baby movement reassurance advice

emccaulley · June 2015

so lately, my baby has been squirming a ton, but the past couple of days he seems to move a lot less.. should i be concerned or does anyone else experience says like this? i also worry when the baby doesnt move like every 10 minutes so i could just be paranoid?

photomomma0488 · June 2015

I haven't been feeling my little girl this week as much as I was. But she's still moving in there some. I am 24w5d and I've heard that around this time they tend to slow down a bit as they are growing a lot.

slhawkins25 · June 2015

I am a FTM So I cannot speak from experience but from what I have read and what my doctors have told me it's very normal. And it depends on how far along you are. You aren't supposed to take kick counts or have routine movement until you are in the third trimester.
For me personally, I'm now 22 weeks with an anterior placenta and have just started feeling movement. My LO is still unpredictable but it's a wonderful feeling to finally feel her. So I could definitely understand where some paranoia could set in if it seems less frequent. Like pp said, baby is growing a ton and they are setting into sleep cycles anywhere from 10-16 hours.
Sorry for the long post! If your still worried I would talk to your doc.

emccaulley · June 2015

thank you both very much! that makes me a lot less concerned now and will definitely sleep a little better.

MamaOwl15 · June 2015

You'll feel more movement some days than others. Baby could be sleeping or just positioned in such a way that you're not feeling the kicks as strongly. You may just not be noticing the movement some times.

If you're starting to get worried and want some reassurance, sometimes you can get baby to move by gently poking your belly, or eat/drink something cold and sweet.

Also, you're not trying to feel kicks every 10 minutes-- it's 10 times in 1 hour, but that's laying down and doing nothing but counting kicks. Honestly I don't know if I ever counted that many kicks with DS, and he was born happy and healthy and hasn't slowed down yet.

LiveNLove44 · June 2015

The 10 times in 1 hour that @MamaOwl15 mentions will start at 28 weeks (for "kick counts") according to most sources and my OB's practice. This certainly won't be the last moment where you feel nervous or concerned about your LO's movement, but try to find good medical resources to help calm your nerves, too! Remember, LO is sleeping the majority of the time, so if he/she was moving all the time, he/she wouldn't be resting enough to grow.

Once you reach 28 weeks (or the point at which your doctor might recommend monitoring kick counts), this might be helpful:

https://americanpregnancy.org/while-pregnant/kick-counts/

christina4436 · June 2015

Yes I think that's paranoid. If you have been feeling a lot of movement I would say at least still feeling every day or every other day is good to monitor. But some people don't feel consistent movement until 28 wks plus. But since you're baby is getting bigger they have less room which means less movement!

tate62610 · June 2015

Yeah you're okay

they slow down as they get bigger.

heytallmama · June 2015

I had this exact freak out about 2 weeks ago! She was totally predictable with her kicks and timing and then her movements got softer and not nearly as frequent. My midwife said what the others have said- that she's hitting a period of growth so it's totally normal and likely that she's sleeping a lot.

She recommended that I drink a glass of OJ and lay on my left side and if after 30 min still nothing, to come in and they'd double check with the Doppler. Of course I went in and her heart was thumping solidly, but the reassurance was so nice! Needless to say, she's pretty much Zumba-ing in there these days, so now that I know the quieter days are totally normal, it makes me less anxious.

Thanks to the gals that clarified kick counts timing! Super helpful

rms924 · June 2015

Thank you for this. I was stressing about the same thing. I am 24w4d.

shantyrae · June 2015

tate62610 said:
Yeah you're okay they slow down as they get bigger.

My baby moves a ton also and my doctor said this exact thing.... she said not to freak out as baby starts to run out of room, they'll start moving around a little less! When in doubt, eat or drink something (maybe a coke) and wait 30 minutes and count kicks. If there's no movement only then should you maybe be worried.

FirstTimeMamaAricka · June 2015

I'm a ftm as well but i know some days my son just wont move much no matter what i do and after a few days once i get worried he gets super active all of a sudden. The other day i clearly saw a bump protrude from my stomach because he kicked so hard and then for the next 2 days not much of anything. For me its been normal and he is still perfectly healthy i think the fact that they are getting bigger and they have less room as they grow keeps them from moving as much now. Im sure its perfectly normal but if you are too worried you can always bring it up with your doctor.

dchiapella · June 2015

I just had this freak out too!!!! Apparently I was malnourished and dehydrated and when I was right in the thick of it he stopped moving for 2 full days and I was an absolute mess. My husband kept telling me it was fine, the doctor said to expect it, blah blah blah. But it's still terrifying. Anyway, he kicked crazy hard yesterday a few times which was such a reassurance. It truly, honestly, 100% is normal for there to be long periods of time without consistant kicking... it's just super scary.

Louisl · June 2015

My dr said at this stage they're sleeping off and on and I should feel him about every 90 minutes at least, but if I'm doing things and moving around it's easy to miss the movements. She told me this at 23 weeks.

kaza512 · June 2015

I have noticed a shift in my baby's active time. I notice a lot more activity late at night on the weekends when I tend to stay up later, so I figure I am sleeping through the busy active time and when I am awake, baby is sleeping. Maybe it's the same for you. (This makes me nervous for when the baby comes, I think I am going to have a vampire baby, and my doc said that baby's active time in utero tends to stay the same when they are born...) As Pp have mentioned, you don't start doing kick counts until 28 weeks.

meghan82 · June 2015

don't worry, i think most of us have felt this way at certain times! certain days i only feel him a couple of times a day and pretty faintly, but i think it depends on position, and i have anterior placenta. today however he is kicking up a storm, and i can see my belly "jump" around... so i think at this stage it's still unpredictable. at my next appt i will be 27.5 weeks and i will ask my doctor about kick counts... fwiw i read something else that said if kick counts make you nervous then you can still monitor the baby's movements and you'll get a feel for what's normal during his/her most active times of day...

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