Active in womb, active when born?

[stitchwitch84]

Asking out of ignorance, really!

I’m 25 weeks with (what feels to me like) a very active, bouncy little boy. First baby, so I’ve no real idea what's "normal" in terms of movement during pregnancy, though the midwife yesterday did say, "You’ve got a little wriggler here!" (Yes, I know, he’s also got an unerring aim for my full bladder!) He's been lively for the entire pregnancy - the sonographer at our (private) 8 week scan observed that you don’t normally see a baby of that age/development stage moving so much - and he’s never stopped since!

I’m just wondering - do people here have experience that a bouncy wriggly baby in utero results in an (hyper?)active child? I ask because my godson, almost 2, is exceedingly active (again, professionals have commented, so it isn’t his parents/godparents getting all PFB about how wonderful and clever he is!) and I am not sure how I would cope with such a lively child myself! 🤦‍♀️

TL;DR: in a purely unscientific study, does the MN experience show that a very active baby in utero = an extra-active child once born?

No idea I barely felt my little one move and he is pretty active though... certaintly didn’t like to sleep hardly for first 3-4 months 😂

Congratulations though it’s a wonderful thing to be a parent ... even more so when the hormones calm and the sleep
Pattern starts to kick in and the baby kisses get fished out from your little one x x

In my experience, yes. DD1 was active, but it was more rolling and shifting. She's pretty chilled now. DD2 was like a boxer. I have a video of her in there in the last week, which I showed my midwife when in labour and she recoiled in horror at the disgusting level of movement in my belly (it was like Alien). She's lovely, but she's insane. Incredibly physical (and we've had a good few A&E trips already and she's only 2)

I'm carrying boy/girl twins at the moment. The girl is very busy, like DD2, but her brother is much less enthusiastic, so I wonder if it'll hold true for them!

In my experience no. I never felt DD move a lot before she was born, but she is now 2 and does not sit still. For a second!

In my experience yes. I remember asking a sonograper if a wriggly baby in the womb meant a chilled kid in real life and she just laughed at me 😂 My DD was always moving in the scans, moved about so much she kicked a whole in my hind waters and triggered an induction, and now that she is one is still an absolutely whirlwind 😁 very cute, very clever but never ever stops!

In my experience my first DC was fairly active but a v chilled out baby when born (changed now she’s a toddler!!). Currently pregnant with #2 and I feel it’s less active than the first (although perhaps I’m just busier so less aware this time!!) will see what happens when born. I wouldn’t worry you’ll have some crazy child all newborns are pretty immobile anyway!

I had to keep going for checks for reduced movement towards the end of my pregnancy, and even on a 'good day' he seemed to move less than other fetuses. He is now 14 months old and yesterday his keyworker at nursery greeted me with 'he really does just never stop moving, does he?!'. Ever since birth he seems to have been making up for those lazy 9 months - he was obsessed with moving as much and as early as he could. So no, no correlation in my one experience!

My mam always says so, based on the three in our family! I was the most active in the womb and outside; my brother was the most chilled in there and is actually still the most relaxed!

Having ones on either end of the spectrum I would say that as a young baby yes there was a difference as children though they swapped and the more active baby became the less active child. She never slept for more than 10 minutes in the day but wasn't tired in the afternoon either much to the nursery's disgust (and not much better at night), she is still the one who is less likely to sleep so it could just be that he isn't a very sleepy baby rather than Olympic runner type baby.

Good luck with the sleep deprivation.

@Sipperskipper hahah! My DH was role playing our future lives yesterday: "DS, sit down please…DS, where are you going? DS, we're at the table, please sit still…DS what are you doing? What have you got there?"

@Spanneroo DD2 sounds like my DS! DH said yesterday, "I’ve finally learned not to react to all the random sounds you make, because usually it's just that you’re being punched and kicked, isn’t it?" Yeah, I do squeak a lot 😆

To clarify, I’m not really worried about having a busy, active child as long as he’s healthy and happy! Just intrigued to hear other stories

My eldest DD moved a lot whilst I was pregnant. My waters went with no warning whilst I was asleep at exactly 40 weeks pregnant, which I'm pretty sure she caused by excessive kicking!
She's still very active and in fact is diagnosed ADHD.
Second daughter was very calm and gentle in the womb. I just felt little gentle kicks throughout my pregnancy.
She is a calm and gentle child. She likes to be active and takes part in lots of clubs, but it is a normal level of childhood activity.

My 1st DC was not very active in the womb and he was quite a calm baby, slept well, barely cried ect. My 2nd DC was really active in the womb and is really active in life. Constantly on the go. Never wants to sleep and ever stops moving
I remember my midwife saying he was going to be a very active non sleeper.. she was right lol.

Yes and no in my case. DS was very active in the womb. He was an incredibly placid and sleepy baby, to the point I worried there was something wrong with him. Some time around the toddler stage the hyperactivity kicked back in and hasn't stopped since.

I don't know how you'd quantify either? How do you really know how active yours is compared with others? I always thought that they make those comments to everyone, but maybe I just have very active unborn babies :o

DS1 is more fidgety than sporty, and does have ADHD but the non hyperactive type. He is never still and exudes this kind of manic energy, but he's also quite lazy, his favourite thing to do is slob out in front of a screen.

DS2 is fairly chilled out but absolutely into everything, more than I remember DS1 being at his age.

Dc3 was incredibly active whilst i was pregnant, as pp said , think alien trying to burst out. As a baby he rolled at 6 weeks, combat crawled at 5 months, properly crawled at 6.5 months and was walking at 9 months, he was also a very active toddler compared to my other 3, hes 5 years old now and has mellowed in the activity stakes!

Slightly different to your question OP, but I've always wondered similar about night time activity.

My DC both were always kicking and moving in the day. But never after 10pm at night and I was never woken in the night with either of them kicking me etc. Both my DC once born quickly started sleeping through and being awake a lot in the day. Most people I know who had DC who kept them up all night in the womb have gone on to have DC who sleep more in the day than at night.

I think most kids once they get moving never stop so I'm not sure what correlation there is between it.

My baby used to kick me really firmly and suddenly in the womb and she does the same thing now and I always say it must be the same.

I was just thinking about that this morning when my 4 year old DD got in bed with me and proceeded to fidget and wriggle like mad. She was very active on all the scans too, kicked me in the bladder constantly, and basically hasn't stopped moving since she was born.

In my experience, yes! My middle dd was by far the most active in utero - you could see limbs sweep across my belly. On day 1 after birth she could rotate 90 degrees around her changing mat... very active. BUT she was by far the best sleeper of the lot too!

Following this with interest as also a first time mum with a very active wriggler there! I also tend to feel him/her more during the day and less at night so wonder if there is a correlation! Due date in a month so should find out soon!

DD11.

Never stopped moving inside the uterus, was a very active baby and is still a very active child (needed a sport as early as possible to get all that energy out). But most of all, she has always seemed to need less sleep than average. As a baby, that meant never napping for more than 30 min at a time - drove us bonkers - but since she consolidated her sleep, it just meant late-ish nights and early mornings.

My experience says its true. I have a 5 month old who kicked a lot during pregnancy and he hasn't stopped moving since he came out. He definitely seems to move a lot more than other babies his age. Won't sit still in the car seat, won't sit still in the pram, won't lie on the floor and play with his toy he instead likes to be picked up and carried around the house. and when you carry him he's constantly squirming trying to turn himself round to see what's behind him.
Also agree with the point about sleep made by a previous poster. He won't nap for more than half an hour and wakes up a lot during the night because he turms himself on to his front while he is sleeping and wakes up and gets upset about it.