I don’t know if there’s an original source, so I’ll attribute it to Juno. The phrase goes that a woman becomes a mother when she gets pregnant, and a man becomes a father when the child is born. To say that I feel less connected to our pregnancy would be redundant. I’m not exactly carrying the child in my womb. I think I’ve got the better end of the deal, but there are a lot of things that Kim gets to experience, and I sort of miss out on, or experience later.
In any event, the baby is becoming more and more active as she grows. It is now the middle of the 23rd week of the pregnancy, and Kim regularly comments on babies movement, in utero. When the baby is kicking, she says “She’s movin’!” and I run over and put my hand on her stomach, trying to see if I can feel her. It’s become a frustrating ritual. I stop what I’m doing, rush over and put my hand on Kim’s stomach. Then, she repeatedly asks “did you feel that?!” and I repeatedly say “no…”
Tonight, she was sitting on the couch and asked me to come over. I put my hand on her stomach in the spot that she indicated, and closed my eyes. After a few false negatives, I felt a slight tremor under my hand. Immediately, Kim asked if I’d felt it, and I was able to say “Yes”.
It’s the first time I’ve felt the baby move, and I was very excited. It’s not quite as emotional as the first Heartbeat, or the first Ultrasound, but it’s very cool, nonetheless. I know by her 8th month I’ll look back on this tiny little milestone with less enthusiasm, but it certainly made my night.