Active Baby Hahm

One of the many things you just can't explain properly and you just can't know unless you are actually pregnant is all of the baby movement and how it will make you feel. Most of this experience is done without anyone else knowing you are feeling things going on. I mean friends and family can put their hands on your belly, but it really is different coming from inside you and you are alone for a lot of the movement.

First of all, my stomach is so so hard. I guess I expected things to be squishier and more fluid. It will probably be the only time I can bounce a qtr off of my stomach since I'll never have a six pack ;) i don't know if everyone's stomach feels this hard or if it is because I am having a boy (old wives tale) or because I haven't really gained that much weight, I have no idea, but it is a hard solid bump. Because of this I can see most of the movement that happens. It is so easy to see the dance routines going on inside - he slides to the right and then back to the left over and over. I don't think I was mentally prepared to feel these huge movements while I am just doing everyday activities. I'll be standing in line at the grocery store and I am wondering if the person behind me can see my belly just wiggling and jiggling. It really catches me by surprise sometimes.

Another thing that just really surprised me is how many hiccups Baby Hahm gets throughout the day. He seems to always get them when I sit to eat dinner. I just can't eat while he has the hiccups it weirds me out. It is just such a strange sensation for me to be eating and having this rhythmic movement in my belly. He gets some right before bed too and I just can't fall asleep knowing he has the hiccups. I'm so nestled in my pillow fortress that I feel every hiccup.

In the last few weeks I can feel movement in more than one area at the same time, which was quite the eye opener. I'll feel little pokes or movement way down in my belly and at the same time in my rib cage. It doesn't feel like one big movement like at first, it is all of these separate non coordinated movements. I'm such a visual person that I just hate that I don't know what is actually making the certain movements - is it a hand, foot, arm, butt, shoulder??... how is he positioned in there?? I think I get either a knee or elbow towards my upper right because it seems quite pointed and pokey, but who knows.

I have started to notice a time pattern as well. While he is pretty active all day, he is most active on the 12's and 6's plus or minus an hour. I am a night owl, but I really can't fall asleep until he has his daily tumbling routine around midnight, he is just so active that it is impossible to rest through that much movement.

I have heard other mothers say how much they miss the movement after the baby is born and I of course never really understood what that meant. I do now. I guess I never realized what an intimate experience it is for you and this little baby. It is kind of like your first real communication. Baby Hahm lets me know he is in there and healthy and I let him know I am still keeping him in a tight bubble. It has become such a reassuring thing for me to feel these movements (even if they hurt sometimes - jabs to the right side are not my favorite). I know he is suppose to move a little less in the upcoming weeks due to the size becoming even more cramped (which still boggles my mind that things can actually get more cramped), but I hope he still lets me know loud and clear that he is in there learning coordination, etc. I am getting used to these daily dance routines so I hope he knows I need my fix of Baby Hahm movement!!