Feeling barely any movement...So different from last time. « Back to Group Discussions

[nukuspot]

I'm 18 weeks today and I started feeling movement at about 13/14 weeks, maybe a bit earlier.  It was the same with my DD, except with her, every week brought more movement and stronger feelings.  By this point she was like a rubber ball bouncing all the time!

With this one, I still only feel really weak bumps just a few times a day, same as when I started feeling them about a month ago.  I'm a midwife so I have my own really high quality doppler, I don't go crazy with it, but I have checked maybe once every 2 weeks or so for a few seconds,and hear a nice strong heartbeat.  But with DD every time my MW or I used the doppler she'd go crazy and bounce around extra hard in there, you could hear it on the doppler and also I would feel it.  This one I put the probe on and hear the heart right away but no discernable movement. 

I'm really starting to wonder why I barely feel anything this time?  I had an anterior placenta AND a retroverted uterus with DD so even if I them again, that still shouldn't explain why I am having such a different experience.  At my most rational times I think "well, maybe this is just a calm baby" (DD never stops moving still at age 3, it's crazy!) but in the middle of the night I get paranoid maybe this one can't move because it is tangled in the cord, or maybe has some abnormality that gives it low muscle tone?  I wish there was a window :)

I am getting my 20 week u/s on the 16th, so I should hopefully have more answers then, but just curious if anyone else is having any similar concerns or experiences.

[help007]

I'm 16 weeks, and I feel like my last two pregnancies were far more noticeable by this point.  I had anterior placentas with both of them, but there was never a point at 16 weeks where I've wondered if there really is anything going on in there!  I've heard the heartbeat a few times, which is comforting, and I can certainly feel my uterus growing.  I guess that has to be enough for now =/

[beans]

I am having the same experience. "Weak bumps" is a good way to describe. They happen every day, but there's nothing really strong or vibrant yet. More like the baby just happened to drift over and bump into my belly.

I know things will pick up and like anything else with kids, I'll likely yearn for these weak bumps when I have a foot stuck in my ribs this summer!

[hyde]

I'm 17 weeks tomorrow and still not a ton going on.. here and there I feel what I guess are body rolls. We did get a little movement with the hb on the Doppler earlier in the week. (And as I write this, eating breakfast at 11am (!- though it'd be 10 if I were at home), I'm getting a little something.. go figure.) I can see why you'd worry when you compare this babe to the last, but I think we're all still in the range where there's just variation in who feels what, when, and maybe depending on who's in there..

And since you mention it, I think I'd be thrilled if low activity in the womb translated to a calm person outside it. I am generally a more introspective, kick back with a book (or laptop, haha) kind of person and dad is an endless fount of energy and motion (and NOISE!).. I don't know if I can take more than one of those in the house! ;)

[MissE]

We're all in the same boat I guess. With DS I felt movement at 17 weeks, with DD at 16 weeks. I'm not 16+2 and haven't felt any definite movement yet. With DD I felt like she moved a LOT more at this point but I might have forgotten about that already. I had a few times when I thought that this might have been baby but nothing major yet. I'm sure it's gonna pick up within the next weeks and also, DS was very calm in utero and turned out to be a very laid back, relaxed, happy-go-lucky-baby. DD moved and wiggled after she was born just as mcuh as in utero. I never had to strap DS into a swing or bouncer but DD...Oh man...I know now what those straps are for :).

[amydiane]

I'm 17 weeks tomorrow and I thought I started feeling some movement around 14 weeks, but it's been very sporadic.  I also feel like maybe I should be feeling more by now, especially since it started so early, but I'm not really worried just yet. 

[MamanFrancaise]

Strange, my experience this time is the opposite. I remember very weak punches and kicks for the first 5 months of both my previous pregnancies. This time, the baby will not stop kicking, bouncing and flipping and rolling around. It's constant! 

I'm sure everything is fine. Could it be that the baby's limbs are facing in most of the time?

 

[ilovejeff]

Count me in for the 'I'm feeling some movement, but not as much as last time' club.   We've got a bunch of lazy babies in this DDC!  LOL

[Sarah Temkin]

I am in this club as well.  Since about 14 weeks (I'm 16w4d today) I have had a couple times where "I think" it was the baby moving, but couldnt be certain.  With my son, I started feeling movements more for sure at this time.  I am starting to wonder if my baby is sitting more towards my back this time around, because even at 16 weeks, it took even the doctor a little bit to find the heartbeat on Doppler.  Also, this time, my doctor has stated that my placenta is a little low, so I am wondering if that has anything to do with it.  I am just ready to start feeling things that I can definitely say is actual movements instead of guesses.  If I am still having this issue by my next appointment at 21 weeks, I will be asking about it.

[WindyCityMom]

Yes, me too!  I definately feel some sort of twinges down there every once and awhile, and if I'm lucky, laying in bed laying with my hand over my uterus, I can *maybe* feel a few little pops.  My other two were little nutballs bouncing around everywhere in there!

[MissE]

I should have written here earlier :). I sat on the couch last night and felt two DEFINITE kicks down low...it made me cry LOL. I'm such a hormonal wreck. I have been pregnant before, I know what kicks feel like, I didn't really understand why I was crying at that point :). The movement continuted throughout the evening and I fell asleep, probably holding my breath so I won't miss a kick :).

[wendipauline]

Originally Posted by WindyCityMom 

Yes, me too!  I definately feel some sort of twinges down there every once and awhile, and if I'm lucky, laying in bed laying with my hand over my uterus, I can *maybe* feel a few little pops.  My other two were little nutballs bouncing around everywhere in there!

Twinges and little pops are exactly what I've been feeling, too. Except I *think* one of the babies did a complete flip in the middle of the night last night. It woke me up and I was a bit freaked out and not sure if I had dreamt it. I don't think I did, though, because my belly is a different shape now, and the little movement I've been feeling has felt completely different since then. So strange.

[Breezer348]

I'm 18 weeks plus 2 and I don't really know what I feel.  This is my first pregnancy, so attribute most things to hunger pains and random mild discomfort.  I honestly don't know.  I can't help but worry and even though i'm not scheduled for my 20 week ultrasound until a week from Friday, i'm thinking about going to one of those 3D ultrasound places for some peace of mind!

[Worldshakerz]

I'm 16 weeks and have been feeling movement for about 2 weeks now, semi-consistently. It's my third pregnancy so I'm sure that's why I started feeling movement already..I am surprised that I have even felt it from the outside though if I happen to have my hand on a certain spot when the baby moves and I'm laying down. Mostly though its just a light fluttery feeling. :)

[WindyCityMom]

This baby kicks the crap out of me if I hold DD2 on my hip.  Talk about sibling rivalry...

[MissE]

I take back everything I wrote before LOL. I'm 17+3 today and I remember feeling first flutters with DS at this point. I'm now convinced that i must have had an anterior placenta with him which cushioned most moves because with DD it was posterior and i easily felt movement with her at 16 weeks. Anyway, This time the placenta is posterior again and I can feel movement from the outside already, that's crazy. Even DH felt it. He put his hand on my belly (I have to hold my breath so I can feel the movement too, because it's not THAAAT strong yet) and when the kick came I said "there was one" and he said "oh I felt THAT" at the same time. He was so excited, even though that's #3, I guess it never gets old.

[Kat_shoshin]

This baby is active... when it is active.  I go DAYS which used to be WEEKS not feeling anything at all - then once I feel one little thing, it kicks the crap out of me.

I would say it is almost as active as DS was - and he was CRAZY active.

So here are two stories from friends of mine - they both had babies within a month of each other, and then just had their second within a month of each other.  They both told me that their first babes - born in August too so it might be the month even - were so calm and quiet in there, but being their first they didn't worry.  They both have calmer, quiet children now so there seems to be something to it.

Fast forward to their second pregnancies - both said that if they had this one first they would have been SO WORRIED about the other one.  The movement was so much more with their 2nd.  They are only NBs right now, so time will tell, but both expect active babes!

[MissE]

That's what I wrote a little further up.The first (DS) was very calm in utero and such a laid back baby once he was born. DD was way more active, like to where I though she could kick a rib out of me active. She still was a laid back baby though but moved more even outside of the womb.

[hyde]

Okay, rereading here to reassure myself a little.. I have not been aware of very much going on in the last 3-5 days. I don't know if there's really less movement, or if it's just because I've been working non-stop and, without quiet time, not as attuned. I felt a tiny something today but then couldn't decide whether it actually was anything. Palpating I can tell that my uterus is higher and the baby's bigger, but come on.. 19 weeks today, can I get a baby high five or something?

Kat's post re: sometimes going days without anything helps, anyway.

[help007]

Yes- I'm still right in this boat! I feel more movement, but still not quite daily. At my 18 week appt yesterday, my midwife tried for 20+ minutes to get a solid heart rate. While she could get snippits (and the baby kicked the transducer once), she couldn't get a count which is unusual at 18 weeks. So, while I'm not too worried considering what movement I do feel, we're moving the ultrasound up a few weeks. I would have chosen the 24-26 week range, but we're headed for 20 week U/S unless we can get a solid heartbeat count before then. Both of my previous placentas have been on the front (anterior?), and if this one is similarly positioned, that would explain it a bit.