Today is one of those gloomy, rainy days, with the wind howling outside and when the best feeling is being able to cozy up on the couch at home with a hot drink and a book. Except that I'm not reading a book right now.
Apart from TV, books, magazines, blogs and Facebook, one of my favourite forms of entertainment is sitting on a couch with my belly exposed, watching it move and wriggle. It's a surreal form of entertainment, and I'm hardly thinking about the fact that it's MY belly. I'm just completely absorbed in waiting and watching for the next twitch and jiggle.
Hubby finds it entertaining to watch me entertaining myself this way. But sometimes he's also sitting next to me, exclaiming excitedly along with me every time we see or feel another pop.
There are actually different variations of movements. I was curious to know what on earth the little man inside was up to each time he came up with something new. I came across this article which outlines the different types of fetal movements.
The common ones I feel are:
- Rolling and sliding - This feels like a wriggly, squirmy movement and is apparently him rolling around to a different position. Sometimes if I happen to be watching, I can literally see a tiny protrusion on my belly sliding across from one side to another. These are the movements that are most fun to watch.
- Kicking and punching - This is one of the more common terms used... i.e. "is the baby kicking?". As per the term, it's simply a sharp jerk felt inside. I usually picture the little man stretching and kicking against my belly with his feet or punching me with his hands. It doesn't feel painful at all at this stage, but I've heard that it can be as he gets bigger and stronger in the final weeks.
- Vibrations or spasms - This is the movement I feel the most often several times each day. Apparently it's meant to be hiccups. Yes, apparently they start doing that even from inside. Sometimes I feel just two or three spasms and then it stops, and sometimes the spasms are more rhythmic and go on at intervals every few seconds for a minute or two.
I'm now well over three quarters of the way through my pregnancy at 29 weeks. Sometimes it crosses my mind that I might miss this feeling having my baby so close right inside me all the time... with none of the crying and fussing which is bound to happen when he gets out. But I guess it's just a whole different dimension we'll be talking about by then. In the meantime, I'll just simply enjoy the here and now.
