Rah - hey great to have you with us here. So excited that you are getting further along. Every day is a big bonus we know.
As for the kicks thing, it is a common request for a kick chart to be made, even in pregnancies without any issues.
There is a page about it in the Dr Miriam Stoppard "conception, pregnancy and birth" book. Some extracts from that are:"your baby will feel and be more active on some days than others, but her daily pattern of movements will become more consistent after about week 28. ... There are several ways of counting fetal movements and your antenatal clinic may give you their own "kick-chart" to fill in. .... Each day starting at 9am, count the number of fetal movements until they reach ten, then mark the tenth movement on your chart. however if the number of movements is less than ten by 9pm, fill in the actual number of movements" However, in your situation this would mean a trip to visit to check the baby out. I had a few days when I did have an unusually quiet baby and each time the midwives were able to check the baby out, and it was always ok. But it can indicate failure of the placenta if the baby goes quiet so they do need to listen to baby heartrate etc, if there is any concern.
It is difficult to count the movments when they are squirming I found! In terms of movements another extract from the book is:" your baby's movements - which include kicking, pushing, punching, squirming, and turning somersaults... will steadily increase as she grows reaching their maximum between weeks 30 and 32. The number of movements can range from about 100 to 700 over a period of several days.... on average, most women can feel around nine out of every ten of their baby's movements, although for some women the proportion is only six out of every ten.... whether you feel a movement or not depends on its direction and strength, and the position your baby is in when she makes it. " "If you feel her moving she may, for instance, be shifting her position because she feels like a change, or because you are sitting or lying in a potition that causes her discomfort. Or she may be trying to relocate the thumb that she had been happily sucking before she decided on a change of position." So counting an incident of movements is the way to think of it. One funny thing I found to get my Jak kicking was to rock in my sister's rocking chair!!!!! With my dd it was going somewhere noisy!!!!! Different children, different tactics!
"if you notice any significant change in your baby's movements .... contact your doctor or the hospital. If you don't feel any movements at all in one day, contact your doctor or hospital immediately. Even if your baby's movements seem to have ceased altogether, don't panic. Your doctor can quickly assess your baby with ultrasound and electronic fetal monitoring and decide whether any intervention is necessary."
It is important to note any change in movement pattern more than how you actually do it. Once the baby has had a good wriggle at one point they will often settle down for a sleep and it may be quite some time before you get another jab to remind you they are there! There are ways to get them moving, laying down and drinking icecold drink often serves the trick.