Week 23 Pregnancy Journal

How Far Along? 23 weeks

Size of Baby: A large mango (11.5 inches).

Gender: A girl!

Weight Gain: Up a total of 6 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight -- but since I lost a few pounds in the first trimester, up 9 pounds total from that lowest point.

Maternity Clothes: YES. So thrilled on Sunday to take some clothes into Clothes Mentor (a consignment store) to sell -- only to see that they had a maternity section! I left with a few new tops and a Lilly dress. Spent more money than I made, but so worth it!

Nursery: I feel like we're taking baby steps here. Little eensy baby steps. I definitely have the vision of what I want, but we have a lot of items to store or sell before we can really start switching the rooms over. It's a bit daunting.

Movement: Loving every bit of it. My favorite way to wake up in the morning is to turn off the alarm and just lay there with my hand on my belly, feeling her wiggle.

Symptoms: Round belly. Somewhat itchy at times due to growth. No stretch marks, no hand or ankle swelling. A penchant for fun-sized Snickers. I allow myself to have three at a time. And I can't believe that I just admitted that.

Also, this week I noticed one night that one of my favorite rings was causing major discoloration on my fingers where it touched. My doctors (aka Instagram friends) diagnosed me with a possible iron deficiency? I called my (real) doctor first thing the next morning and they are going to run some more bloodwork this coming Friday. They recommended that I switch to a different prenatal with iron in it after I discovered that my gummies had no iron whatsoever in them. And the spinach smoothies have started again. Since that night I've not had this happen again with that ring.

Sleep: Still sleeping great!

Cravings: None really, a healthy appetite but no "I NEED THIS NOW" feelings about certain foods. Coming down off of the hot chocolate high that I was on for a long while.

What I Miss: Exercising without being really exhausted afterwards.

Best Moment This Week: Taking a yoga class with Ian on Friday night was a true highlight. It felt great to relax on the mat. I'd like to get back in several more times before baby girl comes. Oh, and if you are wondering about how I get Ian to go with me -- there are often about 2-4 other guys in the class, which is good for him to see, and it has been a big help for his lower back pain ... so he really enjoys it!

Looking Forward To: My doctor's appointment this week. I haven't had one in about five weeks so I'm just anxious to hear how everything is measuring and progressing along!