 at 22w and 24w). I'm hoping to avoid that this time. I have an appointment this afternoon and will update afterwards.

22 Weeks

Your baby now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound. Her skin will continue to appear wrinkled until she gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her head and body is now visible. Her lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. Her eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and her pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily.

Photo info:
A girl born after just under 22 weeks in the womb - among the shortest gestation periods known for a live birth. Doctors say she is the first baby known to have survived after a gestation of fewer than 23 weeks. But full-term births usually come after 37 to 40 weeks. Amillia was just 9 1/2 inches long and weighed less than 10 ounces when she was delivered by Caesarean section.

21 Weeks

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. His eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. And you can certainly feel him move. He's oblivious to your schedule, though, so don't be surprised if he starts working out just when you're settling down for the night. If you're having a girl, her vagina is formed now, though it will continue to develop until birth.

20 Weeks

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)

A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)

Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).