Daddy Can Feel the Kicks Too!

This past Tuesday I went home from work because I didn't feel well. It actually started after lunch on Monday, but since it was such a busy day at work, I was distracted enough to not mind so much. However, Tuesday was quite slow, and I just wanted to go home and get some rest to see if it would help my stomach to settle a little bit. It's hard to explain, but I felt like I'd feel better if I just threw up, but I didn't really feel nauseous. I also had a very small appetite (out of character for me lately), but I knew I had to eat. It wasn't painful, but it did feel strangely miserable. So I went home with the intent to sleep it off, hoping that I'd feel better by the afternoon.

Well, I didn't really get to sleep at all because there was an important issue to resolve in our apartment. (Mark and I had tried to call management for a few days, but they were off because of the holiday weekend. I heard them vacuuming in the halls and asked him to come look at the problem. It's what we expected: ground water seeping in from the foundation and pooling under the carpet in our bedroom!!) So since management was coming in and out all day, there was no chance of me getting any shut-eye. The baby was squirming ALL DAY too, which was unusual because normally I only notice him a few times each day. I was also experiencing more gas than usual, so I think that it was possibly something that I ate for lunch on Monday that the baby didn't like too much...and it didn't quit until it was out of my system.

By the time Tuesday night came around, I felt much better... yet the baby was still kicking. In bed I told Mark that I thought the baby was about to kick again and put his hand on my belly. *Gasp!* "I FELT IT!! Right here under my pinky and ring finger." Mark was pretty excited. Not jumping in bed excited, but I could tell that he was glad to have felt it. I asked him how he felt now that he could feel it, and he said "amazing" so I guess that's a great sign! He was asking me how I could tell that he was about to kick...honestly, I don't really know how to answer that question. Sometimes I can tell, and sometimes I can't. Maybe it's because the baby often will kick a few times in one spot before he's done, or sometimes I can just feel a bit of pressure in a certain area, like I can tell he's uncomfortable, and then I wait for that little thumping feeling to happen. I'm not always right, so I can't say that I have it down to an art or anything, but it's fun to be able to think, "Oh, he's about to kick!" and then feel it happen.

I was able to feel the kicks with my own hands for a few days while at work, but of course Mark wasn't around then. So I've been waiting for the chance for Mark to feel it, and it finally happened. I tried a couple times since, and so far he hasn't been able to feel any more kicks, but that's usually because they've been gentler kicks. Hopefully we'll get to the point where Mark can feel him more often. YAY!