Hiccups

I am not regretting selecting Monita/Monito for the fetus's nickname.  It means Little Monkey, and it got the monikier after the amnio ultrasound when it was so active and busy flipping around that it took 2 techs to get all the measurements they needed.  Lately, as s/he gets bigger, it is in almost constant motion.  I am starting to startle people sitting next to me in meetings with the antics of my belly - my shirt flutters, you can see a foot go by in a roundhouse kick; I swear I felt toes wiggling into my ribs the other day.  My sister said that when this was happening to her, people would see the movement and ask, "Is that the BABY?"  Talk about stupid questions that beg for stupid answers, like  "Uh, no, I had chile for lunch," or "No, the baby is over here (point to other part of belly) sleeping.  You are seeing the tapeworm that I can't shake."  Anyway, I frequently have my hand on my belly in that annoying pregnant way, not to emphasize the belly but to apply much needed counter pressure.  I'm not sure how much force my abdomen and the uterus can take, but Monita/o can really dish it out!

 

Monita woke me up last night at about 4:30 with hiccups for the first time.  While the OB has heard them on the doppler checks, I've never felt them.  At first I thought that it was just steady hand flapping or something, but quickly realized that was very unlikely - the pace was perfectly even and in the same place.  (The perfect cadence was a dead giveaway that it wasn't kicking or waving.  I have no rhythm, and don't expect anything that I spawn to have any either.  I go to dance clubs (ok, *went* to dance clubs when I was younger) with friends who already liked me despite my lack of grace.  Homestead Mama, on the other hand, would dance like a whirling (rhythmic) dervish, and could make friends and impress people on the dance floor.  Here's hoping the donor genetics pull through a bit w/ Monito, poor thing.)  The doc says hiccups are good, as it is strengthening and maturing the lungs.  I remember when Homestead Mama was at the end of her pregnancy.  When we were asleep, she'd be on her side of the bed, I'd be on mine and her belly would take over the middle & end up pressed up against me.  Pequita regularly woke me up hiccupping through H-Mama's abdomen, the little devil. 

 

I have been seeing my acupuncturist to treat a pinched nerve in my neck and trying to alleviate some of the tendonitis/ carpel tunnel I'm suffering from in my right hand, both issues stemming from the hormones, I reckon.  She loanded me the pregnancy pillow system she has for making women like me comfy on the table for use at home for the next 7 weeks or so.  This is a HUGE mitzvah, as my sleep has been increasingly interrupted as I try to get comfortable.  I can only last an hour or so in any position before my skeleton feels like it is collapsing upon itself and I have to shift.  I get in 4+ hours in one place with this pillow system, which is really helping me function during the day.