One of the coolest and also weirdest parts of pregnancy has been feeling the baby move around in there. I first started feeling her in early February (when I was about 18 weeks along). The kicks were so light I wasn't sure if it was the baby or just my guts doing their thing. Then a couple weeks later I felt her kicks from the outside for the first time. We were on a cruise with my whole family and I was sitting up in bed reading with my hand resting on my little belly. Suddenly my hand was lifted just a little bit. Then again. Then one more time. Then she was done for the night.
As the weeks progressed I could feel her getting stronger and stronger. Sometimes the kicks and jabs were so powerful it would literally make me jump from surprise. My favorites though were when I could feel her rolling over from one side to the other. One time I was lightly pressing around on my belly, trying to see if I could feel what position she was in. I found her bum on the upper right side of my uterus and all of a sudden she scooted her booty clear across the front over to the left side. No doubt, there's a real live person in there.
The last few weeks, however, she's started to run out of room. I feel far less kicks and rolls these days as she mostly only has room to wiggle her hands and feet. Though it can get a little uncomfortable to have her feet constantly pushing up on my ribs, it's reassuring to feel that her head is down where it should be. (Now if I could just get her to stay facing backward like she should be instead of wanting to face forward, we'd be in good shape.) I always know when she's awake because her feet are constantly in motion during those minutes. These days I'm loving the moments when I feel her move her hands, especially when I can feel her little fingers wiggling around and feeling her environment. The way those tiny movements feel, I can almost see her opening and closing her fists down by her face.
I am so looking forward to getting to touch and kiss those tiny hands and feet. It will be so cool to finally see those little appendages that I've become so well acquainted with over the months. I feel like I already know just how they look. Her face is a different story though. I have no clear image in my mind of what I think she'll look like. I can't wait to find out!
(But I can wait. In fact, I can wait AT LEAST 3 more weeks, baby girl. I'm only 34 1/2 weeks along, so just keep on cooking. We're not quite ready for you yet.)
