The boy had hiccups at 3 am.
Apart from the fact that Mama really wanted to be asleep, it was pretty cool.
He's gotten big enough that every time he moves, he seems to be shoving into one of my organs. And the top of my stomach is all sore from his prodding and thumping.
Sometimes I'm walking along and I feel a twinge in my bladder, and I envision a tiny little hand reaching out and squeezing it, just out of curiosity.
But this was totally different.
At first I thought he was just tap tap tapping at me. But it was fast and totally rhythmic, and I finally realized this is what baby hiccups feel like!
Me, I get hiccups all the time, although oddly enough, not in the last several months. I used to get them at least once a week, and if I got them once in a day, I'd get them again.
When I was in college and in my early 20s, it turned out to be a great way to meet guys.
I'd be out at a party or bar, and invariably, at some point in the evening, start hiccuping. So people would try to scare me. Or count while I held my breath. Or whatever.
There are a million suggested remedies. I can't remember most of them, but they include putting a spoon of sugar in your mouth, standing very straight with your back flat against the wall, counting backwards...You'd think I'd be able to remember the weirder ones, but I can't.
The only one I think really works is bending over and drinking from the opposite side of the glass. It's hard to describe and awkward to do in public, but very easy and effective.
The worst is getting hiccups when you're on the verge of sleep. And I don't understand why this happens, because isn't your diaphragm all relaxed?
But anyway, you don't want to wake up enough to get up and drink water, so you try to just breathe through them. And then after enough of them, you're fully awake and hauling yourself up for the upside-down water.
So there we were, the boy and I, awake at 3 am with the hiccups. And all I could think was, oh, little dude, I know!
I have to squeeze my temples with one hand, and drink 20 sips of water without pause.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I get hiccups because someone else has hiccups. Sympathy hiccups. I'm glad you didn't get those!
So cute!! I remember that from being pregnant with Zeke -- all of a sudden my belly would start this rhythmic, regular pulsing that was totally unlike normal kicks. So exciting. :)
ReplyDeleteI can never explain the drinking from the opposite side of the glass one to my friends, but it works every time!
ReplyDeletehahaha... so cute. I want to come rub your belly. :-)
ReplyDeleteLisa, this is just the first of many times you will be up in the middle of the night with the lad! i do hope your job has a long maternity leave . . .
ReplyDeleteI agree about the upside down water. It's the only thing that works. Once when I was sharing a bed with my older brother and I had the hiccups, he convinced me that if you hiccup 100 times in row, you drop dead on the spot. What wakes you up more than hiccups? Lying there counting them for dear life.
ReplyDeleteDid he high-five you through your belly?
ReplyDeleteJessica got hiccups all the time before she was born. The funny thing is, she still gets them all the time. (But, then, so do I.)
ReplyDeleteDagny - Sympathy hiccups. You are adorable.
ReplyDeleteNick does that temple pinch, too. Or maybe it's a tap. I can't remember. But not with water. Whatever he does doesn't work for me.
Wendy - I absolutely loved it. Not so much at 3 am, but it's such a funny little feeling!
Jo - I know - impossible to explain, but such a good remedy!
VVK - Hahaha! Next time we see each other! It's even bigger than a couple weeks ago.
LJ - I know, I know! And I get decent time off, it's just how much leave I have at that point to get paid for.
Alex - Yes, the only thing.
And your brother was terrible. Totally ingenious and terrible. Why didn't I ever think of that? How scary!
LiLu - I suppose I should look at it that way!
Cheryl S - Interesting. Betty gets them all the time, and I do, so I wonder if this means the boy will too?
I get hiccups all the time, too! The opposite side of glass is the only thing that works, although my little cousin I was babysitting gave me a good unexpected BOO! the other day that fixed me right up.
ReplyDeleteThe Little Dude abides. :)
ReplyDeleteMy 5th grade science fair project was on curing hiccups. STILL, cannot tell you anything more than what you've already said. It IS a cute story, though!
ReplyDeleteGood gracious! Can a baby hiccup before it is breathing? Who'd have guessed?
ReplyDeleteLaura
Caroline - Every once in a while a random thing works, but upside down is my fallback.
ReplyDeleteAndie - I love you. This makes me envision myself lactating White Russians rather than breast milk.
Sarah - Yah, they really have no idea how to cure them, do they?
Laura - I have no idea. But it's supposed to be common!
Mine had hiccups in utero all the time! I, too, get hiccups all the time but not while I was pregnant. Very, very weird. In fact, the first bout of hiccups I got was a few days after I got home and I totally forgot how much I hated them!
ReplyDeleteAlso, apparently fetal hiccups are good. It means the baby is developing properly. Or something. This is according to some website I read while pregnant. Whatever you do, though, don't Google it yourself. Because there are so many opinions about them out there that you'll drive yourself crazy. Go with the "it's a good thing" and move on.