Making Waves

They say you can start feeling the baby kick anywhere around 16 weeks. I forget where I read this, but I did read, "If you're only at 15 weeks and think you feel the baby kick--you don't. You have gas."

Well, I hit the 15 week mark on Dec. 26 and so for the last half of our holiday visit back in Middle America I kept thinking, "Come on little one. Kick. Kick! KICK!"

I had also read that heavier women are more likely to feel the baby kick closer to week 20. So as week 16 ended and then week 17, I began to have body image issues. Of course, they also say that women in their first pregnancy may also not feel any kicks until later, but that made little difference to me.

However, at the end of week 18 (on January 14, to be exact), there was a definite flutter on the lower right side of my stomach. It felt just as if someone had drummed their fingers against the inside of my skin. We were sitting on the couch reading our nightly "family" scripture, and as my husband read the genealogy of Jesus, I said, "Craig. Craig. Craig!" Of course, he continued reading to the end of the list and then put his thumb on the page and looked at me. By then the baby had quit kicking. I said, "Well, the baby kicked but you missed it."

I of course called my mom the next day and announced to all my Bible study girlfriends that I'd felt the baby kick. It was all very exciting. And then days without any kicking began to pile up. I began to think about all those women who think their baby is kicking when, in reality, they just need to pop a few Tums. I started to think I'd been wrong.

Well yesterday morning when my body was slowly growing alert in anticipation of that 5:30 alarm, I felt the exact same fluttering in my stomach. And I thought, "Is it?" And right about then, three distinct, deliberate (dare I say, slightly angry?) kicks knocked into me.

I rolled onto my side and tried to say, "Craig, the baby is kicking," but because my tongue hadn't been used for many hours and was thick with thirst, I think it sounded more like, "Agh, uh aby es eeking." He said something that meant "What?" And I said it again, clearer this time because suddenly (though the alarm had still not gone off) he pounced on me, pressing his hand firmly against my abdomen so that I was like a bug pinned to the bed.

We stayed like that for several minutes until the alarm went off and then I said, "I think you missed it again." But--partly because the bed was warm and he didn't want to go the gym and partly because he was determined to feel our baby moving inside me--he shut off the alarm and we lay in bed for half an hour or more with his hand against me and pretty soon he said, "I think I feel it," and I said, "Really? I don't feel anything." And then the same deliberate kicks came again and I said, "Yes, there it is. There's our little one."