Sometimes You Get Kicked

Jackson has begun kicking in earnest… maybe he always has been, but was too tiny before? In any event, he’s kicking hard enough now (or he’s big enough now) that the outside world can feel him, too (as you know from the “It’s Alive” post, I’ve been feeling Jackson for about eight weeks now). Jesse felt him for the first time about a week or so ago.

There’s just one problem: Jackson is definitely his own man, and when others want to feel him, he won’t kick. In fact, quite the opposite – he stops squirming when I start talking… say, for example, saying to someone who wants to feel him that now’s the time to rub the Buddha. Now, I guess I should feel excited that he stops what he’s doing to listen to me (I should enjoy that now, right??), but it’s difficult to have others say hello when he won’t perform on command, so to speak.

I’ve begun to see him kick, too, and every time I call Jesse over to see, Jackson stops kicking. Jesse has yet to see my belly squirm or jump, even though I’ve seen it several times now, because Jackson decides in those moments to be shy.

I’ve also noticed that, when I stand up, he kicks down, not out, which feels weird… it’s low, and in the middle – right at where I think my cervix is… I hope this means that he’s going to decide to give me little trouble when it’s time for him to leave the womb (fingers crossed).

We went to the doctor for my routine monthly check-up on Wednesday (12/24) – everything is good. My bump from bottom to top is 24 inches, which apparently is right on target. I’m weighing in at 154 (I started out at 134); “They” say that a 25-35 pound gain throughout pregnancy is the target, and that from your second trimester through the rest of the pregnancy you should gain between three-quarters of a pound to a pound a week, which means that, at 24 weeks with 16 to go, and only a 20lb gain, I’m on target to gain mostly actual baby weight, making it easier to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (fingers crossed again – I have some really nice clothes that I miss wearing… but, if anyone’s looking to get me a present, JCrew gift certificates in case I can’t get back into my clothes would be greatly appreciated. That, or a massage).

The baby’s heart beat is good, although I had a brief moment of horror when I heard two heart beats on the monitor before Jack’s came in clearly – but the second one was mine.

The doctor said that Jackson’s a little too small at this point for us to chart his kicks… he weighs just a little over a pound now. By the next visit though, I’ll be able to figure out his routines. Maybe then Jesse will get to see him perform?

We have one more monthly appointment, and then we start going every two weeks until the last month, when we start going every week.