Fabulous Friday - the kicks begin

I do believe that today is the best Fabulous Friday ever. Why? Because today is the day that Sticky decided to start kicking! Yep, I now have either a little soccer player or ballerina wriggling around inside of me!

At 16 weeks and 5 days it is a little early to feel them but not unheard of. It all started last night when I was brushing my teeth. It started with a weird swirling in my stomach. I hadn’t felt that before so I immediately took notice. It’s hard to explain the sensation. It feels like bubbles popping inside of you and water running from one side of you to the other. It then moved to butterflies which really caught my attention because everyone says it feels like butterflies in your stomach.

It only lasted a few short seconds and it was over. It was enough for me to register it, but nothing more. I didn’t really think about it again until I got into bed. I had a stinging sensation in my lower abdomen and the swirling started again. Basically, the swirling is the amniotic fluid moving around in response to the baby moving. I told my husband that I thought the kicking had started but wasn’t sure. We didn’t get excited as there was nothing definitive about it. I wondered if it was because I was hungry so I had something to eat!

This morning while making the breakfast, I felt a sharp twinge in my lower abdomen. It literally felt like someone inside of me all giving me a swift punch. I bent over with the pain and it made me feel nauseous. Again, it was over in a few seconds. It definitely felt like a kick but again, I didn’t get excited. It still felt too early to be feeling it.

On the way to lunch, I was asking the pregnant girl at work about it. She described her experience to me and it sounded exactly the same. She said she felt it about the same time so I felt better. She’s having her first child so I didn’t feel like it was out of the realms of possibility to be kicks.

After lunch, I felt it again. Another swift punch that made me bend over. Again, I felt a wave of nausea from the pain.  It’s not an intense pain, but it’s enough to make you bend over when it happens. And certainly strong enough to note that it’s there. There was no more denying it – Sticky was starting to kick.

I got a bit emotional because I’ve been longing for this day. I’ve not got a sign that things are going well. Mind you, I know I won’t feel it all the time, and I know I can go a few days without feeling it at this stage. So that’s ok. At least it’s started and it relieves me mind until the next obstetrician appointment.

I’ve had some tough times over the past few weeks, feeling nervous and anxious everything was ok. I had asked Sticky to start kicking as soon as she could and I’m glad I’ve got a early starter. If only for the sake of my mental wellbeing. But, I’m also proud of the strength I’ve shown so far in this pregnancy. I’ve had to push through and conquer my fears which has been challenging at times. But, I guess the lesson learnt is that I have the power to counteract my negative thoughts.

In the meantime, I’m just going to look forward to my next kick. It can come anytime so I’m going to try and not be too vigilant about it. For today, I’m overwhelmed with joy and excitement and can’t wait to meet the little soul who’s going to spend the next 23 weeks beating me up!