16 weeks, 1 day

Well we are almost officially completely out.  All of my friends know I’m pregnant.  For some odd reason, J still hasn’t told any of his friends, except his two closest.  He was much more eager to tell his coworkers.  So they all know.  And of course, now everyone has advice for him.  Including the fact that they all want to know the sex.  Seems to be a recurrent trend.  We’re going to have a lot of disappointed friends.  As for me, I’m still keeping it quiet at work.  Yesterday one of my coworkers came in to tell me he was leaving.  We talked about how it might increase my caseload and I confided in him that I think they’re hesitant to send me new cases at this point because I’m pregnant.  He was shocked.  But supportive.  Later yesterday I told the receptionist when we had a similar conversation.  It’s weird now that some people know and some don’t.  Part of me thinks that probably everyone knows now, and is just waiting till I tell them.  My office is fairly gossipy like that.

I also “came out” online – via my blog and the internet message boards I post on.  Nothing to flashy and showy, it’s not my style.  The whole “announcing” thing is just very awkward in general for me.

So that’s what’s going on outside, let’s move to what’s going on inside:

1)      I may have started feeling movement.  I can’t really tell.  The first feeling was in the middle of the night.  J had got up to go to the bathroom, and I felt like a kickflip inside of me.  I wasn’t sure if it was real, or if I was even awake.  That was the most drastic.  Since then, there have been little fish like tickling if I lie very still…sometimes.  If I concentrate on them, they go away. Once when I was standing and talking to J I told him it’s hard to realize there’s something growing inside me since I don’t see or feel any different.  I told Muppet it would be helpful if there was some movement, and I started getting the flutters again!  Maybe.  It’s hard to tell if it’s internal or not, it’s so faint it’s like a breeze blowing across my stomach.

2)      Now that Muppet has working ears, J and I have started reading to the belly each night.  We’re currently reading “Cricket in Times Square” because J had never read it as a child.  We take turns with the different chapters.  We’re almost done though, so now I need to figure out if we read the next book in the series or move on to something completely different.

3)      I definitely started showing.  And it’s not the same place as my bloat, although it’s higher than my uterus.  I’m thinking it’s probably the organs all moving up and out, but still.  I went from nothing (well – never nothing.  I think there may have been one day in 1995 my stomach was completely flat) to a round belly literally over the span of a day.  I stood up from my desk after work one day, and there it was.  Which makes things interesting at work since I’m trying to keep it quiet.  I find myself carrying things in front of my belly like characters on tv trying to hide their pregnancy.  Personally, I still find myself feeling “fat looking” and not “pregnant.”  J has been fantastic at telling me (without prompting) that I don’t look fat at all – definitely pregnant, no mistake. Which makes me feel better, even if I’m not convinced. 

Total weight gain/loss: +2

Next Appointment: Tuesday, April 26
Maternity clothes? Not yet.  Sticking it out with the bella band.
Stretch marks: nada.
Sleep: Good nights and bad nights.  Last night I slept all the way through, but the night before I didn’t sleep at all.
Best moment this week: Telling Muppet to move around, and then maybe feeling movement?
Movement: Maybe? 
Food cravings: Nothing

Food aversions: Nothing
Gender: Tell you in October!
Belly Button in or out: in
What I miss: My Friday night glasses of wine.  Being able to run a 10 minute mile without huffing and puffing.

What I am looking forward to: Real honest to goodness movement.

Contractions: Maybe?  But WAY too high, so maybe not.  I was walking and got really tight across my upper abdomen.  This was back when the only pregnant part of me was right above my pubic bone, about 6 inches lower.  I have no idea if this was a BH or not because the location was all off.
Milestones:
- Being out in the open – almost

- starting to show