Hit me with your best shot

Now in her second trimester, Em is feeling the baby move. I was astounded when I felt those first flutters so many years ago, and it made me happy to be a female of the species. My whole pregnancy suddenly went from conceptual to interactive: I move, he/she moves...I rub, he/she settles down...sometimes...I hum, the baby is comforted. The world could fall apart, but I'd protect that squirming, punching, kicking, thumb-sucking little one inside me with everything I had because I felt her and I knew she was real. Me and baby. And now you.