16 Weeks - a much stronger heartbeat

15 Weeks, a.k.a too big for my britches...

Yes, literally, too big for my normal pants. Saturday I stepped out in maternity pants for the first time, and while they sure are comfy, it felt kinda weird. I mean, yes, I am pregnant, but in my head I don't look like a "pregnant woman." So somehow wearing maternity clothes just feels odd. But damn they's comfortable. I tried to brave it back into normal pants for work today, and an hour into the morning I was about ready to run out to Target for replacements. But hey, I was wearing a long shirt and no one would notice if I unbuttoned the top button, heheh.

So here is me at 15 weeks. I find it kinda entertaining how the feeling of my tummy changes during the day - sometimes it feels rock hard and other times it's like a bowl full of jelly.

Overall I'm feeling pretty good lately, though I feel heartburn-kinda discomfort at some point most days. Guess that's what happens when your stomach is shoved up into your rib cage.

And you know they say that our partners can gain weight and have other symptoms during the pregnancy. Take a look for yourself and see how this has effected poor Byron.

A little FAQ

So it's pretty entertaining for me, after starting this blog with no one reading it yet (well duh, I hadn't old any of you yet) to have comments coming from people. I love it. So to answer a few questions:

Due Date: May 12th. Yes, just what the Kern family needs, another May birthday. But as us May birthday people can vouch for, it's a pretty great month for a birthday. And my little peach will have one definite advantage over me in this respect - an earlier May date (I'm the 27th) means they will be unlikely to be stuck doing finals on their 16 birthday. Which wasn't fun.

Tests: We decided not to do the standard 1st trimester screening tests (for birth defects), partially because of our low risk based on family history, and partially because we're just non-invasive types when it comes to this sort of thing. Like-minded natural-types may enjoy the following article about the necessity of all the routine procedures: http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/prenatal-testing.html
But my basic blood tests came out fine - and believe it or not under Chicago law all pregnant women must be tested for HIV/AIDS. Which I thankfully do not have. But an interesting requirement I thought.

My Size: Yes Adee I may very well be able to dress as Santa for Christmas. A creepy transvestite Santa, just what the kids love. :) But I've actually only gained 1 pound so far, which is nice. I've been gifted with enough, ahem, natural stores of energy, to not need to gain so much. I'm hoping the weight just continues to transfer from my rear to my belly....

A heartbeat!

So at my 12 week appointment with the midwives last week, they were finally (after 8 minutes) able to find the little shrimp's heartbeat! They only caught it for a few beats, but I got it on tape and it's pretty cool.
I gotta say, I didn't really truly fully believe that I was pregnant before I heard that. But it's either that, or the creepy creature from Alien has laid a pod in my belly. Equally likely I feel.
And I told the bosses at work about the pregnancy yesterday, which was well received. I figure they'd be excited, but it's nice to have that confirmed by reality. And the real fun part - I finally announced it to all our friends on Facebook. The 25 excited comments made me feel pretty loved, I must confess.
Oh and for the record, my latest fruit size is apparently a large peach. Yeah.