"Pregnancy's full of joys, and full of worries — and fetal movement, as you've already noticed, can provide you with plenty of both (often within the same day). Most of all, it can keep you guessing — a lot. Was that gas bubble a movement, or was it just gas? Is that too little movement I'm noticing or too much? Should the baby be kicking so hard — or is the baby kicking too softly? Are those octopus-like movements being made by a baby or a baby octopus?
Most women begin to feel movement somewhere between weeks 18 and 22, though veteran moms tend to feel the baby moving a little sooner than first-timers. Chalk it up to laxer abdominal muscles (there has to be some benefit to those!) or merely the fact that second-timers are more likely to recognize a kick when they feel it. Thinner moms-to-be may also feel movement earlier and more often than those carrying a lot of extra weight, since there's less padding to serve as insulation.
After feeling that first momentous kick (or was it?), it's not surprising you're aching to feel more. But a mom's perception of movement is very erratic during the second trimester. Though your baby is almost certainly moving continually, you probably won't be feeling it consistently until he or she is bigger and packing a more powerful punch. In fact, it's not unusual for a day, or two, or even three to go by during the early weeks of movement without hearing from (or, rather, feeling) your baby. It's not until the third trimester that you'll need to keep track of your baby's kicks; after 28 weeks, in fact, your practitioner will likely advise you to keep count once a day.
Still not sure if that was movement you felt in the first place? While every expectant mom will describe those first movements differently, some common descriptions include: flutters, butterfly wings flapping, gas bubbles, growling stomach, twitches, light tapping, like a little fish swimming. None of those fit the bill? Don't worry. Before long, those little movements will turn into bigger ones, leaving no doubt in your mind about what's going on inside your belly.
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Gotta love those What to Expect emails. So timely and a daily reassurance that I’m not alone and that it’s normal not to feel my “little fish” (that’s what I call him :) ) moving around.. Once you get past the puking in the first trimester and start the second, sometimes you have days where you don’t really feel pregnant, if that makes sense. You feel like you should be feeling different but you don’t then when you feel your baby move for the first time and see him growing inside you, there isn’t any doubt. Christy says it feels exactly like butterflies in your stomach, but I think it’s different for everyone. Personally, I like the goldfish swimming in a bag depiction or a flutter. And trust me you, you will no doubt tell yourself that what you were feeling around 17 weeks was just gas after all ( :) ) It’s an entirely different feeling and the more you get used to feeling it, the easier it is to distinguish. On the days I don’t feel him as much I always worry that something is wrong, but then- out of nowhere I will feel a baby giant kick (only it feels more like pushing from the inside out (like a goldfish in a bag), and even when he aims straight for my bladder I always stop and smile or chuckle and think “there’s my little boy”. Who knows, I might not be smiling so much a few months from now when he gets big enough to really let me know he is there. I think I will be smiling while I am working on my own defense tactics from Chad’s future linebacker lol. Right now I am looking forward to the added reassurance and mostly I can’t wait for the day when Chad puts his hand on my bulging belly and feels his baby boy kicking for the first time :) . I am trying to keep him involved as much as possible from ultrasounds to shopping for pants that fit :) (He can be a real sweetheart ( don’t ask his sisters about that lol :P) . Besides my baby bump and my nice new tatas, oh and my mood swings and frequent bathroom breaks and constant nagging- it might seem a little more real to him too. I like to tease him and I ask him what he is going to do when the baby comes out looking like him hehe. He doesn’t always tell me what he is thinking so I hope I am doing my very best to reassure him that life as he knows it, isn’t over. He’s still a pup and though I know he will be there to help me as much as he can, I don’t want him to feel burdened- even if that means diaper duty is more 80/20 than 50/50. He even offered to DD me after the baby gets here. (I know right :) ) He is definitely going to be the “cool parent”. I tell him I am going to worry constantly when the baby gets here and he tells me not to be like that. I guess it’s a blessing that it’s a boy or else I would wind up locking her up until she was 30 or be like someone I know and send horrible pics of what STD’s look like and tell her that’s what happens when you kiss a boy lol. Right now I am stuck at worrying about what will happen if stay on my back 2 seconds too long. Chad says he has never heard of this but apparently lying on your back during pregnancy can cause hemorrhoids, low blood pressure and may decrease the oxygen supply to the baby- something to do with all of your weight being on the inferior vena cava (vein that returns blood from the lower body back to the heart). I feel like such an invalid sometimes (not being able to do the things I would normally do for myself like climbing stepladders, heavy lifting). I am only 5 months now. I can’t imagine how much worse its going to be when I can’t bend down to paint my toenails or when I can no longer see my feet hehe. Good thing Mary offered to do that for me. What great friends I have. I know I complain a lot but as far as my friends and my Chad are concerned, I am blessed. Maybe it’s the hormones lol.
Most women begin to feel movement somewhere between weeks 18 and 22, though veteran moms tend to feel the baby moving a little sooner than first-timers. Chalk it up to laxer abdominal muscles (there has to be some benefit to those!) or merely the fact that second-timers are more likely to recognize a kick when they feel it. Thinner moms-to-be may also feel movement earlier and more often than those carrying a lot of extra weight, since there's less padding to serve as insulation.
After feeling that first momentous kick (or was it?), it's not surprising you're aching to feel more. But a mom's perception of movement is very erratic during the second trimester. Though your baby is almost certainly moving continually, you probably won't be feeling it consistently until he or she is bigger and packing a more powerful punch. In fact, it's not unusual for a day, or two, or even three to go by during the early weeks of movement without hearing from (or, rather, feeling) your baby. It's not until the third trimester that you'll need to keep track of your baby's kicks; after 28 weeks, in fact, your practitioner will likely advise you to keep count once a day.
Still not sure if that was movement you felt in the first place? While every expectant mom will describe those first movements differently, some common descriptions include: flutters, butterfly wings flapping, gas bubbles, growling stomach, twitches, light tapping, like a little fish swimming. None of those fit the bill? Don't worry. Before long, those little movements will turn into bigger ones, leaving no doubt in your mind about what's going on inside your belly.
”
-----------------------------------------------------------
Gotta love those What to Expect emails. So timely and a daily reassurance that I’m not alone and that it’s normal not to feel my “little fish” (that’s what I call him :) ) moving around.. Once you get past the puking in the first trimester and start the second, sometimes you have days where you don’t really feel pregnant, if that makes sense. You feel like you should be feeling different but you don’t then when you feel your baby move for the first time and see him growing inside you, there isn’t any doubt. Christy says it feels exactly like butterflies in your stomach, but I think it’s different for everyone. Personally, I like the goldfish swimming in a bag depiction or a flutter. And trust me you, you will no doubt tell yourself that what you were feeling around 17 weeks was just gas after all ( :) ) It’s an entirely different feeling and the more you get used to feeling it, the easier it is to distinguish. On the days I don’t feel him as much I always worry that something is wrong, but then- out of nowhere I will feel a baby giant kick (only it feels more like pushing from the inside out (like a goldfish in a bag), and even when he aims straight for my bladder I always stop and smile or chuckle and think “there’s my little boy”. Who knows, I might not be smiling so much a few months from now when he gets big enough to really let me know he is there. I think I will be smiling while I am working on my own defense tactics from Chad’s future linebacker lol. Right now I am looking forward to the added reassurance and mostly I can’t wait for the day when Chad puts his hand on my bulging belly and feels his baby boy kicking for the first time :) . I am trying to keep him involved as much as possible from ultrasounds to shopping for pants that fit :) (He can be a real sweetheart ( don’t ask his sisters about that lol :P) . Besides my baby bump and my nice new tatas, oh and my mood swings and frequent bathroom breaks and constant nagging- it might seem a little more real to him too. I like to tease him and I ask him what he is going to do when the baby comes out looking like him hehe. He doesn’t always tell me what he is thinking so I hope I am doing my very best to reassure him that life as he knows it, isn’t over. He’s still a pup and though I know he will be there to help me as much as he can, I don’t want him to feel burdened- even if that means diaper duty is more 80/20 than 50/50. He even offered to DD me after the baby gets here. (I know right :) ) He is definitely going to be the “cool parent”. I tell him I am going to worry constantly when the baby gets here and he tells me not to be like that. I guess it’s a blessing that it’s a boy or else I would wind up locking her up until she was 30 or be like someone I know and send horrible pics of what STD’s look like and tell her that’s what happens when you kiss a boy lol. Right now I am stuck at worrying about what will happen if stay on my back 2 seconds too long. Chad says he has never heard of this but apparently lying on your back during pregnancy can cause hemorrhoids, low blood pressure and may decrease the oxygen supply to the baby- something to do with all of your weight being on the inferior vena cava (vein that returns blood from the lower body back to the heart). I feel like such an invalid sometimes (not being able to do the things I would normally do for myself like climbing stepladders, heavy lifting). I am only 5 months now. I can’t imagine how much worse its going to be when I can’t bend down to paint my toenails or when I can no longer see my feet hehe. Good thing Mary offered to do that for me. What great friends I have. I know I complain a lot but as far as my friends and my Chad are concerned, I am blessed. Maybe it’s the hormones lol.
1 comment:
Well if Mary changes her mind about painting your toenails, just let me know. I painted jills last night, her toes are way beyond reach :) I dont mind one bit, after all you are giving me a wonderful nephew to spoil rotten!
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