23 Weeks and some fun pictures!

I think we should start with the pictures. If I must say so myself... I have one handsome little boy! 

How far along: 23 Weeks!!





Size of baby: More than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (the size of a large mango).  Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.






Weight gain: 11 pounds! I am doing good so far!  I am afraid a lot of it is lost muscle mass though.  Not being able to exercise is doing a number on my body!





Maternity clothes: Mostly.  I still have some shirts that are not maternity that I prefer to wear!




Gender: BOY!! Sawyer!




Movement: All the time!  He is getting really strong!




Sleep: Sleep is getting harder to come by with the body aches and the heartburn. I could probably sleep all day if it weren't for those little issues!





Symptoms: Round ligament pains, heartburn, and constantly hungry!! I am starting to develop some sciatic pain as well... in my butt... not fun! My back aches and I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions too but nothing to worry about.





Cravings: I have been eating everything and loving it!! I started to get really bad heartburn but started taking Protonix and it has helped so much!! Now I eat what I want, when I want and if I do get some mild heartburn, Tums take care of it!! Probably not a good thing though... I should really cut down on my eating!




Best moment this week: Today we got some great pictures of our little Mr.  He is so cute!! 



What I am looking forward to: Showing off all the pictures and the DVD that we got of our little boy today! I can't wait for my mom to see him!

Update:  As of today there hasn't been much change.  My cervix is still high and closed, which is good.  Dr. S is still keeping a very close eye on me and I will go back to see him again on Friday.  This past Saturday, after a day full of back pain and headaches I finally made Skeet take me into Labor and Delivery.  I wasn't sure if I should be worried but I wanted to be safe just in case.  They hooked me up to the monitors and did all kinds of tests.  Sawyer was so active the entire time.  He hated the monitors!  It was fun to feel him move so much.  They didn't see one contraction the entire time... not even the Braxton Hicks that I KNOW I had.  Dr. S doesn't think that my uterus is big enough yet for the monitors to pick anything up.  We did however, get the Fetal Fibronectin test done and it came back negative.  This made Skeet and I both feel a little better.  When they did that test with Avery, it came back positive and she was born 3 days later.  I know it's not always completely accurate but if it had come back positive I would have really been in a panic!  It has definitely been a roller coaster but every day we get through with this little guy where he needs to be is a day closer to him being healthier and stronger.  It's closer to him being able to survive without me and each day is a blessing!  We are so excited to meet him but not until he is fully cooked!