The baby fidgets a lot these days. I remember the first time I felt him kick, which was midway through Week 18. I wasn’t entirely sure it was a kick. It happened in the middle of the night, and I laid awake hoping he’d do it again, so I could decide it was for real. Several nights running, late, late, late – past midnight – I’d feel him kick. It was so delicate; it felt like a little grasshopper pinging around.
Now, however, his movements are distinct and sometimes dramatic. Sometimes, I can see my stomach actually stretch from one side to the other as he re-positions himself, with an accompanying strange sensation of rolling and shifting. Sometimes, I’ll see something poke up: a foot, a hand, an elbow? The other night when I was in the shower, I swear it looked like he was rubbing his head back and forth in there. I could distinctly see a head-shaped bulge traversing from side to side across, just above my belly-button (or what used to be my belly-button, as at the moment, there’s not even the shadow of a divot there. It hasn’t gone full-on “outie” but it has ceased to be an “innie” nonetheless).
A few evenings ago, I was lounging on the bed, and saw some bit of him poke up. Probably, it was a foot. It prodded a couple of times, and it occurred to me to gently tap back at it. He quickly retracted whatever extremity it was, and jabbed another out in another direction. So I tapped at that one. We went back and forth, prodding at one another for a few moments. I guess this was officially the first time I’ve played with the baby.
I’m definitely looking forward to those interactions that will come when this sprout becomes an outside baby. The first proper smile, the first giggles, finding out what makes him relax, what gets him excited, who and how he is. I’m getting really excited to meet this little fellow and get to know him.
I’ve got approximately two-and-a-half more months to wait through. From one angle, that doesn’t seem like very long at all, but from another, it seems like absolute ages. Until then, I suppose I must content myself with the occasional game of “fidget feedback.”
Michelle –
How very exciting. I hope these last 2.5 months go well for you and I hope Minnie is doing better.