We can both say with certainty that Ben has gotten to feel a kick!
Until now, most times that I've told him to come put a hand on my belly, the baby will stop moving immediately. In the meantime, I've started to be able to see the kicks from the outside, but just barely. I was commenting to Ben that it seems as though every time that I watch my belly, nothing will happen. And then I'll look away and immediately I'll feel something and catch a glimmer of it out of the corner of my eye. My guess is that we have a shy baby on our hands (or in my womb, as the case may be).
Shortly after I was saying this to him, I said, "Did you see that?!" and he put a hand on my belly. We waited for a moment and then we both saw and felt a little kick at the same time. It was very rewarding for me to see Ben reacting at the same time as I did.
I love feeling the kicks. It's interesting how scared I was of this part of the pregnancy before getting pregnant. I thought for sure that it would freak me out and that it would make me panic. I couldn't imagine how anyone could call it a good feeling or be reassured by it. It seemed like the most terrifying experience -- to be kicked and punched from the inside by a being that you cannot defend yourself against.
I know that the kicks will get more painful as the baby gets stronger, but right now they just feel awe-inspiring and I'm enjoying the moment. It's so cool to know that we've got a real little baby and that it's moving around and developing its own personality.
It's especially rewarding after the tough week that we've had. After our hospital experience at the start of this week, I seemed to be recovering, only to have an absolutely awful day yesterday. It was one of those days that made me very grateful that I was giving tests and quizzes in most of my classes. It made me even more grateful that I am blessed with an advisory of students who could be trusted to be left alone for 10 minutes while I went to the restroom to throw up.
Silver lining to being sick in bed? Lying down with a glass of water on my belly . . . and seeing the movement of a kick as Jurassic Park ripples on the water.
I thought that I would get sick of the kicking (or at least not as impressed) or that it would get more painful as the pregnancy progressed, but I'll be honest at 36.5 weeks, it's still just as awesome as it was several months ago. The only really painful movements are those that are aimed at the cervix (yup, you have that to look forward to). Sometimes a foot or something gets lodged up under your ribs and that is definitely uncomfortable, but not necessarily painful. The observations of the movements from the outside get more fun too - it's like a little show sometimes. I hope that you are able to continue enjoying it and that you feel 100% better soon.
ReplyDeleteLove this post (not that you were throwing up, but the rest of it.) Kick kick kick little bambin@!
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