Eek! Is that a foot?

So, I'm supposed to be counting the baby movements and keeping track of this stuff. Yeah, I kind of am. It's hard. DJ's "high movement" times are so random. Sometimes it's first thing in the morning. Sometimes it's super late at night, as soon as I jump into bed. Sometimes it's just before lunch time. Mostly it's just whenever.

Lately I've been getting some crazy early morning movements. It's been nice enough so that we open the windows at night. And then noisy enough with the birds that I have to get up at 5 am (the sun isn't even up yet, people! sheesh!) to shut the windows again. I'd say at least two or three times, it wasn't just the noise of the birds that woke me. As I lay there thinking about trying to sleep through the cacophony, DJ insisted that I get up and cut that racket out. There was some serious poking that felt definitively like a fist in my side. He was NOT having it. Once the noise was gone and I was back in bed, I got a few wriggles and then some light dancing. I've learned to sleep right through that kind of activity if it's early enough. Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.

When I do remember to count, the counting goes quickly. The happy nurse who explained the movement count to us told us that 10 movements in 2 hours is perfectly normal. Wow, my fetus has ADD. Ten movements in ten minutes is pretty common, though I usually loose track around five or six. Since those usually occur in the first 2 minutes of counting (which I start whenever I feel a flurry that seems likes it's going to last a bit), I figure I'm getting a good estimate. The insistent fist banging on the uterus to let me know that the racket outside will not be tolerated would probably get me a good fifteen movements in a minute.

This morning he was particularly frisky. I slept in a bit because me and my GI tract were having a bit of a fight, and it was winning. I hate having to put down a good coupe d'etat but sometimes it must be done. I needed some recovery time because the revolt had persisted longer than I'd anticipated. Apparently, DJ was either feeling cramped or extra rested. It seemed pretty happy though, as he started to dance at me. I got a good 15 pokes in at least two spots on opposite sides of the belly before I lost track. It felt as if he were pumping his fists to the left and right independently. That seems like a lot of coordination for an infant. I would think that a foot and a fist would feel like they are different sizes.

Later on in the morning, I got to experience that precisely. I was sitting happily at the computer when I felt a strong poke that stayed poking out long enough for me to look down and see a long protrusion from my belly. Now that was a foot. Long and thin, but not long enough to be an arm, it just sat there. Funny, it wasn't uncomfortable, though it was a little weird looking. I'm not sure why my night gown was pulled up high enough for me to actually see skin, perhaps I pulled it up to see the foot a little closer. That was even weirder looking. But it was still kind of neat. So I started talking to the foot.

"What is that? Are you poking a foot at me?! What are you doing?"

Conversations with DJ often sound a lot like that, when I have the time or inclination to talk to the poking. I rubbed the bottom of the foot, pressing lightly on it as if I were tickling it and it slid away. That looked really crazy. And it tickled as well, at which point I started giggling. He kept that foot against me for a little longer before doing something that repositioned the feet.

Ok, so it looked a little like he was trying to escape there for a minute. And with the strength of some of the blows I've gotten lately, I wouldn't doubt that he may have a plan to that effect. If I'm laying down, he'll hit me hard enough that it feels like the whole belly is reverberating. It's like he's trying to create a standing wave in my tummy. Thankfully, it doesn't usually hurt, particularly if he does it on the sides, but it can sure keep a body from sleeping. The foot a the top of the belly is new though, and particularly interesting.

My good friends the crazy Crespo sisters saw me when I was in Miami. And I said to them that at some point he'd be cramped enough in there that you'd be able to see him trying to press through the skin like in those crazy 80's videos. I did a demonstration of what this might look like for them, putting my hands next to my face and pressing against imaginary skin. They told me I'm the only person they've ever known who would think of their baby that way. Yeah well, now he's doing it, at least with his feet. So there!

Crazed Mama

Ok, I really meant for this blog to be all about DJ, but I need to share this. I think the experiences I've had over the last few months are important to remember if (when) I get pregnant again. And hopefully to remember after I deliver, though that may be a problem if things keep going the way they are going.

I'm losing my mind.

No, really. I'm seriously losing it.

Ok, I have joked about being dazed and confused for most of my life. I am happy to admit that I am a space cadet, happy traveling the universe with narry a care given to my tenuous attachment to reality. But this is getting to be ridiculous.

It started with mild forgetfulness. Almost to the point that I didn't notice. I've always misplaced things and lost track of stuff, so when it gets a little worse I'm not likely to pay all that much attention to it. That is, until someone calls out the fact that I've forgotten something important.

In January, I forgot a shrink appointment I had. Oops. I think I forgot to put it in my calendar. My bad. Then, I started forgetting assignments at work if I didn't write them down IMMEDIATELY. That's not so strange, actually. That's pretty common. But the half life on my assignments was starting to get perilously short. Like forgetting when walking from my boss' office back to my own, when they are across the hall from each other. Uh oh. In Mid-March I was running late for a dentist appointment because I forgot I had it at all. When I called to tell them I was running late, they said I wouldn't make it and to reschedule. OK. No problem.

I made it to Miami and back with hardly an issue. Though I had to be repeatedly reminded to call a couple of close friends. And I did apparently forget to tell Evil (that's what I call him) to pack a set of nice clothes for the baby shower that my mom was throwing me. (Though I still blame him for not ever showing the SLIGHTEST interest in the activities we were going to do and showing up with 57 lbs of clothes/stuff that wasn't entirely activity appropriate.)

But that was March. And with April showers and my 6 month mark came PANDEMONIUM. I forgot a second shrink appointment that again was not in my calendar. I had the foresight to call and ask if we were having it but had already made other plans by the time she got my message. Bugger. I'm working on my baby shower stuff, along with house stuff and I completely lose track of a) how many weeks are in this month, b) how many of them we've already gone through and c) how much time I have in general to get all of our stuff done. Bad signs people.

Last night I'm at my first childbirth class last I say that we are currently in 2001, the 21st century, there's no reason to go through pain without meds. B was so kind as to remind me that we are in 2008. What happened to my 7 years? I mean, in 2001 I was poor, jobless for more of the year than I care to remember and still living in Miami. Now we're in the mid-atlantic, I make good money (thank you, thank you) and we are far from poor, even if we aren't millionaires. I don't get yelled at for going crazy in the dollar section any more because really, we can afford to blow the $5-$15 every once in a while. (I get stuff for the kids there. It's great!)

I got assigned to travel at the end of April (Road Trip! Woohoo!) and so my rescheduled dentist appointment had to move since it happened when I got back. Ok, so I manage to get them to move it up by a week. Note: Dentist Appointment is Apr. 30th. One week before is Apr. 23. Today is Apr. 16. But it is a Wednesday. I know you see where this is going.

I wake up this morning, after getting home late and CRASHING, in a panic. Oh bloody hell, I think. I forgot to get my hard drive and bring the files home so I can work from home and go to my dentist appointment. Curses! I'll just have to go into work in the morning and work from home in the afternoon. I am picking up my things, trying to get out of the house as quickly as possible (and FAILING. I know you're not shocked) and my phone buzzes. I have it on vibrate. Luckily I was looking at it at the time. Oh, it's the Dentist Office. They can move me up to today at noon, can I make it? Sure. Didn't I already make my appointment for today at noon? Huh. no matter.

I go into work and about my business. I inform my boss I'll be going to the dentist and that I forgot all my docs. Oops. I'll take them with me. I barely make it out of the office on time and I put the pedal to the limit of the metal I'm willing to tempt fate with because cops in this town LOVE giving tickets ( and the fines now are BRUTAL). I even manage to navigate a new route to a highway in one of the most confusing sections of town (GW Parkway where it hits 29, 66, 50 and HELL) and cruise control my way to the Dentist Office just in time. They thank me for being able to make it. I pant because I nearly didn't.

The cleaning is routine. Nothing spectacular about my teeth other than my gums are a little madder than usual on account of being pregnant and all. Floss, floss, floss! Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then we get out and they set me up with a 6 month appointment. I open my palm pilot and realize the date... and notice the missing appointment. My gods. I nearly took a 40 minute EXCURSION from the center of the city to the western suburbs for an appointment I didn't have until NEXT WEEK. I'm so glad they bumped me up! Lucky for me, they did. At least I remembered the appointment this time!

Please, please, please tell me this ends when I pop! Please tell me there is SANITY, or at least what little remnants I had of sanity to begin with, when this adventure ends!

I read on CNN this may last until the kid hits pre-school. Say it ain't so!

Dancing Morning

This morning the birds woke me up at an UNGODLY hour again. Apparently, the woke up DJ again today. He was up like me at 6 something again. With some coaxing, I got him to relax enough for me to go back to sleep. B was dead to the world and I couldn't get him to roll over using normal methods (stroking a sleeping arm or calling out his name quietly), so I was on my own.

When I woke up again later this morning, the baby was dancing. You know how an infant looks when they are just scrambling on their backs? Their little arms just flail and the legs wiggle? That's what it felt like. All kinds of random poking that was soft and happy feeling. It was neat. I dozed for a little while longer, still feeling tired from the day before. Once the leg cramps I've been getting while sleeping got overwhelming, I got up.

Now I'm sitting in front of the computer and he's tickling me like crazy. I'm trying not to giggle too much since B is sleeping down the hall but it's hard. Whenever anything rests against the side of the belly, I stroke him.

I've been doing that a lot. I try to acknowledge any movements with sound or touch. I want him to know that I can feel him, that I'm reacting to his movements. I dream about being able to cuddle and play with him. I think he's going to be a wriggly baby and tons of fun. I tell him that I can't wait to meet him, that we're excited to have him with us. A co-worker suggested that he'd be more anxious to come out in a timely fashion if he's getting that kind of feedback. I hope so. This belly is HUGE!

Everything Is Back To Normal

Well, now that we're back home and I'm sleeping more regularly in my bed with the fluffy pillows, things are back to normal. DJ plays with me all day. I'm pretty sure he knows just how to move so he can tickle me, because he does it regularly. I have asked around and I think I'm the only pregnant lady I know, or that anyone I know knows, that finds the sensation of certain movements ticklish. I am particularly ticklish anyway but still, I think it's a rather unique experience. That's ok, I have a girlfriend who had a sensation of baby movements that felt like worms. I'm glad I missed that experience. That doesn't sound fun at all.

Anyway, I'll be talking to people at work or around and I'll get a poke from him. It feels like a little fist or elbow or something small. I almost always make a noise of some sort, some kind of startled "Oooh!" sound. Usually there's no movement to proceed it. Or at least I can't tell that he's plotting to poke me most of the time.

Then there's the rub movement, which usually happens on the sides or top of the belly. Those almost always tickle. It feels like a shoulder or an arm sliding against the side. Sometimes it feels like he's up against the side and rolling. I don't know why it tickles but it does. Sometimes, it sends me into fits of giggles and he'll do it for several minutes at a time.

Sometimes I'll feel him just moving around during the day, switching positions and stretching out. I can't usually tell which way he's facing, whether he's head up or down. I occasionally get the head poking out of the belly, but that's not as frequent any more. The worst day time feeling is when he's hanging out on the bladder and bouncing it. It's like I can feel it through my whole lower abdomen. That's terribly uncomfortable.

He's back to his normal night time movements as well, which is so comforting. B can always calm him though, which is also good. Now that the weather is finally getting nicer, I think the bird calls (they are REALLY loud) wake him up like they do me. B sleeps right through them but they annoy the heck out of me. It would be cute at noon but at 5:30 in the morning it's just rude.

One morning I felt DJ stretch, two pokes in rapid succession on either side of the belly that were fairly soft and then remained in place. Slowly they got stronger and then released. It really felt like he was just stretching out. It was so cute.

Quiet Baby, What Happened?

Well, this whole week we've been wandering around Miami. We drove down to the keys with my friends. Mommy got all emotional because she missed Daddy. Everyone's blaming it on hormones but I know better. We've never been apart this long, and I'm taking my friends to do all the things, except snorkeling, that I'd normally do with B. It hit me on the way back up from the keys. It's torture. I got over it and we hit the clubs and hung out with my Miami Homies.

All the while the baby is QUIET. Not a whole lot of movement at all. Even when we got the extra sonogram (Thanks Uncle P.R.!), he was sleeping. He was so cute too. He looked just like B. His hand was over his head and he was just OUT.

I think he missed his Daddy. And I've completely hosed our routine. Who knew babies could get used to a routine in utero. Even though weekends are often different, I think there's a comfort with home and familiar activities and sound that even they get used to. So I think
that he was just out of sorts.

Some people wondered if the lack of movement freaked me out. It didn't. I could feel him moving around in there but there wasn't the distinct kicking and playful tickling that I'd gotten used to. And so I could just tell he was not right in the situation.

Then there was the one time he did kick - at night. When I'd finally make it to be he'd move and kick in this antsy sort of way, like he was restless. I attribute this feeling, this motion to missing B the most. Every night B comes in and tucks us into bed. He talks to us and rubs the belly, occasionally schnuggling the belly. That routine puts me in the mood to sleep and calms me. It always seemed to calm DJ too. If he was kicking like mad, Daddy would come round and rub the belly and he'd quiet down. (He might start up again after but it was usually only momentary). I think he missed the routine.