Friday 9 July 2010

Bump, kick, punch - the joys of 'bumping'

Modern day entertainment comes in all shapes and sizes, with cinema, theatre, radio, TV, high-def TV - and now even high-def 3D TV - all vying for our attention, our time and our cash.

Mrs B and I, however, have discovered a new form of entertainment that's entirely free, available to us around the clock and more entertaining than anything the mainstream entertainment industry could put our way. We call it 'bump watching' or, as it will surely become known in street slang, 'bumping.'

Bumping has taken over our lives as, at any given opportunity, we stop what we're doing to watch our unborn child kicking, punching, moving and generally making him/herself known inside Mrs B.

Sat outside in our garden, for instance, our puzzled neighbours must look on with amusement whenever Mrs B hitches up her top and I squat down to stare at her stomach. Even stranger when I clasp my hands on the bump and the pair of us remain silent and motionless.
Although entirely unpredictable Bumping can be assisted with a variety of stimuli, we've found that different foods trigger different reactions (marshmallows = intensive internal kung-fu), while the sound of our voices and the Coronation Street theme tune often evoke a more subtle, gentle kicking. EastEnders, meanwhile, triggers nothing!

The time of the day also makes a difference as Baby B seems to enjoy waiting until the very second that his/her parents say goodnight and turn off the bedroom light before initiating a womb-based can-can session. Cue the light going back on and a 15-minute Bumping session.

Of course, at 25-weeks this is all entirely normal and we've been told that we can expect Bumping to get better and better as Mrs B's pregnancy goes on. Baby B is now around 35cm long and weighing in at around 660grams, his/her senses are becoming more developed along with the brain, and he/she will now begin to respond to light as well.

In short, Baby B is becoming stronger every day and now being able to see and feel our little one is making us feel closer to him or her than ever.

But how will Bumping progress over the coming weeks? We've decided to test the potential for musical reactions for starters. So watch this space for a list of top Bumping tunes. Will bump react better to Take That and Westlife, or Oasis and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers? Place your bets now!

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