kicks

For the last week or so, I've been having this sensation in my lower abdomen. Like my ab muscles are so exhausted from working out that they spasm every so  often.  Except, psh, what ab muscles? I haven't been working out, and it's not like a normal muscle spasm. 

Then I thought 'It kind of feels like bubbles popping...could I really have that much gas going on?'  Except I don't have gas. Because gas hurts. Also, gas moves, downward and outward.  You know what I'm saying.  These bubbles are always in the same spot. And it doesn't exactly feel like bubbles.

It's hard to explain.

It's kinda like someone is poking my insides.  And then I realized, someone IS poking my insides. From the inside!

The baby is moving! Which, the baby has been doing for the last 10 weeks or so, apparently.  But now I can feel it!

At first it was just every once in a while.  So infrequent, that I wrote it off as something else.  Over the last 5 or 6 days it has been everyday, at least once.  And yesterday, little bean would not stop wiggling!

I was home from work yesterday with a killer headache (also a pregnancy symptom, who knew), but I knew nothing was wrong with the baby.  Because baby was doing gymnastics.  That is no exaggeration. S/he kicked the junk out of me yesterday.

Today baby isn't quite as active, but is still wiggling around consistently enough for me to notice.

Before my last appointment with my mid-wife, I was anxious to hear the baby's heartbeat because I was feeling pretty normal. I brought it up with her during my appointment and she said that's really normal.  The 16- to 20-week mark can be a time of a lot of anxiety because your early pregnancy symptoms are gone, but you can't feel the baby moving yet. 

But now I know; baby is definitely still in there. Causing me headaches and beating up my bladder.

This picture is a couple weeks old.  ...and oddly enough, I actually think my tummy may have gotten smaller since this photo was taken.