Counting kicks

[mootthing]

I'm 26 weeks along and I've been feeling the baby move for a good 10 weeks. At my last appointment the doctor told me I should start to keep an eye on how regular the movements were and get in touch if they dropped significantly, but I'm a bit uncertain about what I'm looking out for. I find that he tends to be very active some days, and much less so others. Some days he squirms; other days he kicks. Often after a good spell of hopping about like a frog in a box he'll have a much quieter period.

Should I be concerned about this variation? I'd been assuming it was normal as the baby would feel more energetic some days than others just like anyone else and some days he might be facing in a different direction so I wouldn't feel the movement as much.

Also, how have other people been told to monitor movement? I was told that I should feel at least 10 separate movements a day and that this means 10 separate "episodes" - so if, like today, he wriggles and kicks continually for the best part of an hour it only counts as one.

This is fine when he's trying out his football skills on my inards, but some days, although I can still feel him move as many times, the movements are quite light and I am never sure whether these count or not. When I tried looking online for guidance I found most things recommend lying down and seeing if you can record 10 movements in 2 hours. By this I assume they mean 10 actual movements rather than 10 "episodes". This doesn't seem very practical as I can hardly take two hours off work in an afternoon to go and lie down, but it made me wonder if I'd misunderstood the instructions.

Any advice?

Hey mootthing,

I will try not to worry too much about kick counts. They are horribly unreliable in my opinion as so much depends on the baby... And so many different recommendations. Some say 10 kicks in an hour, some say 10 kicks in 2 hours and some say 10 in a day!

My DS, when in the womb, just never moved that much. I also had an anterior placenta, which acted like a cushion, so I never felt very strong movements either. He just liked sleeping a lot (even slept through a 32-week scan no matter how much the sonographer poked him!)! I remember ending up in A&E on New Year's Day for 4 hours because I was convinced I had not felt DS move in 24 hours (I did feel very slight flutters now and then but no big movements)... They hooked me up to the CTG and he was fine! And of course he is now almost a year old and CANNOT sit still!

As long as you feel movements, I think you are okay. But if you are unsure and think you haven't felt anything for a while and become seriously worried, then it's wise to pop into the local hospital. Go with your instinct. Good luck!

Ax

Agree that the advice seems to very widely. I was told 10 movements a day, and that once I'd felt 10 (even if it was by 9am in the morning), I could stop counting. If I'd had to have had 10 'episodes' a day I think I would have failed miserably and have been down to be monitored virtually every day!

I was never told to count my kicks just that the baby should have abit of a pattern throughout the day and obviously if the baby completely stopped kicking for a long period of time i should contact someone. im 36 weeks pregnant and i can time my baby like clockwork he or she wakes around 10 every night(hoping this will change when babys born) and stays quite active until about 2 in the morning i can then pretty much sleep through the kicking and he or she wakes up again with me in the morning and kicks for a few hrs then again about 7 oclock an then it all starts again baout 10 lol.

I dont think you should worry too much about it obv if your baby stops kicking completey its something to call your mw about but if your baby is still active i wouldnt worry about the pattern. when i was 26 weeks my baby could go a whole day with not feeling many kicks atall an some days he or she would be wriggling round like she was trying to escape lol...

good luck to you hun xxxxxxxxxxxxx

You only need to worry when you notice your baby's doing something different to what it normally does - they move positions and like you said, have quiet days like us! You have obviously got to know your baby's general routine of activity so if you've not had anything for a while when you would normally then pay a bit more attention and ring your midwife if you feel the need to - if you can only feel little movements these count too!
With my first pg my bump was really active every morning without fail, however one morning I hadn't felt anything all morning so by 11am I rang my midwife, they suggested I come down to get checked out and they put you on the monitor for 20-40 minutes and if and when you feel the baby move your to press a button so it records it on the graph. Needless to say on that occasion by the time i was put on the monitor baby was jumping around like a frog! The midwife's are really supportive and say they'd rather you come in and find that actually there's nothing wrong, than leaving it and there really is a problem!
Don't let yourself get worried about it - you know your baby's movements better than anyone so let yourself be the judge.
Good luck x