Movement

By kate on October 20th, 2005

I’ve been meaning to write for a while about feeling Zippy move. It was and is totally different than I had heard or was expecting.
 
They call it “quickening”, the term for the moment that you feel the first movement. But for me, it wasn’t one moment. It was a few weeks of not being sure and straining to feel. I had heard it could feel like cramps, or being brushed by a fish, or like a caress on your wrist feels. I also thought it would be sudden and sharp, like kicking.
 
Instead, it felt more like a lava lamp. Slow, blobby movement. I still have no way to tell which parts are where, or which way is up on Zippy. Her actual movements (fingers, legs) may be fast, but the way they translate to the outside is a kind of gradual, syrupy movement. Another thing I found strange and surprising was how she moves all around in my belly. Sometimes, parts of her are up past my bellybutton, and other times she’s much lower down.
 
The best time for me to feel her moving is at bedtime, when I finally lay down after sitting most of the day. I think the combination of my stillness and the change in shape of my abdomen encourage Zippy to stretch out and move around.
 
Unfortunately, the actual movement is only something I can feel with my insides at the moment. Because it can’t yet be felt by hands, Steve hasn’t had a chance to feel Zippy moving. However, we can both definitely feel a firm lump once she’s moved in a way that part of her is sticking out. A firm lump that wasn’t there before, and moves away in a little while.


Filed under: pregnancy
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