Baby Week 32 - Feeling Those Feet!
November 21, 2008
Image from http://aconn73.wordpress.com/2006/12/09/pregnancy-is-a-wonderful-experience/
At one of my recent doctor visits I mentioned that I was feeling significantly more movement from this baby than I had with the first. It wasn’t really a complaint, more of an observation. My doctor suggested that perhaps I was feeling more because my uterine wall had thinned after the first pregnancy, so I was able to feel movement more often than I had with Xander. “Ok, I thought, that makes sense.”
After I left, I continued to ponder this theory, and it seemed to make even more sense - Xander’s kicks, while strong at times were never painful. This little guy is able to take my breath away and stop me in my tracks with just one well placed foot or elbow. I guess Xander really did do a good job thinning out that uterine wall, because I’m much more sensitive to movement this time around.
It’s sort of a double edged sword sort of situation - I love feeling the baby kick, knowing that he’s moving and doing well in there, and that I should enjoy these movements, because they are likely the last I will ever feel like this… On the other hand, there are moments when I would love some peace and quiet, just a few minutes without hiccups or kicks, but it’s not like I can reason or plead with the kid yet.
The image here is not my belly - though there are times when you can see it rolling in a manner similar to Alien. However, that little foot is an excellent portrayal of how I feel 45% of my day.
So, for the next few weeks I’m doing my best to enjoy the movement as much as possible and hope that the schedule he’s developed in the womb is vastly different from the one that we’ll have once he gets out 
I have no doubt about baby movement anymore. I have noticed that in the mornings and evenings my kids likes to get some exercises by doing some jumping jacks around my stomach. When I can feel kicks/punches in two or three locations at once, I know that kid is busy in there. I’m not sure if the baby is saying “hey Mom, what’s up?” or “geeze it’s tight in here!” Either way, if I get up to use the bathroom at 4am, I can be almost certain that a few minutes later my kid will be busy with the workout routine. I did finally get Zach to feel the movement. The baby was kicking hard one night, and Zach was able to feel the hard kicks, which quite entertained him, though I didn’t find the discomfort all that funny… The literature I’ve read says that I’ll be able to notice a routine in the baby’s movements after a while. The movements aren’t always a guarantee in the mornings or evenings, but the baby seems to prefer those times over the middle of the day, which is a plus, since they can be somewhat distracting in the middle of meetings, etc. I wouldn’t say that baby movement is exactly comfortable or fun, but I do find it reassuring when the baby kicks, it reminds me that things are still going along as they should in there.