Belly mapping- I'm so confused!

Trombolii · January 2015

So I missed my last appointment due to car issues (cold weather drained battery, apparently). I'm 37 weeks and haven't seen my midwife since 34 (my next appointment is Wed). I've always been head down when she checked but his movements have always felt transverse (feeling kicks/pushes on both right and left side of belly). I've been looking into belly mapping to try to understand these movements, thinking maybe I'm misunderstanding them but I'm still so confused.

I have a hard lump to the left of my belly button but that's also almost exactly where I feel the biggest pushes out to the side. I also feel pushes/kicks to the right of my belly button. I'm also feeling pressure down low now, and occasionally a wiggle or two down there (but nothing very big) so that's encouraging but then I was just feeling hiccups up high and to the right. NOTHING MAKES SENSE!

I'm pretty sure I'm just going to be told to stop being paranoid and wait for my appointment but I'm curious how others determine baby position and how much stock you put in the various movements you feel. Do your feelings always match up with how baby is really positioned?

Someone tell me I'm not crazy... or better yet tell me I am!

jennypolkadots · January 2015

I'm not a midwife, but I am semi-obsessed with fetal positioning.

The lump that wiggles a bit on your left is the baby's butt. The little nudges, kicks, etc. going on to the right of your belly button are the feet. When you feel some moving down in your pelvis it is the head settling in, practice breathing, etc. It sounds like your baby is in the LOT or LOA position, depending on how much kicking you are feeling out front. You'll feel more with LOT and less with LOA. A is for anterior, meaning the baby's head is facing your tail bone so limbs face the back. With LOA you will also be able to feel the hard spine down your front to the left of your belly button. Both LOA and LOT are good positions so keep doing what you're doing. LOA is considered "ideal" for labor. If you feel tickling/kicking below your belly button this would be the hands and signal that your baby is probably LOP (posterior). At 37 weeks baby can still flip from side to side or even breech so it's nice to have an idea of how they are laying in there.

Do you ever feel a slow heavy pulsing sensation in your pelvis? Or even towards your bottom? This is practice breathing and can reassure you the head is down. If you really feel it in your bottom then your baby is probably LOA with their face to your spine. You can try laying on your back and pushing upwards on your baby bump near your pelvis. This will wake the baby up and they will squirm, as you just pushed on his/her head. When my baby starts squirming all around I will pat their bottom (my upper left side) and talk to them, and they usually settle down.

I hope this helps! Try to get some back up ideas for transportation. At 37 weeks you can't be missing anymore appointments!

Trombolii · January 2015

Thanks for the responses! The hiccups still have me super paranoid (I felt it again today) I'm just going to keep doing the hands and knees exercises and wait til my midwife can tell me for sure.

This is just a scary thing and I need to chill!

The car thing was a fluke as it's barely 2 years old. The battery just died. I definitely can't miss any more appointments.

jennypolkadots · January 2015

I didn't read what you said about Hiccups being up high and to the right.

With that info, I would say your baby is ROT. The hiccup feeling is probably their chest moving. The chest movement is more noticeable than the fluid being pushed from the mouth. The feet are probably stretched out and causing the lump sensation on your left.

Of course Transverse does happen, but it is super, super rare at 37 weeks. Keep doing your exercises and don't worry! You can only do what you can do, and transverse is not the end of the world. A few things that help a lot with positioning:

If you sit a lot during the day, sit on a birth ball. I'm working right now sitting on a 65 cm one. This keeps your knees below your pelvis and your back curved forward so your belly is like a hammock for the baby's back. It also just feels really good

Try swimming laps. Spending 30 minutes a few days a week on your belly can do wonders for positioning. Even if you just want to kick using a kickboard and don't feel up for much else. Since we can't lay on your bellies at this stage, this feels so nice! I swim about 3 days a week.

If you drive much (more than a 15 minute stretch or so) make sure your seat is slightly leaned forward and possibly sit on a towel or wedge to keep your hips above your knees. Always try to make sure your knees are below your hips and your belly is curved outward like a hammock for the baby's back.

Don't lounge around on the sofa, especially if you have a super cozy one that you sink into. Try sitting backwards on a chair (leaning over the back), sitting on an exercise ball, sitting cross legged on a yoga mat, etc. or lay on your left side. I know it sucks and I can't wait to get this baby out and go back to normal movements without constantly thinking about fetal positions... but we only have about a month left and all the hard work should pay off.

jennypolkadots · January 2015

Any update? I'm interested to see what position the baby is in

Trombolii · January 2015

Yup. ROT for sure. (Which is this position for anyone interested https://spinningbabies.com/baby-positions/all-positions/right-occiput-transverse). Midwife told me to keep doing the hands and knees position to help him turn enough to engage.

For anyone worrying about baby position, belly mapping did help me figure it out but it took a few days to gather enough info to really figure it out so don't freak out about one or two little things that seem off. Could be lots of things. By last night I was pretty certain of his position, (though I'm not exactly sure what the lump on my left has been, seems to come and go, maybe his shoulder if he's facing more front or back or his leg if he's stretching it out?)

jennypolkadots · January 2015

Ah ha! ROT, I thought so from the hiccups! I was randomly ROT at my 36 week appointment, even though the baby tends to stay LOA/OA most of the time. Within a day they were back to LOA after a long swim and watching my posture. My midwife says I have a roomy pelvis and the baby is rotating pretty freely still, and that seems to be true.

Are you doing a daily 30 second inversion? This can help stretch ligaments so the baby can rotate more freely. Swimming is also excellent (no backstroke though!) and doing deep squats when you know the baby is in the position you want them to be. I do 2 2-1/2 minute squats and 20 regular squats a day. I do my kegels during that time as it's easier to get a strong contraction in the squat position.

If you're ROT, the lump is his foot or feet stretching out. My baby loves to stretch both feet as far as they will go and I get the craziest looking lumps on my right side. Sometimes high, sometimes around belly button level or lower. He/she is just loungin' in there

If it's down low, it could also be outstretched arms/hands. I have never had a foot near my ribs or anything like that, but I have a long torso so that's probably why.

poopylove · January 2015

Hi ladies,
Sorry to hijack your post. I'm 36W+ and saw my OB today who told me that baby was sunny side up. Could you recommend a good belly mapping resource? I'd like to keep an eye on baby's possible movements and try some exercises as I may not see my doctor again before delivery- he said we'd see each other next in 3 weeks "if I hadn't given birth by then". TIA!

poopylove · January 2015

Thank you @unconventionalatbest‌ I'm not sure, I'm in France and that seems to be standard practice here? Everything else is looking fine and doctor didn't seem overly concerned but just wanted to inform myself for every eventuality!

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Belly mapping- I'm so confused!

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