Baby punching me in the cervix

[anto]

Has anyone else experienced lots of pokes and punches in the cervix and bladder? I am 35 weeks 5 days and for the last 3-4 days I have felt lots of poking and pushing right behind my cervix. Apart from feeling horrible, it's really freaking me out and I'm terrified my waters are going to break at any minute. Sometimes the baby sort of tweaks my bladder and I leap about a foot in the air because it's so painful. This is happening lots at night which is not doing anything for my tiredness levels (or my mood during the day!).

I am terrified that I'll go into labour early because we have got the builders in (yes I am an idiot) and are currently sleeping in the spare room in a tiny half-size double surrounded by ironing board, bedroom furniture, piles of clothes, a moses basket, pram from last time round etc etc etc.

I feel like a bomb about to go off so any nice soothing stories about similar movements and babies going to full-term would calm me down nicely!

[Girly]

Just had to respond to this, when pregnant with ds his hand was wedged over the top of his head and he would tickle me, literally, it was the strangest feeling and could sometimes be painful. He arrived a week early and I was walking around 4cm dilated for about 3-4 weeks prior to that, doing a really good impression of John Wayne. So don't say i did'nt warn you! He came out with his hand over his head and the midwife actually ticked his fingers whilst doing an internal, ouch!

[Eulalia]

My baby kicked a lot towards the end but she was 15 days late. I don't think a lot of movement necessarily means early labour. Good luck.

[SofiaAmes]

anto, my ds kicked and punched and wiggled incessantly. I was bruised, battered and sore by the time he came out. He would not only kick me awake, but my dh as well who was lying next to me. This was all from inside of me. He came 10 days late. The only bad news is that he is still just as hyperactive now (27 mo.).

[PamT]

I remember being in the supermarket when pg with one of mine (can't remember if it was no2 or no3 but I suddently got a sharp boot in the bladder followed by a trickle and I was terrified that my waters had gone at a fairly early stage. Fortunately the damp knickers were due to a minor bladder leak from the sudden force and not ruptured membranes.

[anto]

Thanks for the moral support - I am not getting much sleep so am tired and prey to all sorts of worries and anxieties about something happening to the baby and am slowly but surely driving my mum and my dh mad! Good to know that many people have had similarly active babies but gone to full term. In fact I distinctly remember dd was a nightmare during my first pregnancy, hopping and skipping around day and night, and when I was in labour she got her foot firmly wedged under my ribs on the right-hand side, which was excruciating.

At night I get unexpected kicks or pokes in the bladder followed by an overwhelming urge to wee - luckily there haven't been any accidents so far but I can see it's going to happen one day soon...

[mears]

Just a thought - is your baby lying breech by any chance? The movements you describe are often those felt when the baby is tapping the bladder with it's feet. Worth mentioning to the midwife.

[anto]

Thanks mears, that's a good point and one I hadn't thought of. I've got an antenatal appt on Friday so I'll ask then.

The baby is really giving me grief on the bladder and cervix front - I was thinking perhaps it was engaged already (36wks) although this is my second pregnancy, but the kicking scenario sounds more likely. Especially as I am not getting many kicks higher up - all the action (and there's lots of it) is centred round my pelvis.

[bundle]

anto I've been having those rather unnerving sensations too - but my dd's head is pretty low down (according to midwife, then a growth scan confirmed it) and there's lot of kicking action in ribs too, so maybe she's just nodding ferociously

[anto]

Bundle, don't you find the banging on the cervix horrible!?

I feel like the baby is about to put in an appearance at any minute. Of course it's much worst at night - as soon as I get into bed the baby starts prodding, poking and pushing my bladder and bowel as well as tapping violently on my cervix. Last night had to get out of bed and do 'dog' pose (from yoga - bum stuck in air) to try and get babe to get its hands out of my pelvis!

How much longer have you got to go? I am 36wks exactly and worried the baby will come early. I know it's big (because they keep exclaiming that I've got a whopper in there at the hospital) but my house is in total chaos and I DON'T wantmy new baby to be inhaling the delightful aroma of plaster dust and paint fumes!

[roberts]

Hello there im 31 weeks and also have an extremely active baby. I wonder wether it actually sleeps. From morning to night (Nights are the worst) I can fell every wriggle, kick, and punch, my rib cage is sore and sleep is a thing from the past. I too was wondering weather this is normal should my baby be so hyper as it does worry me, does any one know!!!!!

[bundle]

roberts, I saw my midwife today who was reminding me about filling in a kick chart for the last few weeks - and she said you could never have TOO active a baby
anto - yes, it's unnerving, but mine doesn't sound as bad as yours. a friend of ours had her ds1 2 weeks early and had no windows in her house, so the hospital were persuaded to let her stay a few extra days
mears - re: the kick chart thing - do you think it's important? I've noticed fewer big movements in the last few weeks (lack of space I suppose) and the midwife said these were the ones you're looking for when filling in a kick chart, not the little nudges of eg knees, bottom which I get right under my ribs. I've had a pretty uneventful pregnancy both times, bar the emergency c-section for dd1, for foetal distress, and am seeing consultant at 38 wks for mode of delivery discussion

[mears]

Bundle - all movements should be logged when using a kick chart - not just the big ones. Kick charts can be a problem in that they can cause unnecessary worry - it can be a bind remembering to do it. However, for someone who is concerned about the baby's movements it can make you more focussed. I do not think all women should be given them routinely. I used to have all my movements charted by 10am. Does that mean you ignore the baby for the rest of the day? I don't think so. If you would prefer not to fill in a chart, have a chat with your midwife. It is an aid only if you feel you benefit from it's use.

[Cha]

Just to add to the list, anto - my baby would punch me / kick me regularly in the cervix and it used to make me feel like I was about to wet myself. Horrible. She was 12 days late so I don't think you need to worry about the builders still being there. How about mentioning to them your worries - you never know, it could make them work faster?!

[Katherine]

anto - given your circumstances your baby is BOUND to come early When we bought our house we thought we'd have five blissful weeks of extreme nesting to get settled. Baby came 5 weeks early on day we moved in.