Making himself known

For the past two weeks, baby boy has definitely been making himself known.

First, he distracts me all day long at work by swimming around and bumping into my ribs. And every now and then he'll deliver a swift kick or punch that will make my entire mid-section thump. Visibly. Amazing to experience, but not so conducive to concentration when I'm trying to focus on interpreting and editing complex tax language.

Brian really gets a kick out of his flips and acrobatics in the evenings. We can't yet identify what body parts are moving around and trying to break out of my belly, but it's crazy that he has that much strength at only about 3.3 pounds.

And he's making physical activity harder. The past two times I mowed the lawn (calm down, people -- it's walking behind a self-propelled machine, little more), my mid-section and girl parts ached afterward. But not immediately afterward, more like a half-hour or an hour later, when I had settled into a chair for dinner and had to get up to get a glass of water -- then the achiness hit me out of nowhere.

The same thing happens when I take a walk over lunch. Somewhere around 1.5 or 2 miles I start slowing down, then the mild ache will last through the afternoon.

I also notice now that I start breathing heavier, sooner. I guess that's the extra weight I'm lugging around.

But Amy says walking is really good for the muscles I'll rely on during delivery, so I guess this is just a new and different workout threshhold and muscle soreness.