I've been getting braxton hicks contractions since I was about 22 weeks along. At first they were relatively infrequent (maybe one every couple of days) and quite mild in terms of "discomfort." As the weeks have worn on, however, they've gotten to the point where I get at least one every hour or so and sometimes they're strong enough that I can't talk and have to retreat within myself until it subsides 30-60 seconds later.
I usually enjoy looking down at my belly as I feel one coming on because it goes from nicely rounded to eerily lopsided. The baby typically likes to spend most of her time with her back up against the front right side of my belly (hooray for anterior babies! Since I have an anterior placenta, I was afraid she'd stay posterior - and I did NOT want to deliver a posterior baby). When I have braxton hicks, the uterus tightens up all around the baby and you can distinctly see her back protruding out the front right side. It is the strangest and coolest thing!
When the contraction isn't too strong and I'm able to function through it, I like to put my hand on belly and just feel how perfectly my hand fits over her tiny curved back. As we're getting down to mere days (hopefully) or weeks (more likely) before we get to meet this girl, I'm finally starting to feel a little bit more connected to her. I'm really looking forward to feeling how perfectly my hand fits around her back as she's laying against my chest.
As I type this, she's wide awake and bouncing around in there. I can see my belly jumping and contorting in ways that must look so foreign to outsiders, yet have grown so familiar and normal to me. These are the moments I'll miss about pregnancy - when it's just the two of us playing together and the world has no idea there's something special happening.
I usually enjoy looking down at my belly as I feel one coming on because it goes from nicely rounded to eerily lopsided. The baby typically likes to spend most of her time with her back up against the front right side of my belly (hooray for anterior babies! Since I have an anterior placenta, I was afraid she'd stay posterior - and I did NOT want to deliver a posterior baby). When I have braxton hicks, the uterus tightens up all around the baby and you can distinctly see her back protruding out the front right side. It is the strangest and coolest thing!
This was the best I could do for this post (from the perspective of me looking down at my belly). If you look hard enough, you can see the left picture is normal belly and the right picture is during a mild braxton hicks contraction. You can kind of see the right side of my belly sticking out a little farther.
When the contraction isn't too strong and I'm able to function through it, I like to put my hand on belly and just feel how perfectly my hand fits over her tiny curved back. As we're getting down to mere days (hopefully) or weeks (more likely) before we get to meet this girl, I'm finally starting to feel a little bit more connected to her. I'm really looking forward to feeling how perfectly my hand fits around her back as she's laying against my chest.
As I type this, she's wide awake and bouncing around in there. I can see my belly jumping and contorting in ways that must look so foreign to outsiders, yet have grown so familiar and normal to me. These are the moments I'll miss about pregnancy - when it's just the two of us playing together and the world has no idea there's something special happening.
And just for fun - this was a few days ago at about 38 weeks.
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