After entering into my second trimester I was most excited about feeling the baby movements. Usually they start during 18-20 weeks, but in my case even after the 20th week I didn’t feel a thing. My midwife said I should start to feel it any time from now and it will feel like butter flies in your stomach. I was not worried exactly as I knew it’s only a concern if you don’t feel them up to 24th week. But still I wanted it to happen sooner!
During my 22nd week, one day when I was sitting in our living room reading some magazine it happened for the first time!! At first it just felt like gas bubbles in my stomach so I ignored. Then in few minutes the movements become more dominant and rhythmic then I knew this is it!! I was so excited at that moment I called Jai and he could feel it too. I had tears in my eyes, during the scans we definitely saw her moving but it was the very first time when we could feel our baby’s existence with touch. It was one of the most exciting moments of my pregnancy.
As the weeks passed these gentle movements turned into actions I could easily distinguish. I know when she is kicking, rolling, turning or how her hiccups feels like. She is getting stronger day by day. Sometimes when I get busy in my daily routine, through these movements I feel like she trying take my attention towards her. It’s a great feeling of having someone so close to you that you can feel them all the time. These fluttering movements are making me fall in love with my bump. I know now why pregnancy feels like bliss!!
In the beginning of third trimester scan we saw she has settled in a breech position, no wonder why I was feeling so many sharp kicks down there on my bladder (she is quite a karate kid). Sometimes it can be very discomforting but still bearable. Sometimes I also feel the strong thrusts she makes with her head at the top of my stomach. She also likes to take long and frequent naps. My snacking, sudden movement, resting on left hand side, or loud music wakes her up. I think she can also feel the temperature difference when I eat/
drink something very cold or during hot baths.
While she is awake I try and play soothing music which she might feel familiar with after birth. We try and talk to her together every day, I also have quite movements with her alone. Initially I felt I am talking to myself, but now I truly feel she can hear and understand me. I do tell her stories, sometime I also sing my favorite songs to her. It makes me really happy when she responds to it.
We also tried pointing torch on my belly just to see if she reacts to the source of light, and she did, she made some sudden movements. But I was not sure if she really liked it, so we never tried it again.
My midwife has asked me to count baby movements every day after 28th week. So I count them twice a day morning and evening. As long as you feel 10 movements in one hour twice a day it should be fine. I try and relax or lay down so that it’s easier to count, also the baby moves a lot when you are laying down. Eating something sweet or sleeping on left side also help them to get moving.
