23 weeks in…

June 4, 2008 at 6:10 am (Baby) (Baby, family, life, pregnancy)

Foetus at 23 weeks

OK, so I’m actually 23 weeks and 4 days in, as I was away for a long weekend and missed making the post (doesn’t time fly?). Anyway, here’s the update on Tadpole’s (and my) progress over the course of that week:

Some interesting facts about being 23 weeks pregnant:

• Tadpole is now about 11.5 inches from crown to foot (and I’m certainly feeling it with the amount of squiggling and kicking I’ve been feeling!).
• Tad’s hearing is now well established and, as well as hearing my heartbeat and growly stomach when I’m hungry, s/he can now hear sounds from outside the womb more clearly (definitely time to start a pattern of regular reading to my bump then!).
• By this time, Tad has started blinking his/her eyelids and swallowing.
• If Tad were to decide to make an appearance now, s/he would have a 16% chance of survival with the right care.

There have been some very interesting developments over the last week – and not just from Tadpole’s point of view! My sister, who has always been the only person I knew even less likely than me to ever have a baby*, has been determined to feel Tadpole kicking and has been pouncing on me every time I said Tad was on the move. A few days ago she timed it just right and got a good kick for her trouble. Her reaction was a surprise to all of us – she whipped her hand away in surprise and burst into tears! OK, she didn’t exactly “burst” into tears, but she definitely had eyes that overflowed a little. I think she was even more surprised at her reaction than the rest of us! She’s still adamant that she’d rather spoil Tad than have one of her own though.

There is also a bit of a strange side-effect to some of the kicks – when Tad kicks in the way (as opposed to an outside kick), it seems to hit a nerve. It doesn’t hurt, but it does cause my leg to jerk, like when you’re at the doctor and your knee gets hit with one of those little rubber hammers – it’s the same sensation, but it’s the whole leg! I had an exam for my shorthand class last night and Tadpole was particularly active throughout (which was very distracting!), and at one point there was a loud “thunk” as my knee smacked off the underside of my desk after a volatile inward kick from the Karate Kid. I just hope I didn’t distract anyone else with that!

Dale stroking my belly no longer gets Tad to stop kicking either – he is now frequently treated to a whole barrage of kicks, punches and rolls at night. He finds it hilarious and will happily lie for hours with his hand on my belly, seeing if Tad will wake up and get going again (which s/he mostly does – we have a very kicky baby!).

* I know, I know – I am having a baby – but I was always determined not to before this one happened against all the odds. I’ve always been a firm believer of things happen for a reason”. I figured that if I’d got pregnant against our very best efforts, then there was a reason for that and we decided to go with it. I’m very glad we decided to do that and we’re now very excited about getting to meet Tadpole in a few months!