Week 23

At eight inches and slightly over a pound, Ansley is the size and shape of a small doll. This week marks the beginning of some serious weight gain- Ansley’s weight in the next four weeks alone should double. And even though we have heard her heartbeat through a Doppler a number of times already, by now you can also hear it through a standard stethoscope. Her skin is reddish in color now because of the developing blood vessels underneath (the skin is very thin still). It also hangs loosely from her lanky little body at this point because the skin grows faster than the fat develops. But don't worry, by the time Ansley is born, I’m sure she will be pleasantly plump and filled out — Josh and I were not petite babies:)

As you can tell from the picture below, Ansley may weigh only a pound, but I have gained a little more than that. I pulled up a little too close to the gas pump today, opened my door, and thought “It’s tight, but I’ll fit.” I was wrong. Normal Sara would have fit, not Pregnant Sara. I had to suck in as much as I possibly could to squeeze Ansley and I thru the small opening that was my door, and I’m still not sure that she didn’t get a little squished. Other than being completely unaware of my now protruding belly, I’m fine:)

Josh and I registered this past weekend and it was… exhausting. So many decisions to make. I finally found bedding that I like at Babies R Us, which is HUGE considering I had pretty much hated everything else I had looked at up until that point. It’s difficult to register for a little girl when mom hates pink. (Her bedding is still feminine, but it is cream, a light sage green, and brown. I LOVE it.) At one point we were looking at swaddling blankets and there was a pink one, blue one, and sage green one. I told Josh “Scan the green please.” He refused. He told me he was scanning the pink one because people are going to buy her pink because she’s a GIRL and I needed to get over it. You know it’s bad when even Josh starts scanning pink things. A little pink doesn’t bother me, but I’ll never forget looking at my niece’s closet after a baby shower and the ENTIRE CLOSET was pink. I’m not sure I can handle that…..