I was freaked out, so I called my doctor.

lolonvive · May 2016

Good Morning Ladies!
I don't have a question, just wanted to share something that happened last night.
TL;DR - everything is fine, don't feel weird calling your doctor in the middle of the night.

I was sitting on my couch crocheting and watching Veep, because Wednesday. And at around 9:30pm it sort of occurred to me that usually around this time while I am doing this exact activity, baby is usually very squirmy and my husband gets to see her bopping around my belly. Tonight was different. Tonight was quiet and then I started to question myself. When was the last time I felt her? Did I feel her on the train coming home? Not that I recall. Did I feel her during dinner? I couldn't remember. I drank some OJ, paused the TV and laid on the couch. Waiting.
My husband noticed something was up and asked what was wrong. When I told him I couldn't remember the last time she moved it sort of hit me and I started ugly crying and was bordering on a panic attack. Now it was close to 10pm and my husband handed me my phone. "Just call Dr. S." I called, got his service, left a message with them, and he called me back within minutes. He calmed me down, told me to drink more OJ with ice, lay down in the dark with no distractions, try to breathe and wait an hour. He assured me I would feel movement within the hour and if not to call him back.
After what felt like the longest 15 minutes of my life I finally felt a little kick. I felt so helpless and didn't even trust my own instincts. I waited more. After a couple little swishes I cried some more and eventually fell asleep.
I am super lucky. This pregnancy has been a rollercoaster of emotions but symptoms and conditions-wise I have been really blessed and feel grateful. In the great scheme of things I am sure that my 'scare' is nothing compared to some of the things other women have to worry about or be mindful of during their pregnancy. Especially for us first timers. But sometimes we get scared, or nervous, we reach out to whoever is near us to tell us everything is okay, and sometimes we think that is a bunch of random ladies on the internet. But sometimes it should be your doctor or midwife. That's what they are there for. They've been there for us through 30+ weeks of pregnancy and they're there for us for the long haul.
Not sure what the purpose was of this post and just wanted to share a little with my random ladies of the internet.

Lyette1206 · May 2016

I'm a STM, and I still get crazy paranoid all the time. Definitely sympathize with the panic that sets it when you realize you haven't felt movement. I also second guess the tiny movements when I get like this - like, I'll feel a tiny nudge and think "that doesn't count. Move bigger!!" I'm glad you called and got reassured and that baby eventually cooperated!

Alanna999 · May 2016

Thanks so much for sharing! I think it's great that you reached out to your doctor to help ease your concerns. Always better safe than sorry!

alitria · May 2016

STM and I also have those moments of "wait, have I felt you? When was it? Was that really a movement?" Growing people is scary business, and for some reason those out of the ordinary things never seem to happen during office hours, it's always late at night when you have lots of time to sit around and panic yourself. I was up at 1:45 this morning because I had some pretty bad contractions/cramps last night and I was also freaking myself out with the whole "should I call now because it's too early and I need to give them time to stop it? Or is it totally normal and because I had two really long days with a lot of time on my feet?" And while my brain knows that it's normal to feel smaller movements from baby and more contractions at this point, the shift is still unnerving.

snowhite12 · May 2016

the paranoia got worse for me after I delivered. Even though my DD was a great sleeper as a newborn, I would get up every 2 hours in a panic, and look at her, watch her chest move up and down. I was terrified of SIDS.
We didnt move her in her own room til she was a year old and I still had to have all doors open, and a baby monitor on her constantly.
Now the paranoia has ceased a bit, shes a very independent almost 3 year old, sleeps in her own twin bed, but I still check in on her every night.

vulpini · May 2016

I've had a few evenings of not remembering when I felt baby last. It's hard to rememeber sometimes when I'm chasing a toddler around all day. I've been bad about doing kick counts consistently too. Thankfully the cold sweet drink and lying down method did the trick quickly each time I got worried. I'm glad your doctor got back to you so fast and reassured you.

heathersaysso · May 2016

You did the right thing. This late in our pregnancies, there's nothing more important than the health of the baby and your peace of mind. I'm really glad to hear it was just a false alarm, I think we've all had that panic moment at some time.

kbequette08 · May 2016

I did the same thing yesterday. Mine's usually quite active and he was just staying mostly quiet all day and it was really worrying me. I even drank OJ last night to see if he'd move. He wasn't moving as crazy as he usually does so I called the doctor and they said even if he's moving a little its a good sign because he's just running out of room. Eased my mind a bit but I always wonder, what if the cord is wrapped around their neck? How are we supposed to know stuff like that?

lyoash31 · May 2016

@kbequette08 Please don't worry about your baby having its umbilical cord wrapped around its neck. You do realize that your baby isn't breathing through its trachea, right? So a wrapped cord in utero isn't going to harm the baby. And during birth, a wrapped cord (also known as a nuchal cord) happens 1/3 of the time and presents very little risk because, again, your baby still isn't breathing through their trachea. Your care provider will be monitoring for this and will be able to slip the cord off the babies head if necessary.

mrsp2213 · May 2016

I am right there with you. At this point I too am questioning whether or not what I feel is enough movement or the right movement. I hate that feeling of not being able to remember the last time she moved and then not being able to focus on anything until I feel something. I've had several moments like that and have cried each time she gave me a kick or a roll or just something to let me know she is there. It's crazy how much we already love and obsess over these tiny humans!

So glad to hear all is well

vulpini · May 2016

lyoash31 said:

@kbequette08 Please don't worry about your baby having its umbilical cord wrapped around its neck. You do realize that your baby isn't breathing through its trachea, right? So a wrapped cord in utero isn't going to harm the baby. And during birth, a wrapped cord (also known as a nuchal cord) happens 1/3 of the time and presents very little risk because, again, your baby still isn't breathing through their trachea. Your care provider will be monitoring for this and will be able to slip the cord off the babies head if necessary.

The issue with a wrapped cord isn't breathing. It's blood flow to the brain and compression of the cord itself, which is carrying oxygen. But yes, it's a very rare problem.

lyoash31 · May 2016

@vulpini
Yes, I understand this, but compression isn't going to happen unless it's wrapped during labor and contractions, and even then it's rare for it to become an issue. So the PP being worried about it wrapping while the baby is just floating around is unnecessary. I didn't want her to worry unnecessarily.

vulpini · May 2016

lyoash31 said:

@vulpini
Yes, I understand this, but compression isn't going to happen unless it's wrapped during labor and contractions, and even then it's rare for it to become an issue. So the PP being worried about it wrapping while the baby is just floating around is unnecessary. I didn't want her to worry unnecessarily.

Compression can also happen (VERY RARELY!!) from a knot forming or just very tight multiple wrapping and can lead to IUGR or other issues long before labor and contractions. I don't want her to worry unnecessarily either. But taking the ostrich approach to life is on the other extreme. For every one-in-a-million statistic out there, that "one" was someone's very real baby. OP did exactly what she should have - tried to stimulate kicks with a sweet drink and lying down, called her doctor for advice, and followed that advice. If it hadn't worked, the next step would have been a trip into L&D to check for, among other things, a nuchal cord. So no need to panic and assume you have a rare problem, but it's good to know some of the issues that are the reason why OBs advise us to take note kicks and ask if we've noticed significant changes in activity during appointments.

lyoash31 · May 2016

Oh, I wasn't saying that it was wrong for any pregnant woman to contact her care provider if they've noticed a change in movement. I would do the same thing. I just meant that when the PP stated that she is constantly concerned about the cord wrapping around the baby's neck and wondered how she's supposed to know if something like that could be going on in utero, most likely it's not something to worry about all the time. There's no way for any of us to know if something like that has happened, but worrying about it non stop isn't doing any good. I definitely wasn't saying we should just ignore when movements change or decrease. Sorry for the confusion.

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