Twenty-Three Weeks

It's been a while since I posted anything about our baby boy. He's grown enough in the last couple of weeks to make his presence known pretty regularly. This is, by far, one of the best parts of pregnancy - feeling the baby move and getting daily reassurance that all is well in there. Both Anna and Blake have felt his kicks as well. Anna continues to be enamored with him, kissing and hugging and talking to him every morning and every night.

I had a routine midwife appointment today. At twenty-three weeks, we are halfway through the monitoring for heart block. As of today, the baby's heart rate was steady and strong. By twenty-eight weeks, if he has not developed heart block, it should not develop, and a big weight will be lifted from our shoulders. He also seems to be growing just fine at this point. My uterus is measuring where it should be, and my weight is steadily increasing.

I'm sufficiently uncomfortable while sleeping, rolling from side to side throughout the night and getting up to pee at least twice - all good signs as well I suppose. I spent the last two days going through plastic bins in the basement, cleaning out stuff to donate, and reorganizing - and I had to rest frequently. I can't seem to grasp the concept of taking it easy, but the Braxton-Hicks contractions remind me that I need to do just that. Overall, I'm feeling good.

We have a freshly-painted bedroom, too - ready for pictures, books, bedding, and drapes. We are, of course, exploring names, but haven't settled on one. As with Anna, we won't decide for sure until we see him for the first time. I'm sure we'll have it narrowed down to a couple. That is, I'll have a couple I like and Blake will have the one that he's liked from the beginning, that he hasn't swayed from one little bit.

Thank you, again, to everyone for the positive thoughts. Things are looking and feeling good, and I'm hopeful that they'll continue this way!