Hardly any movements at 26+5

[BeeAfi89]

Hi ladies, apologies in advance for the long post. So I'm 26+5, anterior placenta and second child (1st born is 13 yrs) Uk based. since around 21 weeks I've been feeling my baby girl move, I wouldn't say there is a pattern but I feel her at least a few times a day. However since 25 weeks I've been feeling her less and less and when I do it is the odd 'pop' and it's very faint and deep if that makes sense; I sometimes even doubt whether I felt anything at all. Since last Monday I have been to the maternity assessment until 4 times!! As I now don't feel her at all, they hook me up to the CTG monitor as as if by magic she kicks and kicks!! Making me feel so embarrassed as if I'm making it up and they are always pleased with the results, I went for a growth scan on Wednesday and she's measuring at 2lbs and was wriggling away and no concerns mentioned, yesterday night I was back in for no movements all day and suprise suprise she kicked again! No sooner did I return home at 9pm I have not felt her and still haven't today! I'm literally going out of my mind 😭 I'm becoming so stressed and anxious by this, I can't focus or get on with my day as I'm just laying there waiting for something but it never comes...I don't know what to do, I feel embarrassed by continuing to phone assesment centre as all the obs carried out are normal, so why is this happening?! Surely something more can be done to understand why I never feel her move when I leave the hospital. TIA x

Is there any particular food or drink which gets her moving? If I got anxious I'd eat a mars bar - that used to make her go crazy!

Did you have an anterior placenta in your first pregnancy? If you're comparing this to a pregnancy where the placenta was at the back then no wonder you're worried as it will feel totally different.

You absolutely can go in as many times as you want if you are concerned but I would seriously encourage you to try and address this anxiety in other ways or this is going to be a very long and stressful pregnancy for you. I say that with love, honestly.

You're not even 28 weeks yet and that is when most babies start to develop a pattern and you're already going in almost every day.
Right now, your little one is still teeny, doesn't really have a pattern yet and has plenty of room to move and hide. Add to that there is the fact that your placenta at the front so cushions a lot of movements and makes them seem more muffled.

I'm 36+3 with an anterior placenta so I sympathise entirely but you probably know that going in this much is extreme. I still don't have a really obvious pattern even now and my baby still has quiet days mixed with more active ones. I've been in 3 times when I've been really worried and not felt her all day and the cold/sugary drink trick doesn't work but most of the time i just try to relax. As long as I'm feeling her move several times a day then I'm reassured, even if it's not the same every day and might be hours in-between sometimes.

It might be worth speaking to your doctor about this anxiety?

No hun I have literally tried everything. Sugary cold drinks, sweets, bath, jumping up and down, tapping tummy x

hey, I've been referred to perinatal for anxiety around pregnancy. I know, it's so extreme and doing my head in. I don't even feel her twice a day, let alone seven hun. And it's gone from strong kicks around 20+ to nothing now. No ammount of food, drink etc gets her moving.

@BeeAfi89 it's obviously so worrying for you but honestly, you're not even advised to start counting kicks until 28 weeks for this exact reason. There are no set amount of movements you should be feeling at this dtage and, if this is how it is every day, then this sounds like it's normal for your baby.

*stage

I'm the same 25 weeks with anterior placenta and movements are so muffled no strong kicks at all just pops and bubbles it's so frustrating :(

@sel2223 I hear so much conflicting information because the midwives tell me 24 weeks and that I should have felt a pattern by now

@BeeAfi89 I'm 36 weeks and still no pattern! 🙈

Try not to compare yourself to others, you just need to learn what's normal for your little one. Maybe they're just a lazy baby and a couple of movements a day is as good as it gets? Maybe you'll see an increase after 28 weeks? I don't know but hopefully you will figure it out soon enough as you're obviously super stressed at the moment.

Oh, and a quick search through previous threads on MN will show you how common it is for women to go in to be monitored then baby starts moving around like mad as soon as they're all hooked up! It happens every time for me! These babies like to keep us on our toes haha

My midwife said to me aslong as I feel something every day whether that's a kick or a bubble then that's fine but if I don't then to ring in (but she said this to settle my anxiety more than anything) she said baby is still small and not to monitor properly until 28 weeks. I worry every day and it is so frustrating and I feel like I can't be happy until I feel her. But exactly what @sel2223 has said , try and control your anxiety than ringing in all the time xx