Baby movements totally different every day

[scaredycatz]

When you read about reduced movements etc it always says to keep an eye on your baby's usual pattern of movements and that you'll get used to it and notice if something's wrong. I'm 32 weeks now and I haven't noticed any sort of pattern it just seems to be totally random every day! One day it will be really quiet and I'll only feel movement if I'm sitting/thinking about it and other days I feel it going crazy all day. How are you supposed to know if you've got reduced movements when your baby seems to be totally random from one day to the next? This is stressing me out more than anything else in pregnancy!

36 weeks and the only pattern my baby has is one day now and again he will be quiet.. He still moves but it won't be the massive kicks/punches that he does daily. It will be more rolls and sticking out. My midwife doesn't seem concerned when I've mentioned it and said he's probally sleeping more them days.. it seems to be normal for him. That being said on the days he's quiet I do sit and worry and start poking him to make sure he moves.
Anytime you are worried though don't hesitate to ring up triage as they would rather see you and make sure everything is ok..and what's normal for one isn't for another.

Following as I feel the same as you @scaredycatz. Also 32 weeks. Don't think there's ever a problem but hard to tell.

Yeah it's so hard to know when there's no definite pattern. At the moment I'm just going with as long as I can feel him move after sitting/lying down for a while then it's ok. I just can't wait til he's born now, I find pregnancy way too stressful especially after a previous miscarriage, I know when he's born I'll still be worrying but at least I can see if he's ok or not then!

Also 32 weeks and experiencing similar to you!

I felt/feel the same! The leaflet I was given by the midwife said "Your baby will have a pattern of movements that you should get to know...." so I was months away from giving birth and already a shit mother

Now 36 weeks and I'm definitely more aware of what's going on with the baby, but it's not overly consistent. Yesterday baby was very very quiet, so I rang the assessment unit and they told me to come in for monitoring a couple of hours later. Sure enough, baby was kicking up a storm twenty minutes after I rang. (Rang them back and cancelled, baby been kickboxing ever since)

I think the advice to ring the midwife immediately if you notice any change in your baby's movements (what it says in the aforementioned leaflet) must result in so so many false alarms. Most of the women I've met at NCT/pregnancy yoga have been in for monitoring at least once, few are past 32 weeks. I get that the priority is reduce the rate of stillbirth, but the collateral anxiety must be enormous.

This is me too! 29 weeks currently and both DH and I felt movement from really early on - I am very petite particularly around the abdomen so perhaps this is why. However it has never really settled into a pattern and seems like baby has 2-3 very active days before a very quiet day when I can go 8-9 hours without feeling any movement at all.

Had a midwife appointment today and they didn't seem concerned. But it was quite reassuring as there were instances when we could hear baby kicking the doppler while trying to listen to heart but I couldn't actually feel the movement inside me... I guess everyone's anatomy and baby is different but I do worry about how I would be able to tell if something was really wrong, particularly towards the end of pregnancy when movements are meant to slow down.

I’m 30 weeks and experiencing the exact same!

Interestingly though, we went for a 4D scan a few weeks ago and the baby was moving all over the place and I really couldn’t feel it. Suspect they’re a lot more active than we realise.

particularly towards the end of pregnancy when movements are meant to slow down.

The advice has changed. While movements will likely feel different later on (baby has less room to flail about) movement should not slow down.

www.kickscount.org.uk/your-babys-movements

Hey I’m 28 weeks and my baby doesn’t have a paticular pattern each day. Sometimes she moves loads at night, sometimes early in the morning. She also has quiter days. However I’ve been using the kicks count app and can see there’s a pattern where it’ll be really active for 2-3 days, then a quieter day, then it’ll pick up again. I find the app useful to track movement over the last few weeks. I’ve attached my 2 weeks tracker. If I didn’t have this I’d prob panic more. As on quieter days, her movements aren’t as strong.

My first was exactly like this. She never ever got into a regular pattern & I tracked the hell out of her movements! She was never overly active either really. I went for monitoring multiple times & they agreed she was a quiet baby. But equally, scans showed totally healthy & growing steadily! She made up for it when she was born by being the wriggliest baby on earth!

Just trust your instincts & track. Even if it’s really basic - at work, I used to use my notepad, I’d just quickly note the time I felt anything. That way, I felt reassured at the end of the day especially if it had been busy & my baby brain had kicked in! Equally, if I’d made no note, I was aware after 4/5 hours that I might need to ring the MAU. I was never once made to feel silly, they’d rather see you everyday than risk something being wrong!

Hi, just wanted to say I think I'm in a similar situation. I wonder how many people do get a clear pattern? I have quieter days and then more active days. Sometimes the movement feels quite different but I can feel where baby's body is. If it has it's back against my stomach wall I feel less kick type movement - I think because it is kicking my insides maybe? If I can't feel it's back I notice more kicks on my stomach. I'm 31 weeks. I do know for certain is that I do have movement every day, several times a day and if I eat and lie down there will definitely be something. So, I am working towards making sure there is at least some movement and movement when I lie down and not worrying too much the rest of the time!

Mine was totally random all the way through, she never got into any kind of 'routine' and it used to worry me terribly. All I can say is she was fine and i needn't have worried, but obviously if you are ever unsure then get yourself checked out.

Also 32 weeks! A few weeks back I’m sure we had a bit of a routine, just in that she was generally most active first thing in the morning and then in the evening, but then over Christmas we had a few quiet days.. We got checked out and of course as soon as I went on the monitor, she didn’t stop kicking.
I did say to the midwife that it was a big change in movements for us compared to our ‘normal’, but she wasn’t concerned in the slightest and said that often baby will do this, but to always get checked out if concerned.
So whilst I did feel like I knew what was going on, now I have absolutely no clue what she’s up to in there!