History Main / FeelingTheBabyKick

And like much of pregnancy, it can be equally incredible and inconvenient for the expectant mother. Her changing body can feel strained or tender, so getting roughly pummeled from the inside can take her breath away. She might endure restlessness and SleepDeprivation as her enlarged uterus makes it difficult to get comfortable, so if the occupant of that uterus throws a late-night party using her cramped abdomen [[GroinAttack and pelvis]] as a dance floor, it's going to keep her unpleasantly awake. Because they are ultimately harmless, such aggravations may be PlayedForLaughs to show the awkwardness and discomfort of pregnancy in an amusing or endearing way. They may be comically-{{Exaggerated}} so that the kicks are powerful enough to assault someone ''else'', like the BumblingDad.

It is generally considered rude to touch someone without their permission. Some people bizarrely lose this inhibition in the presence of a pregnant woman and touch her belly before asking. If the mother-to-be HatesBeingTouched, this is offensive. Even if she doesn't, it's obnoxious. ([[CaptainObviousAesop Don't do this]].)

Compare FeelingYourHeartbeat, another intimate gesture where a character feels signs of life inside another's body. Not too be confused with HandOnWomb, which is about announcing a pregnancy.

Compare HandOnWomb, which signifies announcement of a pregnancy.

* ''Film/{{Apocalypto}}'': Seven and Jaguar Paw relax and embrace in the evening. When Jaguar Paw leans close to his wife and murmurs to their unborn child, Seven's belly bulges conspicuously as it kicks. He smiles at the sight.

* ''Film/ChildrenOfMen'': In the ChildlessDystopia of the setting, Kee is the first pregnant woman the characters have seen in a generation, and the only one Kee herself has ever seen. She admits that at first she felt such despair and FreakinessShame she considered suicide. Feeling the baby kick was what changed her mind and made her proud.
--> '''Kee:''' You know, when I started puking, I thought I catch the pest. But then my belly started getting big. Nobody ever told me these things. I never seen a pregnant woman before. But I knew. I felt like a freak. I didn't tell nobody. I thought about [[WeWillHaveEuthanasiaInTheFuture the Quietus thing]]. Supposed to be suave. Pretty music and all that. ''[smiling]'' Then the baby kicked. I feel it. Little bastard was alive, and I feel it, and me too. [[ActionSurvivor I am alive]].

* ''Film/WhereTheHeartIs'': This provides the TitleDrop. Novalee puts Willy Jack's hand to her belly and claims the rhythmic sensation is where the heart is. [[note]]This is unlikely in RealLife, but Novalee is young and BookDumb; maybe she believes it.[[/note]] He irritably pulls his hand away and says he doesn't feel anything. By the end, Willy Jack admits that (besides the other [[KickTheDog terrible things he did]]) he lied: he felt the baby and was overwhelmed by cowardice and his own inadequacy. This is why he drove away and [[GlorifiedSpermDonor abandoned her]].

* ''Lunarbaboon'': The man puts his cheek on his wife's belly and feels a strong kick. He declares that whatever their child decides to do, he will be proud. Abruptly a [[SpinningPaper newspaper headline]] appears: "Man Arrested for Kicking 18 People in the Face." The aged parents read it in dismay.

* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': In "As Old As The Hills," Peggy gives a speech about her and Hank's marriage for their 20th anniversary. She is repeatedly interrupted by Cotton's wife Didi's gasping while her baby (later named Good Hank) is kicking. Cotton later invites everyone to feel the baby kicking, while also claiming that when his first wife Tilly was pregnant with Hank, he never once felt him moving in her womb.

* ''Series/{{LOST}}'': Claire's baby stops moving after the plane crash, which causes her to worry that something may be wrong with him. The baby finally starts moving again after Claire eats a piece of fish Jin offered her. Claire grabs Jin's hand and lets him feel the movement in gratitude, which Jin finds very awkward.

For many, this is among the most joyful experiences of pregnancy. For eager soon-to-be parents, this evidence that their soon-to-be child is developing and healthy is reassuring. For the mother and those close to her, this can mark the point when the expected baby begins to feel "real." Sure, they knew there was something inside her growing belly, some vague invisible thing that will eventually resemble a baby. But when they recognize that the thumping inside her comes from tiny knees, elbows, fists and feet, suddenly they realize it already seems like a baby, even if they cannot see it yet. It vividly appears in their imagination: it [[CutenessOverload becomes cute]].

The experience can be a way for a father to bond with both mother and baby, for a young child to understand that a younger sibling is on the way, for other mothers to remember how it felt, or simply to share the phenomenon with friends. Moments like these can be PlayedForDrama to highlight tenderness, intimacy, wonder, joy, love, connection and more. The way a pregnant mother invites someone to feel her baby kicking -- and their reaction -- can show how they feel about one another, the soon-to-arrive baby, or the human life-cycle itself.

* ''Film/{{Apocalypto}}'': Seven and Jaguar Paw relax and embrace in the evening just before everything goes bad. When Jaguar Paw leans close to his wife and murmurs to their unborn child, Seven's belly bulges conspicuously as it kicks. He smiles at the sight.

* ''ComicStrip/BabyBlues'': When Wanda is pregnant, she and the family sometimes notice the baby kicking. In one strip, Darryl puts his ear to her belly trying to feel or hear subtle movement. Moments later, he is PunchedAcrossTheRoom by a powerful kick.

* Near the end of the ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' AU fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/10832628 The Lady and the Lion]]'', Lady Evangeline has to spend the last two months of her first pregnancy on bed rest. Although the rest of the family delights in feeling the baby kick, Evangeline herself is sometimes a bit frustrated with the child's antics.
-->'''Evangeline:''' (''to her stomach'') Those were my ribs, darling.

* ''Fanfic/UsAndThem'': In the sequel ''Life Renewed, Love Renewed'', after receiving the news that they are expecting, Sephiroth is lying in bed with Aeris, putting his hand on her stomach to feel their child even though it's still too early for that. Later, he keeps trying to feel it, but every time he does the baby stops moving.

* In the ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' fanfic ''Fanfic/SafeAnchorage'', Jeyne feels her baby kicking after Asha's DeclarationOfProtection, and says the baby must have heard it too.
* In the ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' story "The Birth Of Psycheliana", when Smurfette feels her baby kick inside her stomach, Empath feels it inside himself as well.
* Near the end of the ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' AU fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/10832628 The Lady and the Lion]]'', Lady Evangeline has to spend the last two months of her first pregnancy on bed rest. Although the rest of the family delights in feeling the baby kick, Evangeline herself is sometimes a bit frustrated with the child's antics.
-->'''Evangeline:''' (''to her stomach'') Those were my ribs, darling.

"My Willing Heart" by Music/JamesBlake: The music video features serene photography of Creator/NataliePortman, pregnant with her second child. She is shown [[SymbolicSereneSubmersion swimming]], relaxing, and thoughtfully caressing her belly. In one close-up, she suddenly smiles, apparently pleased by something she just felt. In another, the curved surface of her belly shifts as the baby moves. Though this can be interpreted as a romantic love song (sung by Blake to his partner), this imagery frames it as a ParentalLoveSong (from Portman to her baby).

"My Willing Heart" by Music/JamesBlake: The music video features serene photography of Creator/NataliePortman, pregnant with her second child. In one close-up, she suddenly smiles, presumably pleased by something she just felt. Another close-up shows the curved surface of her belly, which shifts as the baby moves. It frames this Love Song as a ParentalLoveSong from mother to child.

For many, this is among the most joyful experiences of pregnancy. For eager soon-to-be parents, this evidence that their soon-to-be child is developing and healthy is blissful. For the mother and those close to her, this can sometimes mark the point when the expected baby begins to feel "real." They knew there was something inside her growing belly, some vague invisible thing that will eventually resemble a baby. When they recognize that the thumping inside her comes from tiny knees, elbows, fists and feet, suddenly they realize it already seems like a baby, even if they cannot see it yet. It vividly appears in their imagination: it [[CutenessOverload becomes cute]].

And like much of pregnancy, it can be equally amazing and inconvenient for the expectant mother. Her changing body can feel strained or tender, so getting roughly pummeled from the inside can take her breath away. She might endure restlessness and SleepDeprivation as her enlarged uterus makes it difficult to get comfortable, so if the occupant of that uterus throws a late-night party using her cramped abdomen [[GroinAttack and pelvis]] as a dance floor, it's going to keep her unpleasantly awake. Because they are ultimately harmless, such aggravations may be PlayedForLaughs to show the awkwardness and discomfort of pregnancy in an amusing or endearing way. They may be comically-{{Exaggerated}} so that the kicks are powerful enough to assault someone ''else'', like the BumblingDad.

* ''ComicStrip/BabyBlues'': When Wanda is pregnant, she and the family sometimes notice the baby kicking. In one strip, Daryl puts his ear to her belly trying to feel or hear subtle movement. Moments later, he is PunchedAcrossTheRoom by a powerful kick.
** Wanda asks Bunny if pregnancy with twins feels different than pregnancy with one baby. Bunny explains that it doesn't, but while she talks her whole belly visibly lurches and heaves as the twins fight inside. She seems not to notice, but Wanda stares and winces.
---> '''Bunny:''' But basically, having two babies in there isn't much different than having one. ''[finally looks down as her belly furiously quakes and bulges]'' Except for the occasional territorial dispute.

* ''Film/WhereTheHeartIs'': This provides the TitleDrop. Novalee puts Willy Jack's hand to her belly and claims the rhythmic sensation is where the heart is. [[note]]This is unlikely in RealLife, but Novalee is young and BookDumb; maybe she believes it.[[/note]] He irritably pulls his hand away and says he doesn't feel anything. By the end, Willy Jack admits that (besides the other [[KickTheDog terrible things he did]]) he lied: he felt the baby and was overwhelmed by cowardice and his own inadequacy. This is why he drove away and [[GlorifiedSpermDonor abandoned her]] in a parking lot.

** The novelization expands on this scene, with Anakin remarking that with a kick that strong the baby is "definitely a girl". He's [[UntoUsASonandDaughterAreBorn half-right]]...and he's defintely right about [[ActionGirl his daughter]].

--> '''Puck:''' But we're talikng the ''magic of new life'' here! ''Ouch!'' Hey, what the hell's going on in there? Don't kick me ''there!'' Hey, ''stop it'', you little twerp! NO, not the ''ovaries!'' \\

* ''Series/{{LOST}}'': Claire's baby stops moving after the plane crash, which causes her to worry that something may be wrong with him. The baby finally starts moving again after Claire eats a piece of fish Jin offered her. Claire grabs Jin's hand and lets him feel movement in gratitude, which Jin finds very awkward.

* ''Hyperemisis Gravidarum'', by Creator/AAPessimal, follows the hitherto unknown phenomena, in a previously male-only world, of pregnant Assassins in Ankh-Morpork. Johanna Smith-Rhodes feels her unborn infant kicking vigorously, concedes there's certainly a Guild-pleasingly aggressive streak in there, and gloomily wonders if pregancy has somehow put a climbing wall in her womb, judging by the degree of movement going on.

* In the ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' fanfic ''Fanfic/SafeAnchorage'', Jeyne feels her baby kicking afer Asha's DeclarationOfProtection, and says the baby must have heard it too.

-->--''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2''

* On ''GilmoreGirls'', after Lane got pregnant from her honeymoon, Kirk touches her belly trying to feel the baby kick. Lane then threatens him: "You're ''going'' to feel a kick if you don't take her hand off my stomach!"