I can feel her kicking

(November 17, 2011)

I stayed a week in Illinois after my sister had her baby. Those days were long and I know I wasn't eating or taking it as easy as I should have been and I started having alot of cramping and pressure. I figured it was from the long days so I didn't really complain much. One night at my parents house after a long day at the hospital I was sitting in a chair in the living room trying to relax and relieve some of the cramping when I thought I felt some fluttering. I wasn't really sure what it was but could feel it over and over. For a brief second I thought maybe it was Elliott kicking but pushed that consideration out of my mind as I then thought about all of the complications with her spine. How can she possibly be kicking?

Driving back home to Michigan the following day the cramping continued to get worse. My OB's office called to remind me of an appointment I had the following Monday and I told the nurse how I was feeling. Concern over what could be happening and the fact that it was approaching 5pm (close of office hours) my OB told me to go to the emergency room. She wanted to make sure I wasn't going in to pre-term labor. Luckily I was about 30 minutes from one of the hospitals we go to and I was able to make it there soon. Joe met me there and we heading in to the ER. After about an hour of questions and monitoring, I was able to go home. No pre-term labor and no real signs of dehydration. Everything looked good and since I already had an appointment with my OB the following Monday, the nurse didn't see any reason to keep me there.

I felt a bit ridiculous since nothing was wrong, but I guess better to be safe than sorry. One amazing thing we were able to take away from the evening was that yes, Elliott is moving and kicking. The RN was checking on Elliott's heart rate and asked me if I had felt any movements yet. We had already explained Elliott's condition so she was aware of it. However, when the RN put the monitor on me for Elliott's heart rate she smiled and said, "well, she's moving around just fine in there, all of that loud background noise is her moving."

This was so amazing to hear. I really didn't think it was possible, especially after three ultrasound appointments where Elliott hadn't moved at all.

Now, when I feel her kick and move I don't think about all of her complications. I just sit and enjoy it.