Saturday, September 27, 2014

My Pregnancy Journey - Part 6

First Flutters

Usually between 16 and 22 weeks for first-time moms. They will not feel like real kicks or jabs just yet, since baby still has plenty of room to move around. Early movements are very gentle and subtle. You may only notice them if you are sitting or lying quietly. They are also harder to discern if you are overweight or your placenta is anterior (on the front of your uterus, near the stomach). Plus, these early kicks can be infrequent. You might feel something tomorrow and then nothing for a few days. By the time you hit your third trimester, baby's moves may be more predictable. He will usually be most active right when you are trying to go to sleep.

The feeling when I first experienced the flutters is indescribable, towards the end of 19 weeks. I attribute the late notice due to the layers of fats I have. It was the evening I came back from the detailed scan, confirming the gender of our baby boy. I was lying in bed and felt little waves beneath the bump. Got me all excited and told dear about the little one's movements. That was the one and only for the day. With each passing week, the flutters became more frequent and obvious. At 23 weeks, I can feel baby on a daily basis and believe at times it was baby's hiccups that I felt, regular pulsing at one particular spot. It is such great joy to lie in bed everyday after I get off work, to connect with my boy and feel him responding to me by kicking or jabbing. There are times when the movements are too great or at the wrong positions which may cause discomfort, but I am glad to be assured in this way of his well-being and existence despite the pain he caused. It worries me when there is lesser or no movements during the day that it is relieving to have him turning and kicking constantly just when I am about to turn in at night.