Baby movements

Pregnancy insider blog

This was earlier than some people experience, which I wasn't expecting as I had a bit of padding on my stomach which is meant to mean it may take you longer to feel baby movement. At my 12 week scan she was moving around loads and it was hard to comprehend that that was going on inside me. As the bubbly feelings felt very faint and a bit strange I didn't get too excited about it at first but as they have got continuously stronger and more frequent I have got increasingly more excited to feel her!

The bubbles and fluttery feelings gave way to feeling actual small movements, like something shifting inside me

I felt her move for the first time from the outside when I went to a wedding in Poland at around 16 weeks and had my hand pressed low down on my belly. I felt a little kick! Since then I have increasingly felt her move from both the inside and the outside and I absolutely love it! Now at 24 weeks when she's having a proper party you can actually see my belly moving around! I love putting my hand on it to feel her move. My husband also gets very excited when he feels her move, although he can get a little impatient if she takes a while to cooperate – it's like she knows someone is waiting for her to move, so she doesn't!

She's particularly active in the evening and when I get into bed

I'm not sure if I'm perhaps more relaxed and less distracted at this time as I'm not at work so notice her moving more or whether she does just like the evenings. When I lie down she tends to get very active and again I'm not sure if that's because she perhaps has more or less room to wiggle around when I'm in that position – I can't work it out. Sometimes she kicks so hard it almost makes me jump! When I'm lying on my side to sleep she can suddenly start kicking really hard on the side I'm lying on and that can often make me jump a bit! Not helpful when you're trying to get off to sleep! 

I've tried to pay attention to what pattern her movements take so I can be aware of any changes to her regular routine

Long before I became pregnant I became aware of the charity Count The Kicks which aims to empower women to understand about their baby's movements and trust their instincts around the well-being of their baby.

Getting to know your baby's regular pattern of movement is key to this but I feel I haven't quite got it figured out. Something to ask the midwife at my appointment next week! For now as long as I feel her move regularly throughout the day I'm happy that she's happy. Can't wait till I can see little feet pushing out!

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