Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Funny Story

A couple weeks ago, I noticed this new feeling in my belly. It felt like a pulse. I didn't think much of it and just assumed it was my pulse I was feeling. I only noticed it every once in a while, (like maybe 1-2 times a day) and it was usually when I was sitting still that I noticed it. So like I said, I didn't really think about it, and I definitely wasn't worried.

Well, this went on for about a week, until I was sitting still one day and felt it again. I started thinking that it seemed a little slow to be my pulse. So I quickly found my real pulse and compared the two (I can actually feel this "pulse" feeling on the outside of my stomach with my hand). I discovered that what I was feeling was NOT my pulse. It was too slow to be my pulse. So being the paranoid person that I am with hypochondriac tendencies, I started trying to figure out what this could be. I then kind of freaked out because I thought, "This feels like a heartbeat, and its obviously not my heartbeat. So it must be Aubrey's heartbeat!" This would not have been good at all since babies heart's beat much faster than adults. I immediately started thinking I needed to call my doctor.

After a few minutes of freaking out, my (somewhat) more rational side took over. Aubrey was moving around like normal, and I thought that surely if her heart was beating that slowly she would be acting different. Then I thought, "Is it even possible to feel a baby's heartbeat from the outside of the womb?" So I did what any good paranoid mother would to. I opened my baby books and got on Google.

After researching it for a little while I came to 2 conclusions: 1.) It was NOT Aubrey's heartbeat I was feeling. Everything I read about that said it was impossible. I did find out that every once in a while, a dad or someone else may be able to lay his head on the stomach and very faintly hear the heartbeat. (Not sure if I believe this though.) But a baby's heartbeat cannot be felt on the outside. And 2.) What I was most likely feeling was Aubrey's HICCUPS! It made perfect sense after reading that. A lot of moms described hiccups as feeling like a little pulse. And I only feel it every so often for short periods of time. Apparently, some babies get hiccups in the womb multiple times a day, and some never get them at all.

I felt the pulse/hiccup feeling in church the other night, and told my mom to feel. She said it definitely felt like hiccups. So now when I feel the little hiccups, it makes me smile. I think it's so cute. I will say one thing though. I'm SO glad I didn't rush to the doctor, only to be told my baby had a case of hiccups!! ;o)

1 comment:

KTElltt said...

HAHA! I'm glad you didn't rush in on that one as well, but nothing wrong with finding out what it is. I guess google and baby books can be good if they're reassuring... It's normal to be somewhat worried. But you seem to be enjoying your pregnancy regardless. That's really sweet.