i must say

The other day, I was laying in bed very still with my hand over the bump—just resting. And then tap tap tap... I felt the first kicks! I had to call Simon in to make sure I wasn't going crazy. He felt it too! It was so cool. Baby's little hands and feet are the size of the end of your finger so the punches were very small. I have been fascinated with it ever since and I love to feel it. I'm 4 months now and finally starting to understand that this is real. I promise I'm not usually this slow to grasp concepts. But feeling the kicks made it seem connected to me, not just an idea, or an image on a screen. So I'm pretty happy about it and could not stop asking Simon, "Wasn't that cool when we felt our baby?" He's allowed to talk about business school as much as he wants as long as I can bring up the baby as often as it pops into my mind. We don't talk about anything else anymore. You would hate to be our dinner guest.

This is how big our baby is now.
Those fingernails and eyelashes were hard work to grow—for both of us.

Just a note to any ladies who may be planning their first pregnancy: This definitely will affect more of your life and body than you think it will. I thought I would be exactly the same, just wearing a bigger shirt. This is not the case at all. Everything from my nose, skin, energy, strength, balance, and hair have changed. I can drink like a camel and I feel slow and heavy. And tired. Still waiting for that energy to come back. It has been really hard on me. I try not to think about all the sickness, back pain, absentmindedness, or 8 trips to the loo each night. But the simple feeling of some little taps from my baby, has made it all worth it. And now that my baby can hear me, I'm going to make an effort to start a habit of good communication. No lectures just yet. Mostly Baby hears, "Simon! I felt it again! Do you wanna feel?"