Phantom kicks

[namechangingtime]

Has anybody else had phantom kicks after having a baby? I noticed them about three months ago, baby is 7 months, and they really freaked me out at first. I was totally irrationally worried I was pregnant again, panicking something was wrong with me, at one point even thought an alien was living inside me. I have since googled and seen it's just the muscles settling down.
I was just wondering if anybody else has had them and if so when did they stop? Sat in the bath watching my stomach go and it's terrifying 😂

Mine still do it from time to time 20 years later.

It's not scary, it's just muscles and wind that feel very similar.

Yes I had this for a year after all my pregnancies. Doesn't happen any more. It is freaky though!

I've only felt the "kicks" once but see them nearly every day!
I think I'm so scared of them because I'd managed to convince myself I must be pregnant despite not having had sex since the birth and that's stuck with me 😂

I still get them after 21 months. Normally in the place where he used to kick the most.

I don't get phantom kicks but during my last pregnancy I had an anterior placenta and could always feel the baby more on my right side it was always really uncomfortable and sore to sleep on that side. She's almost 3 and I still feel the sensation of her digging into my side if I lie like that it's a horrible feeling.

Yes it's exactly where she used to kick me!!
I get the pain if I lie down a certain way too, felt it at midnight the other night and thought maybe I'd dreamt the last seven months despite baby being right next to me 😂

Oh gosh yes! It's a very long time since I had a baby but I remember this.

I've seen all sorts of things talked about regarding after the birth such as the contractions, piles, bleeding, third day blues, but not this. I knew my muscles would take time to go back, especially as they separated quite a lot but I didn't expect to actually feel pregnant again. Also didn't expect to still feel like I was giving birth having a poo seven months later, or for my periods to hurt worse than contractions!!
I know phantom kicks aren't painful or abnormal but they are freaky and I think something that should be talked about as a kind of "oh you might feel like you're being kicked a few months down the line, don't worry probably won't be pregnant and it's normal but it may freak you out"

I think you're being a bit irrational? You can be scared of something that isn't actually there....

Definitely irrational, I was also terrified of getting pregnant because of seeing the movements due to that scene with the alien bursting out of a stomach. Again irrational but it's amazing what imprints on a young mind. I got used to the movements, even enjoyed them towards the end. But when you're not expecting to see what looks like a baby kicking and you're already irrationally thinking you're pregnant for no reason it really does play tricks on the mind. I'm not scared of the actual "kicks" anymore, it's the thinking 'oh shit am I pregnant even though if I was I wouldn't be able to see kicks this early and I can't be anyway because I'm using protection and haven't even had a period yet' because being pregnant now would be a really awful situation to be in considering we're just getting by paying out for one baby.
I suspect it's an anxiety and Aspergers thing melding together being so irrational but I'm not the only one with either of them so I do think midwives or health visitors should mention it to try and reduce the panic like what I first felt.

I have had this all day. Feel very reassured reading this!

My youngest is 23. I STILL, occasionally, get that phantom kicking sensation. I put it down to wind or something I've eaten and my body translating it into a feeling like baby kicks.

I also often dream that I've had/am having a baby, complete with contractions. I put that down to wind too.

I sneezed last night and my stomach went crazy 😂 I'm so reassured to hear it's quite common, and glad it's reassuring others!

I get it too expecialy before / during period had it since my youngest 11 years ago although there not phantom ATM as im 8 months pregnant but it is a thing I was just taking about it to dp the other day as well.

I get this. Baby is 3. I too find it frightening as I didn’t find out I was pregnant until 3 months gone and I’m irrationally frightened it will happen again.

Ah I'm on the depo injection and so I bleed for like an hour every day, maybe that's why the movements have been so bad lately compared to before I was on it 🤔
Ah yes that could be another reason I find it frightening! My first pregnancy I didn't know I was pregnant until around 9 weeks, and lost the baby 5 weeks later, and then after giving birth last July to my first baby the pregnancy symptoms I get (horrendous heartburn and indigestion, sore breasts, exhaustion) haven't gone away so I guess the kicks are probably triggering part of my brain which is saying I'm definitely pregnant and to panic 😂

Yeah, I had them for ages after having babies - think it was just wind, though!

I have these too! No chance I could be pregnant (ivf babies), and thought how weird it was because it was where dt2 used to love kicking me. I had no idea these were a thing...!