Passenger update -- 23 weeks

Happy 23 weeks to Mommy and BabyZ! I can't believe how quickly time is flying by now... and how much the baby is changing!

From BabyCenter.com:
How your baby's growing:
Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

From whattoexpect.com:
Your Baby in Week 23 of Pregnancy
Your little doll-sized babe is about to chub up a bit. His saggy skin will start to fit his frame as fat deposits fill things out. Beginning this week, he'll start to pack on the pounds (which means you will too!) and by month's end he'll be double the weight he is now (though you won't be — whew!). Right now, your baby's organs and bones are visible through his skin, which has a red hue due to developing veins and arteries beneath. But once those fat deposits settle in, he'll become less transparent.

Well Mango-Doll Baby seems to be doing just fine. The transparent skin must be from his father's side of the family (just kidding Grandma!). Izzie and Proud are very happy to learn that Baby Z will recognize their "buff" and "roo" respectively in a few months. And doubling in weight this month?! Way to go, little All-Star!

And really, no one wants me to teach the baby how to dance, unless maybe it's a freeze dance or during a rendition of Gangsta's Paradise. THAT I expect the baby to recognize (and sing along to) within his first few weeks of life. :-)

The countdown has suddenly shifted from how many weeks in until how many weeks until we meet the little guy! Tick-tock, tick-tock...

Much love!