Lil Hiccuping Jackhammer

Last night, I was sitting at work and realized that I was being assaulted ... from the inside of my belly. It seemed as though my daughter was trying to jackhammer her way out of my stomach. I think Elle was head down and practicing her swimming techniques, because she was pummeling my insides with kicks. I watched my belly move, and over the course of the night I could see not only kicks and punches but also dramatic shifts in position. At one point I had my hand on my belly and felt my first baby limb - I think her elbow or knee brushed against my hand, and it was an odd sensation to feel something so solid. She was "swimming" for several hours. When I got home, Tim felt her roll over several times - apparently we'd checked in during the gymnastics hour.

Today was much of the same - lots of high, hard movement. I thought I felt some low, rhythmic movement early in the day and told Tim I thought she might have hiccups. I thought it was too early for me to be able to feel it, and of course, then it stopped. However, my suggestion that it might be hiccups prompted a hilarious theatrical interpretation by Tim on what Elle looks like while hiccuping in the womb.

But this afternoon, while sitting at work, I felt the same low, rhythmic movement. Either this girl is using my placenta as a snare drum (and is advanced in her drumming skills and ability to keep time), or she had the hiccups again. It went on almost 10 minutes, and it felt just like it does when *I* have the hiccups, only it was a little more mellow, and it was inside of me. It was really, really cool to feel, although I'm sure if she gets a bad case at 3 a.m. and I can't sleep because my stomach is shaking I will think it slightly *less* cool.

When I told Tim that she definitely had the hiccups this time, he said "Scare her!" I guess, since she can't breathe in to a paper bag or try to hold her breath, this was his best option for her to "recover."

In non-hiccup news, I've been trying to pace my posts, but there has been a lot going on, and I'm working on catching up from the baby shower and starting to work on the nursery, which will surely garner several posts (stay tuned for the most dramatic crib story you'll ever hear, folks). See the poll on the top right to vote on how I should share the nursery with you. Blogging has also been an excellent escape from my class, which ends ... wait for it ... on Tuesday. My last project is due tonight, and then I've got a discussion post, a quiz and a presentation to go before I'm done. To stay I'm excited about this would be an understatement :)