“Hello it’s me.”
Before I peed on the stick to confirm my pregnancies I knew each time. The tenderness in my breasts was always the initial tell tale sign. Within a couple of weeks my pants would be too tight. Of course the Haagen-Dazs ice cream and cookies I gave myself permission to eat didn't help. Nausea was never a big problem for me. Perhaps if I ever had an empty stomach, it might have been.
Surprisingly, even though I was only 22 the first time I got pregnant, there was no fear. My embryonic thought was, "Women have been doing this for like, forever, so I can do this too."
The first noticeable movement of the fetus was around four months and if you want to know what it feels like, it feels exactly like what it is. A human life growing within your body. If you press on your skin from the outside, you know the feeling. So now imagine the pressing on your skin, but inside out. At first it feels light and quick, like a flutter, the gentlists of touch. Lightly flick your finger on your palm and you will know the lightness. The fluttering feeling increases daily until it ultimately crescendos into inside out jabs and shoves that might be felt in a boxing ring. Okay that might be an exaggeration because its not really painful, but the pressure and jabs are strong.
Towards the end you can sit and watch your own stomach contort and stretch beyond what seems conceivable. As you closely observe your epidermis you will wonder is that the foot, the knee, the elbow, the skull? And sometimes you will know the answer. Once I sware I saw the face of my unborn child pushing up from the womb as if to say, "HELLO IT'S ME."
You did not ask what it is like to give birth, so I will save you those details. In total, I was pregnant for 30 months of my life. 3 healthy 9 month pregnancies and one that was lost at 3 months. Being pregnant was challenging and miraculous at the same time and was probably the most purposeful, memorable 30 months of my life.