Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The First Flutters

From the time I found out we were going to have a baby, I wondered when I would start to feel him move. I had been told that the first movement feels so slight that it's easy to miss.

My mom and I went out of town for an overnight stay with my Grandmother the weekend of Memorial Day. I was almost 17 weeks along and was anticipating the first movement to be any day! While we were relaxing on the couch doing a puzzle, I felt this very slight fluttery feeling. It was only a fraction of a second that I could feel it and then it was gone.

Was this the first kick? Was it gas? Was it a weird stomach indigestion thing? No, it was the definitely the first kick. This fluttery thing happening in my body, wasn't my body... it was something else making me feel this way. It was by far one of the coolest moments of my life. It made the pregnancy just a bit more real.

When you're about 4 months along, it seems like we go through this "I'm pregnant, but I just look fat" stage. The stage where none of our clothes fit, it looks like we just have a gut or spare tire, and maternity clothes are still too big. Feeling that first movement during the "fat" stage was actually more of a concrete theres-really-a-baby-in-there moment. I was very fortunate to not have any morning sickness or anything that made me feel like I was pregnant so acepting the fact that I actually was pregnant was kind of weird.

I felt the first kick on May 29, 2008 (yes, I remembered the date!) and then it was gone. I'd try to pay special attention to see if I'd feel another little flutter, but nothing. For at least three weeks, my little guy was still. As the pregnancy progressed, my guy was a kicking machine. Then he'd stop for a couple days, I'd go to the ER and they'd tell me he's just "being quiet," then boom - back to kicking his little heart out.

Then, around week 32, he got the hiccups. I swear they were constant until the day I delivered him. Actually, he still had the hiccups after he was born. Very strange, but they went away. The hiccups felt like a gentle rythmic tap on the inside of my belly. Constantly.

Here's a great place to find more information about fetal movement.

3 comments:

Pres. Kathy said...

I remember the day when my little guy kicked. It was amazing!

Unknown said...

I miss that part of being pregnant! There's nothing else like it.

Anonymous said...

Maybe he was excited about being with his mom, grandma and great-grandma! Check out Luke 1:39-45...babies know! :-)

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