The Baby Your little heir is becoming stronger and stronger --you might even feel him moving this week-- a wondrous moment! Then again, it may take a couple more weeks before you feel movement, or if you are pregnant for the second or third time, then you may have felt it a few weeks ago. After all, you know what to look for. You can also let the other children feel your growing belly now and tell them about their new little brother or sister. Then they can rub him and talk to him. The waiting lasts a really long time for children but if they hear the heart at the obstetrician's and perhaps have a look at the ultrasound then the new baby can become more tangible for them. He is now about 8 inches (20 centimeters) long already and he weighs 7 ounces (200 grams), just like a small babydoll.
The sense of touch has already developed so that you can make contact with your child. You do that by rubbing all over your tummy and from time to time pushing firmly on your abdomen (obviously not hard enough to hurt yourself.You can't hurt the baby). Your baby feels this and he will start responding to it, perhaps even kicking or punching that spot.
It's nice for the other kids, if you have any, to draw a picture of the new brother or sister for the scrapbook.
Mother
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What is that? What is that fluttering, itchy sensation in your stomach? Could it be your baby who is telling you: "Mommy, do you feel me?" The first time that you think you feel something is surreal. "Have I really felt something?" or "Is that just my intestines or...?" What was that air bubble that seemed to thud? What is that little shock I feel there on the lower left, hey now I feel it again... Is that really my little one? Filled with many emotions and excitement you wait for the subsequent thump. That waiting can last a long time, however, because sometimes a week goes by before he communicates again. But also sometimes it happens the next day and there is that amazing and awesome feeling again: I'm really having a baby. I feel him!
If you are impatient and you want to feel him - again - try it around midnight, because that's when he is most active. Pull your knees up and lie on your back, and put your hands on your uterus. Lightly push on your lower abdomen and just wait. Because you are pushing in on the uterus, there's a better chance of the baby touching the wall. Don't forget that your baby is still swimming in an enormous bubble of amniotic fluid and he is still very small so he doesn't touch the edge very often normally. The bigger and longer he becomes the more you will feel him. In the beginning it seems like the flutter of a butterfly but pretty soon it feels like he is playing soccer. But whatever it feels like it is still unique and lovely, so lovely...
When you feel the baby move for the first time, make a note of it and tell it to your healt care provider at the next visit.
If you want to explain to your children how a child's movements feel, tell them to lay their hand against their cheek and then push on the inside of their cheek with their tongue. This is approximately how the unborn baby feels to an expectant mother.
Don't feel guilty if you suddenly doze off during a meeting or at work or that you become distracted if your child lets himself be 'heard'. He only wants to let you know: "everything is OK here!"
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