silly first-time-pregnant-mama question

[brooklyn_warbler]

is it totally NUTS that i am feeling as much movement as i am already? based on what i had read, i had not even expected to start feeling flutters, as a first time mama, until somewhere around 18-20 weeks.

but i felt my first flutter at 13w, then started feeling flutters every few days starting at 14.5w, then flutters every day, and in the past week (i'm 17w tomorrow) i've been feeling definite pokes and assorted senstations that make me believe baby is already doing flips in there, multiple times each day! it's awesome and makes me smile every time (although it is also a little weird -- who are you in there, and what are you doing?). it's so definitively movement, and yet i keep thinking, "it can't possibly! am i just imagining this progression?" i know everything and nothing is normal, but this seems so early. at the same time, i know feeling movement this early wouldn't be unheard of for a second-time mama!

anyone else have an experience like this their first go-round?

[scheelimama]

I don't think you're nuts! I have a very active dd1 and I felt her very early on. It just means you'll probably have a very active child. (Yes, it does often correspond to how active/spirited they will be later on.) I felt dd1 at 14 weeks and I think I was feeling her regularly by 17 weeks. This one is barely moving much yet compared to my first two. Maybe I'll have a really calm child this time.

[brooklyn_warbler]

thanks! it's good to know that i'm not nuts -- at least, not for this reason.

one of my sisters was so active in the womb -- to the point where i remember, as a five year old, watching the insane movement in my mom's belly -- and she is definitely the most hyper of the three of us!

i weirdly had a feeling i was having a firecracker of a babe right from conception, so it's funny to get this odd physical confirmation.

[GinaRae]

I get miffed by the reports that you just CAN'T feel baby move until 20 weeks. Sure, some moms don't, and that's okay! But I have always felt mine fairly early, and each one a bit earlier. I totally believe that's what you're feeling.

In fact, I am reading that "Pregnancy Journal" that's sold in mainstream book stores and it's a pretty neat book. It tells you EVERY day (not every week) what's going on with the baby. Gives you dietary advice, some history, AND I have to laugh when it predicts almost to the day when I start having constipation, indigestion, etc...

But yet it tells me flat out that I am not feeling movement and won't until 20 weeks. I think AS I was reading that last night, the baby was kicking away. Too funny.

[sorteep]

I felt my second WAY early (12-13 wks) and very definitely.. my 1st was a bit later at maybe 14 weeks.. so I don't hthnk what you are describing is abnormal at all.. I was all worried because i did not definitely feel this one until more like 15 or 16 wks (which is still early! but "late" for me) so I guess it's all different... I ma glad you are getting good baby movement!

[brooklyn_warbler]

Originally Posted by GinaRae

I get miffed by the reports that you just CAN'T feel baby move until 20 weeks. Sure, some moms don't, and that's okay! But I have always felt mine fairly early, and each one a bit earlier. I totally believe that's what you're feeling.

In fact, I am reading that "Pregnancy Journal" that's sold in mainstream book stores and it's a pretty neat book. It tells you EVERY day (not every week) what's going on with the baby. Gives you dietary advice, some history, AND I have to laugh when it predicts almost to the day when I start having constipation, indigestion, etc...

But yet it tells me flat out that I am not feeling movement and won't until 20 weeks. I think AS I was reading that last night, the baby was kicking away. Too funny.

this annoys me, too! in the beginning i was eating up all info i could get my grubby little paws on, but since then i've really mellowed because i started getting annoyed at how dogmatic even the most crunchy books can be. i've sort of taken a "things happen when they happen" stance on things. i still read my dr. sears pregnancy book from time to time, but not obsessively the way i did, say, weeks 4-10.

sorteep, thanks! it's definitely so exciting to be feeling the baby so often!

[brooklyn_warbler]

my uterus is also measuring tall (though not proportionately wide, if that makes sense) so i just imagine a lanky, all limbs baby in there flittering away. dp is 6'5" and we were both tall babies, although i was way longer than even him (i was a freakishly long 23.5" at birth, though now i'm a standard, if leggy, 5'6").

i'm also pretty slender, had a flat tum before getting pregnant, and haven't gained a whole lot of weight (despite my tall uterus! ) so i wonder if it's a combination of tall baby and small tummy. ha!

[yogachick79]

It is sooo cool to feel movement isn't it? I felt movement a lot earlier with DS than with this babe, and he is definitely my energetic child so watch out!

I'm finding that I have movement around the same times each day, but it's like 12 hrs apart. Granted, I may just be moving around too much to notice at other times.

[LittleLlama]

I definately subscribe to the idea of being able to feel Babe early.

but....

I'm one who's tummy has just popped out all ready to carry another huge baby. my uterus is just barely starting to swell out of my waisband, but there's this big tummy with a belly button already uncorked. So, last night, after a terrific coconut curry chicken and spiced lentil dinner, I plopped on the couch and just watched my belly- not uterus, belly. The gas and digestive process going on looked exactly like a baby poking and prodding during, like, the third trimester! It was weeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiird!!!! I haven't seen a doc of any sort yet, so maybe there are actually seven babies in there all stacked up!

[brooklyn_warbler]

Originally Posted by yogachick79

It is sooo cool to feel movement isn't it? I felt movement a lot earlier with DS than with this babe, and he is definitely my energetic child so watch out!

I'm finding that I have movement around the same times each day, but it's like 12 hrs apart. Granted, I may just be moving around too much to notice at other times.

i feel mine most often about 40minutes - hour after i eat! i used to feel flutters almost only at night, but i've been feeling little pokes on and off all day long the past week.

sarah:

[veganjoy]

I'm 17 weeks, and have been feeling stuff for the past week 1/2 or so.

The odd thing is, sometimes I'll have a hand on my low belly, where I know it's just uterus and no intestines or anything else. Then I feel a bump against my hand! It doesn't feel like much on the inside, but it's definitely something on the outside.

Is this even possible? I thought movement couldn't be externally detected until at least week 20. I have very little "insulation" on my belly, so there isn't much between uterus and skin. What else could it be?

[Lexi_029]

I've been feeling movement too... around 15 weeks is when I first felt her move! I watched her flip and spin on the ultrasound at 10 weeks so it makes sense that I'd feel her do that early-ish too.

[GinaRae]

Originally Posted by veganjoy

The odd thing is, sometimes I'll have a hand on my low belly, where I know it's just uterus and no intestines or anything else. Then I feel a bump against my hand! It doesn't feel like much on the inside, but it's definitely something on the outside.

Is this even possible? I thought movement couldn't be externally detected until at least week 20. I have very little "insulation" on my belly, so there isn't much between uterus and skin. What else could it be?

It really could be! If you have no padding to speak of and the baby is positioned just right and using just enough force, I would think you might feel it at 17 weeks.

[melissakc]

I felt DD a lot earlier than this one, and it's "supposed" to be the other way around. I'm hoping that just means that this one is the super-chill Buddha baby I've always dreamed of!

I'm still not feeling much at all, but I'm not worried about it. Just going with the flow!

[Mama Bear]

your baby is just very happy in there and is doing all kinds of fancy dance moves just for you!

[brooklyn_warbler]

Originally Posted by Mama Bear

your baby is just very happy in there and is doing all kinds of fancy dance moves just for you!

awwwww! way to make me light up with the silly thought.