Head, Elbows, Knees and Toes
Sometime during the second trimester you will begin feeling your baby move. The first movements will feel more like butterflies in your tummy, or light tickling coming from the inside. As your baby gets bigger you will start feeling light taps and kicks letting you know that your baby is awake and is playing inside his little world.
As you go through the third trimester, the movements become more definite and more detectable. You are able to detect a kick from a punch as well as feel your baby flip and roll. As the baby gets bigger you start to guess what it is you see moving along your belly. Is it an elbow? Is it your babies foot?
Eventually the baby gets too big to do the flips and rolls, so he tried to stretch and play in other ways. He may start head butting you in your bladder, making you have to visit the bathroom constantly and find that nothing is coming out. He may stick out his elbow, poking you in the side as to say, “Mommy, I am here!”
If he is head down you might feel him stretching into your ribs, using his feet to push against your bones and muscles. You might feel pressure at the top of your uterus from the baby pushing on the inside. If you put your hand and push back you may feel a little ball. It makes you have to ask, is that his knee or his heel? You can start playing a game with your baby because he will probably move this body part to another position in your belly, which you can follow him and gently push back. You will be telling your baby, “I know you are there, I am here too.”
The movements of your baby are definitely the best part of pregnancy and as they get stronger in the third trimester, they make up for all the aches and pains you may have had in the first trimester from the morning sickness and fatigue you probably felt. The movements are normally the first thing a woman says that she MISSES about being pregnant, if not the only thing.
Read More
Comment on this article...