Bump #2: 23 weeks pregnant

At 23 weeks pregnant, baby weighs about the same as a large mango, but judging by the amount of wriggling and kicking it has been doing over the past few days, a fair bit of that weight is in its arms and legs. I think we have another bouncy baby on our hands. With Lottie, I only just started feeling the movements at this stage in pregnancy, whereas with this one, Mr M can even feel the kicks from the outside already.

There’s a lot of wriggling throughout the morning and I think he or she then has an afternoon nap and is up and raring to go again in the evening – just the same as its sister was when she was in my tummy.

However, that’s one of the only clear similarities between the two pregnancies at the moment. I’ve just looked back at 23 weeks with Lottie and I am so so much bigger this time around…

So symptom wise this week, I think the worst thing has been my teeth!! I went to the dentist for a check up on Friday and it turns out my gums are really suffering with the hormones and are really swollen and bleeding. I’ve got some mouthwash and special little brushes to try and toughen them up again. I’ve also got the worst metallic taste in my mouth, which I can’t get rid of, but to be fair, at least it’s slowing down my eating a little bit!

My hormones are still all over the place. One minute I’m grumpy, the next happy, the next I’m crying. It’s like a rollercoaster. With Lottie, I was actually calmer and more chilled than I usually am, so it’s a really different experience so far. When I was pregnant for the first time, Mr M used to joke that I should stay pregnant forever, as I never got PMT and I was much nicer to live with. I think he is regretting that!

I’m still not too tired. I’m sleeping OK, interrupted with the usual toilet breaks, but going back to sleep very easily. However, if I so much as sit down and close my eyes during the day, I’m gone. It’s like any opportunity to sleep and my body is taking full advantage of it.

I’m struggling a bit with my back and an old injury that I picked up when training for the marathon a few years ago in my hip. Mind you, it’s probably the extra weight this time around. I’m really trying to keep as active as possible. I’m busy running around after Lottie most of the time, but in terms of real exercise, I’m not getting much time to fit anything in this time around as I work in the evenings once she is in bed and while she naps.

Despite a few niggles, I’m really feeling pretty OK all in all and I’m starting to get really excited about meeting sunny. We were discussing names and decorating Lottie’s new room so that the nursery is ready for baby again today, along with all the bits we need to get for him or her, and it’s all starting to feel really exciting all of a sudden. The name conversation didn’t result in any decisions for a girl, but we have a boy’s name at the ready, so any suggestions gratefully received…