Baby's movements at 38 weeks

[Gingernut81]

This is my third pregnancy although the only one that has got this far & I think it's fair to say that my husband & I are more than a bit nervous!
Baby moves quite a bit but it had a really manic period a few weeks ago & now seems to have slowed down. I've mentioned it to the midwife & she's not worried but I am! It's movements are a lot less pronounced, I can't see my belly moving as much and I don't get kicks like I used to. However I get more "squirmy" feelings. I just wondered if this change in how movements feel is normal? I guess it's running out of room now so hasn't quite got the same amount of space to make the big movements it was? I'm also getting more strange feelings further down my pelvis now which I'm assuming are its head pushing down? Sorry if all this sounds stupid, I've just no idea what I'm meant to be feeling right now!

Pelvic feelings are completely normal. The baby's head is either engaging or trying to, and the size of baby compared to size of uterus means the baby will be pressing down a lot more as there's less room.
As for movements, many people feel movements differently the closer they get to term, but it's the pattern and number of movements which should not be reduced. Hope this makes sense x

If your ever worried about movement just phone the pregnancy assessment unit. Tell them it just doesn't seem right to you and they will more than likely have you in, Pop you on monitor for half an hour, tell you everything is fine and send you home reassured. They would rather have 10 people go in and get checks because they are concerned then have to deal with that 1 lady who didn't want to bother anyone and who should have. I have been in a couple of times and they were fab and really didn't make you feel like they were wasting there time (if your very worried you aren't wastin anyone's time!)

Its more the change in how they feel rather than frequency that had me worried. I just wondered if this was normal, when I've asked my midwife she's just been really evasive!

The baby could have moved and that's why you feel less movement. DS always had his bum and back to the left so I got all the movement and kicks on the right. I went in concerned about the changes in movement and he had just moved, that's why it felt different.
Do go in if you are concerned though, just to put your mind at ease. You're not bothering anyone, the hospital would prefer to be safe too

I'm 37+4 and my baby's movements definitely feel more like rolls and squirms, rather than the jabs I used to feel. My midwife said this is normal as long as they are still moving as frequently as before.

OP - If I were you I would phone the labour ward and tell them you are worried. They would rather see you and monitor you than not.

I went in twice for a change in movements, they felt different and also couldn't see my belly move as much. All was fine, but I would still call labour ward if I got pregnant again and was worried, better to get checked out and put your mind at ease.