i need baby-listening instructions for dummies

So my mother in law bought us a few baby-related gifts a while back... a little stuffed animal that plays a lullaby when you pull its tail, a bottle of stretch mark cream, and a prenatal listener. It's not a doppler... it's basically an electronic stethoscope, so it just amplifies internal sounds. When I first got it, I was still way in my first trimester and the instructions say that you can hear the baby's heartbeat in the third trimester, and other sounds (kicks, hiccups, etc) in the second trimester. I decided to go ahead and assemble it and try it out that same day, knowing that I wouldn't really hear anything.

So I grab a battery and set it up and put it on my abdomen, press the button, and hear.... nothing. i adjust the volume and move the unit and hear.... nothing. I try putting the unit over MY heart and still hear nothing. I was very perplexed by now because I can hear hubby's heartbeat even without a stethoscope and didn't know why the unit wouldn't pick up my heartbeat.

Fast forward several weeks to a few days ago. I see the unit standing there and decide to give it another go. As I pick it up, I notice something... and then it's painfully obvious why I wasn't able to hear anything. The battery was in fine, the unit turned on fine... but I had only pushed the headphone jack in about halfway. I was so embarrassed.

But the story gets even better. I fix the headphone "user error" situation and turn the unit on to a medium volume. I place it over MY heart just to make sure it works OK, and nearly make myself deaf! I had NO idea that it would amplify sounds THAT much. My heartbeat was SO LOUD. Boom-BOOM, Boom-BOOM. I quickly released the button and turned the volume down lower. :P Then I placed it on my lower abdomen and heard "stuff", and some of that stuff could possibly have been kicks, but more than likely it was all intestinal noises, because I heard the same sort of sounds when I put the unit on my upper abdomen. :P I'll try again in a few weeks to hear kicks and hiccups, and then later than that I'll try for the heartbeat. :)

got my first belly rub today

I got my first belly rub today. :) It was from one of my female coworkers after an after-hours meeting we had. She came up to me and I thought she was going to say something, but instead it was just rub rub rub. It was over so quick but was cute, especially since my "belly" is so NOT a baby belly yet. :P I mean even yesterday, I wore a non-maternity dress, and the particular dress I wore made me look like I wasn't even pregnant at all. My morning sickness is pretty much gone. Today I woke up to potty about an hour or so before my alarm went off, and drank a glass of milk (on an empty stomach) and went back to bed. Still felt fine all throughout getting ready and the rest of the morning. My next appointment is in two days. I wonder if I'll get to hear the heartbeat again. I also wonder if my appointment after this one (when I'll be 18 weeks) will also be my ultrasound appointment. I'm still not able to feel my uterus so I feel now like I did at the very beginning of this pregnancy... like I'm faking it. :P I even still take my waking temperature every now and then, and just a few days ago I took another home pregnancy test. I believe it, I really do... but at the same time it's so unbelievable.

showing, but with a fake belly

I turned 13 weeks yesterday. I've only gained about 5-6 lbs or so (most of it in my bosom). I have been taking pictures weekly except for weeks 9 and 10, and although there is little change week to week, there is a very noticable change from my first picture to my 13 week picture. I'm definitely starting to show a little bit.

But, I just feel like it's not really "baby" belly yet. I already had a little belly before I got pregnant, and I think that my "showing" now is just a little expansion of the belly that was already there. It's enough to make my pants a little tight but they are still wear-able. And if I pull my tops tight then you can definitely tell that it's there.

This is all while I'm sitting or standing, though. When I lie down on my back, everything disappears and my belly goes as flat as if I do hundreds of crunches each day. I call it my "incredible disappearing belly". :P And I really don't know where it goes, either. It doesn't feel like it goes up higher on my tummy... or over on the sides... or anything. It just completely disappears. :P My weekly pregnancy e-mail says that the baby is 3 inches now, but it is hiding VERY well in my abdomen. I still poke at my tummy to try and find my uterus and sometimes I think I feel it, but other times I wonder if it's just part of my abdominal muscles.

But, I have enough of a tummy to rub without looking _too_ silly, so that makes me happy. :)