23 weeks

Things have been running smoothly lately. We have been busy cleaning the house and getting things moved around so that the new baby things will be organized. It's amazing how much junk can be in a basement, even when you think it's actually clean. Our next big project will be new flooring on the main floor. Until we are ready for the flooring we are enjoying the last 3 months of just the 2 of us.

Your Baby in Week 23 of Pregnancy

Your little doll-sized babe is about to chub up a bit. Its saggy skin will start to fit his frame as fat deposits fill things out. Beginning this week, it'll start to pack on the pounds (which means you will too!) and by month's end it'll be double the weight he is now (though you won't be — whew!). Right now, your baby's organs and bones are visible through its skin, which has a red hue due to developing veins and arteries beneath. But once those fat deposits settle in, it'll become less transparent.

Week 23 Pregnancy Symptoms

Fetal activity: You may be getting used to feeling your baby’s movements in the womb. Cherish these light kicks now before they get more pronounced (and painful) and before your little mover and shaker gets a foot caught in your ribs! This kid is kicking up a storm and loves my yelling at sporting events, whether it's on TV or at a Birch kid event, this kid loves sports (mainly football, soccer and volleyball).

Hearty appetite: It’s perfectly normal to find yourself wanting to devour the contents of your kitchen cabinets and fridge (you have a growing baby to feed!). So try to stock your home with healthy snacks such as fruit, cut-up veggies, nuts, and whole-wheat crackers. It's amazing how much I can eat now. It was just a short time ago when I didn't want to see any food in front of me.

Bloating: If you can’t seem to shake that ate-too-much feeling, you’re experiencing the effects of progesterone. The hormone causes the gastrointestinal tract to relax and slow down digestion, so that the nutrients from the foods you eat have more time to enter your bloodstream and reach your baby. Help keep things moving through your system (and out of your already bulging belly) by drinking plenty of water. This has only happened a few times. Just a good night's sleep and I was back to normal.

Forgetfulness: Are you consistently forgetting your keys, appointments, and where you parked the car? “Pregnancy brain” is likely caused by those pesky pregnancy hormones — and since it’s completely normal (and temporary), try to laugh it off and refrain from being too hard on yourself. This hasn't kicked in just yet, small signs every now and then.

Snoring: This fairly common (and annoying) pregnancy symptom can disrupt your sleep and your partner’s. Partly due to nasal congestion (caused by extra weight and swollen mucous membranes in your nose), you can alleviate the nighttime nasal noises by wearing a nasal strip at bedtime and running a warm-mist humidifier in your bedroom. I've been waking up congested but I'll have to check with Scott on the snoring.

Tingling hands (carpal tunnel): Swelling during pregnancy can put pressure on nerves in the wrists and cause the aching and tingling associated with carpal tunnel syndrome. If you work at a computer all day, take frequent hand-stretching breaks and make sure your wrists are straight and your elbows aren't higher than your hands when you’re at your desk. This has been going on for a few weeks. It will wake me up in the middle of the night and then i readjust my arms and go back to sleep.

Bleeding gums: Reduce irritation to your gums (which are swelling more than usual these days due to hormones), by avoiding chewy sweets, brushing and flossing regularly, and visiting the dentist at least once while you’re expecting. I haven't noticed this too much, need to get a dentist appointment.

Best Husband

Since the weather decided to drop from 80s to 40s in a matter of a day we started to bundle up.  It wasn't too cold on Friday evening and we went to bed without the heat on in the house.  When we woke up Saturday morning there was a freezing cold dog nuzzled between us.  Since Reily got an extra summer cut late in the summer, it's a little slow to grow back.

With that being said I was all about turning the heat on as soon as possible.  But I was informed that we needed to get a new filter before doing so.  So, I waited till that afternoon.  Thankfully we weren't really home much so I didn't seem to mind.

Scott put the new filter in and waited for the heat to kick on.  Scott did mention that we should have had someone out at the house to check the furnace before doing anything but Mother Nature didn't wait.  Instead I sat on the couch debating the need for carbon monoxide detectors.  I've never been a worry ward on things like this, but with a baby on the way I didn't want to take a chance.

So, I casually mentioned my worries and to my surprise I was met with agreement.  And a quick trip to Lowe's we now own 2 carbon monoxide detectors, one for each floor.  It was well worth the sense of relief.

I completely have the best husband ever, for getting up at 8:30PM on a Saturday night, in the middle of the Nebraska game to go to Lowe's to get these for me!

Missouri's Best

Last year we attended the Missouri's Best Festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens and had a great time sampling all the food and seeing all the craft vendors.  This year just Scott and I went and enjoyed all the samples one can get.  It was a little colder this year.  Although being in the big tents really helped keep me warmer than I had expected.

We got there around noon and I didn't think the crowds were as bad as they were last year.  Or I was hanging around the wine tasting booths like last year.  It was obvious to see which places were giving out samples and they had very long lines.  Some where worth the wait, others like the sweet/spicy mustard was not.

We walked through all 4 huge tents and found a few new goodies that we had to go back for, after a stop of water.  I do love going and support MoBot and the events that they have.  Not to mention the 15 minutes of driving around the blocks trying to find parking spaces.

Here are our goodies, we've already made one of the soups in a bag from Thompson's Farms.  And yes, we did buy goose poop!

22 Weeks, Already

I have been feeling more and more like normal lately.  It's nice to stay up past 9:30 and not feel completely wiped out.  The baby has been more active in the last week or so.  It was really active when I was yelling at the Huskers game and while we were at the Rams game last weekend.  We might have a sports fan.  At Elizabeth's volleyball game, the baby was moving around to the music before the game.

Per babycenter.com - Your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Its lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and it's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. Its eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment.

Size of Baby: Papaya (8in., 1.2lb.) - This kid is getting big fast!

Total Weight Gain: I'm guessing I haven't put too much weight on in the last week.  Although I feel like I'm always hungry.

Continuing Symptoms: Occasional headaches when I wake up.  It might depend on amount of water at night.

New Symptoms This Week: Scott was finally about to feel a little bit of the baby moving this week.  No new symptoms

Maternity Clothes: What are regular clothes?

It's October

I can't believe it's October already.  We had an extremely busy last weekend in September and I'm pretty sure things are only going to be busier from here on out.

On Saturday I went with Scott on his weekly breakfasts with Michelle in Soulard.  And then we headed over to the Market to get some much-needed groceries.  We ran into to Kristin down there and stayed longer than we had planned.  We headed home for a little football and napping before going back to Taste of St. Louis.



We ended up getting downtown around 3 and it wasn't too crowded yet.  We tried a Windy City Dog and burger from Paul's, gooey butter cake, pulled pork, crab rangoon, and dumplings from the booths.  While we were there we listened to a Johnny Cash cover band on the main stage.  They weren't too bad.  It was a really nice afternoon to be walking around St. Louis.

Sunday was game day.  Scott was able to get tickets to the Rams/Seahawks game from his boss and it was a great game.  It's been a while since I've been able to say that about the Rams.  We picked up Mike and Nicole nice an early and headed downtown to tailgate a little before the game.  Scott was in charge of the grilling and did a great job.





[caption id="attachment_2370" align="aligncenter" width="300"] If you look at the big screen you can see Coach Fisher celebrating.[/caption]

After the game we met up with Kristin at Ted Drewes and then headed over to Art in the Park.   We were exhausted by the time we got there and the crowds had thinned out, however we still ran into a few people that we knew.  It's always nice to see the local artists.

What a great way to end September, bring on October!

 

21 Weeks

Things are pretty much back to normal.  We had our big 20 week appointment this week.  Plenty of good reviews from the doctor and the ultrasound tech.  Scott did learn how to read ultrasounds and we'll find out in 18 weeks if he is right.

Size of Baby: Spaghetti Squash (8in., 1lb.) - This kid is getting big fast!

Total Weight Gain: I've only gained 6lbs.  I'm happy to say that it's not a crazy weight gain like I thought it would have been early on.  I'm sure I'll be packing on the pounds shortly.

Continuing Symptoms: I'm still waking up with headaches and congestion but nothing too horrible.  I'm feeling a lot more normal with the exception of going to bed by 9.  At least my sleeping habits are getting better and I'm sleeping more through the night with the lack of sugar after 3PM.

New Symptoms This Week: No new symptoms.  Starting to feel the baby move more and more.  Hopefully, Scott will feel it soon.

Maternity Clothes: I'm pretty much only wearing maternity clothes these days.  We finally found a pair of black pants for work and I'm good to go.

 

Scott does Pinterest

A new hobby I have is checking out Pinterest and seeing what I can create or get new recipe ideas. It's been helpful in getting some baby ideas as well. So Sunday while we were enjoying our new couches and football, I came across a fun way to use apples. Since we went apple picking a few weeks ago and still have tons of apples, what better way to use them.

Scott remembered that we had a bunch of tea light candles and then it was off to the races.



First he cut the top off the apples and then cut a whole in the apple to fit the candle inside.



Once the candle is set inside light it up and enjoy the apple smell through out the house!