Might be a dumb question, but...

diamondtaurus

I am 36 weeks and a FTM. I worry a lot about not feeling the baby kick as much and my doctor has put so much emphasis on kick counting. When I really feel it is in the middle of night. Literally last night I think this baby kicked for 1/2 hour straight! Anyway, do those kicks count as my "kick count" for the day? How often does everyone else count? I've just been reading too many horror stories lately....

Thanks!

Twirple

You know the movements of your baby better than your doctor does.  My doctor really only has me do kick counts if I am worried.  She has me drink cold water or juice, lay on my left side and start counting.  10 kicks in an hour and I'm fine.  It never takes that long.  My doctor would say that lots of movement for 1/2 hour is great!

Oh, and babies move a lot less as you get further along.  They just don't have the room that they did before.

jessech89

My doctor reminds me to do kick counts too but I never do, I feel her move often enough through out the day. She did say if I go too long without feeling anything I should drink cold water and lay down to count kicks and to call L&D if I still don't feel anything. So if you're worried, I would call the doctor. You're paying them to give you peace of mind, they will help you and baby.

Teresa1896

What does your doctor recommend?

My doc said kick counts aren't necessary unless there is another issue or if I become concerned by an extended period of quiet.

diamondtaurus

That's part of my problem with the whole ambiguity of this- what is considered "too long" without feeling kicks? An hour, a day, etc? Plus, my placenta is anterior, so I've never really felt all that much. Thanks ladies, just a worrier over here

diamondtaurus

My doctor recommends 10 kicks in 2 hours, 2x/day. It stresses me out to sit there quietly and wait for the kicks!! That's why I was wondering if the kicks in the middle of the night counted for one of my daily periods of activity.

*sparky*

Yes, middle of the night kicks count too!  I try not to worry about kicks with this LO too much.  She seems to be pretty calm when I am up and moving, but when I sit still she moves around a lot more.  So there are days when I am busy running around for hours and suddenly I will realize I have not noticed her moving.  If I eat something sweet or drink something cold and sit still for a few minutes she starts moving. 

And as you get later in your PG the movements are definitely more subtle.  Sometimes it is more of a little wiggle or shift than an actual kick, so if I am not thinking about it, it is not surprising that I don't notice it.  Now every once in a while she seems to settle in on head butting my cervix and that hurts like hell!

buffyjsa

At this point, I don't tend to feel nearly as many kicks.  I am more likely to feel what I can only describe as her stretching (I feel her under my ribs and lower down) or her moving/shifting and pressing outward.  As long as you feel something from your little one, I don't know that it matters what type of movement you feel.

PoppySeedWindsor

I agree with @ColleenSwerb. The hubster is obsessed with them and freaks out when he can't feel baby kick at the 'normal time when baby is usually awake.' Trust your instincts. Even if you're a FTM, by this point in the game, you understand your body fairly well and you know your baby fairly well. If things seem amiss -- if you can't wake the little one with a popsicle, some cold chocolate milk or some cold juice -- call your doctor. Otherwise, chilllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaax chica. Being stressed out about baby not moving isn't going to help. 

Just sing Bob Marley to yourself and breeeeeeathe: "Don't worry...about a thing. Cause every little thing...is gonna be all right!"

Alana1977

Both my OB and L&D have told me I only need to look for ten movements in a twelve hour period (any twelve hour period). If I do not feel ten after twelve hours I am to drink something sugary and lay on left side for one hour and count up to three movements. If after an hour I do not get three movements both the hospital and my OB have said to go in and get checked. At 38 weeks my baby moves a lot less (sometimes hours without movement) because he has less room now.

juniper75

My Dr hasn't had me do kick counts. Basically they just said to make sure I feel baby move on average 6-8 times a day. If I get concerned I just have something cold or sweet and wait for her to react.

homediva

I never do kick counts. My Ob has never mentioned them. I have anterior placenta too. I know my baby's patterns and I don't worry about it!

melissashogan

My Dr has never really mentioned kick counts. If I haven't noticed movement for a while I stop what I am doing and wait until I do. No problems yet. You should be able to tell if your LO is not moving as much as normal you will get the sense if something is wrong. However as always follow your Drs advice and call if you are worried it is much better to be the annoying mom who calls too much than the one who could have prevented a problem.

aliotter

My husband laughs because every now and then he'll catch me shaking or pushing on my belly to wake baby up. I drink something super cold if that doesn't work. #3 and I still worry.

knotty-girl

My doctor only advised kick counts if I'm concerned that there is a decrease in movement. My little guy is super active, so I pretty much feel movement constantly throughout the day and even at night as I'm falling asleep. I'm also aware of his activity patterns and he gets super crazy in the evening hours and in the morning as soon as I wake up. The nurse at the hospital told me the same thing as someone else here mentioned "you know your baby best." 

My SIL told me she barely felt her babies move hardly at all, and never saw obvious movement from the outside.  Both her babies were healthy.

I think you definitely need to base it on what you know to be normal for your baby.  For me it would probably have to be several hours and feel like all day for me to be concerned.  He's never not moved enough for me to notice a lack of movement that would cause me to do kick counts.