Things are going well. Baby B is enjoying life on the inside. He likes to kick and play often. We love our fun time together as long as it’s not in the middle of the night. Haha. I’m definitely getting more stretching ligaments if you have had them you know they are zero fun. If you haven’t let me try to explain. It’s basically like you move from any normal position and all the sudden it feels like someone has a huge sharp knife and they are stabbing you with it. Every time you try to move or adjust the knife is being twisted viciously. This happens always by surprise you never know when to expect the knife fight but let me tell you I always lose lol. I’m still eating all my ice! I love love LOVE crunching on ice. I’m definitely getting more round and I freaking love it! People can tell now so that’s great. I look super cute in clothes! Now out of clothes not so much… I have had a few Braxton-Hicks from time to time usually when I’m busy at work and not drinking enough water. I asked Dr. Google since it seemed a bit early and of course he said it’s normal when you have had a few pregnancy’s. I guess number 5 counts as a few! I also followed up with my real dr who also said yep it’s fine! I still feel super lucky I haven’t gained any weight yet and I feel great. Sometimes I get a bit winded and I can’t eat a ton but that’s all fine! Our next appointment I will be 28 weeks so it’s basically a all day appointment since I have to do my sugar test plus another ultrasound since baby B wasn’t very cooperative at the 20 week ultrasound. Then I’ll meet the dr and then get to go home. I’m not allowed to eat two hours before my test so when I leave I’m sure I’ll be starving! I wonder if it would be frowned upon if I ordered a pizza or something and delivered it to my dr office while I wait??? I sure hope my sugar test comes back good this time. Last time it was close so they made me do the long 3 hour test! Then we get to go see my Dr every two weeks! This pregnancy is flying by. I love and hate the end! I’m so happy and excited for J and K to get their sweet baby boy! Plus I’m so excited to give birth and see what he looks like! I just always feel a little sad that I won’t be pregnant anymore. I feel so incredibly blessed that his mommy and daddy picked me to help keep him safe until he is big enough to go home and live with them. I can’t begin to explain how humbling and special that is to me! Everyone loves to say what a incredible person I am, but really the incredible people are baby B’s parents! To put that kind of trust into anyone is incredible! I’m so happy out of all the people they could have picked they chose me. I also can’t help but be a bit jealous this sweet baby boy gets to go live by the ocean! What a lucky boy he is! Now let’s see what baby B is up to this week! Plus a few pics!

Your baby is growing by leaps and bounds, reaching 13 inches (over a foot long!) in length and more than a pound-and-a-half in weight — taller than two juice boxes stacked one on top of the other and almost as heavy as four of them. What else is going on this week? Your baby’s skin is turning pinker — not because he’s getting overheated (in fact, the amniotic fluid is perfectly climate-controlled, keeping him at an always comfortable temperature), but because small blood vessels, called capillaries, are forming under the skin and filling with blood. Later this week, blood vessels will also develop in your baby’s lungs, bringing them one step closer to full maturity — and one step closer to taking that first breath of fresh air. But at 25 weeks pregnant, those lungs are still very much works-in-progress. Though they are already beginning to produce surfactant, a substance that will help them expand with oxygen after baby is born, the lungs are still too undeveloped to sufficiently send oxygen to the bloodstream and release carbon dioxide when she exhales.

The lungs aren’t the only system that’s gearing up for air intake. Your baby’s nostrils and nose are starting to work this week (it was previously believed that the nostrils stay plugged up until around now in the pregnancy, but the latest research shows they open much earlier and stay that way through all three trimesters). That allows your little one to begin taking practice breaths. Of course since there’s no air in there, your baby is really only “breathing” amniotic fluid, but it’s the practice that counts, right? Baby could also be able to smell various scents in utero by this week, too, and if not that sense will kick in by the third trimester.

Happy 23 weeks to us! We have a dr appointment this week so that’s always exciting! Then we will have another ultrasound at 28 weeks to try to get a few better pics of baby B and his heart. Things have been going just great. He is definitely getting more active and likes to play in my ribs! I can’t even be mad because it’s impressive that he can get up there. I’m getting excited that we are getting so close to all the exciting stuff now. I’m still eating my ice and loving it! We have been enjoying summer and swimming! Well mostly the kids I like to lay there and watch them haha. Also we went to Walmart and I found a Dino head to wear we thought this was hilarious! Let’s see what baby B is up to this week!!!

At around 11 inches long and just over a pound, this week marks the beginning of some serious weight gain. Your baby should double his weight over the next four weeks alone (and you may feel as though you do, too). His skin is a bit saggy since it grows a lot faster than fat — but soon he’ll start to fit his frame as fat deposits fill things out. By the time your baby is born, he will be pleasantly plump and filled out, from chubby cheeks to chubby toes. And although at 23 weeks pregnant, your baby’s organs and bones are visible through his skin (which has a red hue due to developing veins and arteries beneath), he’ll become less transparent once those fat deposits settle in.

You’ve probably heard your developing baby’s heartbeat through a Doppler a number of times already (though you never get tired of hearing it), but by now you can also hear it through a standard stethoscope. What a heartthrob!