31 weeks and getting pummeled - does it get progressively terrible by term?

[Fishpond]

I'm booked for a ELCS (medical reasons) at 39 weeks.

I've just turned 31 weeks today and the baby is really moving around hard. He is measuring at the top of centiles (was over 4lb at 30 weeks) and has always been incredibly active. I also have what's been termed an "irritable uterus" which basically means I have had multiple Braxton Hicks every day since 22 weeks.

I really don't think I'll be able to take this amount of movement and kicking if it gets progressively worse over the next 2 months. That might make me sound like a wuss, but I'm normally extremely tolerant of pain. He is moving so forcefully it honestly feels as though my ribs and fanjo are heavily bruised. He is head down, but occasionally I'll feel punches on either side, like he's temporarily gone transverse.

Anyone had this or have any advice?

Yep. Ds1 was like this. And tbh, he was like it all the time, including through labour when I'm told most babies quieter down a little. Not ds1. He essentially wrestled his way out, with attending midwives recoiling in horror as they watched my writhing belting bump whilst taking obs. One of them whispered in awe 'does the baby do that all the time?'

Sorry. Probably not what you wanted to hear.

He was a vbac1, which tbh wasn't smart. At least you are having an elcs. I found mine with dc1 v calm. With ds1 he was ready for discharge after a couple of days and I needed 5 days for my fanjo to recover after he'd wrestled his way out of it. The physio kept turning up and peering at the damage and saying I wasn't ready to go home yet....

Anyways, it will be fine. Dc3 didn't move at all, and I spent the entire pg worried sick after dd1 and ds1. Rightly so, it turned out, but I'm always grateful for wriggly bumps.

I'm also having an ELCS at 39 weeks (which is on monday - OMG!) after 2 previous EMCS with DD1 and DD2.

This baby was very, very violent until a couple of weeks ago. It felt like she was doing star jumps - all the limbs suddenly seemed to shoot out in every direction - and she also was loving giving my cervix a good old bashing. My bump would be bobbing around all over the place. She was transverse for a while, then oblique, before going head down, so she managed to pummel me more or less everywhere on her travels.

She has calmed down a bit now (actually went in for monitoring 10 days ago as she was so still, but turned out she was just asleep...). I'm still getting lots of movement, but in general it's not as rough as it was, more wriggling and poking (though still the odd hard jab now and again). If my growth scan at 35 weeks was correct, she could be around 10lbs by next week, so I think it's just very cramped for her now. More scary is the fact that she is most active at night time - FGS I did not order a nocturnal baby!!!