How do you know the position?

lizzbeth292

How do you know the position your baby is in? Is that her butt cheeks or her head? Is that his elbow or his knee?

I had a sono a few days ago and I had a firm little lump at the top of my tummy, so I thought she was face up. But nooo, that was her little tush! And I felt what I thought were two punches at my sides (like stretching), but no again. Those were her feet stretching out to the sides.

Does anyone know how you can determine the position?

Gingermom15

It's all pure guessing for me. However, when he gets the hiccups I feel them in different places. I think if he is head down is when I feel them lower in my pelvis. He still flips and turns al the time at 33 weeks, and sometimes I feel them against my side or my ribs. I've heard of belly-mapping, but I am not sure how accurate that is.

queenwog

I asked my midwife, she felt around and said, "yep, there's his head."

You can also sort of wiggle the baby around. Push on what you think is the butt and if you feel more of the body moving than just that, it's the butt. If just that moves, it's the head, since the head is attached via the neck and can thus move a little more independently. Kind of like if you shake your booty (shake yo bootay!) your whole trunk moves but you can shake your head without moving the rest of your body.

delujm0

Your doctor will tell you.  But I had a decent idea when LO was head down because I felt most of her kicks in my ribs and her hiccups down in my pelvis.  She was breech at 26 weeks, and when the doctor told me that I was like "oh that makes sense because I feel her kicks mostly down low."  I didn't feel her flip, but I could tell once she did.

jenbstevens

If you push on the hard "thing" and the whole baby moves, it's probably the butt. If you push and the part you're pushing on moves on it's own, it's probably the head (since the head can move at the neck but the butt moves the whole body). Additionally, if you use a doppler, at home or at the doctor, and the heartbeat is low down baby is probably head down. Also like PP said if you feel hiccups down low baby is probably head down, hiccups up high mean head up. 

Feeling jabs up high or down low is not a reliable indicator because they could be kicks with the feet or punches with the hands and there's really no way to know. 

For example, when I feel something hard up at the top of my belly and push on it, I can feel the movement all the way in my bladder, meaning the whole baby is moving. Also when he gets hiccups (which he does frequently), I feel them REALLY low down. From everything I can tell, baby is head down, but I have a growth scan on Wednesday so I'll know for sure.