Peanut the Breakdancer

Peanut is no longer satisfied with simple kicks, but is getting so big that we can feel (and see!) a whole host of different motions, many of which we cannot identify and so I have started referring to as Peanut breakdancing. This has actually been going on for a few weeks now, but I have been too busy to write about it. And since yesterday was a particularly active day in Peanut-world, it is on the forefront of my mind now (meaning 4:30am while I’m sitting up writing because I can’t sleep).

Anyway, for those of you who are really curious, Peanut’s kicks used to feel (from both the inside and the outside) sort of like a flick of your finger. That was when it had extra space in its little bubble and so only a jerky motion of a leg or arm could reach the outside with any force. Now that Peanut has started packing on the pounds (probably 2-2 ½ pounds these days) and expanding to fill the available space, all sorts of other motions can be sensed from the outside. This leads to a bunch of really funny feelings. One motion that might be Peanut trying to do a somersault basically feels like if you make a loose fist and roll it against your other palm, with a bunch of random pressure points of varying degrees of boniness. Another one is probably Peanut pushing a foot against me or something, but it is an odd pressure that tickles. Ever been tickled from the inside? Talk about an odd sensation.

The really fun thing about these new movements is that not only can we feel them, but sometimes we can see them as well. This is what I refer to as Peanut “putting on a show” and it never fails to make me laugh. I’ll be working when out of the bottom of my eye I’ll see motion, at which point I’ll be captivated for a few minutes staring at my belly trying to visualize just what the kid is doing that makes the corresponding external movements. It’s a little creepy (sort of Alien-esqe), but mostly just hilarious.