Kickin' It in Rio

Yeah, so Rio de Janeiro is WAY cool.  You should totally plan to go there after you visit us.  :)  

Peanut must have also been impressed because the kicking started there, and it ain't never turning back.  It is nothing quite so strong as the picture on our earlier post (which I quite frankly can't decide is real or not), but I have officially seen my shirt move and Peanut even bumped our little computer up and down a few minutes ago.  Wild.  I am not sure this experience reduces the sense of alien being inhabiting your body, but we are just hoping the nutter is more friendly than any movie counterparts.  

We also know that Peanut's ears are now supposed to be in the right place (thank goodness, they were moving for weeks), and the eyes are able to distinguish light from dark.  Dra. Lily (regular doc, not OB) told us that we are supposed to shine a light on my belly through a colored cloth and tell Peanut what color it is.  Thus, not so regularly, we press my shirt on my belly and say, "Esta es ROJA Peanut"  (This is RED Peanut) and proceed to name all the things we encounter regularly that are red.  This is more challenging with purple once you get past eggplants and the color Mama Kit mistakenly died her hair one Easter, so feel free to add your suggestions.  

At any rate, in Rio, on the top of Corcovado (where the big Christ statue is, see above) we decided that if we could tell Peanut what color something was, we could show Peanut what Rio was too...so we have included a small video for your viewing...giggles.  :)

Peanut and Rio from Richard Williams on Vimeo.

PS.  It should be noted that Dra Lily also gave us an actual prescription (written on her prescription pad) to have Peanut listen to Christian music for an hour every day.  We have potentially broadened the definition of Christian music she had in mind, but I don't think Shakira will mind.

A Kick or Not a Kick, That is the Question

In theory I am at the point where I can feel Peanut start to move around and kick.  In reality, I'm not sure if I have yet or not.  The books and websites all say that the initial movements are sometimes hard to distinguish (especially in your first pregnancy), but that it can feel like butterflies in your tummy or popcorn popping or a goldfish swimming around.  I personally don't like thinking about Peanut the goldfish, but anyway...

Right now in the evenings I sometimes think I feel some bumping around in my belly, but because I am trying so hard to figure out whether it is real or just gas (attractive, I know) I have trouble deciding if I am just making it all up.  I know that soon enough I will feel something that makes it very clear, but until then you can tell when I am trying to determine what is going on because this totally engrossed but confused look comes over my face.  Some of you will argue that expression is not so uncommon as to be helpful, but whatever.

The reality is, for me at least, markers of progress are really important.  It is such a completely bizarre thing to imagine that there is something else living inside of you (sounds too much like Sigourney Weaver and Aliens...) that sometimes it is just too hard to believe.  Your first sign, of course, is that your period stops.  After that though, it is amazing how quickly you can doubt whether the little stick you tinkled on told you the truth or not.  You don't look different, you don't feel different, and the whole thing really does seem a little science fiction, come down to it.

So to some degree I was relieved to have a little morning sickness.  It was another marker - a way to know things are on track.  Let's be clear that the relief one feels at the next step taken is quickly triumphed by the prayer that the nausea end, and fast, but (for me) there was at least a moment of comfort in the midst of the uneasy queasies.

But now that has passed (thanks be to God), and my belly is not really a full-on "I'm pregnant, get out of my way" belly as of yet.  It can still be confused for my own gordita (little fattiness, see previous post), so again you start to wonder...is there really something in there?  It sounds silly, I know, but it is amazing how fast your brain can deny all the ultrasounds and doctor's appointments and wonder if this can all possibly be true.  Which means, I look forward to the kicks.  At least for the first few days - until I want to get some sleep and Peanut is up for jazzercise.  My enthusiasm may dampen a little then, but hey, it can't be worse than worshiping the porcelain god was...right?  (Right?)