We had our monthly prenatal check-up with the midwife today, just one day shy of the 23-week mark.  Blood pressure is good, weight is good (I’m up 11 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight), and baby’s heartbeat is going strong. I continue to hike, sled, and do yoga each week, as well as make time for monthly prenatal massages.  I’ve been taking really good care of myself, physically and mentally, so luckily, there isn’t much to discuss during these monthly visits.   The baby has begun to make his/her presence known.  Right around 19 weeks, I felt the beginnings of little movements.  They’ve become stronger, more noticeable, and more frequent.  Rob still can’t feel these fetal gymnastics from the outside, which has led to a habituation of sorts.  I would frequently call to Rob from another room, “The baby is moving, now’s your chance to feel it!” as if it were the only opportunity he will ever have to feel the baby move.  Rob would run in and put an eager hand on my tummy, with the hope of feeling his little baby move for the first time.  Inevitably, the baby ceases all movement as soon as Rob’s hand touches my skin.  After weeks of running from the other room to experience these strange flutters only to be disappointed each time, he’s begun to reply, “Oh yeah?  Cool,” in response to my appeals for him to come feel the baby move.  Nevertheless, Rob has begun the practice of kissing my belly and then me, before leaving for work, the store, or the rock-climbing gym.  He also talks to the baby, and if you know Rob, you can also imagine that the voices he uses to address the baby are quite out of the ordinary.  I crack jokes that the baby will try to defer its own birth to avoid “the weird-sounding guy with whom it unfortunately shares its genes.”  Of course, I attribute lots of different preferences and thought processes to the baby in an attempt to make him/her seem more real to me.  For example, when I am teaching and the baby starts kicking, I secretly amuse myself by thinking about my baby, still a mere fetus, bored and fed up with the lecture material that I have painstakingly prepared.  He or she kicks me and says, “Mom, this stuff is boring—who cares about resting membrane potentials— can’t you just let class out early and go eat five avocados instead?”  This is a kid who knows his/her priorities. Tomorrow is our last Valentine’s Day as a childless couple.  Valentine’s Day is a not a particularly special holiday to us, but it is one day within a year that will not be the same as a consequence of having a child.  We are taking the opportunity to have a special dinner, and yes, I will be indulging in dessert.  We will take a picture and post it tomorrow to mark the official beginning of week 23, and I will be sure that the picture will include “more belly” at my beautiful friend Deborah’s request.   -a