He picked up the second book, titled Father: For the Expecting Man. Stockley smiled. "I think you'll have a good time with that one."
Brian was only half listening. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet to pay, but Stockley shook his head.
"These books come with enough of a price of their own. Besides, I can see you'll get more out of it than I ever could." He shooed Brian back to the tent's entrance, grinning as he left. "Remember, we don't do returns". But Brian had already started walking home.
That evening, after dinner and once he'd finished his homework and helped put his brother to bed, Brian pulled the covers over his head and pulled out the book he'd acquired. It's old leather cover was wrinkled with age, and it had that old book smell he remembered from some of his grandpa's old textbooks. Strangely, there wasn't an author listed anywhere on the book that he could see.
Opening the cover, he read the title once more.
Father: For the Expecting Man
He held his breath, almost expecting something to happen as soon as he finished reading it, but didn't feel a difference.
So he began to read.
Chapter 1, it read, Are you Pregnant?
Brian stifled a chuckle, and kept reading.
As a young father, there are many signs you may be expecting. The aim of this book is to walk you through the signs, and better prepare you for the changes your body will be going through. While there are many symptoms, the four we will focus on in the first chapter are:
Fatigue
Nipples
Bloating and Rounding of the Stomach
Hunger Cravings
Brian glanced at his alarm clock. He had school in the morning, and knew he needed to get some rest. Still, something inside him urged him to keep reading. He could probably read the first chapter at least. Propping himself up on his pillows under the covers, he turned the page.
Fatigue. One of the first signs of pregnancy is fatigue. The newly expecting father may feel drowsy, and a certain lack of energy. This is to be expected after all as the body is preparing for a wide range of functions that each require a significant amount of energy.
Brian rubbed his eyes and feeling a bit weary all of a sudden. I’ve barely made it to the good part, he thought, I can’t stop now. So, he continued reading.
The nipples are usually the next sign of pregnancy. Those with lots of definition or muscle mass may find the softening and rounding of the pectoral muscles alarming, but these changes are necessary for lactation and proper balancing of chemicals in your body. Along with it, you will experience increased sensitivity, as your nipples grow and fill.
As he turned the page, his arm brushed against his chest, which wouldn’t have been strange, except he would have sworn it wasn’t so swollen before. Running a finger down it, the feeling raced through him and he let out a small gasp. Pulling his shirt down, he could see his nipples were larger and more sensitive than he’d remembered, some of his pectoral mass having seemingly welled up into breasts. The sensitivity was almost distracting, and he could feel himself becoming aroused the more he played with them.
It’s working, he thought excitedly. He felt a bit nervous, but continued reading despite it.
The next sign is usually an increase in abdominal weight, usually with a thick layer of fat covering the wall and expanding to prepare room for the child. You may notice your belly getting rounder, more spherical, as it expands, while also feeling tighter.
At the mention of the words, Brian felt a soft thud from his belly. Looking down, he could see it had swelled even larger than before, straining the fabric of his shirt and causing him to lean back to relieve the pressure that was building in his gut.
To any outsider, the covers of his bed would have seemed to swell outward, a slow rounded curve poking its way out in a heavy way, like a water balloon being slowly filled up. When he moved, he could feel the rounded belly in front of him jiggle with a sort of delay, and continue moving long after he stopped.
He tried to put a hand on his belly and ended up brushing his still sensitive and sore nipples and let out a small whimper. His belly had grown so large in the meantime that it was almost pinning him on his back. A small voice in his mind told him it might be good to stop now, while he still could, but he felt compelled to finish out the chapter.
Hunger is also normally expected, as are cravings. During your pregnancy, you may find yourself drawn to foods you aren’t used to eating, along with a massive overall increase in appetite. This is completely normal, and is just your body requiring the calories it needs to further build out the changes to your body
At the word appetite, Brian felt his newly round belly growl ferociously. All thoughts of reading further were pushed out of his mind and replaced with one thing: food. Pulling the covers off, he tried standing, only to have his belly swing back in momentum and knock him on his back.
After a few unsuccessful attempts at heaving himself off the bed, he decided to roll off. Once on his feet, albeit unsteadily, as he could feel the sloshing and wobbling of his gut and his overall presence increased; he thudded his way to his bedroom door and cracked it open a smidge.
The hallway was dark, and his grandparents were likely fast asleep, as was his little brother. His stomach growled again, even louder than before, and for a moment he worried they'd wake up. But after a couple moments he realized he could still hear his grandfather's snores from the other room. Placing a hand on his belly, he could feel it entering the hallway ahead of him, his shirt having ridden up enough to expose a sizable portion of it.
Did he want to take a chance hitting the fridge for a late night snack? He probably needed the calories if he was going to read more.
Or maybe instead he'd rather explore the changes to his body some more? After all, he was feeling the increased sensitivity.
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