Last week (23 weeks), I wasn't feeling too well for a few days. I had some light cramping and low back pain, which worried me, but which I tried to chalk up to my womb stretching and growing. I've also started having Braxton-Hicks contractions, and I have to say that I don't care much for them. Last week when I was having them, I would get them just in the upper left part of my abdomen, an inch or so above my bellybutton. They felt so weird because I'd feel a tightening that would last for several seconds, a release, and then an almost immediate tightening again. They kept coming like that and made it tough for me to relax and go to sleep.
I think it was one or two days last week, and a couple of days this week that I have felt the Braxton-Hicks contractions over my entire abdomen--uterus too, and that's what I really don't like. My stomach feels stretched so incredibly tight that I can't take as deep of a breath as I am used to taking. And the baby wiggles a lot when I have the contractions . . . reminds me of a little fish wriggling around. He doesn't kick so much as wriggle, so my guess is he feels some tightening going on around him. Eileen says that she had lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions when she was at about this stage of the game, but now that she is 36 weeks (I think), she doesn't get them much at all. I guess her body feels like it's had enough practice and is warmed up and ready to go. :)
This next part might be a little too much info for some folks, so feel free to skip to the next paragraph if you'd like. Also last week I ended up calling the doctor's office because on Thursday I had 6-7 drops of milky fluid slowly running down my legs and dripping to the floor when I was getting ready to take my shower that morning. I've had a couple drops before, but this seemed like quite a bit more than usual, so I figured I should call and see what the advice nurse said. She thought it was probably nothing, but that I should get checked out just in case. Dr. Stempel was out that day, so I saw one of his colleagues in the office and was pleased to be told that I am just one of those lucky gals who produce a lot of vaginal fluid when pregnant. Lovely. But I was glad that was all it was.
I feel our little man moving around so much more now--just within this past week it seems I feel him more and more often. I'd say I feel movement at least every couple hours if not more often. I love it. It's the absolute best feeling in the world. I feel like he's checking in with me, saying "Hey Mama, I'm here and I'm growing and doing great." I smile when I feel him and put my hand over my belly to feel the movement from the outside too. I was trying to explain to Michael tonight what an incredible feeling it is, and that even now, at nearly 25 weeks of pregnancy, I still barely comprehend that I really am pregnant. I check out my belly all the time when I'm in front of a mirror, or I just sit in bed with my shirt pulled up staring at it as the baby moves. It's as if my brain can't quite wrap itself around the fact that what I have wanted for such a terribly long time has finally become a reality for me.
I thank my lucky stars every single day.
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