I remember being paranoid about the same thing right around 22 weeks. I felt my first flutter around 15 or 16 weeks (Super Bowl Sunday) and then no regular movements again until 22 weeks. After this point I felt a lot of movement but he would have days where he wouldn't move much at all. The older he got the more routined his movements became. He would be active in the early morning and late at night...sometimes around lunch time too. I started by doc's orders kick counts at 28 weeks but didn't take it seriously until 30 weeks when they threatened non-stress testing if I didn't start counting. I was afraid the counting would make me more neurotic than I already am. In early pregnancy and actually until I felt regular movement I will admit I had concerns that maybe he was no longer alive. Hearing or seeing the heartbeat at my monthly OB appt's was very reassuring to say the least. It wasn't hard most days to count the kicks. My clinic wants me to confirm 10 movements (any movement other than hiccups) in a 2 hour period.
If you are ever concerned you can always call your doctor. What they may ask you to do is this... drink something sweet like a big glass of juice. Then lay silently on your leftside for one hour. If after that you don't feel movement, then there's reason to be concerned I suppose.
After 32 weeks my clinic got pretty serious about confirming the kick counts because it is one of the early signs of IUGR (Interuterine Growth Restraint) which they are all over with their cf patients. If the baby is IUGR it is either from A) lack of O2 or B) lack of nutrition or C) just a small baby. They can rule out C with non stress testing. After 32 weeks if our baby had been IUGR they likely would have suggested a c-section. Any u/s that would have indicated the baby below the 10 percentile in size would have been a red-flag of IUGR.
What I don't know is what is the real problem with IUGR. It seems there are alot of cfers that give birth the small babies. I suppose they had IUGR. So far I haven't heard of anyone saying that their child suffered this or that permanent damage because of IUGR so it makes me wonder should these high risk clinics really be considering c-sectioning as the best option for the baby. I'm sure there's lots of journal articles on this subject but I haven't read any as they relate specifically to cf.
okay I'll shut up now. have no worries and enjoy those movements. it is the coolest feeling. The next 8 weeks you will see the greatest physical movement of your stomach. After that point, things get a bit tight in the baby's house. (S)he still moves it's just more subtle.
If you are ever concerned you can always call your doctor. What they may ask you to do is this... drink something sweet like a big glass of juice. Then lay silently on your leftside for one hour. If after that you don't feel movement, then there's reason to be concerned I suppose.
After 32 weeks my clinic got pretty serious about confirming the kick counts because it is one of the early signs of IUGR (Interuterine Growth Restraint) which they are all over with their cf patients. If the baby is IUGR it is either from A) lack of O2 or B) lack of nutrition or C) just a small baby. They can rule out C with non stress testing. After 32 weeks if our baby had been IUGR they likely would have suggested a c-section. Any u/s that would have indicated the baby below the 10 percentile in size would have been a red-flag of IUGR.
What I don't know is what is the real problem with IUGR. It seems there are alot of cfers that give birth the small babies. I suppose they had IUGR. So far I haven't heard of anyone saying that their child suffered this or that permanent damage because of IUGR so it makes me wonder should these high risk clinics really be considering c-sectioning as the best option for the baby. I'm sure there's lots of journal articles on this subject but I haven't read any as they relate specifically to cf.
okay I'll shut up now. have no worries and enjoy those movements. it is the coolest feeling. The next 8 weeks you will see the greatest physical movement of your stomach. After that point, things get a bit tight in the baby's house. (S)he still moves it's just more subtle.