Movement patterns over a 24-hour period

[swampusdonkus]

Hello, there have been many reassuring threads recently on when in their pregnancy everyone started feeling flutters and movements but I am also keen to hear people's experiences of movements over a 24-hour period.

I am currently 24+2 and, with an anterior placenta, the sensations I am experiencing are definitely getting more forceful but it feels like it will be a while before these will be apparent from the outside, when dh will also be able to experience them. Pattern wise, I have noticed that she gets particularly active two or three times a day; quite often at around 1pm and 1am for around 20 minutes. There can then be another flutter of activity at random times a few more times in a day, for anything from 5 to 20 minutes.

So, what are your experiences of patterns of movement at different stages of pregnancy? Has this pattern changed a lot as you have progressed? I am wondering if I will feel her not just more prominently but a lot more often over the course of a day the further along I get.

Do their movements relate to their sleep cycles in the womb and therefore remain pretty constant? Or do their movements also relate to our activities e.g. when we eat, when we are active, etc, and do they move when they are asleep as well as awake? So many questions!

It is so nerve-jangling waiting for the next burst of activity so, while I know everyone is different, I would love to hear your experiences. Thanks!

I'm 22+4 and only starting feeling her move at 20+5 - was beside myself! Like you, I have an anterior placenta. I love feeling her move about, but I'm itching for her kicks to get harder so DP can also feel her - he'll love that and I want him to feel more involved. So far, there hasn't been much of a pattern to her movements other than she has a good wriggle when I first lie down at night, but I'm aware that I haven't been able to feel her moving for very long yet, and I reckon I'll start to see more of a pattern over the next few weeks as I become able to feel more of what she's doing.

Thanks, RaRa. Like you, I particularly notice her movements when I go to bed. I wonder if this is because this is one of her active times or whether it is because I am not distracted by anything else, or both. It is very reassuring either way.

For those that are a bit further along, do you have more frequent movements over the course of a day or are there still long stretches of quiet followed by bursts of activity?

I'm almost 34 weeks and over the last two days baby has been going mental - I've had non-stop movements throughout the day and night and there has been no let-up whatsoever.

Normally he is much more active in the evening and at night and relatively quite in the day so the activity over the last few days has taken me quite by surprise!!

However, today he seems to be back to his normal self as I have felt him a few times today, mostly when I woke up, but he is far, far quieter than he has been than the previous two days. I'm pretty sure that as the evening draws in he will start perking up.....

Don't think they move when they are asleep, or definitely not as much.

The reason you feel more when you are still at bedtime is that regular movement from you rocks them to sleep or distracts you from being able to feel their movements.

I'm 21+5 and i have movement pretty much all throughout the day- but always when i'm in bed, about to fall asleep or just upon waking.. and very much so after i eat too!

I wonder are the womb-wrigglers the active ones in the 'real' world? if so, i'm got a mentalist incoming

Thanks, all. It's really helpful to hear how others are getting on. Ah, yes Green, think I have read that somewhere about my movements and activity rocking them to sleep.

Ha, Chica - if your womb-activity theory is right I wonder if I will have a quiet, chilled baby in rl (hopeful!).

I definitely notice more activity after I have eaten too. I had chilli the other night and I swear she was having a protest with placards and everything in there ...

Writer, sounds like he has been having a party over the last few days. I don't know about you but I make involuntary 'oomph' noises on the occasions when I have experienced particularly forceful movements so I would be getting strange looks over two solid days of it! Lovely though. I am not a huge talker to my bump but the more forceful movements get me all gooey and I find myself talking to her.

I saw my midwife earlier and whilst she was examining the bump baby was trying to wriggle away from her and OMG it was so, so uncomfortable!! I tensed up, grimaced, gritted my teeth and tolerated it as best I could. His movements can be quite painful and sore these days!! I'm a small lady with a big baby and lack of space is becoming a big factor!!!!

I'm 38+3 and i have an anterior placenta like you. I didn't feel definite movements until about 24 weeks which made me worry at the time! In answer to your question, my baby still has definite quiet periods followed by short bursts of activity. I generally feel movements when i go to bed and when i first wake up and when relaxing in the evening after dinner. I do notice the occasional wriggle during the day too - i worked up until 37 weeks and i'd say it's definitely easier to notice more movements in the day when you're relaxing rather than when i was rushing around at work with my mind on other things.

At times, having an anterior placenta can make you worry especially if you have friends who are pregnant that feel a lot more movement than you do. My midwife has always said as long as you feel some movement each day then do not worry and that you'll get used to your baby's pattern of movement.

Hope that helps a bit!x

Thanks for your reply Natale28 - it has reassured me a lot, especially regarding the quiet periods. As I progress I definitely feel more forceful movements but they are still kind of muffled so your midwife's advice is reassuring. I was worried I would therefore find it difficult to count kicks but I will be monitoring general activity rather than kicks. Thanks, all.

Weirdly have been feeling movement since 14 weeks (this is dc2 so knew what to look out for) and thought that was bizarre but when I went to 16 wk midwife appointment she said the baby was high up and so expected me to be feeling wiggles by then. I very much feel something after eating or after drinking something cold and again just before sleep. If I am cuddling dd1 (a wriggly 3 year old) the baby often kicks against her. Dd was a very active mover herself and, well, she hasn't stopped since!

That's ok swampus - i can completely understand the worrying. At one of my mw appointments she actually picked up a pillow and tapped it to explain that basicaly there is a cushion (the placenta) between me and the baby and that therefore the movements are muffled.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your pregnancy x