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 or grapefruit), 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.

We had our big ultrasound today and all looked good!! I was so glad Ryoji could join in on the fun. It took about 40 minutes I think, the technician was really careful to get the photos and measurements of just about everything from the brain to the 4 chambers of the heart to the legs, arms, hands, feet, umbilical cord, abdomin, and facial profile. That last one was tough as the baby had his/her hands covering his/her face the entire time! Finally the tech had me go to the bathroom to see if the baby would change position, and I decided to do some dancing and jumping around for good measure. Would you know - it worked! But the profile shots are just hilarious, Ryoji and I were practically in tears from laughing at the print outs - are we having a werewolf baby??? We asked the doctor, who came in at the end to review everything and say it all looked good, if that weird profile was normal and he said, absolutely! Not satisfied, I proceeded to google it at work, and got a lot of reassurance from similarly freaked out moms-to-be who said the angles and movement make it really tough to get an accurate photo, so things look distorted and not at all what the baby will actually look like. So, that's a relief! Otherwise, our baby is gonna have a huge protruding nose and overbite! ^_^ Of course we'll still love it to pieces!!

Measurement wise, the baby was perfect at a delicate 1lb 4oz and measuring right at 23 weeks, putting the estimated due date (EDD) at December 21, which is same as I got at my 12 week scan, just 2 days up from my initial 8 week scan which said December 23.

In the photos, you can see the baby has its legs curled up to its tummy - total fetal position, haha!!

OMG drama! Got a voice mail today from our property management. Apparently someone in our "vicinity" has "tested positive for bed bugs" and they need the exterminator to come inspect our apartment. AGH!! We haven't had any bites yet, thank goodness, so hopefully we don't have them and it's just a precaution. But OMG, I'm so paranoid now! Not only cuz I know what a nightmare and hassle it is to get rid of them, but now I'm pregnant and HELL NO do I want poison sprayed all over our bed frame and apartment!! Not to mention the crib is being delivered tomorrow. Ughhhh...

On to happier news - we bought a crib yesterday! I've been scouring Craigslist for months now, mostly for cribs and gliders. I hate the traditional cribs that you find at all the baby stores. Just not my style and I felt so sad thinking we might have to buy one of those. I really love the modern cribs and had narrowed it down to my two favorites: the Babyletto Mercer Espresso/White and the Nurseryworks Billy Twinkle. Both are 3-in-1 cribs meaning they transition from the crib (with multiple mattress heights) to toddler bed (including a toddler rail which can be used or removed). If we went with a new crib, I was gonna get the Nurserworks, which is only $199 new. The Babyletto runs for $399 new, so I was only considering it if we could find it used... and we did! Last week I found it on Craigslist and last night we went over and checked it out. It had some baby bite marks, some dings here and there, and half of the under-drawer is not in optimal working condition (hopefully we can fix it, but if not, it's fine to use the crib without the drawer), but hey, $75!! Plus $20 for the guy to delivery it, but still, under $100, not so bad! Plus - no off gassing, no wasting of materials and energy involved in making and shipping a new crib, etc.

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash or a papaya) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. And he's sleeping in cycles -- about 12 to 14 hours per day

If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily. During week 22, baby’s invading your space, which is why it might be tough to catch your breath and why your back might be killing you. Hey, as she grows, she may be expanding your belly so much (so fast) that you might have some stretch marks -- and you might even have a newfound “outtie”! 

So, it started 2 weeks ago and has been getting increasingly bad... pain in the right hip, mostly in the back like in my butt and around the hip joint. The pain migrates, but it's never been shooting pain or anything that seems like sciatica. I asked my midwife and she thinks it's just the hormone relaxin doing it's job to loosen up my hips for the birth. Perhaps it's doing too good of a job because each step is like a knife stabbing me. The worst is over night and in the morning, the pain actually takes my breath away and has had me keeled over once or twice. Preparation for the big day?? I'm starting to look into one of those support belts, but it seems most of them are designed to support the weight of the belly as the cause of back pains, as opposed to the hip bones and cartilage causing the issue. We have our big ultrasound next week, maybe the hospital can give me some special gear??

On a more positive note, little Akapanchan is getting stronger and more active day by day! Until now, Ryoji had just gotten a tap here or there, but 2 nights ago our little nugget was moving around like crazy in there and Ryoji put his face to my belly and got right in on the action, even getting a bit punch in the cheek at one point! Here is a video I took - you can barely see, but there are a couple of big ones and a couple of teeeeeeeny ones if you pay attention!

Also, below is the heartbeat from my 21 week visit (everything was good with the visit, by the way!):

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

MY STATS @ 20 WEEKS:

Weight Gain = 7 pounds

Belly Button = getting shallower, but still an “innie”

Rings = same as always, no swelling noticed (yet?)

Fun = feeling and seeing the baby moving; Ryoji kissing and talking to my belly and trying to hear the baby’s heartbeat

Not so Fun = random heart palpitations; waking up at least 5 times a night either to pee or because my arms or legs have gone all tingly (because I’m lying on my back and compressing arteries under my uterus?); stressing about eating right but really just wanting to eat junk food – haha – that’s no difference than pre-pregnancy though is it?; still not popped enough to be obviously pregnant (not in American standard body sizes anyway) – i.e. still not getting any benefits as far as subway seats are concerned

<From babycenter.com>:
Congratulations! You've hit the halfway mark in your pregnancy. The top of your uterus is about level with your belly button, and you've likely gained around 10 pounds. Expect to gain another pound or so each week from now on.

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

I ventured into the Manhattan Maternity Complex (Pea in the Pod, Motherhood Maternity, and Destination Maternity) after work on Friday. They didn't harass me as much as in the Brooklyn store, but a couple girls did come by and introduce themselves and offer assistance and apple juice and whatnot. But a quick "I'm just looking" and they left me alone to my devices, yippee!! I quickly realized that 2 of the stores are WAY above my price range... the sales racks had pants going for $120-ish... on SALE!! yowza. I found 2 cute tops to try on, and here's the fun part - they have these strap on 7-month bellies so you can see how the clothes will fit you down the road a bit! How fun is that!!?? So of course I snapped a photo (below - and apparently the preggo belly gives you magical Harry Potter-esque powers - I summoned a ball of light in my hand!) for Ryoji. His comment "That's huge!!!" haha. I didn't end up getting either of the shirts cuz while they worked with the belly, they didn't work with my tummy now, so that's no good. I also tried on some skinny jeans with the scary preggo panel, and you know what, that thing is MAJOR COMFY!! screw buttons and wastes that cut in to your muffin top after eating a bagel!! haha!! Will definitely be buying a pair of those in the next month or two, assuming I can find a good style/color/price/fit >_<

So, for the past week and a half this baby has been kicking up a storm and I am loving every minute of it!! I felt the first flutters last Monday, which at the time I wasn't positive that's what it was. But it has since continued and increased in frequency, so now I'm positive - it's our little Akapanchan!! -> That's the nickname we've given him/her for the time being. It's a combination of "akachan" which is the Japanese word for baby, "anpan", which is a Japanese bun (bun, as in "bun in the oven", hehe) filled with sweet red beans, which I love, and "anpanman" which is a Japanese superhero cartoon figure whose face is made out of akapan, haha!!

Many of the kicks I can feel on the outside if I put my hand there, so Ryoji has been lucky enough to catch a couple of kicks and punches, which I'm so happy about!! I know they'll get stronger and stronger and eventually visible, so we're really looking forward to that!!

The belly is still expanding, and as of this week I've retired my work shirts and dresses with fixed waists. I don't have any maternity clothes yet, except for 2 casual tee shirts, but I have enough stretchy stuff to get by for probably the next month or so, until I get big enough to fit into those scary maternity pants I've been avoiding! The fun thing is now that I'm all in fitted elasticy type clothes, the bump is on full display and this week I got my first seat offer on the subway, and also got the first comment of being pregnant from someone who didn't know (the lobby receptionist in our building at work, he said "I see something" and kinda laughed. I was like "What??" and he gestured at his stomach and I was like "OH!!!!!! You're the first one to notice!! YAY!!!" hahhahahaa)