23 Weeks Pregnant

How my baby's growing:

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, my baby can feel me dance. They say I may be able to see him squirm underneath my clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that our baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world.

How my life's changing:

I'm noticing that my ankles and feet are starting to swell a bit and will continue to do so in the coming weeks or months, especially at the end of the day and during this summer heat. Sluggish circulation in the legs — coupled with changes in my blood chemistry that may cause some water retention — may result in swelling, also known as edema. My body will get rid of the extra fluid after I have my baby.

Well we made it through 2 months of summer interns, 2 outreaches, youth summer camp and Master's graduation...sigh! It was an awesome 2 months but I'm glad it's finally come to an end. I think I'm going into hibernation until the baby comes - just kidding. Looking forward to some down time in the month of August with a PVC staff retreat, vacation to KC and then a MC staff retreat. Now we will also have time to paint the nursery and do some much needed cleaning and organizing before our little bundle of joy arrives.