Update!

So here I am today in all my glory, taking my own picture in the women's restroom (how lovely!). In case you didn't read the previous blog, I'm in a new building temporarily with a new group of folks that I don't know very well. And there were no ladies around to take my picture this morning, so I improvised.

Stats (Amy, I'm copying you here on your format, hope you don't mind):

How far along: Today - 23 weeks and 6 days (tomorrow is 24 weeks).

Size of baby: According to one book, baby Emma is approximately 1.5 lbs and is the size of an envelope. I say bowling ball, because that is what I look like I'm carrying around. If one more person asks me if I'm having twins....I might lose it. Funny thing is I don't feel like I'm carrying the weight of a bowling ball, just the shape :) Lil girl has hair developing, but no pigment in it yet.

Weight gain/loss: Let me back up before I get to today's weight gain (and at this point, it's only gaining!). I lost 5 lbs last fall in the first few months. I was too nauseaus to eat anything most of the time, so that makes sense. So I gained that 5 lbs back sometime around January. Last doc visit I had gained 2-4 lbs. Last night my scale said 9lbs. This morning my scale said 7lbs. So I'm going with around 6-7 lbs :)

Clothes: Pretty much in all maternity pants now. Still have some regular large shirts I can get away with. Mom took me shopping last weekend and bought me some more cute things :)

Movement: I started feeling Emma last month, very low. She was very active early on this month, then tapered off a little. Last week I felt her very clearly before going to bed and early in the morning - quite a kicker. Sometimes I go a few days and don't feel the kicks quite as obvious, but can feel her turning over (still pretty low most of the time - she should have room to move up in my belly by now, right?). This morning she was back to kicking away!

Sleep: Last month I started waking up at around 4am with a charlie horse in my calf - not every night, but pretty often. Doc told me this would likely continue (great). I'm attempting to sleep on my left side (books said this was good), but this is hard for me. I start out on my right side, end up on my back and then wake up sore sometimes. I've tried putting pillow between my knees (usually ends up on the floor) and sleeping with a body pillow (better, but still can't seem to stay on my left side). Any suggestions?

Cravings/aversions: 1st trimester I ate a lot of grilled cheeses, pickles (yes, for real), gold fish, citrus fruit, and raw veggies. Lettuce, packaged tuna, and the smell of oil heating up in a pan totally turned me off. These wore off for the most part in January, except for the packaged tuna. It still grosses me out for some reason. And I now love ice cream and the thought of a chocolate shake more than just about anything. I do however restrain myself so as not to pack on too many add'l lbs. But every now and then....my treat!

Symptoms: A little bit of heartburn only every now and then, but one Tums takes care of it.

What else? Next doc visit is next Friday, 3/25. I had my last ultrasound in February. They took tons of pictures, and said everything looked ok, but I wonder if they could tell by the measurements how big this gal's going to be at birth (approximately). I was almost 7lbs and Jason was somewhere between 7-8 lbs. when we were born.

I've been looking around and have narrowed my choice for crib, stroller, and pack 'n play. I'm taking hubby out one night this weekend to look at my list so far. BIG thank you to all of you who have offered advice - I can't tell you how much I appreciate it (I'm totally lost on this stuff!)!!! Thank you Moms!!

Love to all, enjoy the weekend, Spring is almost here!!