Feeling Movement

Lots of people have asked what kind of movement I'm feeling from the babies, and when it started. So I'll give you the timeline, to the best of my memory.

Around 14-15 weeks, I started to feel what people call "flutters." To me it felt like bubbles popping or something, or maybe goldfish brushing up against me. I especially felt it low in my pelvis if I leaned forward at my desk - as if someone was saying "stop squishing me!". It was very strange, and I was never sure if I was just making it all up.

Closer to 19-20 weeks, I started to feel movement that seemed more like kicking. As it got stronger, it was more like thumps.

Around 22-23 weeks, I started to see my belly move when they kicked! That was really cool. Plus Jason was finally able to feel the movement from the outside. Because my belly is so big already, I can really only see any movement that is at or above my belly button. Anything lower than that is out of my view.

Now (25 weeks), sometimes the thumps are so strong that if I'm resting a book on my belly it will jump. Pretty fun, and reassuring. Of course when I don't feel movement for awhile I start to worry. Sometimes they respond if I jiggle my belly or drink something cold, but sometimes they don't.

Here's how they are positioned and what I feel from each one:

Baby A (girl) is very low and deep in my pelvis, with her head down and body/legs off to the right. I usually feel things more like rolling or flipping from her. She is also the one who usually has her back to us during ultrasounds - she is shy about showing her face.

Baby B (boy) is on the left side of my belly, head down, feet at or above my belly button. He is my strongest kicker! He is definitely the one I feel most often. Maybe it's just the way he's positioned, or maybe we are going to have an active boy on our hands.

Baby C (girl)is on the right side of my belly, usually either breech or sort of sideways. Her placenta is in the way, so I often don't feel her kicks as strongly. I think I feel them most when she is sideways - that's when I feel something to the far right side of my belly. I don't think she is as active as A or B, but that could be about her positioning or the placenta's position. Then again, we caught her yawning during our last ultrasound, so maybe she's just the least energetic. We also had an ultrasound once where we saw B kicking C in the head. Not nice, Baby B!

I'm imagining things will get more interesting as they get bigger and have less room to move around. It's pretty fun to just lay around with my shirt up and wait for the show. :)