23 Weeks!

My shirt looks weird in this picture.  It's a regular tank top and it doesn't really fit anymore.  It's too short in the front.  I'm finding that with pretty much all my non-maternity shirts.  Must mean baby girl is growing!

1. How far along?: 23 weeks.
2. How big is baby?: 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'sincreasingly 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.
3. Weight gain?: -5 lbs.
4. Stretch marks?: None yet. 
5. Maternity clothes?: I'm wearing my maternity pants, although they are too big (pre-pregnancy jeans aren't working anymore) and maternity shirts. My belly is getting bigger! :)
   
6. Best moment last week?: It's been a rough week but the sun is shining so I'm thankful for that.
7. Food cravings?: Fresh fruit (strawberries, peaches, melon)
8. Symptoms?:  I am feeling ok.  It's been a rough week and I'm having some physical pains.
9. Gender?: Baby Girl!! Cara Joyce.  
10. Movement?:  I feel her every day.  Some days its more then others but nothing consistent.
11. Belly button?: Still in.
12. What I miss?: Nothing this week.
13. Labor signs?: I was/am having some contractions.  I got checked out and everything seems to be going fine (no preterm labor).
14. What I'm looking forward to?: Easter is on Sunday and its supposed to be 68*. Woohoo!!

22 weeks!

1. How far along?: 22 weeks.
2. How big is baby?: At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily. (Taken from baby center)
3. Weight gain?: -7 lbs.
4. Stretch marks?: None yet. 
5. Maternity clothes?: I'm wearing my maternity pants, although they are too big (pre-pregnancy jeans aren't working anymore) and maternity shirts. My belly is getting bigger! :)
   
6. Best moment last week?:  She is really starting to move.
7. Food cravings?: Chinese food sounds really good!
8. Symptoms?:  I am feeling pretty good, other then some back pain
9. Exercise?: Not really exercise but stretches for my tailbone/sciatic pain.
10. Gender?: Baby Girl!! 
11. Movement?: Yes, I'm feeling her most days.  
12. Belly button?: Still in.
13. What I miss?: Nothing this week.
14. Labor signs?: Better not have these yet.
15. What I'm looking forward to?: Meeting a friend for coffee on Friday.  :)

21 Weeks (2 days late!)

1. How far along?: 21 weeks.
2. How big is baby?: Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.
3. Weight gain?: -7 lbs.
4. Stretch marks?: None yet. 
5. Maternity clothes?: I'm wearing my maternity pants, although they are too big (pre-pregnancy jeans aren't working anymore) and maternity shirts. My belly is getting bigger! :)
   
6. Best moment last week?: Cara's nursery is almost all painted!! We have 1 more wall and then we will start to put it together.
7. Food cravings?: Food in general.  I'm hungry all the time.  Now if I could just start to gain some weight.
8. Symptoms?:  I am feeling pretty good, other then some back pain and constantly hungry.
9. Exercise?: Not really exercise but stretches for my tailbone/sciatic pain.
10. Gender?: Baby Girl!! Cara Joyce.  
11. Movement?:  I feel her every day.  Some days its more then others but nothing consistent.
12. Belly button?: Still in.
13. What I miss?: Nothing this week.
14. Labor signs?: Better not have these yet.
15. What I'm looking forward to?: Progress on her room!

4 weeks vs 20 weeks

Baby Cara is definitely getting bigger.  Here is a comparison of 4 weeks (right when we found out) to now at 20 weeks.  I can't wait to see what I look like towards the end and then of course once Cara joins us!!

20 weeks. . . Half way there!!

1. How far along?: 20 weeks.
2. How big is baby?:Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He'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, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)
   He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).  Cara was 9ozs. at our ultrasound last week!
3. Weight gain?: -8 lbs.
4. Stretch marks?: None yet. 
5. Maternity clothes?: I'm wearing my maternity pants, although they are too big (pre-pregnancy jeans aren't working anymore) and maternity shirts. My belly is getting bigger! :)
   
6. Best moment last week?: Finding out we are having a healthy baby girl!
7. Food cravings?: Nothing this week. 
8. Symptoms?:  I am feeling pretty good, other then some back pain and constantly hungry.
9. Exercise?: Not really exercise but stretches for my tailbone/sciatic pain.
10. Gender?: Baby Girl!! Cara Joyce
11. Movement?:  She has been moving all around.  I don't feel her consistently yet but hopefully soon.
12. Belly button?: Still in.
13. What I miss?: Nothing this week.
14. Labor signs?: Better not have these yet.
15. What I'm looking forward to?: Nice weather this weekend!  Hopefully we can get some garden stuff done.