Patterns of Movement

[gigi556]

What is actually considered a pattern of movement?

I am currently 27 +6 and had my 28 week midwife appointment yesterday. One of the first questions was are you starting to detect a pattern of movement. My response was "Is there really a distinct pattern? I don't feel like my baby has one." This is sort of true. I think the baby has a sort of pattern. Baby is very active. Baby is usually very active in the evenings, but during the day I can't really detect a distinct pattern. Some days baby is super active moving all day and other days I feel the baby but the baby doesn't seem as active.

Anyway, I mentioned to the midwife (not my usual one) that I think the baby was less active today and they referred me to the hospital for monitoring straight away! I was pretty upset because my gut was telling me there is nothing wrong. Some days I have an acrobat all day and some days baby is just moving around a bit with a few kicks here and there. Of course, I could have refused, but thought I would go anyway. So I went to the hospital and got hooked up for monitoring and baby started going crazy!!! Three different midwifes came in and said "oh, that's a very active baby!". And I'm thinking, I know! And since super active is normal for my baby, I'm kind of confused about what's considered reduced and what a flipping pattern is!!!

Anyway, I've kind of gone on and on, but I was really upset about being pushed to go in when I didn't think anything was wrong. I'm not interested in going to the hospital every other day because some days my baby is acrobatic during the day and sometimes it's not. Hopefully, pattern will become more distinct in the next couple of weeks? I thought 28-30 weeks was when that happened... Although, I've been feeling movement since week 15 so maybe I should know the pattern better. This is really something I'm not interested in obsessing over and haven't so far, but now I feel like maybe I'm supposed to be paying closer attention.

I basically could have written that post!!
My 28w check was last week and I didn't mention anything because baby had been crazy active all week. Also really strong movements rather than little kicks - so much so when he was going crazy it was quite a distraction at work! Lovely of course!

This week has been so different. At work the movements are much smaller. Basically I'm making sure I feel at these times: once in the morning before work, twice at work, once when first home and once before bed.

If I ever get worried I try and lie down somewhere, have a cold glass of water and just relax and focus. That helps me notice and I think wakes him up.

It's really hard isn't it. I think trust your gut and if you feel he's been too quiet for too long - go to hospital. That's my plan.

I'm 28 weeks with dc2 and I agree with pp. I wouldn't say I have a pattern of movement - and I didn't with dc1 either. My rule of thumb is that I start to get unsettled if I don't feel him at least once an hour (although sometimes longer can go by without movement, I start to more proactively monitor for movements past this point iyswim?), though I would normally expect to feel more & stronger movements than that if I'm sitting down/still, if you see what I mean?

With dc1 I once didn't feel him move all evening and then woke at about 2am still aware he wasn't moving. We lived v close to maternity ward so went in for monitoring - I would do the same again.

At my 28 week check I said my baby had quiet days and active days. They said it was my babies pattern.

I don't think it is less active really I think it gets in to a position I don't feel it as strongly.

This is baby no 3 and by far the most active one!

I'm so glad to read this thread. I'm 27+1 with an anterior placenta and I feel more movement when I'm lying down. So if I'm out and about for the day I can not be sure if I'm definitely feeling kicks or not. I literally spend every possible minute I can lying down to make sure the baby is moving around which I know is not healthy. I was just seconds away from calling the hospital as I hadn't felt as much as usual but thankfully she's kicking away now. I really don't know how I'm going to be able to kick count because as I say I feel most movement when I'm lying down. As soon as I get in from being out for the day the first thing I do is lie down to make sure she's moving. Really stressing me out but glad to read that not all babies have a definitive pattern.

Thanks for all the replies. I think calling them patterns is a bit of a subjective term. To say that days of more and less activity constitutes a "pattern" is bat shit crazy!

I just felt really frustrated that I left the appointment feeling like my question of what a pattern was had been unanswered. And my gut was saying nothing is wrong and if I go to the hospital every time I think the baby has moved a little less I'm going to be there every other day driving myself crazy!

I think the midwife was being overly cautious as they clearly have a duty of care to refer me to the maternity assessment just because I said the baby moved a bit less today. I hadn't articulated myself well and the midwife didn't ask enough questions.

I'm 35 weeks with my second baby and still don't really know what I'm looking for! My first baby was very very quiet and freaked me out when people said things like '10 movements in 2 hours' because he didn't make 10 movements in the whole day sometimes (he's making up for it now though...). This baby is much more active but I'm still not sure of a 'pattern', it seems to move more after I've had my dinner, but that's the only time i get to sit and concentrate on it so it could be moving lods during the day and I don't really notice. It also gets hiccups at 5am quite often but I don't think that counts!

The whole ting is quite hard to determine, but in my experience (particularly in my first pregnancy) midwives are very cautious about 'reduced movement' and with good reason - monitoring in that situation saves babies lives. So I wouldn't feel annoyed or anything about it, they just wanted to check your baby was ok.

Yeah I completely understand the cautiousness and think monitoring movement and "kick counting" is important and they of course would rather everyone err on the side of caution. I just think the advice on what we are meant to do and look out for is a bit rubbish. Hence the reason so many mums are turning to forums to ask questions.

Baby is back to normal "pattern" today. Very active this morning.

My baby has active and less active days as well. I agree with you as pattern is a subjective term and so is active! What make a baby an active baby?

Good point Jessie, I only think this baby is 'active' because I am comparing it to my last pregnancy!

So glad to have read this! Not just me' I'm 31 weeks and keep getting a bit freaked out but baby reacts to a little prod and pressure but when I'm at work on my feet or concentrating on the task I am not taking much notice. I also think my fiancé can feel her more than me sometimes as I'm so used to feeling her move now i don't notice it. Been making a point of sitting/laying and thinking about it once a day and that makes me realise she is wriggling away

I feel like the notion that there should be a distinct pattern is very unhelpful. I got myself into a complete tizz at 24weeks and ended up sobbing down the phone to a midwife. Everything was fine of course and I felt like an idiot for getting so worked up and CONVINCED my baby was dying. Now I know that I have an acrobat 4 or 5 days per week, hours of nothingness and a few days of smattering of light prods. The fear is still there and tries to creep in but at the end of the day I know a stressed out mama is not the best housing for a baby.

This is a pic of my "active" baby! The dark lines under the graph of baby's heart rate is the number of times I felt movement over a 30-40 minute period and to be honest, I know missed a few! They basically hook you up to a monitor and tell you to press a button every time you feel movement. The heart beat goes up and down as the baby moves around.

Baby has been this active nearly all day at times! I'm worried it'll never sleep once it's born...

@gigi556

My DD was like that. She would not stop even at night and I was worried that she will never sleep. It turned out on a contrary. She was a great sleeper and slept through the night and was the most chilled out baby but she is very fidgety.

She is now 11 and I still have to make sure she has got a board along the bed edge. She twists and turns and wakes up on the other side of the bed and has failed out of the bed a few times.

Sometimes we sleep together hen DP works away and I literally have got bruises on legs from her kicks. She is still a good sleeper and nothing could wake her up.

@feelingforsnow

That's a relief! I guess only time will tell. People keep asking if I want a boy or girl (we aren't finding out) and I just keep saying I want an easy baby that likes to sleep!

I could of written this also....im 32 weeks, have no regular pattern of movements...sometimes mad half hours some quiet. All different times of the day. A midwife student asked me the same thing yesterday and i just replied "no real pattern" "more movements than kicks" but then i get some crazy random kicks....

Don't get me wrong I'm aware of movement and would notice reduce movement but i do find it could be easy to worry a mother especially when everyone has a different lifestyle etc