Belle's a Mover!

Just in case your wondering what the new addition's personality is like, I am going to tell you. I think we are in for some trouble. Constant movement at all hours so were not going to have an easy going kid or a lazy one. Recently she found my ribs and loves using my bladder for a trampoline. At any given hour you can find my stomach moving and Belle trying to find comfortable spot to run.

She starts out moving bright and early to wake me. Usually she does this by wedging herself under my ribs  and then stretching out to kick my full bladder. It feels that she knows exactly what she is doing. I can hear her say, "get up mom because I am hungry and this full bladder you have is really cramping my space." I then stumble awake to get some hot tea and breakfast which sends her into overdrive.

This goes on throughout the day. The only time she isn't moving is when I am moving or at least I cannot feel her. If I sit for too long she gets angry that she can't stretch so I end up walking around or clean when I am at home. Good thing I still don't have a car because she loves the daily walks to the fruit market and grocery store. This usually appeases her for a few hours before the cycle begins again for dinner.

The good thing about her moving around so much is that Nate really gets a chance to be a part of everything. At night after dinner we catch up on some DVR and play with Belle. Most of the time by finding out where she is laying. We have both determined we can feel her head or butt and not sure how to tell the difference. It feels sorta-of like two tennis balls spaced apart with random kicks and hits.

Recently the hiccups show up a regular intervals. At first I thought my heart beat was really strong or that she was compromised in some way which freak me out! Then I realized that the beating had an irregular pattern so either my heart is off or it's not my heart. I completely forgot about hiccups presenting around this gestational age but then quickly made the connection.

The hiccups used to be cute but now they happen so often that I almost get annoyed with the slightly off rhythmic movement. It does provide me reassurance that she growing and her lung/diaphragm muscles are working hard so that eases the annoyance. This muscle development means that not only will she be constantly moving but possibly being able to voice her opinion whether we want it or not. Of course these are all guesses but it's better to be prepared than underprepared! Thankfully from what we know she is healthy!

That's Belle in a nutshell :)

Tchau,
Sara