Braxton Hicks... or Alien Contortionism, either title is appropriate

One of the joys (besides this little life who constantly kicks, and probes, and pokes, and traces his little hands or feet, or bottom, or head all around my hip bones, ribs, and entire middle section) is Braxton Hicks. The first time I felt it, it was very early on in my pregnancy. Very early. And it hurt, because the strands of scar tissue from 18 years of endometriosis were pulling and snapping with each tightening. I remember that day very clearly. I was just barely showing in that "she must have had a few too many Thanksgiving Dinner sized portion meals" way rather than being pregnant. I went to walk Sadie for her morning relief session. I got halfway down the stairs from our second story condo and I felt pain. REAL PAIN. But I thought, "Power through this Kate... you can do it. Sadie needs you to." And we continued. With each step I took, I thought a knife was jabbing all around inside me, and my abdomen got tighter and tighter. It stopped me in my tracks. Luckily Sadie was done and we headed back towards our home. By the time I got upstairs, another painful session was just starting. I sat down on the couch, leaned my head back and tears streamed down my cheeks. I wondered then, what I was getting myself into. (Initially, we thought it was round ligament pain, but my Dr confirmed at my next appointment this was normal - just that most ladies don't feel it until much later in pregnancy... those without endometriosis anyway.)

After that day, I didn't experience Braxton Hicks until much, much later... and now they are fun, er funny.

It started again just over a month ago. But this time, all the scar tissue had long been broken, and now there was this fantastic little round shape and I had seen his face in ultrasounds and heard his heartbeat at numerous Dr appointments, and have been feeling his movements for a months now. He is so real inside me, and there is no pain, so these little exercises have become quite fun. Entertaining even for those who are lucky enough to witness it.

We moved from my beloved condo (I LOVED living there) two weeks ago... and with moving comes packing - which really means a lot of reaching and bending and lifting and carrying and all the things one is not supposed to be doing in her third trimester. Rich has been traveling for work and vacation, and I wanted to be superwoman and still get it done. (I am still learning the valuable lesson that it is ok to say No and let others do it and help, but I digress...) Alas, with all this motion, the tightening has come on in full force. This last week especially. Saturday was a very active day, with a lot of walking.... and a series of constant flexing of the uterus in a very short time period. Sunday was even worse. I counted 18 within 3 hours. Yeah... not exactly the most comforting thing at 33 weeks. Adding a little lower back pain and menstrual type cramping sensation can make it a little more scary. Needless to say, these boxes that still surround me are looking a lot better as the new decor as I'm not as eager to unleash the treasures they hold within... that can wait until the weekends when Rich is back in town and can help. :)

I downloaded a cool little application for my iPhone that lets me track the time, duration, intervals, and intensity of contractions... I'm getting my $.99 worth and using it to track the Braxton Hicks too. It's been really good training - to pay attention to my body, and get prepared for what is ahead.

This is what it looks like when I have a strong Braxton Hick. The only thing that comes to mind in trying to describe this is: It's like the "just seen on TV" vacuum bags for sweaters... only it is like someone stuck it in me and is shrink wrapping him so tight. My body contorts and makes the strangest shapes. It's always fun to "see" what position he's in.

And then two minutes later, the tightness releases, and the most calm sensation takes over, my belly relaxes, and so do we... The round dome comes back, and I say to him "Sorry honey, that's just your mommy giving you a squeeze of love" and then I say to my uterus "Good girl!!! You keep practicing and get strong so we can do this in just a few weeks!" Then, instead of a round of celebratory high-fives, I do gentle swirls and circles of soft hand strokes. It's a neat moment...

Pregnancy is amazing. It truly is a miracle in every sense of the word. I have loved this, and will miss it - but soon, I will have a new bundle of skin and chubby cheeks to occupy my time, my heart, my eyes, my ears, my breasts, and my sleep to distract me and I will relish in the next phase. But for today, I love this phase… where he is just mine, for very soon I will have to share him with the world. ;)