23 weeks baby 2.0

i keep doing this thing where i forget how many weeks along i am.  for the past couple days when people ask i have been saying i am 24 weeks.  wrong.  today i am 23 weeks.  it's funny, with Z's pregnancy i knew to the week and day how far along i was at any given time. haha.  anyway, this last week i finished painting the front room and all the details like trim, so we are one step closer to preparing the nursery.  we spent the last couple of days with my in laws before they went back to Cali.  sad.  z had his 2 year appointment and had just one vaccination, but it was much harder to hold him while getting the shot.  he cried, of course, and afterwards was so mad at the nurses that he refused the stickers they tried to give him, pushing the nurse's hand away.  he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "they hurt my leg!" poor guy.  but he was fine.  he is 96th percentile in height, 60th percentile for weight and 18th for head circumference.  his head has always been small, like mine. but he is doing great, right where he is supposed to be, and the doctor was delighted with his vocal and comprehension.  we are still spending a lot of time outside, running around, which is great for z and exhausting for me.  i think baby must have had a big growth spurt because my belly feels bigger and everything just feels heavier.  by the end of the night i am waddling, there is so much pressure and my stomach feels huge, and bloated.  fun stuff.  but i can feel baby girl moving more, she seems to have a schedule to her movements, probably based on my activity.  she squiggles a lot in the morning and when i am trying to fall asleep at night.  but she is still very gentle in her movements.  i am starting to look at things that we will need for her arrival, like new tubing and stuff for my breast pump, bibs, and other boring stuff, haha.  we have most of the gear, i may want to upgrade the diaper bag, and we will need clothes for her.  we will re-use as many as Z's clothes as we can,  but not all of them.  but it's definitely less overwhelming this time to try to put a list together and get organized as far as that stuff goes.  mostly it's transitioning z out of the crib, getting the nursery together, making Z's room a big boy room and finishing the front room.  i am getting excited to have a newborn again. although still terrified at the idea of having two littles, a newbie and a toddler.  but i had such a wonderful dream the other night that i was giving birth to the baby (not now in time, but when she's due), it was a very quick and peaceful labor, i only pushed twice while sitting on a birthing stool, and i pulled her out and up into my arms myself.  she was beautiful, with lots of hair like her brother, and light eyes.  she was more petite than z was, and because the labor was quick and i only pushed twice, my body felt great.  when i woke up i savored the dream, the images and the feelings from it.  my dreams are usually either terrifying, sad, or very weird, so it was so nice to have such a lovely dream about this baby.  i would like to live that experience please!  anyway so that dream, and then looking at pics of z as a newborn and remembering all the things about the first few weeks has gotten me excited.  i found this picture that hubs took of me and z when he was a week old, and it made my heart squeeze:

after nursing, both of us passed out

it will be nice to do that again.  so that is about it for this week i think.  commence the update:

i think my uw biology shirt is getting a little bit small for now

How far along: 23 weeks
Size of baby: 11 inches, just over 1 lb, about the weight of a large mango, pancreas is on the job this week and the lungs are really developing, baby can hear what i hear now, just muffled
Total weight gain: not sure, my guess is 8-10 lbs
Maternity clothes: mix of regular and maternity, i feel like this is a dumb section, of course i'm wearing maternity clothes, i'll probably omit this one from now on
Gender: likely a girl, hopefully will confirm on 8/31
Movement: more frequent and stronger
Sleep: mostly good, as long as i don't keep myself up with anxiety
What I miss: nothing really
Cravings: i was really craving Chinese food last night and there is nothing i tell you, up here in the suburbs that even slightly resembles edible Chinese food.  but this place just opened up down the road called China Dumpling and Noodle House, so we ordered from there and it wasn't too bad.  we will have to go back to make sure.  other than that i crave chocolate sometimes, fruit, Popsicles, ice, chips and salsa, my appetite is pretty good now so most anything is good.
Symptoms: same; pressure on all the lower parts, fatigue, sensitive to dairy (too much results in headaches, sore throat and achiness...weird), sometimes i am just so sluggish and lack energy (toddler!!!!),  normal stuff i guess
Best moments this week: went to a prayer devotional and saw some of our Seattle friends and a few friends that we haven't seen for years because they moved out of state or country, so that was great, the awesome dream mentioned above

this is my favorite picture during z's pregnancy on the left, haha now i look like a haggard, tired mom