Week 23, She is 1 pound, and will double in weight in 4 weeks!

This week your baby's length, from crown-to-rump, is approximately 8 inches! Your growing baby has finally reached one pound. Your baby is about the size of a small baby doll and looks very human. The baby's face and body look similar to that of a newborn at this time. Your baby will basically double in weight over the next four weeks! (Oh, belly!)
Fat is still being deposited at a rapid rate, but your baby still looks red and wrinkled. Skin is being produced at a higher rate than the fat is, so the skin hangs loosely. Your baby looks red because the skin is losing its transparency and pigment is beginning to form. You should be feeling your baby moving quite a bit throughout the day as she will kick and punch the uterus walls (I have been referring to her as Kicky McFlippy, cause she is moving all day long!). Babies also run their hands along the umbilical cord and touch their body parts while they are in the womb. Your baby now can suck her thumb for real, where she was just sticking it in her mouth. Your baby will continue to swallow amniotic fluid and recycle it as urine. The liquids and sugars that the baby retracts from the fluid is a supplement to the nutrients that the placenta delivers. You might be able to feel small `jumps` inside of you when your baby gets the hiccups from swallowing fluid. The pancreas is developing and it will responsible for insulin production, to help break down sugars. As the baby continues to grow, it has less space to move around in the uterus. Bones, muscles and organs are growing steadily.

We're back in the swing of things now that we're back in town and the Holidays have passed. Greg had all of last week off, which we both enjoyed. The house is really feeling settled and we're gearing up for our next wave of visitors at the end of the month, can't wait!