I’ve been pretty good with self-diagnosis. Mike regularly tells me to stop, as he can see all the searches on the Internet stress me out more than anything! We live in an age where Google makes it easy for us to play doctor.
But I am someone who is very in tune with her body. I knew I was pregnant before I missed my period (my gums felt sensitive and my sense of smell was like a vampire’s, so I knew something was up!) I also felt this baby move at 13 weeks.
Nay-sayers, say what you want. In general, first time mamas aren’t supposed to feel the baby until closer to 20 weeks, but I know I felt her move. Every single day between 13 – 16 weeks. Those bubbles are unmistakable.
I stopped feeling those movements a day or two before we heard her heartbeat on the doctor’s doppler. Her heart was beating, all right. Why did I stop feeling her move? Self-diagnosis: Anterior placenta.
A few weeks later, my ultrasound confirmed that I do, indeed have Anterior placenta.
Anterior placenta is not placenta previa (or low-lying placenta). All it means is that my placenta decided to develop on the front wall of my uterus, not on the back or side.
And this is exactly the reason why at 22 weeks I don’t feel my baby move as much as other women at this stage might. When I feel my baby move, it’s mostly in the lower part of my womb. Soon enough, she will be big enough that I can feel her kick near my ribs as well.
As the doctor explained today, my placenta is like a big pillow covering the front of my uterus. Baby’s kicks are cushioned and I can’t really feel them.
My anterior placenta is also the reason why during today’s appointment it took the doctor a long time to find baby’s heartbeat. She was hiding behind my placenta. A fun game of hide-and-seek?
But then we heard the galloping and the doctor said, “There’s the little troublemaker!”
With a mama like me and a papa like Mike, I would not be surprised if our little one is, indeed, a little troublemaker. She will be an Aquarius, a sign notorious for doing things their own way.
Oh, I can’t wait to meet this little one!
