This is a long post and might be boring to some, but I want to remember these things later on, so take it or leave it if you want.
When do you think people get their personalities? I haven’t really given it much thought before now. Things change in the way your brain works when there is a little mutant (or baby however you want to look at it) is growing inside of you. As for me I have decided that Alice already has her own little personality and I can say without a doubt that I am a little worried! Alice already has a n activity level, knows what she like in order to relax, knows who she is going to listen to and who she isn’t, and likes certain foods a lot!
Lets start with the most notable… Alice is a mover and a shaker; she is a partier and a night owl. Alice moves a lot, which I love. It is an odd sensation at first, feeling little bubble like motions in my lower abdomen. Now it is punching, kicking shoving her butt knees and shoulders into odd places as well as using her foot to play my ribs like a musical instrument. *it is important to note that I was very unclear that a person could be tickled from the inside, but this last move mentioned where she likes to play musical instruments with my insides literally makes me laugh out loud due to the tickling sensation that it sends all up and down my side. Alice starts to move around 7:30 am and doesn’t stop until about 10:00. She then starts up again about 3:00pm and keeps it up until about 6:00. Now her evening nap doesn’t last long because around 8:30pm she is up for her real party for the day and doesn’t stop until around 11:00 or if she is feeling really spunky she stays up until past midnight. The night party is the most extreme, anyone in the room can see my belly poke out and squirm around during this time and if your hand is anywhere near my tummy be aware that it will be thrown off!
She loves and relaxes with; showers, water aerobics and being sang to while dancing around the house. Now I am unsure if she actually relaxes, falls asleep or just gives me a few moments of un-noticed movement during these activities. Also these activities also relax me and I love them. First who doesn’t love a hot shower? Well when I take a hot shower Alice chills out a while and just lets me relax and feel a few moments rest, I love it and I think she does too! Water aerobics, I started this activity at the end of November and I can’t tell you how wonderful it is. I take a pre-natal class at the Tosh Physical Therapy Pool and I go 2 days per week. The classes are taught by physical therapists and are a good work out without the pressure or stress of the extra baby weight hurting your body. With this activity I can tell that Alice falls asleep and that it is relaxing to her as well as feels good for me. If you have never lived with me you might not know this, but I love to dance and sing as I do things around the house. I make up my own songs about what I am doing, I sing old songs that just happen to be stuck in my head and I absolutely love to sing random songs but add peoples names into the songs. As I do this I make up little jigs and dance. I have found that when I do this Alice just chills and listens to me.
That being said Alice doesn’t; listen to me, ever and sometimes listens to Nathan. I have asked her more times than I can count to “move down” or “just drop already” so that I can breath. I have asked her to not jump on my bladder at times and to move her little limbs out of my ribs when they get stuck and are painful. She doesn’t listen to any of these kind requests, even when I explain how it would be helpful for both of us. When I move her myself she just goes right back to where she was without any hesitation. I am not sure that this is a good sign. It use to be when Nathan would touch my belly or ask her to move for him she would not respond/ stop moving all together which in some ways is her not listening to him too. However when Alice is going really crazy and not letting me sleep at night if he talks to her and asks her to calm down she moves for a little more then calms herself down which is her listening to him, right?
She already has a love hate relationship with Sir Winston and absolutely loves fresh fruit and butternut squash ravioli. Sir is my first child and in some ways is getting use to the idea that something else is going to take over as the baby of the house. He can no longer climb all over me (I don’t let him step on my belly or sleep on it). As he attempts to cuddle up on my lap he enjoys putting his back up against my tummy, but once he is there for a few minutes Alice decides to start picking on him. She starts to kick him push him and in general keep him from relaxing. She does like it when I am laying down and Sir nestles in and she can lay on top of him a little, when in this position she doesn’t seem to mind him being close at all. Sir at times becomes very interested in my belly as it moves and shakes with Alice. Alice loves food and I have found that she especially loves fresh fruit. I know all babies like this because of the sugar but she really really loves fresh fruit and goes nuts any time I eat it. If the fruit is canned or in juice form she is not as excited about it. I learned the hard way that Alice is in love with butternut squash ravioli. I had it for dinner, a late dinner one night and she didn’t stop moving, hitting pushing and kicking for over 4 hours. I am not lying and it was the hardest she has ever partied. It was funny at first but after midnight when she still wouldn’t stop I made a very clear note to myself and Nathan that I would never eat a late dinner of the ravioli again!
So in essence I have now decided that once a baby’s brain is intact, they can move and respond to things their personality starts to show. I do think that personalities change and morph throughout time but they start a lot earlier than I had ever imagined!
