Bubbles. Butterflies. Gas. These are all words used to describe what a baby's first movements feel like to a mother.
Quickening is defined as the first time you feel your baby move. This is a long anticipated event in every pregnancy.
If you are expecting your first baby you can expect to feel your baby for the first time between 18 and 24 weeks gestation. If this is not your first baby you can expect to feel your baby a bit sooner than you felt your first. This is usually said to happen because you know what you're feeling for and your uterus is more stretched out than it was the first time around.
Even when you've been there before many women describe these first movements as differently as night and day:
- "I am an extremely ticklish person, so much so that I've been known to jump
straight out of bed from a dead sleep if my husband were to brush against my
feet. I found that I'm very ticklish on the inside too. There was more than
one in appropriate time with my pregnancies to Briana(8) and Georgianna(3)
that I burst out laughing because I could no longer control the tickling
feeling."
Denise - "I didn't feel my babies move at
all until I was 20 weeks. The doctors said that the four placentas
were probably cushioning their little kicks so I couldn't feel them.
But then, on my birthday, I felt a little poke poke poke that I knew
was definitely my babies moving. It felt almost like popcorn popping!
I was spending my birthday in the hospital without my husband or
family so I was feeling a little sad and lonely. Feeling my babies
moving was the sweetest feeling! It was the best birthday present
ever. It made me realize that I WAS spending my birthday with my
family."
Marianne Jornlin
mommy to quadruplets: Emma, John, Rebecca, and Sarah 10/24/97 - "We were sitting there on the couch. I felt something and I looked around, no one else seemed to be aware of it. Then I realized it must have been the baby. It was a nice little secret to keep for the few weeks only I could feel him flutter about."
Amanda, mother to Pierce 3 years old - "The Mexican food. That's what I thought. Then I realized that I wasn't passing gas, just feeling bubbles."
Mom to 7 year old Max
There may be reasons that you are not feeling movement as early as you are expecting to feel it. Many of these are normal occurrences, including:
- Your Body Weight
- Your Baby's Position
- Location of Your Placenta
The second big milestone is when others can also feel the baby move. Your partner might be surprised by a quick thump here or there, after many weeks of patiently (or impatiently) waiting. A sibling might get a quick bump on the cheek or hand and be very excited about the reality of the new baby.
After the joy of feeling these first movements happens fear sets in. Is your baby moving too much? Not enough? Medical studies have found that by doing fetal kick counts after the 28th week of pregnancy is actually one of the better predictors of fetal well being.
It has not been found that an active fetus will be a hyperactive child. Nor can you predict gender by fetal movements.
Towards the end of pregnancy the movements may actually become uncomfortable or even painful. Babies have been known to kick mom in the (fill in the organ of your choice). Typically helping baby shift position by doing some pelvic tilts will help alleviate this discomfort.
When you're in labor and working hard and anticipating those first cries, remember to take a moment and feel those last movements of the baby inside your body. Believe it or not you will miss them!
