We have movement!

I am at 18 weeks and 2 days today, just started my fifth month of pregnancy according to my "What to expect when your expecting" book. I had actually started feeling movement a few weeks ago. It was slow at first, feelings like dental floss being pulled across my stomach (my uterus expanding); mild cramping like pains in my lower regions (my ligaments stretching); and a fluttering, butterfly type feeling in my abdomen (the baby actually moving around).

I had thought that the ligament stretching sensation was the baby actually kicking, but when I talked to my mom about it she said "Oh no, you'll know when it's a kick." Boy was she right! I was at work today and had to go to the bathroom (big surprise there). So I went to the bathroom, came out to wash my hands when BLAM! the baby kicked. There's no clear way for me to describe the feeling of it, especially not for a man to really understand since I don't have a frame of reference for guys, but I'll try. It was a feeling similar to that of a menstral cramp, but much quicker to fade then a menstral cramp. The pain is less than breaking a bone, or even stubbing your toe. It's more like if you ate something bad or if you were constipated and were feeling pains in your stomach. But it's localized to one specific area and it only lasts for a few seconds.

Taravid (a merge of our boy and girl names that John and I are using until we find out the sex) kicked me about 3 times while I was washing my hands and 2 more times as I was going back to my desk. Once I sat down the kicking stopped. It was almost as though the baby was kicking because I woke it up by going to the bathroom and he/she was trying to get comfortable again. Dear lord I hope the baby doesn't sleep like it's father or I'm going to be black and blue on the inside by the time I go into labor ;D (love you honey!).

So it's starting to get exciting now, and I'm actually starting to look and feel pregnant. My feet and hands are starting to get "puffy" as John called it, and I'm getting heartburn more often (thank god for Tums). I do still wish that it would hurry up and get here. I also still think that anyone who loves being pregnant is possibly insane. After all, who really loves running to the bathroom all the time, and the headaches, heartburn, nausea, feet and hands swelling, muscle tension and all the other weird things that goes on? If you really love going through all that I think you need to see a psychiatrist for sadist tendencies =D. However, I am happy to be having this experience since I now have a lot more sympathy for mother's and for pregnant women.