I'm 21 weeks along today. Happily, that pushes me officially over the halfway point, very happily.
While everyone else who is approximately as pregnant as I am is talking about how wonderful and magical it is to feel the baby move, I have been reduced to tears on more than one occasion. Not the "oh-how-sweet" tears, either, but the "yikes-what-is-this-child-doing-to-me?!" tears.
This baby doesn't even weigh a pound yet and we already have limbs popping out of my stomach! Limbs, people!
The cute, squishy, swirly movements are still there (almost constantly, I might add), and I'm always appreciative of those because it reassures me that the baby is alive and well, but at least once a day I get absolutely pummeled.
I hate to allude to the Twilight series, but I seriously feel I could be Bella Swan right now (almost). To quote from some Twilight Lexicon fan site, "...The strength of the fetus left bruises on Bella’s abdomen..."
I don't have any bruising yet but, honestly, I find that surprising.
Usually the baby only starts doing her "martial arts" when her territory is being...squished...in some form or another. For example, if Rachel's elbow is resting on my stomach, Miriam goes wild, trying to reclaim her territory. If I am folding my arms, which then naturally fall down to my belly, Miriam gives them a wailing.
Such was the case tonight at dinner when I was saying the blessing on the food. She kicked so hard it felt like someone flicked my arm or poked me with a stick or something. I completely lost my train of thought and stumbled through the rest of the prayer.
It's not only external factors that drive her crazy, though. If I happen to eat (which I do several times throughout the day), Miriam starts to kick my stomach as if it's encroaching on her personal space or something. Granted, I have no idea where any of my internal organs are right now, but it certainly feels like she's kicking my stomach. It hurts and it makes me feel queasy.
Yesterday we had FHE right after dinner and Miriam was alternatively kicking my stomach and down by my lower back. I was in so much agony that I actually teared up. She moved so much that she spurred on some Braxton Hicks, which, thankfully, quieted her down a little.
I seriously don't know how I'm going to survive as she gets bigger and stronger. I don't remember it hurting this badly this early with Rachel, who was also a wriggly thing.
I was thinking of Bella's encounter with Renesmee before I even read that you thought of it. I hope she doesn't even come remotely close to the damage Renesmee did to Bella. I love those books! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not gonna lie, the pregnancy part of that story really isn't that far fetched - at least I don't think so. the baby grows SO fast and demands so much that it sometimes feels a little like a monster....
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to make you jealous or anything, but I can hardly feel Thomas. I have to eat, and pay close attention and then (and ONLY then) can I feel the small flutters. I read your posts about fully developed limbs and get concerned that my child isn't moving as much as he should! So....i guess we'll each be paranoid.....
Nancy didn't move at all in utero. I thought perhaps I would give birth to just a heart (because we knew it was beating properly) but she turned out to be complete, but just a very quiet, well-behaved baby. I don't know what happened with her kids!
ReplyDeleteI don't know what happened with my kids, either. At least they'll be able to keep up with each other...
ReplyDeleteCrazy!! I had that feeling a bit (the I'm getting torn apart from the inside feeling) towards the end of Rachel's preg. but it wasn't too bad...usually when I didn't eat on schedule or something. I'm sorry that it's so bad already! The Bella analogy seems good to me... maybe she'll run out of room and slow down a bit as she gets bigger? Good luck and I have to stop bc this is taking way too long to type...
ReplyDeleteJust so you know, Andrew finally got to feel one of Miriam's more "tremendous" kicks last night. He described it as a "thwack," actually jumped when she kicked her hand (the force is surprising and comes out of nowhere, it seems), and said it felt about as hard as someone rudely tapping your shoulder.
ReplyDeleteSo if it's because I jump suddenly, it's because I've been rudely "thwacked" in the uterus.
you know, i remember being able to feel Eloise move much more than Evelynn, and i remember it being painful at times (though not as bad as yours sounds). but there is hope! the abdominal beatings got gentler as Eloise got bigger, at least i don't remember it getting any more painful. i hope this happens to you too!
ReplyDeleteI always hated being pregnant... I didn't really like that feeling of being beaten up via the inside. Piper was our fiestiest she would push so hard we could grab her hand or foot whatever was protruding... and it would leave definite outlines so we could tell what it was too. I was never so grateful when she ended up, her legs permanently lodged in my ribcage. At least, she could only push and prod one place, and I could shift her feet around which was nice :)
ReplyDeleteRosie was the far worst one of my kids...surprisingly because I had twins right? She loved to work a hand? foot? in between my ribs and then wiggle. She awoke her father one time from kicking him soooo hard! Another time she hit a nerve in my back, that locked it up, I couldn't stand up straight for a couple of days. She did at one point leave a bruise on me from her violent tendencies.....But look how sweet she is now!!!!
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