Please can someone explain what counting kicks actually involves?

[Carole803]

Please can someone explain what counting kicks actually involves?

I have seen some guidance saying the NHS does not advise actually counting, other guidance suggest using a kick counting measurer like a bracelet.

What have you done/ are you going to do?

I can't seem to understand what I should be doing :)

There are apps like kickberry for blackberry where you just tap when you get a kick. If nhs doesn't recommend then follow that,think being aware of patterns is more useful eg baby active late at night etc

The only reason to count is so you can tell if they're decreasing.

I got weird about kick counting this week because I've been so busy I couldn't have told you when bump had been kicking. I did a search for a free kick counter app and counted for a few days - just involved nudging a smartphone button when I noticed a wallop/squirm. It gave me a good idea of the pattern of his movements, so that if in a week or so I think hmm is he a bit quiet I can record again and see if he matches the same pattern or is less active.

I agree with the others it's more about knowing your baby's pattern e.g. do they always move in the morning/after tea/when you have a bath and checking you have felt baby at those times.

If you notice you haven't felt baby or it's not been as active as normal then contact your mw/hospital straight away for advice.

I did this yesterday actually - I felt my baby moving but it was much quieter than normal so I phoned hospital and they asked me to go down to have a monitor put on. As soon as I was attached to the monitor baby started having it's usual party! All was perfect and I went home an hour later feeling reassured. The midwife was lovely and said I did exactly the right thing ringing up.

About two weeks ago I'd bedn really busy and was unsure if baby was moving as usual or not so I sat down to do some work at my desk and just did a tally on paper when I felt movements and quickly realised it was fine. Otherwise I'd have rung hospital.

My consultant said to count over a two hour period. In that time you should have ten kicks.

You don't need to actually count (unless you want to), just be aware of what is normal for your baby.

Some babies might kick 10 times an hours, some 10 times a day - the important thing to know is if the pattern/frequency/intensity changes, as that might indicate a problem (which you should get checked out asap).

The problem with absolutes like "10 kicks an hour" is which hour? What if you baby usually sleeps all day then goes mad at night, do you have to stay up all night to count Your baby might have periods of activity interspersed with quiet times, or might move a few times regularly throughout the day - some are much more active than others.

My MW told me that I should expect about 10 periods of movement a day. So if baby wriggled several times and then settled down this counts as one movement. Not sure if this is the same as counting kicks. However I have a lazy baby that just wriggles from time to time....although it appears to refinish DHs voice and often wriggles when he comes in a chats to me

Thanks for all your advice. I have a midwife appt on Thursday and at my last appointment, she said we would start talking about movement. I have noticed "countable" type movements over the last week, but wasn't sure how to go about measuring it.

I also find it harder to notice the movement when I am rushing around at work, so am a little concerned I would be late in noticing if things did slow down, but I will talk to the midwife about that.

I am not worried yet, just want to know I am doing the best I can.

btw lostmysocks, my dp has a similar effect.