23 weeks: beginning the nursery

Baby is still the size of a squash according to the ticker. She weighs about a pound and is about 12" long if she were to stretch out. Based on what I've seen on ultrasounds she's in a ball most of the time. Although the last ultrasound to get better images of her heart she started out feet down and head up facing my spine.  Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to help get her ready for breathing and her sense of hearing is getting keener by the minute. She is getting used to all the sounds in my daily routine, including household noises, which right this second is the bluegrass Pandora station.

I had a prenatal appointment on Friday, first one since being back from Asia. Baby's heartbeat is strong and she was kicking the doctor pretty hard while she was holding the fetal doppler to my belly. The doctor exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! She's active!" as the doppler bounced and we heard "Thud! Thwap! Bam!" from the speaker. The doctor also measured fundal height for the first time at this visit. It's a measurement of baby's growth using a tape measure from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus. If baby is measuring on track, the number of centimeters should correspond to the number of weeks. Fundal height was 22 cm so she's growing right on track! We have an ultrasound scheduled for next week as well. I also had some blood work done at this appointment and all came back within normal ranges. I feel reassured that baby and I are healthy following the battle with the norovirus and relieved that she continues to grow and develop appropriately. I have been feeling pretty good this week.

We started getting some things for the nursery last weekend, which has been exciting. We have all the furniture now and just need to fill in with decorations. Stay tuned for a post with before and after photos when we're done.

Today I had the pleasure of hosting two friends and their kids for a lunch visit at our house. Erica's son, Gus, calls children "kiddos" which I think is just adorable. When he got out of the van and heard the kids playing down the street at the school he said, "Are we having lunch with the kiddos?" I learned that he is a meatatarian, can pee on the potty with ease, and remembered all of our names. Impressive on all counts. His little sister, Nora, is way more mobile than the last time I saw her a couple months ago. She crawls like a pro, pulls herself up to standing on just about anything, and takes a few assisted steps! Terri and little Finley arrived soon after and that little Finley entered the room with a giant smile that never left her face. She is just a doll. Terri and Erica shared some valuable words of wisdom regarding the nursery that I will put to use (e.g. don't hang anything over the changing table that you don't want grabbed or pulled). And, they generously offered to throw me a baby shower, which I am so grateful and thrilled about! Today is a good day.