23 weeks!

What a crazy week it's been! Shawn was out of town from Tuesday-Thursday, and he's been fighting off a cold. I knew it was just a matter of time before I caught it too. Around Sunday or Monday I had what I thought was just a little chest congestion. Apparently, it was much worse. All week, I kept waking up around 3am feeling like I couldn't breathe. I would get up, sit in a chair, try to take some deep breaths, and then go back to sleep. But, by Thursday night (Friday morning), it was getting much worse. This time, when I awoke in the middle of the night, I could not get a deep breath no matter how hard I tried. The more I tried, the more I began to panic. I even woke Shawn up to help calm me down. I finally settled in my recliner and put on a movie to try to relax. I fell asleep around 4am for an hour or two, but I was exhausted. I took a sick day off work to call my OB, try to relax, and get some rest. The OB nurse said she thought it might be congestion and to try taking Tylenol Cold & Flu. I even tried using a humidifier, but it didn't help much. As the day progressed, I just felt worse and more anxious. I was beginning to wonder if the baby was starting to crowd my lungs and if this was the start to a LONG remaining 4 months. I finally fell asleep in the recliner around 1am and actually slept through the night! I woke up feeling refreshed and could even breathe a little easier. I realized that the congestion was only 50% the culprit -- the other 50% was due to my hyper-focused attention on not being able to breathe, which caused lots of unnecessary anxiety. Today, I mainly focused on controlling my breathing and not letting panic take over. Whew, that was a rough 24 hours!

Not to worry, we do have good news from this week... Shawn finally felt Blake move for the first time!! Every night that I can feel the baby moving, I have Shawn come over and try to feel it. I think he was starting to think it would never happen. So last night, she was moving quite a bit -- doing flip-flops and kicking pretty hard. I told him to come over and try again. After a minute or so, he finally felt a big thump! He looked right at me, smiling, and said "whoa!!" Then we high-fived in celebration. We've been trying today, but he hasn't been able to feel it again. I know it's just a matter of time when he'll be able to feel her all the time -- maybe even on command! Until then, we are just thankful that our baby girl seems to be thriving and healthy! God is good, all the time!

How I’m Changing

Total weight gain: 12 lbs (up 1 lb since last week)

I finally decided to start showing my face!

Maternity clothes? yes. bought more maternity shirts today!

Stretch marks? not yet, fingers crossed!

Sleep: having trouble sleeping due to breathing issues

Best moment this week: Daddy Shawn feeling her move for the first time!! (at 22 weeks 6 days and 22 hours)

Miss Anything? anxiety & sleep medication (to help with breathing issues)

Movement: she is doing lots of flip-flops and kicks throughout the day, mostly after lunch & in the evening

Food cravings: not really, although we had pei wei last night :-)

Anything making you queasy or sick: only if I feel like I'm going to pass out, which I almost did today (dizzy & sweating while shopping)

Gender: girl

Symptoms: swollen feet & ankles, trouble breathing, dizzy spell, bruise on my lower stomach from round ligament pain (??)

Belly Button in or out? still in

Wedding rings on or off? off (hand starting to swell)  :-(

Happy or Moody most of the time: both, but can be quite irritable

Looking forward to: seeing my in-laws next weekend

Baby Kirby Week 23 Update:

your baby's the size of a grapefruit! At about 10.5 to 11.8 inches and about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces, baby's not just getting bigger, she's getting even cuter. She's forming little nipples (yeah, really!). Her face is fully formed now -- she just needs a little extra fat to fill it out. She's listening to your voice and your heartbeat -- and even to loud sounds like cars honking and dogs barking.

The picture below shows how big Blake would be if she was born this week:

Pretty good size!