Anecdotes of the Skipper: Phantoms

Ever since I learned that Skipper could hear things inside of the womb, I've been obsessed with playing all different types of music for her. No, I don't put headphones on my belly, but I do sing along to the radio or Pandora. And if Sam's home, he likes to turn music up fairly loud.

Since moving into the new house, Sam's project has been to re-rip our collection of CDs. Some of them haven't been ripped since the late nineties, and unfortunately it shows when you listen to the MP3s. A couple of nights ago, he got around to ripping the movie soundtrack of Phantom of the Opera. I expected that if any of the songs would grab Skipper's attention, it's the opening sequence, because A) it's loud and B) just seems like the sort of thing that would penetrate the womb.

Not so much as a tremor.

Ah well, I thought to myself, Sherri will have her work cut out for her.

A little later this song started playing, and Skipper started going absolutely NUTS.

I'm like, Really? This is the song that gets you going?

And then I remember that it's Gerard Butler singing it.

Sherri still has her work cut out for her.

Anecdotes of the Skipper: Rhythm and Blues

About a month or so ago I experienced my very first back spasm.

Allow me to state that I hope to never go through such a thing again--once is more than enough. At the time, however, we did not realize that that is all it was. It occurred at about eight o'clock at night, and after my whining and whimpering for about 45 minutes, we opted to go in to the hospital just to make absolutely damn sure nothing was wrong with Skipper.

First time parent panic: check!

Would I do the hospital trip all over again? You betcha.

We arrived, we explained that it was lower back pain combined with being about 21 weeks pregnant, and they immediately sent us to the labor ward. They got me into a hospital gown, put me into a hospital bed, and then proceeded to wrap some strange device around my abdomen to ascertain A) was I experiencing contractions and B) how Skipper was doing.

I told the nurse what side Skipper seems to favor (my right, for the record) and she quickly found the heartbeat. She then enlisted Sam to help hold the heart monitor in place while she contacted the overnight doctor. While we waited, Sam started talking encouragingly about how Skipper didn't seem distressed at all.

Chka-chka-chka-chka... probably the most reassuring sound in the world just then.

And that's when she discovered the heart monitor.

BAM! went the heart monitor as Skipper kicked where Sam was pressing it down. The noise was extremely loud--so much so it startled Skipper, as her heart-rate kicked up a few notches.

Silence.

Chka-chka-chka-chka-chka-chka-chka-BAM!

Silence.

Chka-chka-chka-BAM! Chka-chka-chka-BAM! Chka-chka-chka-BAM!

This went on for a good three minutes before Sam started laughing so hard the heart monitor slipped. He then repositioned it until he found Skipper's heartbeat again, but after that she didn't kick so consistently.

But it's true--my baby kept 4/4 time while in the womb.

(And yes, everything is still just fine. The official diagnosis was that I'd been over doing it. I'm being a lot lazier now, so stop worrying, Dad!)

Anecdotes of the Skipper: Right in the Kisser

Sam was fairly skeptical at first that Skipper was doing as much moving and kicking as I claimed. Now, he's a sweet man, and knew better than to actually say that to me, but considering the number of times our OB/GYN told us that anything I was feeling was "most likely just gas," I can't really blame him.

I'm fairly lucky in that my week count for how far along I am rolls over each Monday. This makes keeping track of how far along I am much, much easier. It also means that it's pretty easy for me to remember to check in with a few of my favorite sites to learn what's going on with Skipper that week. That particular week Skipper was able to start hearing what was going on outside of the womb. The noise had to be pretty loud, but she could react to it.

So my beloved husband took to humming or singing or talking to my stomach at random moments. (I told you he's a sweet man.) The third or fourth night after he decided to do this, I complained that she was awfully restless. Trying to be cute, he opted to sing "Fly Me to the Moon" to Skipper to "try and settle her down." Just as he's reaching the final verse, I feel this very strong kick--the kind of kick that if you're watching my stomach you can actually see the skin pop up.

It just happened to be right where Sam's mouth was.

Needless to say, he believed me after that whenever I told him Skipper was kicking me.

Anecdotes of the Skipper: Prelude

I realize I've been gone for two months. All I can say is that I've been busy growing a lung.You would think that would leave me with plenty of time to write. And for a more ambitious or dedicated person, you would be right.

Ah well.

However, I do have something lined up for the rest of this week, you special people you. Each day--Tuesday through Friday--there will be an anecdote about the baby from the second trimester. In this case she (yes, it's a girl, in case you were wondering) will be called Skipper, as Sam has decided that is a suitable nickname due to her initials.

All I can think of when I hear that is this doll that was popular when I was a child:

I figure there are worse nicknames out there.

"But how do we know you won't skip out on us like all of those other times you promised us a series of posts?"

Because I have a plan! Bwahahahahaha!

Yeah, I'll probably totally fail at this one too. You'll still love me though, right?

Right?