Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Kick, kick, kick! Brian felt the baby move! Of course, like any baby, ours didn't perform on command. But we were patient and waited. While cuddling on the couch, Brian put his hand on my belly bump and waited. I didn't say anything when the baby moved, but waited for Brian to say "Was that it?" I have been telling him that I felt the baby move, and he had really wanted to know when he would be able to feel it. I did some research on the web and it seems like most daddies were able to feel something at about 22-26 weeks. We had them beat! We were only at 20 weeks! It is really odd to think of another living being floating and moving inside me. Sometimes it does feel like I've been taken over by a strange alien creature.
Movement has now started to fall into different categories. I've started to try to find a pattern too, cause and effect. The first real "kick" happened when I had my belly pressed up against the desk for a minute and I felt a little leg or arm move. I've been feeling little flutters and "summersaults" for a while, but I can feel definite kicks now too. The baby is really active after a meal and I can feel kicks then. In the car driving I'll feel a little tumbling too. This morning, I rested on my tummy for just a minute before getting out of bed. I counted about seven kicks! I don't think he liked being squished. All of it makes me smile.
Sometimes after I sit a certain way for a while, I can feel him sunk low into my pelvis. I do some pelvic rocks to tilt him out and up. It feels way too full to stay like that! At night I woke up and the baby was really, really still. I got afraid for split second but told myself that he was just asleep. It really is comforting to have him kick during the day. It helps me know that everything is going alright. Most of the time I'm working or distracted and I don't pay too much attention. But I would say that every few hours now, I get a reminder that we're pregnant!
We saw the midwife at the birth center a week ago. We have been seeing a doctor, but I wanted more than she can really offer. The midwife was wonderful, and I think really helped relieve Brian's first time Daddy worries. While we've decided we aren't going to plan on having the baby at the birth center, a midwife birth at the hospital is better than the standard American birth.
Just like my lists and planning for the wedding, I've started to make plans and lists for the baby. They include: things to buy, general preparation to do list, 36 weeks preparation to do, birth bag packing list, after baby comes home, house cleaning and fixing. While they don't really give me control, they help me affect what I can and get to the point that I can let go of everything that is little and doesn't really matter - even if it’s on the list, didn't get done, and should have been.
Movement has now started to fall into different categories. I've started to try to find a pattern too, cause and effect. The first real "kick" happened when I had my belly pressed up against the desk for a minute and I felt a little leg or arm move. I've been feeling little flutters and "summersaults" for a while, but I can feel definite kicks now too. The baby is really active after a meal and I can feel kicks then. In the car driving I'll feel a little tumbling too. This morning, I rested on my tummy for just a minute before getting out of bed. I counted about seven kicks! I don't think he liked being squished. All of it makes me smile.
Sometimes after I sit a certain way for a while, I can feel him sunk low into my pelvis. I do some pelvic rocks to tilt him out and up. It feels way too full to stay like that! At night I woke up and the baby was really, really still. I got afraid for split second but told myself that he was just asleep. It really is comforting to have him kick during the day. It helps me know that everything is going alright. Most of the time I'm working or distracted and I don't pay too much attention. But I would say that every few hours now, I get a reminder that we're pregnant!
We saw the midwife at the birth center a week ago. We have been seeing a doctor, but I wanted more than she can really offer. The midwife was wonderful, and I think really helped relieve Brian's first time Daddy worries. While we've decided we aren't going to plan on having the baby at the birth center, a midwife birth at the hospital is better than the standard American birth.
Just like my lists and planning for the wedding, I've started to make plans and lists for the baby. They include: things to buy, general preparation to do list, 36 weeks preparation to do, birth bag packing list, after baby comes home, house cleaning and fixing. While they don't really give me control, they help me affect what I can and get to the point that I can let go of everything that is little and doesn't really matter - even if it’s on the list, didn't get done, and should have been.
# posted by Meg @ 2:02 PM 
