~ kicks and rolls ~
even though it’s only the 21st week (well, almost 22nd), she’s been rolling and kicking a lot. and i mean a lot, to the point that she wakes me up during sleep. even ari can feel the kicking. i thought the movement can only be felt from the outside once the pregnancy reaches 24 weeks old… or that’s what the books say… but i guess they vary. ari can definitely feel them…
for me, all these movements feel like i’m having a stomach cramp, similar to those i get during my PMS, sans the pain. prior to this, i probably can’t imagine having cramps without the pain (cramps = lots of pain). but actually, cramps has this distinct pulling action that happens in your muscles, and that’s exactly how it feels… especially when she’s rolling. it’s like the inside of the stomach is being pulled left and right, and it fees… weird.
i wonder what the movement will feel like as she grow bigger… can’t wait :)
~ comment (3) ~
i totally agree with manda. there are times when i truly miss those days when movement wasn’t so much of a constant. in the beginning, every little movement was SO exciting. now, it’s such an everyday occurence i find myself feeling guilty for regarding it so casually or for even sometimes feeling irritated by the constant hiccuping or from the pain as he situates himself under my left rib which seems to be his favorite spot nowadays.
and like manda said, don’t base your pregnancy on anyone else’s. there are going to be some common experiences, but each of us go through it at different times and at different degrees. i started to feel him move externally at about 21 weeks. jon wasn’t able to until about the 24th. we have such different schedules that we rarely had time together and when the baby did move when we were together, by the time jon could placed his hands on my tummy, the baby would stop moving.
I kind of miss the days when mine was smaller and the movement was more erratic. These days, I feel her shifting and rolling. Things I didn’t experience in the beginning when she was little. Then it was just kicks and more kicks. Now I’ll often feel an arm or leg drag from left to right and back again. Or have an ass bulge out the middle of my belly. I’ve yet to see some of the more insane movements from the outside, like actual bodyparts. Or well, kind of visible outlines of them.
Take a lot of things you read in books and hear from people with a grain of salt. You and your baby will be different from everyone else and theirs. Unfortunate but true. I mean, some things will be similar but for the most part … heh you’re on your own.
I felt movement at about 16/17 weeks. Internal. I could see that movement and feel it from the outside by 19/20 weeks.