I am sharing these pictures mainly because they make me laugh – to hell with the nicely posed serene maternity portraits, here’s reality in all its unfiltered glory. ;)
Yes, I am resembling a planet these days. When I lie down in the bath I feel a bit like a turtle that’s flipped over and can’t get up again without some embarrassing wobble-like manoeuvre. But the bit you can’t see here is that baby Sunshine absolutely LOVES baths.
It was where I felt her move for the first time and where she has consistently been the most active. That shy little flutter has grown into ginormous kicks, and these days my belly is stretched from left to right as various limbs stretch and twist under my skin. I imagine she’s attempting a swim in there, trying on a crawl or a butterfly stroke, wanting me to notice.
She can clearly feel it when Jo or I put a hand on my belly now, and she’s a lot more responsive as well. Just this week she has gained what feels like a bit more control over her movements, and instead of a quick, involuntary kick, she will try to feel where the pressure comes from. It’s a longer, slower sort of movement where she seems to want to connect with whoever it is out there.
She can hear me too.
I was wondering why exactly she so loves the bath, so I tested the theory that it’s actually the water sounds. I put one hand on my belly, letting her feel I am there, and then use the other to loudly splash the water right by where her head is. She stops moving every time I splash, and then starts again when I stop. So yes, I am actually getting to play with this little creature in utero, how brilliant is that?!
Pregnancy is weird as hell, but I am still enjoying every bizarre and wonderful day of it. Don’t come out just yet baby Sunshine, but when you do I promise we can have a bath whenever you want! *g*
If you resemble a planet, it’s a planet that’s hosting life, the most fascinating and beautiful kind! Some people use white noise to make their baby fall asleep, maybe you can try waterfall sound after she’s born. :-)
Oh that’s a good idea, or one of those water soundtracks they play in spas. I’m sure we will end up trying everything to get her to sleep when we’re at that point ;) Thank you!