23 Weeks Pregnant

Baby at 23 Weeks Pregnant 🚼

Baby Natural is busy doubling his weight, which will only continue as he heads toward his big debut. (No, you won't double your  weight through this pregnancy, promise.)

Baby may have a pretty face and a few luscious locks on that head of his, but his hair and eyes are white, and his skin is nearly translucent. That's because babies in utero don't produce much melanin, the substance responsible for coloring our hair, skin, and eyes. Pretty wild, eh?

But if we were to zoom in to baby's intestines, we'd see not white but black. Yes, his intestinal lining is filling with a tarry-like substance known as meconium, or baby's first poop. Meconium is a mixture of bile salts, bile acids, lanugo, and other metabolic waste, and it starts forming at 16 weeks gestation. Baby will release this epic bowel movement over the first few days of his life on land.

You at 23 Weeks Pregnant 🚺

Your belly is growing… and growing... and growing. And you might have earned what I like to call “mama marks.” (Other people call 'em stretch marks.)

Listen mama, if you have these red, brown, or white marks on your skin, know that you’ve earned your stripes! You’re nurturing life itself in your belly, and your body is allowed to show it.

If you want to reframe the way you see your skin marks, check out the inspirational Love Your Lines page on Instagram.

Also, do know that you can use special butters and oils to reduce your mama scars and even fade them completely? Here are some natural remedies for pregnancy stretch marks.

Most stretch marks will naturally fade with time, even if you don’t put any special potions on your bod.

Bottom line: You are not alone. Nearly 80% of American women have stretch marks, and they have them for the loveliest possible reason.

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