Wanna Feel?

A couple of weeks ago I was lamenting over how I wasn't quite sure if what I was experiencing was the baby moving.  I admit that these questions came in that rough week when I was feeling off and had some lingering fears as I anxiously anticipated our appointment.  Well, I'm happy to share that any of those doubts are totally erased at this point, and I feel confident that I can now fully recognize our baby girl's movements.

I'm still not sure if I was indeed feeling her previously.  If I had to describe what I was feeling in those "maybe I'm feeling her...?" moments, it was more along the lines of a "flutter", perhaps with the occasional "light tap".  But on May 4th, the night before our big anatomy scan, I most definitely felt her "kicking" (or perhaps "punching" or "head-butting").  It was a totally different sensation, and it left no doubt in my mind that the movement was truly her (though I didn't know that she was actually a "she" at the time...and for my LOST friends, I should mention that it all happened during the show that night).  Those first distinguishable kicks really helped to move my worries to rest.  I still looked first for a beating heart on the anatomy scan, but somehow I knew from the kicks that she really was okay.

I absolutely love feeling her kick!  It is such an amazing feeling!  Perhaps my view will change when she gets bigger and her movements are more pronounced...but I sure hope not.  I hope that I always appreciate and smile in wonder at her movements.  She seems pretty active, and moves around at various times throughout the day.  Most of the time, I assume that her movements are "kicks" and "punches"...but every once in a while it seems like she does a "somersault" or "back-flip".  It seems to happen about once a day--usually sometime in the morning after I get up and get started going about my day--as if she is saying "Okay! Okay!  I'm up too!".  Those sensations are so intense that it feels like my whole stomach is lurching with her movements.  I can't help by exclaim "Hi Baby Girl!" whenever it happens.

So ever since I first started feeling her, whenever it seems like she's really active, I invite my husband over to feel with me.  I recognize that I can feel her from the inside, but it sure seems like I can feel her movements from the outside as well.  I love my husband dearly--but one of his drawbacks is his lack of motivation once he gets comfortable on the couch.  So even though he may only be three feet away from me, he'd rather stay comfortably situated than rush to my side to try to feel her.  I'm not going to lie--I was a bit disappointed at his lack of interest.  But I get it--I was comfy too, and didn't want to move either (and I am usually afraid that if I move...then she will too, and I'd rather selfishly enjoy her all to myself than take the risk of trying to share her with him and missing out on the moment).  But today, as we sat side by side, I felt her move.  In response to the "wanna feel?" question, this time he reached out his hand (like I said, we were side by side...not on opposite couches).  It took a moment, but then I felt her kick.  I pointed it out the first couple of times, but then he started to pick up on her movements without my prompting.  His response:  an awestruck "that's pretty cool!".  If only he knew what it was like to feel her from the inside as well.

Today's blessing is wonderful news for my dear friend (yes, I know her in real life) Kate from Busted Plumbing.  I'll let you hear it in her own words (though actually, it was her husband who posted today).  Let's just say that God truly answers prayers, and it's a blessing to experience and share in her joy.