33 weeks, baby moving much less

[tenar]

I haven't noticed baby moving much today, and I just lay down for a couple of hours and not much then either.

I think I can still feel her move occasionally, but the movements seem much fainter, so much so that I'm not completely sure if it's her or if it's my own heartbeat.

A couple of weeks ago she was so active that it was driving me a bit nuts, but the last couple of days it's been much less.

Is this something to worry about?

[thepixie]

Probably not but if you don't feel any movements for 12 hours go to the hossy and get monitored, just to put your mind at rest. Bub might just be snoozing but better to be reassured than worried about it!

[AliBaby]

I was told that you should feel 20 movements in a 24hour period. The other day my bubs wasnt moving much and I was worried I hopped in the bath and that got her moving again. Ocean Princess suggested to me to have a drink of OJ or some ice water to see if that gets baby moving.

[tattoo_mama]

i read in my baby books that even though baby continues to grow, after about 32 weeks there is no more room for it to spread out...sortof squashed in there! so expect less movement from bubs from now on....before 32 weeks bubs has quite alot of room to turn and swim around so you wouldve felt more movement before....im no expert but i would say take a sit down, have a cold or sugary drink to 'wake up' bubs, if its still bothering you then ring your hossy and see what they say. GL

[Megan]

Tenar, I noticed movements calmed right down last week for a few days and then picked up again. Today he has been very quiet but I had a midwife appt so I know everything is ok. I have been watching my belly move tonight, but can't actually feel the movement internally its so faint. I think it's a case of running out of room. However, if you are sure you haven't felt anything after doing the cold/sugary drink and lay down routine and you are worried, it's definitely worth a call to the hospital to go in for some monitoring.

[Alan]

Hi Tenar
It is very common for your baby’s movements to slow later in your pregnancy. As tattoo mama said there is much less room now so the movements are restricted. You should still feel movements but they will be much less violent. Try drinking something sweet and cold then lay down with your hand on your tummy. You will usually feel your baby move within a very short time.

[2CheekyMonkeys]

i just asked about this atGP yesterday, she said you should feel 10 movements in 24 hours. anyone know the correct figure? btw, i started thinking about it this morning at 7 am it is now 8:13 and i have felt 10 already.. i think baby is just having more and longer periods of sleep and running out of room.

[Alan]

Hi Hollo
Yes 10 movements in 24 hours is correct

[tenar]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your replies.

I woke a lot in the night, worrying, and no baby movements. This morning I got up and drank cold cordial first thing, and that got her going a bit.

I'm sitting at my desk now, and she's moving, though not as strongly as a week ago. Maybe that's just lack of space compared to a week ago.

I guess I'm worrying unnecessarily.

[Toomanytoomany]

Tenar, there's no "right" amount of movement for a baby - you get to know your baby's patterns and habits, and you know best when things have changed. While I'm not saying "panic," I think that it is really wise to listen to your concerns, and go and get checked out. It's perfectly valid to say "My baby's movements have decreased markedly over the last few days and I'd like to be checked out to make sure everything is okay". No-one is going to mind that. You can get a CTG done that will most likely show a nice, strong reactive heartbeat... and you will feel much less stressed.

All babies are different - while ten movements in a day might be okay for some, for others a very active baby going down to ten movements in a day might signal something of concern. Certainly if I only got ten movements in a day from this baby, I'd be up at the hospital. With my previous baby, not so much.

Best of luck!!

[tenar]

Well I phoned the midwife at my ob's practice and she said I should go in to get some CTG monitoring done.

The monitoring showed baby's heatbeat is fine. A baseline of about 135, going up to about 165 sometimes. Apparently there is nothing to worry about there.

So I'm much relieved, wondering whether I was being paranoid to start with, but I guess it's still "better safe than sorry", and baby and I both are better off if I'm not worrying about stuff like this.

[Jas]

I posted last night with a similar post to toomany but it hasn't come up.

Definitely don't feel like you were being paranoid..the best advice I think i ever got when we had Noah was that as his parents we always know best and to always trust your instincts!!

If you had the same concern again I would suggest doing the same thing again, as you said always better to be safe than sorry!!

[Toomanytoomany]

It's not being paranoid - I'm glad you went in. Stress is a risk factor for a lot of things, so alleviating your stress is not a bad thing! I hope the rest of your pregnancy (not long now!) is smooth sailing.

[tenar]

Thanks all.

Baby is back to moving her usual amount today. I was awake in the night wishing her kicks would be a little less strong, even.

So I dunno why she was so very quiet for those couple of days earlier in the week, but I'm glad things seem back to normal now.

[Jas]

That's great to hear Tenar!

[BeautifulMadness]

ive noticed at night bubbs isnt as active i just figure its running outta room.