The story so far: Anastasia and her husband, Nick, have been married for 3 years and are expecting their first baby. Anastasia is a freelance writer and lives in London. Now read on…

There it is in print. ‘Week 18: If this is your first pregnancy, it is now that you will probably feel your baby move for the first time. It’s an exciting experience to feel the reassuring movements of your baby, telling you that everything is fine.’ How could a pregnancy book be so irresponsible? I’d love to feel those reassuring foetal movements, but so far, nothing. Nada. Not a twitch. Not an hour goes by without me wondering why I can’t feel anything when, seemingly, every other pregnant woman at this stage can. My friends with babies are no help – they can’t remember when they felt their first movements, and they tell me not to worry about it. My frantic research uncovers even worse news: if you feel an absence of foetal movement for 24 hours, it says, go to your doctor immediately. So what am I supposed to do? I must admit that, somewhere deep inside I know I’m being alarmist. I am able to find the sound of the heartbeat with my magic device (the stethoscope-like listening contraption my friend brought over from the States), so I know the baby’s OK in there. But I hate to miss out on something I’m ‘supposed’ to be feeling. Must be that competitive nature combined with too much information and pregnancy hormones. Either way, it’s really getting under my skin.

That damn book again. ‘Week 19: You are probably feeling a lot better and happier these days, especially since your baby’s kicking has given you tangible proof of his presence.’ My temporary relaxation gave way to genuine worry and the image of a happy, content baby got fuzzier and fuzzier. I called the midwife and she very casually told me not to worry about it, that the baby was moving but I just didn’t recognise the feeling. Many first-time mums think it’s just wind, she said. She mentioned that I probably have very strong stomach muscles, which can mask the feeling for quite a while (I must admit I quite liked that explanation).

In the middle of week 20, I put on my headphones for another episode of ‘listen to my baby’s heartbeat.’ Nothing. Couldn’t find it. Where was it? As I moved the mini-scanner around on my tummy, it nearly popped out of my hand! Something had caused it to shoot straight up, knocking it right off my belly. What the heck was that? I cast the earphones aside and put both hands on my belly. There it was again. An unmistakable, alien-like protrusion from the inside, accompanied by the funny-tummy feeling you can sometimes get on a lift. Wow. Then I actually saw the skin on my stomach pucker with another kick. This was it. The moment I had been waiting for. My baby has moved and there’s no mistaking it for wind. I was so happy I woke my parents up at 5am to tell them. Nick couldn’t wait to get home to see (feel) our baby’s new trick. Of course, the little sprout didn’t oblige when I asked her to perform for her daddy, but she and I know what she’s capable of.

Has anyone noticed I’ve started calling the baby ‘she’?

Take a look at Josa Young's pregnancy diary for week 18.