Keeping Up With The Bump | Week 23

Can you believe I’ve made it to week 23 already?

What’s Happening To You In Week 23?

You’ve been so active this week; so much so that you can now see my belly move when you give me a good whack! I would ask though that you please stop jumping on my bladder, it’s not comfortable. You’re more or less in proportion from head to toe now too and looking more like a newborn. It’s so weird to think that next week you’ll be considered “viable” although it’s horrible to think that you were ever considered “non-viable” in the first place.

You’re about to go through, roughly, 5 weeks of rapid growth which means I’ll soon be able to use my belly as a resting place for that cup of tea. Your cerebrum, a part of your brain, is getting ready to conduct communication between cells and you are starting to experience rapid eye movement (REM) when you sleep, which doesn’t feel like ever! Your skin is gaining a little pigment and the hair all over your body (lanugo) is getting darker too. However, if you were out in the open we could probably still see your bones and organs through the skin. It won’t be for too much longer though as you’ll soon be gaining that all important fat.

What’s Happening To Mummy In Week 23?

Mummy is super annoyed at all the maternity clothes in the whole wide world. I am too big for normal sized clothes, but even maternity clothes are still a bit too big – I’m forever pulling up my jeans. I can’t find a Winter coat as all the shops have only gone and sold all the ones in my size, or don’t have any I like, and now it’s all Spring/Summer 2015 and we’re only just getting snow. My leg cramps seem to have subsided this week but I’m not comfortable in any one position for too long.

My uterus is around 4cm above my belly button, but after the meal I ate on Friday night I feel like it’s up to my neck as I have a food baby on top of you.

We heard your heartbeat for the first time on Monday at the midwife appointment. It took her a couple of minutes to find you because you were hiding – although you wouldn’t think there was too much room to hide in there. She ended up having to force you over to one side of my belly just so she could get a rhythm, and even then you ended up kicking her hand to tell her to get off.

It’s been definitely confirmed in my head now. I’m having a caesarean and, like I said last week, I’m going to look into natural caesareans. I spoke at length about it with the midwife who said the women she knows that have opted for it have always had really positive experiences and I’m really set on having that this time round.

We’ve had our first lot of snow this week too but it’s hardly worth going out in as there wasn’t that much. In general I don’t feel much different to how I did last week.

Here we are at week 23!

 Keeping Up With The Bump | Week 24