Can I Kick It?

According to all I've been reading my daughter is having quite the time inside of my wife. She's small enough to move freely and rotate through various positions. She is also developing her senses and is able to hear sounds. And, according to my wife, my daughter is very lively, often disrupting the workday to do a somersault or grab the umbilical cord for an in utero double dutch competition.

The thing is, this is all hearsay to me. My baby could be breaking out her Fisher Price My First Jackhammer inside my wife but, the second my hand slides down to feel, she stops. She kicks, I feel, she stops. She flips, I feel, she stops. My daughter is either afraid of me to the point or paralysis or has already figured out how to mess with daddy's head. Either is an unsettling thought.

My daughter might be scared of my hand because I'm still a stranger, but that's no fault of my own. For whatever reason, my wife isn't too keen on me speaking into her belly button. The parenting manuals tell me I should be speaking to my daughter in some special bonding experience. I can't even lean in to whisper to my wife without her thinking I'm trying to talk to her belly.

I guess I'll have to wait connect with my daughter. Pretty soon, she'll be too big to even suck her thumb in the womb without it being visible. And pretty soon, she'll get tired of hearing my voice. I thought that I'd at least make it to age 12 before she started ignoring me!