Feeling the baby move - when and what does it feel like?

[Hannabee123]

Hi everyone

19 weeks and getting worried as everyone keeps asking me if I feel any movement. I'm not sure what I'm looking out for. Sometimes I feel what can only be described as twitches on my lower left side. Not painful but unusual.

My midwife hasn't really explained it to me but people have been asking me as early as 15 weeks?! Should i feel movement?
Could what I'm feeling be movement from the baby?

Little bit worried as it's my first and not sure what to look for

It felt like a muscular tic both times, like when your eye is twitching. Except in the abdomen. I never identified at all with the 'flutter' description.

I think it was around 17 weeks with the first baby and a little earlier with the second.

I second the pps saying it feels like muscle twitches or feelings of digestion. I thought it was that for ages (from about 16-17 weeks) and even after I knew it was baby it still felt like that to me. Sounds to me like you're already feeling it. Exciting!

That feeling on the lower left side is like a pulsing, something to do with extra blood flow to the uterus.

It didn't feel like butterflies or any of that to me at all. The first feeling was a little dragging sensation as though he was running his finger down the inside of my tummy. Then just the odd little kick. It feels exactly like you would imagine- a little foot kicking you from the inside! You'll know it when you feel it but give it a few weeks.

I'm 20 weeks tomorrow and I wonder now if what I felt wasn't movement (a couple of weeks ago) it felt like your stomach does when you drive too fast over a hill in a car!

In my first pregnancy I didn't feel anything until about 20/21 weeks as my placenta was in front of the baby (forget the correct term)! It was then about a week after that again before DH could feel anything even when DS was very mobile.

Lots of people are more aware with further pregnancies so I think next time around I would recognise movements earlier even if my placenta was in the same position.

Mention it to your MW if it's concerning you but it seems very common to not feel anything yet. What's important is that once you start feeling movements and recognise your baby's routine you alert your maternity unit to significant changes i.e. Not moving. In my third trimester I had to go in twice to be monitored due to lack of movement. It's scary but so important to be checked out.

Congratulations and good luck. I'm sure you'll be feeling butterflies and then big kicks soon!

I didn't feel anything until 18/19 weeks, and it was very faint and very sporadic at first, some felt like little bubbles popping (which I definitely mistook for wind at first!) And others like someone very gently flicking your insides! The movements got stronger and more frequent very gradually up until about 26 weeks.

I didn't show properly until 6 months! But I know it varies a lot from person to person.

I didn't feel the popping or any of that stuff, just teeny tiny little kicks from about 22 weeks or so. Then about a week later I could actually see them! I did TRY to feel those early movements that everyone tells you about. I just couldn't feel them! My bump started looking like an actual little bump and not over-eating paunch at about 25ish weeks.