Ava's Symphony

 I think my quizzical looks probably said it all.

The conversations would go something like this:

“How far along are you?”

“23 weeks.”

“Girl or boy?”

“Girl!”

“Oh, have you felt her kicking yet?”

Enter: Quizzical look.

Behind the look I’m thinking to myself, “Have I felt her kicking? What does kicking feel like? Could she be kicking and I just don’t know it? Is she not kicking when she should be? The pregnancy app said she should be kicking. I don’t think she’s kicking. Should I be concerned?”

How easily the thoughts can run amok.

Meanwhile, my answer is a hesitant, “No…uh, no kicking. I think she’s still just floating around at this point.”

I had this conversation at least 10 times between 23 and 24 weeks. And then, alas, Ava’s symphony began. The first time I felt her kick, I was lying on my back, all propped up on my Snoogle (yes, Snoogle), just about to fall asleep.

Then there was this, “Ba-dum-bum-bum” in my tummy. It didn’t feel like a kick. It felt like a full-on martial arts routine. My first thought was, “What the did I have for dinner?” And my second thought was, “If my stomach is doing somersaults, why don’t I feel nauseous?”

Then the lightbulb. “Ah-ha! That’s what it feels like!”

I’ve heard people say it feels like little thumps, or like indigestion. Both of those resonate with me. But never fear, my fellow preggos: once it starts happening, you will know it.

With Ava, she seems to get the most active when I am at rest – when I sit for a few minutes or when I lie down at bed time. That’s when she really kicks it up a notch. Sometimes it feels like she’s playing the drums for Guns N’ Roses. (Yes, I am a child of the 80s.)

Ba-dum-bum-bum.

Rachel Raya is a Public Relations Manager for Texas Health Resources and soon-to-be mom to a baby girl due in May.