gas

PregnancyStuffThe Story

The Phantom Baby Kick Phenomenon

by Jill
written by Jill

Let it be known that after you have a baby (long after the life that grew inside of you and kicked your ass from the inside has left the comfort of your warm, swimmy womb), you will catch yourself reaching to pat your tummy after what feels like an adorable little baby kick to the belly button (or anywhere in the general abdomen area).

It may happen at night, as you are drifting off to sleep. You will be in such an in and out state of consciousness that you will believe, momentarily, that your hand will land on a swollen belly, and then you will startle yourself awake and laugh your freaking ass off… or just be weirded out.

I used to think I was alone in this, but then, like many pointless thoughts I ponder, I tweeted about it. Turns out I AM NOT ALONE!

f_i_d_g_e_t

@babyrabies that happens to me too! Gas is so much less cute then baby

Meg_

@babyrabies LOL. That happens to me more than I’d care to admit.

colleenpence

@babyrabies Whoa. I have that same experience too. Thought it was just me.

mom2nji

@babyrabies it happens to me too!

onefinebreeder

@babyrabies dude, that happens to me all the time!!

fentonslee

@babyrabies isnt it the most bizarre? i call them phantom baby kicks

So, just thought I’d put this out there for those of you yet to experience such a strange sensation, more commonly known as GAS.

It really makes me wonder how many of those sweet little moments during pregnancy, where I reached down and lovingly rubbed my expanding belly after feeling what I believed to be my future soccer player practicing for the big game on the walls of my uterus, were actually that night’s dinner, making it’s way through my intestines.

I’m going to be such a skeptic the second time around.

Kendall is 18 and a half months old, and now I put him in timeout when he kicks me.

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PregnancyThe Story

Party…my belly…midnight!

by Jill
written by Jill

I can officially say that I can feel the baby!  For weeks I’ve thought I’ve felt something down there other than gas and digestion, but never felt confident that it was the baby.  Then last week I was reading all about the disgusting joys of birth while in bed and I suddenly felt what I can best describe as my stomach dropping.  You know when you are driving down a hilly road at fast speeds and your stomach drops as you crest each hill?  It felt just like that.  At first I thought I may be getting sick, then it sorta tickled and made me laugh.  By the third time I felt it, I knew it had to be the baby.  I can only imagine that it was doing some sort of crazy acrobatics in there.

The next night I felt the same thing, but in between the rolls I would feel a little tap right below my belly button, like it was landing there or getting ready for take off. The following night was Thanksgiving and I didn’t feel a dang thing.  I don’t know if it was a second hand turkey coma or the fact that the kid had no damn room underneath that mountain of food (which, thanks to pregnancy constipation, took two whole days to begin leaving my system), but there was no funny feelings or rumblings in my tummy that night with the exception of what I know for sure was gas.

In the last few days it has started back up again though.  I can always count on at least a half hour of entertainment immediately upon climbing into bed.  Sometimes it will start back up in the middle of the night after a trip to the toilet.  I find it oh so adorable and fun now and don’t mind loosing a little bit of sleep over it, but I may be singing a different tune in a couple months when the baby is big enough to karate chop my lungs and uses my bladder as a trampoline.

I am a tad concerned about this sleeping pattern the baby seems to have developed.  Sleep all day…up all night.  I will cut it some slack while it is stuck in the confines of my womb, but I tell you things will be changing when it gets squeezed out into the real world.

18 weeks 1 day

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PregnancyThe Story

An early gas intervention

by Jill
written by Jill

I just finished up my Thanksgiving menu and shopping list (yes, I’ve decided this is the year to learn how to cook a bird – not when I have some screaming baby hanging around) and I passed it off to my husband for him to look at.  I had planned on making cornbread stuffing with Italian sausage – not because I’ve ever had it, but because the recipe on Realsimple.com looked…well…real simple, and tasty.  He says, “This looks good, but I don’t want real Italian sausage in it…let’s use those Morning Star sausage crumbles we had the other night.  It will be healthier.”  NOOOOOOOO!!!  Must prevent future gas disaster!  I told him I didn’t think those would taste right with the rest of the ingredients and that for Thanksgiving we should go all out and have nice fattening real sausage.  He wasn’t buying it, so I said fine – no sausage.  Thank GOD he agreed!

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PregnancyThe Story

2nd trimester update – the good, the bad and the gassy

by Jill
written by Jill

I’m well into the second trimester now. I have quite a cute baby bump to show for it. Nothing huge yet, but I’m definitely looking more pregnant than fat and can finally fill out those maternity shirts I’ve been hanging onto. The upside to this new stage is I physically feel pretty good. The food aversions are definitely gone, and have been replaced by an incredible urge to eat almost anything every three hours. Perhaps that explains why I have gained as much in the last four weeks (5 lbs) as I did the whole first trimester!

Yeah…I’m kind of alarmed that I’m already up 10 lbs at 16 weeks. I guess pregnant women really can’t eat whatever they want whenever they want ; ) I’m hoping my recent cravings for fruit and vegetables paired with my prenatal water aerobics classes (which are actually 90% senior citizens with one or two pregnant gals in the mix) will help me get everything back in control. Don’t get me wrong, I know gaining weight is part of the process, but I’m not going to just let myself go for the next five months. I know I’m far too lazy to trust that I’ll take it all off after the baby if it’s too large of a number.

I also have a considerable amount of energy back (I only sleep 9 -10 hours a night now and hardly need a nap) and the belching has drastically subsided (only because the gas is now choosing to escape via other avenues, I’m sure). And yes, the books are right when they say the sex drive comes back in the second trimester. It’s not like I’m pouncing on him…more like not running the other direction. However, I ask this question – what good is a surge in the sex drive if I am constantly in a bitchy, unpredictable mood?

Yes, this is the downside of the second trimester for me. I do not know what it is, but it takes absolutely nothing for me to turn from a cheerful, kind version of myself to an irrational, agitated bitch. Seriously…I will just be walking and all of the sudden find myself in a terrible mood. Since my husband is usually the first person I see, he gets the shitty end of the deal and is constantly confused by my state of mind. He even mentioned to me this morning, “You know, those weekly baby emails I’ve been getting have done nothing to prepare me for these mood swings.” So ladies…warn your husbands. I think he finds it quite comical though. He will just bust out laughing at how ridiculous it is that I am so flipping pissed off that the ice cream shop doesn’t have mint chocolate chip. I have to say, I eventually laugh at it too. In doing a little experimentation and research on the subject, I *think* these mood swings happen when I need to eat or need sugar. They always seem to coincide with some crazy craving, and as soon as I get what I want I’m happy again. I think I may need further testing to prove this theory. I’ll be sure to report back.

As far as other updates go I have to say that the most exciting thing to date was when we FINALLY heard the baby’s heartbeat at our 16 week appointment yesterday. I seriously freaked out at 12 weeks when they couldn’t find it with the doppler and was only slightly relieved to see it flashing on the u/s screen. I just wanted to HEAR it. The nurse found it yesterday only 20 seconds after lubing up my belly. It was the most reassuring sound ever. I really need to spend a whole post talking about worry and how much it changes you during pregnancy. I have a feeling that will be a long one though, so I will save it for a rainy day.

And to end this on a funny note I will elaborate more on the gas escaping via other avenues situation – I have never been a loud farter, and I don’t think my husband has ever heard me fart. It’s not like I hold it in and run to the other room to let it out. It just has never been very audible. Well, let me tell you – that’s changing. So now after nearly 7 years of never farting in front of my husband I’m almost scared to! I don’t know why. It’s not like he’ll be disgusted by it. I’m sure he’ll find it hysterical. I just need to….uhmmm…break the seal – just fart and get it over with. So I’m just waiting for the day that I let it rip in front of him. I know it’s got to come soon or it’s going to be a very uncomfortable 5 months ahead of me. I also learned recently that I really should avoid Morning Star sausage crumbles. I had them for dinner the other night and had such bad gas while I was sleeping that the next morning my husband thought one of the dogs had shit in the bedroom! I didn’t even have the balls to fess up.

16 weeks 1 day

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