Dates and numbers:
There are 113 days until your due date on April 30, 2009.
You are 167 days pregnant.
You are 5.5 months pregnant.
You are in your 6th month of pregnancy.
Your 1st trimester: July 24, 2008 to October 22, 2008. (0 - 12 weeks)
Your 2nd trimester: October 23, 2008 to February 04, 2009. (13 - 27 weeks)
Your 3rd trimester: February 05, 2009 to April 30, 2009. (28 - 40 weeks)

This week your baby's length, from crown-to-rump, is approximately 8 inches! Your growing baby has finally reached one pound. Your baby is about the size of a small baby doll and looks very human. The baby's face and body look similar to that of a newborn at this time. Your uterus can be found about 1.5 inches above your navel. Your total weight gain should be approximately 15 pounds at this time.
You might notice some Braxton-Hicks contractions around this time. These contractions are not regular and they should not be painful. Braxton-Hicks contractions prepare your body for the upcoming labor and they will get stronger as your pregnancy progresses. You might be able to feel the contractions if you put your hand on your abdomen and your baby can probably feel the uterus gripping and massaging her. It will not harm your baby, so there is no need for concern.
Fat is still being deposited at a rapid rate, but your baby still looks red and wrinkled. Skin is being produced at a higher rate than the fat is, so the skin hangs loosely. Your baby looks red because the skin is losing its transparency and pigment is beginning to form. You should be feeling your baby moving quite a bit throughout the day as she will kick and punch the uterus walls. Babies also run their hands along the umbilical cord and touch their body parts while they are in the womb.

Your baby now can suck her thumb for real, where she was just sticking it in her mouth. Your baby will continue to swallow amniotic fluid and recycle it as urine. The liquids and sugars that the baby retracts from the fluid is a supplement to the nutrients that the placenta delivers. You might be able to feel small `jumps` inside of you when your baby gets the hiccups from swallowing fluid. The pancreas is developing and it will responsible for insulin production, to help break down sugars.
Oily fish in your diet could help boost your baby's health. (Women who eat oily fish while pregnant have children with better visual development, a major study at Bristol University suggests.)
As the baby continues to grow, it has less space to move around in the uterus. Bones, muscles and organs are growing steadily.
Comments on week 23Comments 1-49 of about 1629 from week 23
29 messages have been added in the last 24 hours.
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Show latest comments from all weeksbabyhilton -
33 minutes ago
someone further below mentioned their 26yo bf thought farting was still funny....well so does my 38 year old one...they never grow out of it. But MAN, the comments i get if anything ever slips out!babyhilton -
35 minutes ago
lilshell, if you go to the help pages it should tell you who to contact re. innappropriate messages (or i think at the bottom of a message you can click a thing to say 'inappropriate message content'mommyhannah1 -
47 minutes ago
i just love feeling him jump and move around :)rachelira -
1 hours ago
cmeblueyes you can take beano before you eat. The doc said it was okay and it helps a lot. I'm really good at playing that trumpet, haha. Oh, and if anyone has heart burn (like every night) chewable Papaya enzyme can be found at the Whole Foods. They work great and are natural.mommy 2 be 5 5 09 -
1.5 hours ago
lol i went to the dr for my check up and based on b4 i got pregnant i used to weigh 280 lbs wow i know and today i asked how much i weighed 248 so i acually lost alot but its bc of my eating well and all that my baby is fine it was funny bc when they were checking her heartbeat she kicked the thing idk what its called hehe like she didnt like the noise it was so cute :)good luck to all mommys and mommy to b and lotz of baby dust to all...kmb09 -
3.2 hours ago
Ally- I'm with u on the boobs hurting. Mine hurt all of the time honestly (sorry if its tmi) I found the only way to help it is get some stuff out :/ kinda like...milking urself lol gross but helps so muchmawest7385 -
4.8 hours ago
I've gained just under 10 pounds and I agree with happyinvention, It doesn't matter how much you have gained as long as you are eating healthyhappyinvention -
5.2 hours ago
I've gained about 5 lbs, give or take a pound depending on the day and what i've been eating :)
im not concerned with weight gain, as long as im eating healthy and getting exercise :) my main problem is making sure i get enough PROTEIN! thank goodness for protein shakes (even if they are gross)carterscutie85 -
6.8 hours ago
My last doctor's appt. was on November 25 and as of then I had gained a total of 14 pounds. That was an 8lb increase from the visit before that. That was when I was working a lot. I go again on January 20 and since I have not worked as much this month I'd imagine I will have gained more than just 8lbs in one month. I eat what I want and my blood pressure has always been really good so I don't really get to concerned about salt intake in my food because if I was getting too much my BP would skyrocket. When I first got pregnant I drove myself crazy trying to limit my salt intake until I finally said screw it and started eating what I wanted! I must say it is nice to be able to eat half a pint of moose tracks ice cream like I did last night and not worry about weight gain! I'd have eaten the whole thing but my BF ate the other half before I could get to it LOL.mrs.snowbear -
7.8 hours ago
we picked a name!!! i posted it in a blog on my page!!atlnewumi -
8.4 hours ago
Hey there ladies. I had gained 9 in one month! Total weight gain so far 11bs. The Dr. wasnt too concerned just doesnt want me to continue to gain so quickly. I think part of the rapid gain was because I was on break from school and had stopped catching the train to work so I wasnt walking nearly as much. School is back in session so perhaps that will help me not gain so much so quickly. As long as my son is healthy though the wait gain is all part of it. I am confident I will get it back off. :) paulinek -
8.6 hours ago
Last visit, I only gained 5 pounds. Doctor doesn't seemed concerned.thenorthcutts -
8.7 hours ago
So far I've only gained 6 lbs. My doctor didn't seem too concerned so I'm not sure if there is a 'normal'.paulinek -
8.7 hours ago
23 weeks wow!!! Time is flying by. This is my third child, my first two are teenagers (17 and 14), so I am starting from scratch with everything for our baby girl. It's fun shopping though. We started early on buying diapers and wipes. lilshell77 -
8.8 hours ago
Chloe-not sure what the norm is but I have put on nearly 20 pounds so farchloe no3 -
9 hours ago
Hey ladies, just wondering what is the average weight gain for 23 weeks. Ive gained 12 pounds:-( With both my daughters i had gained nearly 5 stone by the end of my pregnancy and this time i dont think im gonna put on as much but just wondering whats 'the norm'?MamaMeMe -
9.1 hours ago
My poor husband has been dealing with my gas... I just blame it on baby :-) As for nursery, we're collecting little things and planning on registering this month. It's hard not knowing baby's sex (thanks to our stubborn baby's leg crossing at 20 weeks :-))lilshell77 -
9.3 hours ago
Is it possible to block a user on here? Got a really inappropriate message from someone and now am very upset :'(cmeblueyes -
10 hours ago
I am going to school and will be done on February 15th so I have been holding off on a lot of nursery stuff until after I'm done with school. I have most of it done but still need to put on the finishing touches on. I can't wait to be done with school. Only 6 weeks left!!!happyinvention -
10.5 hours ago
and as far as nurseries go- we're 80% done with ours, WOOOOOOO! I'm so freaking thrilled about that! we are in the military, so we have very steady paychecks- there's just not a whole lot of money in them. so as soon as we found out the sex at 15 weeks, we went to town :D we've been progressively accumulating more and more every two weeks :D im quite proud of us for being repsonsible and spacing it out- or else we would have been screwed!
we go for our birth center tour today :D yay!!! we're signing up for our birthing classes too :) yay!happyinvention -
10.5 hours ago
i can't imagine not being able to fart in front of my husband, lol! as soon as i got pregnant i just made one big apology for the next 9 months.
my husband gets me back- he's lactose intolerant. one glass of chocolate milk too many and he and i are fighting to see who wins the couch over.
not to mention my SMELLY SCHNAUZERS. they pass horrible gas- and my 7 month old is in heat/smells funny. yucky.
cmeblueyes -
11 hours ago
I have been having bad gas problems as well and it is so hard because my husband and I don't do that in front of each other. My boobs are very swollen but not engorged, at least not yet anyway.AllyB00 -
13.3 hours ago
hi ladies im 23 weeks and my boobs are killing me, i have sharp pains in them and when i look it up online its says in engorged but thats weird isnt it.thenorthcutts -
13.9 hours ago
i have a horrible cough. does anyone know what i can do or take? i have my 24 week appointment today but im not sure if my OBGYN will write me a RX for something or refer me to an actual doctor; which i don't have one yet. LOL. Any help would be appreciated :]carterscutie85 -
15 hours ago
Lol Jerika, I should do that too especially since last night when my boyfriend thought it was just hilarious that he had gas when we were in bed trying to go to sleep. He's 26 years old and still thinks farting is funny just like a little boy would. The dog was under the covers and she certainly did NOT think it was funny! LOLcarterscutie85 -
15.1 hours ago
I'm lucky because my boyfriend already has 2 kids so we have a lot of baby furniture already. We have a crib, carseat, stroller, walker, bouncer, and a high chair. It certainly is saving us a lot of money that we need especially in today's economy. tina-wendy -
19.1 hours ago
I have a 15 month old son so we are actually going shopping to get him new bedroom furniture as he should be in a big boys bed by the time the baby will go into what is Luke's nursery now. Wwe are just going to take all of Lukes things out into his new room so it will be blank & ready for the baby :o) SarahNS -
23.6 hours ago
Well I will be 24 weeks at the end of this week and my hubby is so excited that we get to go shopping and do the whole baby registery thing. He wanted to do it sooner, but I wanted to wait till viability (at 24 weeks). We have nothing so it will be interesting to see what we can find, and we are getting ready to move next month into a new place and we still need to pack.I am a little stressed.kmb09 -
1 days ago
Anyone getting nervous about becoming a mommy yet? Its just hit me really...and boy I'm nervous!jerika26 -
1 days ago
carterscutie-gas is quite normal. I've stopped leaving the room. I'm like 'sorry, guys, you have to deal with it'. lilshell77 -
1 days ago
So ladies have another scan appointment Tuesday to double check my placenta is working properly.....am a bit nervous. :scarterscutie85 -
1 days ago
I hope this isn't TMI, but does anyone know what is safe for gas during pregnancy? I kept having to leave the room last night for the sake of my bf and his kids lol.proudmommyof2.. -
1 days ago
Hello ladies in week 23... another week down and wow are they dropping fast it seems! I am going to be going shopping for our little one's nursery next weekend and I can't wait, we've gotten just a few little things thus far between buying adorable things over the last 23 weeks we couldn't pass up, Grandmas, and Christmas but we have lots we want to get still! Now that we are nearing our 3rd trimester it's probably time to get started :) Hope all you ladies are doing great! Glad those holidays are over, they were wonderful but ugh I'm nervous to get on the scale at my Dr. Appt. next week! christinalynn -
1 days ago
week 23 yay!!!Hope everyone is doing well!!!!mrs.snowbear -
1 days ago
Jerika26- I must agree, there are somthing about lil boys, they just love there mamas! I found out I am expecting my 2nd boy & couldn't be more thrilled to have 2 mamas boys now! haha lilshell77 -
1 days ago
Yeah week 23 the weeks seem to be flying by :)firstborn09 -
2 days ago
Thanks Jerika26, I know I will be fine, it's just nice to have some reassurance! Sounds like you have some adorable little boys! casslynn1022 -
2 days ago
babyboybump... before i was pregnant i got migraines all the time no matter what i did and the only thing that would help me was to go to the ER so they could give me some meds if i felt it coming on and i took some tylenol it would help alot but if i let it get bad and then tried to take tylenol it made it so much worse the one thing i find now when i get them if its not to late try to take some tylenol and then get a really cold wash cloth and put it on my forehead and turn all teh lights and everything off and just try to sleep in complete darkness... my dr told me that i can also take excedrin migraine till the 3rd trimester then i cant take that anymore but until then it wont hurt anything i havent taken it b/c i get nervous about anything but i think the dr knows what hes talking about so if it helps you know... but ok hope i helped a little and hope you feel better i know how migraines are and totally feel for you take care...babyhilton -
2 days ago
babyboybump - i had a couple around 14-16 weeks (first ones in my life!) and then got a series of regular bad headaches that became daily. The doctor said if that didn't go away by week 20 or so they'd send me to a specialist for headache treatment, so i'd definitely ring you doctor to discuss - good luck!rubis first -
2 days ago
Well Im going to have my hubby and my sister for the birth.I ask the doctor and he told me i could only bring 2 people for the birthing! lol hope every one is doing well!!!!!!!babyboybump -
2 days ago
does anyone suffer from bad migraines here, i do n its realli gettin me down starts off with blind spots, then zig zag lines then th full blown migraine, feelin sick and alljerika26 -
2 days ago
firstborn-I am pregnant with my third little boy. Let me tell you...I never thought I would enjoy boys this much!! They are such a blessing. They are so sweet, loving, & nurturing. Yes, they are very active...they wrestle & are obsessed with video games. Having boys transforms you. It's a wonderful gift when my boys crawl in bed with me on Saturday mornings and snuggle. They give me tons of kisses & always tell me how much they love me. You'll be just fine & you are going to find every joy in being mom to a little boy. You'll be the queen of the house!jerika26 -
2 days ago
Jessica-Oh, I can relate about the super cheerful mother in law! She drives me insane!! She talks in a super sweet little baby voice all of the time and it drives me nuts! It's good to be positive, but sometimes I wish she would just take it down a few notches b/c it gets really tiresome trying to match her cheerfulness. She wants to come visit when the baby is born to 'help' & I just cringe at the thought. chava81 -
2 days ago
jacquelyn- I know how you feel. This is my first though, but I have been so uncomfortable for the last week or so. I knew that pregnancy wasnt going to be all fun and games, but I didnt think it would get this uncomfortable this soon. I feel like either I'm too small or the baby is too big, but either way, everything in me is getting squished around and there is no way I seem to ever be comfortable. I will be ok for a while and then my back starts to hurt or I am short of breath. My job is pretty pyhsical but even that has been ok unil this week. Now its a huge job just to get up off the ground or bend over for something. I know that all of this is more than worth it, but it can be pretty discouraging. I dont like to ask people for help with things, especially at work, but all of that is going to have to change. Oy, 3 more months to go till we see our tiny ones! Yayyyyy!jacquelyn -
2 days ago
I'm so over being pregnant...already! I guess it has something to do with the fact that I've been pregnant more often than not since I got married 2 years ago. I'm just getting to the sucky part of the pregnancy too fast with this one. Bh started at about 12 weeks(25 weeks last time), spd(excruciating hip/crotch pain) started around 15 weeks(32 weeks last time) back pain, insomnia, exhaustion, early signs of preeclampsia, everything is already plaguing me. I'm so angry at everything and everyone because I'm so unciomfortable. I've just started screaming at my husband about things that had nothing to do with him multiple times today and I've only been up for a few hours. If the technology was here I'd have my c-section now and put the baby in an incubator for the remainder of the pregnancy...jessicahan -
2 days ago
I have been talking to my husband about this issue (in laws in the birthing room) absolutely NOT!! I am really sorry but I don’t want my extra annoying super cheerful mother-in-law in the room with me when I am giving birth! This has actually been a huge problem with my husband and I... my MIL lives about 3 doors down and thinks she can come over whenever she wants to. (one time she walked in on me and my husband getting frisky, just walked in!!) My FIL was joking saying that she was just going to get a sleeping bag and come stay at our house when the grandchild came---- uuuhhh let me think about this---- NO! We got into a huge argument at the dinner table I looked her in the eye and said, 'Although she is welcome at our house, I am going to have to draw the line when the baby comes.' My saving grace is my sister-in-law is 4 weeks more pregnant then me (and she lives 4 doors down) So I am hoping that she will be completely obsessed and infatuated with the little girl! I am having a boy… I am not sure she is going to be able to connect to our little boy like she is my SIL little girl, (thank god!) It will be me and my husband in the birthing room, and maybe my step mother.firstborn09 -
3 days ago
Just found out we're having a boy!! Even though I suspected as much it's still quite a shock imagining being a mum to a boy!! My husband is ecstatic but I'm nervous as I wonder how I'll cope with one?! Anyone else relate/have any advice?! I guess the main thing is that everything looks healthy.babyhilton -
3 days ago
Hello all - back from stage 2 of our holiday! Boat trip was fantastic as well. Today we went shopping for a cot and pram - I think my partner is coming out of denial now! LOL. We also started feeling the baby move on boxing day morning and it's sort of kept up a few times each day since which is very exciting. We hadn't felt a thing before then - it was great because we were still in bed when we felt it first time and DH got to feel it as well! Only 17 weeks to go! Amazing. As for who is in the birthing room, it'll be just DH. My Mom lives in the USA and my MIL would never even think about intruding on that. I think people here in Aus tend to only have one person in with them...mantha29 -
3 days ago
Ive chosen to have my b/f, mum and mil in the room my mum has been in the room for my other 2 and i had my ex and my ex sil in there for my first this is me and my partners first and his mothers second grandchild in 14yrs he is an only child so my mil will never get the chance to experience the birth of a grandchild so i am more than happy to share this experiance with her. we are close and this pregnancy and her nowing shes welcome in the delivery room has bought us much closer, im more nervous about my b/f and how hes going to handle the birth as his first child was an emergency c section and was not allowed in the room.mrs.snowbear -
3 days ago
I will only have my mother with me, my husband will be deployed, he may get to come home, but for sure my mom will be there. I would NEVER have my inlaws in there with me. I think it is up to the mom delivering, after all it is HER body being exopsed! Husbands should understand! JMO...
On another note, this baby is moving around so much, my tummy moves in different shapes... it is so crazy to watch!
I also went through my sons 'baby toys' today and boxed them up...he's a toddler now, so all his baby stuff is getting boxed and ready to go for his baby brother! Everything looks just as if it were brand new, I am so proud & glad we took such good care of his things...after this lil guy we will see how things look! haha