Update on Baby Horak - 23 Weeks Pregnant

At more that eleven inches long and weighing over a pound, our baby is the size and shape of a small doll. We've already heard our developing baby's heartbeat through a Doppler a number of times, but by now we can probably also hear it through a standard stethoscope, so I’m hoping nurse Aunt Jessica will bring hers along when she visits us this weekend!  This week marks the beginning of some serious weight gain. Our baby's weight in the next four weeks alone should double (and I’ll probably feel as though mine is doubling too!  Yikes!). 

 

Our baby's skin is reddish in color now because of the developing blood vessels underneath (remember, the skin is very thin still). It also hangs loosely from her little body at this point because the skin grows faster than the fat develops during fetal growth. But by the time our baby is born, I’m sure she will be pleasantly plump and filled out — from chubby cheeks (a trademark of Rabe babies, heehee!) to chubby toes!  :)  With her sense of movement well developed by now, our baby can feel me walking around or working out. Her own movements are becoming more defined, and she even gave Jordan a kick last Saturday morning (that was the first time he’d gotten to feel her movements)!  :)  Last night after I had finished working out, I laid down on the bed to read and rest for a little bit, and she started moving a lot (apparently she decided it was time for her to work out!).  I could ‘see’ her kicking as it made my tummy move!  It looked so funny!  Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that our baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as Macy’s barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner (usually the two are simultaneous since Macy hates the vacuum cleaner!  Haha!) — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb (which is a really good thing, since my handheld vacuum cleaner is extremely loud and I use it at least twice a week!).