Your Pregnancy Week-by-Week - 23 Weeks Pregnant

With a length of about 11 inches and a weight of just over a pound, this week marks the start of a serious weight rise. For the next four weeks, your baby's weight could double, and you might feel the same way. His skin is a little saggy because it grows even faster than fat, so as fat deposits fill in, he'll start to blend into his body.

From chubby cheeks to chubby fingers, your baby will be happily plump and rounded out by the time he is born. While your baby's organs and bones are visible through his skin at 23 weeks pregnant, after those fat deposits settle in, he can become less translucent.

You're in month 6 of your pregnancy if you're 23 weeks pregnant. There are just three months left!

You've already already heard your growing baby's heartbeat through a Doppler, and while you'll never get bored of hearing it, you or your doctor might be able to hear it through a regular stethoscope by now (though sometimes, it can be tricky to find).

Although the baby you're holding is securely tucked away in your womb, you've already found that pregnancy impacts you from head to toe — and pretty much anywhere in between.

Your head is blurry (this is your brain...this is your brain on progesterone) and your feet are rising at 23 weeks pregnant. You can see redness on the palms of your hands and soles of your feet, as well as an increased risk of heat rash and skin tags.

Stretch lines abound in bright colors of pink, red, purple, reddish-orange, and dark brown on virtually every available surface of skin, and...wait! What's that strange dark line down the middle of your stomach?

It's known as the "black line," or linea nigra, believe it or not. The linea nigra stretches between your belly button and your pubic area, and it's a typical sign of pregnancy that's more visible in darker-skinned women. It's caused by the same pregnancy hormones that trigger all of your other skin discolorations, such as the darker colour of your areolas and the darker hue of your freckles on your arms and legs.

Some women find discoloration on their faces as well, particularly around the nose, eyebrows, cheeks, and eyes, especially those with darker skin. Since it acts as a mask-like configuration on the forehead, it's called the mask of pregnancy (or melasma).

You won't be playing masquerade for much longer, rest assured. All of these skin changes will go away after a few months. Meanwhile, reach for the concealer — but not the bleaching creams, which aren't going to help anyway.

Is your squirming bundle of nerves a product of your growing bundle of joy? Baby, take a deep breath! Not only can learning some relaxing calming exercises help you deal with pregnancy problems and, soon, labour contractions, but it's still a good time to practice them. They'll even come in handy as a new mom when your kid won't stop crying, your husband is running late, you've burnt the last clean pot, and your mother is on the phone...again.

If you have the opportunity, yoga is a great way to de-stress. But here's a pregnancy meditation technique you can use to calm your soul almost anywhere, at any time:

1. Close your eyes and see a lovely, relaxing scene, such as a sunset over your beloved beach with gentle waves lapping the shore or a serene mountain vista with a babbling brook.

2. Focus on calming each muscle as you work your way up from your toes to your face. Breathe slowly and deeply, just through your nose, and pick a specific phrase to say aloud every time you exhale, such as "yeah" or "one." Ten to twenty minutes should suffice, but even a minute or two is preferable to nil.