16 week update

I'm now 16 weeks along and the last week has seen several interesting developments.  The exciting one is that I've been able to feel Honey Badger moving.  So far it's just fluttering, and nothing I could feel externally with my hand, but I now know from experience it's baby movement.  Looking back at my blog entries from my pregnancy with Daniel, I was starting to feel something around 18 weeks but wasn't sure that it was baby movement.  I had expected to feel movement sooner this time around so I wasn't surprised to feel it this past week.

 

Alas, I had also expected to begin feeling bladder pressure by this point and that has also come to fruition.  I suspect that carrying a little higher this time delayed it for a few weeks, but it was bound to happen eventually.  Never was this more evident than this past Saturday when I participated in (note that I did not say "ran") a 10k race.  I expected to be slow, but it turned out that the limiting factor was not my legs or my lungs, but how fast I could go without jostling my bladder and having to pee.  I ended up walking for stretches and even so, had to make 4 bathroom stops over 6.2 miles, when I can generally run an entire half marathon without having to stop.  So, it looks like I'll be investing in a support belt soon to try to alleviate this issue.

 

As for clothes, I'm still largely in regular clothes, but a few maternity tops no longer look baggy on me.  I suspect the coming weeks will see me wearing more maternity tops and then, within a month or so, it'll probably be time to pull out the maternity pants too.

 

Last week I had another checkup too.  It was short, mostly just a chance to hear the little one's heartbeat (133 bpm, around where Daniel's was at this time) and chat briefly with Cecily.  We've also got our anatomy scan ultrasound scheduled in a few weeks, when we'll get to see the little one in more detail and make sure everything is developing well.  With Daniel, this was when we found out we were having a boy, but this time, since we're going for a surprise, we'll have to turn away while the sonogram technician checks out Honey Badger's nether region, and remind her not to spoil the surprise for us.  While it won't be the big reveal it was with Daniel, we're looking forward to the chance to see the little one up close and confirm that everything is on track.