kicks vs. movement

cakebatter27 · May 2014

At my 25 week appointment, the OB told me to try to get the baby to move 3 or 4 times in a half hour when she's usually active.

At my 29 weeks appointment, another OB told me I should feel the baby kick 6 times AN HOUR. I said that seems excessive, especially with having this anterior placenta but he insisted anything less to call.

Well I took that with a grain of salt and figure if she's moving throughout the day and when she's normally super active at night then we're good. I may feel 6 kicks in 6 hours some days. She's just not a super active baby.

So my question is if you settle down to do some kick counts, are kicks the same thing as flops and rolls or are you only counting serious kicks that pop up? As I go farther along I get a lot more rolls and weird movements than actual kicks like I used to.

lindslalala · May 2014

Any movement equals a "kick" in my book. And I agree that 6/hr seems excessive.

1982Babies · May 2014

My doc just said "count 10 movements in an hour"..... so I'm of no help.

Shelleybell · May 2014

Movement and kicks are same in my book as well.

ahjahbaba · May 2014

I was under the impression that any movement was to be considered a "kick" for the purpose of kick counts. Direct kicks are definitely harder to come by these days

cakebatter27 · May 2014

tundrabunny said:
I just count movement. I'm a FTM with an anterior placenta - I have no idea if I'm being kicked, punched, elbowed, rolled or what.

We're in the same boat haha. And most braxton hicks turn out to be gas pain ;-)

INmommy871278 · May 2014

I'm in the all movement counts as kicks club too! My OB told me as long as I'm feeling movement at least once an hour then I'm good. With DS I had an anterior placenta and didn't feel much movement until further into the 30+ week range and I def did not feel 6+ and hour.

littlemissmarla · May 2014

At the hospital class I went to last night they said any movement counts and to look for 6-10 an hour after a big meal or drinking cold water and laying down

cakebatter27 · May 2014

Ok thanks girls. I wanted to make sure I wasn't going this completely wrong by counting rolling and wavy movements as kicks! So it should be called movement counts.

honeybee434 · May 2014

My OB said to just make sure I feel at least 10 movements a day, and if I don't to let them know. I like that better because I so far have no idea when this baby is going to start moving around and when she isn't, but I always know I get way more than my 10 a day and it's spread out throughout the entire day.

keshupe29 · May 2014

My dr also said if you get 3 movements in about 5 min you can stop counting. I have noticed baby has active days and quiet days. I am starting to see her patterns!

clebl24 · May 2014

I'm in the any movement counts club. My doctor also said to look for 10 kicks an hour; however, I feel like as long as I consistently feel movement throughout the day, then all is good.

Kristierae1984 · May 2014

Last week at my appt (31 weeks) I was told to count 6 movements in 2 hours. This does not mean I need to feel 6 every two hours, just that at some point in the day there is a two hour period where I have felt at least 6 movements. If I don't then I need to go to the hospital.

TallMomma29 · May 2014

It's so weird that OBs say so many different things with this! It seems like something that should just be an agreed on standard. But my OB also said any movement counts, and you just want 10 movements in an hour when LO is particularly active, and any movement counts. I don't do the counts unless I randomly notice that I haven't felt LO move for awhile. Usually if I lay down she'll start going crazy though. If I count several movements in a few minutes I assume that would be more than 10 in an hour and I just stop. I also feel more weird rolls/movements these days than kicks.. Although the other night I experienced my first swift kick to the ribs.. OWW! I didn't realize she could reach all the way up there!

TRS48 · May 2014

I'm so confused by this. Do they mean 6 kicks within 1 hour of the day or 6 kicks for each hour of the day? I too have an anterior placenta (2 of them) & only feel kicks sporadically throughout the day... There are def hours when I feel nothing and I'm laying down all day long?

MstoMrstoMom851214 · May 2014

My doc has not mentioned anything about movement, other than to ask if I'm feeling movement. LO moves a lot some parts of the day, but there is definitely a lot of the day where I don't feel him at all (I assume he's sleeping or I'm moving around too much to feel him). Something I should be concerned about? Or do some OBs just not promote "kick counting?!"

TallMomma29 · May 2014

TRS48 said:

I'm so confused by this. Do they mean 6 kicks within 1 hour of the day or 6 kicks for each hour of the day? I too have an anterior placenta (2 of them) & only feel kicks sporadically throughout the day... There are def hours when I feel nothing and I'm laying down all day long?

Just during one hour ... a particularly active one. As I understand it, you shouldn't expect to feel movement every hour because the babies have sleep patterns

missilini · May 2014

My doc said I should feel her at least every 12 hours. If not then to give them a call. Some days she is super active and then days like today I've barely felt her. I also have an AP.

Ylvelill · May 2014

TRS48 said:
I'm so confused by this. Do they mean 6 kicks within 1 hour of the day or 6 kicks for each hour of the day? I too have an anterior placenta (2 of them) & only feel kicks sporadically throughout the day... There are def hours when I feel nothing and I'm laying down all day long?

My ob said 6-10 movements in one hour. She recommends drinking some ice water and eating a good meal before laying down on your left side.

I try to do one in the morning and one in the evening, laying on opposite sides... Only thing I could think of to attempt getting a count for both babies.

cakebatter27 · May 2014

I also agree this should be a standard across the board. With so many different things being said it's hard to know what's right. I have just been feeling movement and consider that good. I'm glad I'm not alone in how confusing it is!

bewilderingstar · May 2014

I was nervous about this too. I've been counting any sort of rolls and jabs as part of the kick count. He doesn't kick as much as he used to but I think he is just running out of room in there.

helloblueeyes · May 2014

I think my baby is psychic, she loves to take a nap as soon as I go to do kick counts. Lol. Even if its a time she is usually active, she keeps changing her patterns after about 5pm.

My doc makes me log the start and end time. She said ten movements, and it should be within an hour.

beff12 · May 2014

MstoMrstoMom851214 said:

My doc has not mentioned anything about movement, other than to ask if I'm feeling movement. LO moves a lot some parts of the day, but there is definitely a lot of the day where I don't feel him at all (I assume he's sleeping or I'm moving around too much to feel him). Something I should be concerned about? Or do some OBs just not promote "kick counting?!"

I'm in the same boat. They ask every week if I'm feeling baby move, and I say yep, and that's that. I go through large times of the day as well when I'm up and moving around that I figure she must be napping, and then I slow down and she'll eventually begin to roll around again. She has now kicked every doctor and nurse at the OB's office, typically after I've laid down, either when they're feeling around with their hands, or she's kicked their doppler. I guess they figure all must be okay? It makes me nervous that some of us are told to count and others aren't!

allycheer00 · May 2014

Do any of you use the kick counter on the apps? Baby center has a good one that tracks how long it takes you to get 10 "kicks". It also keeps a record of all your counting sessions.

Heather100612 · May 2014

1982Babies said:
My doc just said "count 10 movements in an hour"..... so I'm of no help.

My doc said 10 by noon lol.

No matter what the doc says, I think your gut will tell you if something's wrong. At this point I've definitely learned my girls "schedule" so to say, so that's what I count on to know things are okay.

TricksyPixie · May 2014

I don't really worry about it.. My docs don't either, as long as I'm feeling movement. Most of the day, baby is calm. But in the morning and late at night, I feel WAAAAAY more than ten kicks in less than 30 minutes. She gets feisty. But most of the day, she is so calm.

AutumnBonfire · May 2014

I'd count any movement. I don't know what's a kick, punch, knee jab, headbutt, etc. My doc gave me an information packet that had a page on kick counts, but otherwise didn't mention it at all. I didn't do kick counts at all with DS. This baby moves all the time, so I'm not really worried about it.

blacktie3 · May 2014

I also have an anterior placenta. At 25 weeks I didn't feel much either unless I lied on my side. Now I do feel alot of movement which at this stage would qualify IMO as a kick because there is less room in the womb for the baby to actually wind up for a good kick. If you do some reading on line almost everything says to start counting kicks at 28 weeks not 25. I only count if I haven't felt anything for a few hours, if I feel movement around the same times of day I'm good. When I do count even now I really have to concentrate on if I feel anything in the front, so I will put my hand on the front of my belly because sometimes I can't feel it there from the inside but can see it and feel the movement from the outside.....weird I know. I think the placenta in front is a bit of a wet blanket on the movement stuff!

iris427 · May 2014

When you're counting movements, every kind of movement counts. Kicks, wiggles, rolls, etc. You do NOT count hiccups however. You should also not count movements that only occur in response to you poking/prodding the baby.

To pass a kick count, the baby should move 10 times in 2 hours or less.

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