first time mom question about baby position

[bk_hope_2_b_mama]

so, i've noticed that a lot of you seem to know exactly what position your baby is in and when. people also keep asking me, "ohhhh, where's her head?!". and really, i have no idea. i can feel all kinds of movement but i can't tell what's what in terms of body parts. that seems very mysterious to me.

so... how do you know? i can tell some of you know because of an ultrasound, but can you really tell (i'm 23 weeks) based on feel? maybe this is a naive first pregnancy question

[swimming-duck]

I can't and I already have a little one. So I don't know - I guess some people can feel it and/or figure it out and some can't?

[kawa kamuri]

ditto the above and this is number six for me. as far as i can tell, and i'm 24w5d, babe is all over the place. this early on they have plenty of room to move around.

[BHappy]

i could feel kicks way down low, deep down in my pelvis, so i suspected there were feet down there. i asked my midwife, and she could feel the back along the right, and a head up top, and limbs down below. so as i thought, feet are down. maybe you can tell where you are feeling movement.

xo

[Mamatoabunch]

This is my 11th and I have no idea at this point, all over is my best guess. As baby gets hiccups and the head gets bigger and butt then I can have a better feel. That doesn't come until early third tri, maybe around 30 weeks or so.

[Max'sMama]

The CPM I see taught me when I saw her for the first homebirth how to tell through touch.  Perhaps you could ask  your provider to show you the basics and then you could become more comfortable determining position.

[amaayeh]

The only reason I know is because of the movements and what I suspected.  Midwife confirmed.  I feel more 'tickles' down low (hands) and more powerful kicks up on my right side (feet).  Baby does move around a lot and change positions, but for some reason it generally always sleeps in the same position and 'gets going' from there.  When I feel around, the head is hard and doesn't move as easily as when I feel for the butt...it seems to shift more.  Not sure if that makes sense.  I would ask your care provider next time you are in to help you recognize what you are feeling.

[jshannyn519]

At this early stage (24 weeks) I can tell because of where the kicks are coming from. Kicks down low mean baby is in a breech position. Kicks to the side mean baby is transverse (sideways). Kicks up top mean baby is vertex (head down).

I've also been able to start feeling his back and butt, but only when they're facing outwards and he's kind of pushing or stretching.

He's still little and he's ALL over the place, ALL the time! He'll switch positions 5 times a day or more on some days. Other days he seems content to hang out in one spot. I am feeling more kicks at the top of my uterus (yay!) with the little hand tickles and bumps around the middle, which means that he's vertex. That makes me happy, even though there's still 16ish weeks until birth and plenty of time for him to move around still. The more he's in a vertex position, the better I feel since my last baby was breech and I ended up w/ a c/s.

[BarefootinBrooklyn]

There's a belly-mapping worksheet and more positioning information on Spinningbabies.com if you're interested! Don't let it overwhelm you though, anyone could make themselves crazy worrying about posture and positioning all day long to ensure the "perfect" birth position. There are helpful techniques for if you do think your baby is breech/posterior though! :)