Week 23

How your baby's growing: Your baby is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound. His skin is red and wrinkled. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare him for breathing. He can swallow, but he normally won't pass his first stool (called meconium) until after birth. Loud noises heard often in utero — such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze your baby when he hears them outside the womb.

My Take: I noticed two things on Friday that surprised me. First, I always have a bottle of water in my car and I never buy them. Since water is the best thing for me to be drinking and I go various places all the time to get them (business meetings, to friends, etc.) I always leave with a half drunk bottle in tow and leave it in my car for later (which I’m always grateful when I need a drink and it’s there!).

Secondly, soft drinks are now a dessert. I was in a phone system demo on Friday after lunch and the receptionist brought in those mini Pepsi cans for refreshments. Since I have probably had less than the equivalent of 1 can of coke since I got pregnant (supposed to be avoiding caffeine) and when I do I’m surprised by how sweet it is, my first thought upon seeing those ½ cans of pop was – it’d be nice to have a treat and it’s a manageable size. In the end, my conscience and timing won out and I didn't end up having the drink.

Here's a picture of me from yesterday: