ease my mind- your decreased fetal movement experiences

spout3

This LO is very active... since starting the kick counts 2 weeks ago it takes about 15-25min max to reach the 10 kicks.  The last 2 days there has been a drop in fetal movement.  It's taken about the full hour (sometimes slightly more) to get those 10 kicks. I have been feeling under the weather this week and have been taking medicine (tylenol cold/benadryl) don't know if that has something to do with it.

i think i've read on here that some of your LO's go through days of lower activity.  what were your experiences and outcomes?  TIA

Alexandra*sMom

If you feel drugged from taking medications, doesn't it make sense that your LO would be too?  I just have never been a fan of taking medications while PG.  After 3 PG's and 2 years of BF I feel the difference on me if I take cold meds or not (higher pulse, BP, etc).

My LO does have about 5 active days and 1-2 slow days. 

jellybean210

i never really did the kick counts, just paid attention to whether baby was moving like normal or not. and she would have some days when she wouldnt be all that active and some when she was allll over the place! its still like that now and im 2 days past due, do i this issue never goes away. but LO will move less as he/she runs out of room in there.

DChunt09

I would say since you are still feeling movement (esp still making it to 10 in an hour) you and LO are just fine. 

My little man has highly active days and days where I barely feel him. I just make sure I feel him once or twice on those days. And I have noticed (and asked my OB) that LO is much less active when I am not feeling well.

I've never made it to 10 movements in an hour. He's just not that active. But I do know I have a healthy boy thriving in there, so its all good and everyone is different.

If you are really worried , its always best to call your doctor. I had too, and now I don't get worried and I know when I should become worried.  Good luck, Mama!

k.martell

My Dr said not to do kick counts because it will make me crazy, just pay attention to patterns.  So during the day she's fairly quiet, but most active when I lay down for bed and when waking up. 

Also, the farther along, the more cramped their space becomes, so some movement may not be as strong as they were 10 weeks or so ago.

delaware04

It has been my experience that when I take benedryl my baby doesnt move as much and my doctor said that it could be because of the medicine making her sleepy.?

If you are still getting the right amount of kicks in an hour, even though its taking LO a little longer to get them all, I would say that you and your LO is fine.

I recently had to have an u/s because of decreased fetal movement, and baby girl was just fine, she was just sleepy and practicing her breathing.

If there is ever an hour where you dont get the full amount of kicks, then I would call the doctor and see what they want you to do, or if you just want to put your mind at ease you could just call your doctor now.

Good Luck! I'm sure everything is fine :-)?

h3b

i asked my dr. about 10 kicks in an hour and she said that wasn't always going to happen. they have sleep cycles that last for 40 or so minutes...and they don't necessarily wake up kicking around. if you don't feel movement, drink juice or cold water, lay down on your left side and wait an hour. if you don't feel some consecutive movement, i was told then i should call then. every dr. is different, though. 

i go hours with just a little roll or position change, then times where he moves like crazy. 

KaciRoo

I have days where I have a lot of movement and then there's a whole lot of NOTHING. It has definitely decreased a lot over the past month...and I know it's due to the lack of space that LO has. I went to L&D about 2 weeks ago because I was having a ?freak out moment? of not having any movement. Turns out, LO was perfectly fine, just being lazy...but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I was reassured. MY O.B also said that movement can sporadic at times, especially towards the end when LO doesn?t have as much room.

blissfully_caffeinated

My LO has inactive days. One day I didn't feel him move for 8 hours. I went in to get things checked out and he was completely fine - just sleeping really soundly.

halfpintlbk

I've had a few days like that and it has really freaked me out.  Also, I did notice that last week when I was sick and taking cold medicine that he seemed like he was moving less.  If it ever went on like that for more than a day or I couldn't get the 10 kicks in two hours I would definitely call your doctor though.  It certainly can't hurt!

greeneyes9800

I actually talked  to my dr at our last appointment about kick counts. SHe feels they do nothing other than drive moms nuts. Her suggestion is that you should feel ten good movements a day. If you feel movement in the morning, not muchc during the day, and the movement in the evening when youare settled, that's fine. If you are really concerned about the movement, she suggested laying down after drinking something cold. She said there;s nothing wrong with it taking an hour for LO to begin moving since they need time to wake up just like we do. My dr also said just like outside the womb babies have days they feel like being more active than other days while in the womb. I mentioned about someone one here talking about the cord being wrapped and  loosing the baby after 30 weeks. She assured me that if that is going to happen, kick counts will not save that babies' life, it would be too late by the time you figured out the decreased movement.

Jordan525

I absolutely agree that the cold medicine has something to do with the decreased movement. Sounds like LO is still active, just not as much as before.

spout3

Thanks for easing my mind!! baby is starting to move/kick more!

earthyaky

you answered yourself in your post: you've been feeling sick and taking cold medicine and you've noticed baby's movements have been less. I'd feel pretty conked out too if I was 4lbs and someone gave me a dose of benadryl.

(sorry if that sounds exasperated - not my intention, just making (or trying to make) a point)

 oops. I hit post before I was finished: I don't do fetal kick counts. I think it's absurd and will do my head in. I feel baby wiggling about in there enough without having to start counting.

I do notice I am getting more familiar with baby's patterns. When I am feeling burnt out and/or super duper tired (usually thursday/fridays), baby seems to be a bit less of a wiggle worm. By the weekend when I can sleep in a bit more or have a nap, baby is active and back to jamming its wee feet into my ribcage on a continuous basis.

FutureMrsLemon

Leah&Jack:

My OB never told me to do actual kick counts, but to just make sure there is movement every day and at her usual times. The baby has had a "schedule" since before 30 weeks, so if she's not active when she normally is, I'll eat something and lie down to pay attention. There are days where she moves more than others.

 

Mine said the same.

Also I took cold medication once during this pregnancy and found that he was very inactive after taking it. So I stopped taking it at all. I am just not comfortable with that type of reaction. So its definitely possible that this is from the meds.