Body Movin'

    A couple of weeks ago while I was in Saint Louis, Mom, Caitlin (my sister), and I went out for Indian food and then to the mall to look at baby clothes. The Indian food was pretty spicy, so when my stomach started doing flips, I got worried. Then I felt a thumping in my guts and thought "Oh my Jesus, I'm about to embarass myself in public". It was so jolting that I was sure other people could hear it.When nothing disasterous happened, I realized that it was the baby kicking. I'd never felt him kick or do much before, but it was like the Indian food woke him up. He's been making his presence known ever since.

   He kicks when I lay down or get still or if I drink coffee. He also seems to like Matt's voice and classic rock, particularly if there are banjos involved. Sometimes he kicks for no reason.

  What I can't get over is how responsive he is to stimuli. So far you have to wait until he's awake, but if he is and you tap on my belly, he'll kick back. It doesn't work for me yet, but if Matt puts his hand on my belly, Darius will kick where Matt's hand is. In the lab at some point, we were pouring an acrylamide electrophoresis gel, and someone was tapping on the plates to make sure bubbles didn't form. He had been asleep as far as I could tell, but when they tapped, he started tapping back. I think he's a genius.

   I really am curious about the responsiveness, though. I didn't really know a fetus could interact with the outside. What is the purpose? Babies mimic what they see and hear to learn, and I'm wondering if they're hardwired to do that before they even leave the womb.They say they start learning their mothers' language before birth. I forget that he's like a little person now that could potentially survive on the outside. I'm used to him being an alien in my belly with Jedi mind powers to make me eat junk food.