So I’m 16 weeks and 3 days along now. From what I’ve been reading and hearing from friends, it is around the 16th week that I could start to feel the baby. It’s been described variously as bubbles, a flutter or the feeling like a snake or something in your belly that slithers around. Nice image hey?! The midwife told me the best way to feel it is to lie tummy down with a soft cushion under my stomach. Mari has said she feels it best when lying on her back on a hard surface and applying some gentle pressure to the uterus. Naturally I’m trying both those positions daily but without much success! I have to stop myself from dashing off from my desk into an empty meeting room to lie on my back and press on my stomach! Can imagine how that would look to anyone who happened to walk in!
The thing is I’m told that you may not be able to feel it that often, maybe only occasionally, so if I happen to be busy or occupied when the baby decides to Get Physical I could easily miss it! In fact I may have been ‘feeling’ the movements for days but without being aware of it. Also it’s hard when you don’t know what you’re feeling for! There are so many different movements and things happening in your stomach and abdomen when you’re pregnant. Digestion takes on a life of its own, so I predict it’s actually quite difficult to distinguish between lunch bubbling around down there and baby!
I have to say I’m most looking forward to feeling the baby move as I think it will create a different kind of connection to this little 12cm, 150g person that I am apparently incubating! It’s a weird sort of feeling for me (but I’ll try to explain it), this baby is so wanted, anticipated and is something we feel we’re 100% ready for, and of course I’ve had some physical changes signalling that everything is progressing as normal. Intellectually, I know I’m pregnant and if all goes to plan we’ll welcome a baby in Feb 2011, but emotionally I think it’s a bit of a different story. It seems abstract and theoretical. I just can’t really believe sometimes that there’s a baby there. It still came as such a (wonderful) surprise to hear the baby’s heartbeat at our last check up a couple of weeks ago. I’m not worried about it as I feel that this is something that will develop naturally as the pregnancy progresses, that you start to feel that maternal bond and protectiveness. I think and hope that feeling the baby moving will jump start that process and bring this all into reality for me, that yes there really is a baby – OUR baby in there.
So Joel is offshore now for a month, so it’s just Coobs and I at home. We’re lucky to have some wonderful friends who ensured that my first solo weekend was full to the brim with heaps of fantastic visits and good times. No time to feel lonely. The weather has also been absolutely sensational, such a lovely surprise at this time of year when we expect autumn to really hit. It’s most likely the last taste of warmth and sunshine for a long time, so we’re just soaking it up as much as possible.
I devoted Saturday to spending the first part of Joel’s offshore paycheque (!) and picked up a really comfy and I think quite stylish maternity skirt by Boob http://shop.boobdesign.com/sv/product/263/gravidkjol-once-on-never-off#filter-2 and a fab pair of leggings (tete–a-tete) from the same shop. I can’t remember the name but it’s opposite Rom for Mer and has some maternity clothes upstairs. I hope to just get by with a few essentials (a capsule maternity wardrobe, in fashion-speak?), mostly focussing warmer clothes to see me through autumn and winter. I also found some gorgeous St Tropez ribbed tops made from 70% silk at O’La La in Kirkegata which are really long and quite stretchy which will be good for layering under and over other tops during the winter, but will I hope also be able to be used post-baby, unless the bump just stretches them too much!
I promise, more bump watch photos to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment