{Bumpdate} 23 Weeks

dress - Mikarose  //  necklace - BYUStore

Look at that bump! I love seeing how far I come every few weeks :)

And notice the lovely red marks on the inner part of my upper arms? That is the result of tubing down the Provo River yesterday and using my arms to paddle. The result was rubber-burn. But it was really fun - those of you who are in Provo should do it at least once in your life.

And, um, this vintage-style dress... those polka dots and retro puffy sleeves, I can't even...

Now... on to the bumpdate!

How far along: 23 weeks

Gender: In case you didn't hear... Girl!!!

Baby is: The length and weight of a hardcover Harry Potter book. The nerd in me loves this measurement analogy. Or, for those of you who like the food comparisons, the length of an eggplant.

Symptoms: I have had mild heartburn a couple times and it's not fun... but the whole first half of my pregnancy was so easy that I was wondering when the unpleasant symptoms would kick in. I also get charlie horses in my legs at night, but I can usually stop them before they get painful by flexing my feet. Speaking of my feet, they hurt a bit in the late afternoon when the day is at its hottest, but once I get them elevated for a while they feel as good as new! I've also gained some chubs in my face. Meh.

Sleeping: Once I toss and turn enough to feel comfortable, I sleep just fine. And I still don't have to get up at night to use the bathroom, so my sleep is pretty uninterrupted.

What I'm missing: Being able to walk around for hours at a time without my feet killing me by the end.

Wedding rings on or off? On, although they get rather snug when I'm out in hot weather.

Belly button in or out? Still in, but definitely not as deep as normal!

Maternity clothes: I'm still not wearing "official" maternity clothes. My maxi dresses/skirts and yoga pants are saving my wallet until I get a belly band I can wear to make my pre-maternity jeans fit (I really don't want to get an entire new collection of jeans just for maternity). It's too hot for jeans anyways, and I still have some capris that fit on me.

Movement: This little lady is very active! In fact, the sonographers at my 20 week ultrasound fondly used the word "hyper" to describe her and kept asking if I'd had caffeine that morning. Nope. Just a bagel, orange juice, and a hard boiled egg - although the sugar in the orange juice was probably what did it. Anyways, she's the most active in mid-afternoon and right after midnight, and I finally caught some of her movements on video!

What I did/got for baby: We have a stroller, and my sister-in-law just gave me some newborn clothes that my niece has already grown out of. Our spare room is also finally cleared out and ready to decorate!

Best moment of the week: I finally got Doug to feel baby kick again. She's really sneaky with her kicks when he's around and will only kick a couple times - so by the time I've summoned him over to check it out, she stops. The little stinker. But we finally managed to catch her off-guard!

What I'm looking forward to: Fall. I know that's not exactly baby-related, but this will be the first fall where I won't be in school. It will be great to go through my favorite season with so much time to enjoy it and with this baby bump in tow. PLUS I have some fun ideas for a fall baby shower.

So. Excited.