Kick count
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@Alexandra ok thanks. My dr wants me to count at least 10 a day within 2 hours. So like if I know he moves during his time start a timer for 2 hours on my side or in a chair and see what happens. But yeah I wanted to know if I encouraged it more than it from being after I ate dinner (which is also what they said as suggestion) or something if that would be to much of a false thing.
Yeah the ten kicks within two hours is a good general rule of thumb, though please don’t stress yourself out too much trying to be exact as every baby has different patterns and routines :) as I said before only you know what is normal for your baby and it’s definitely not an exact science. In the UK, the NHS doesn’t really tend to encourage counting kicks but just advises you get to know your baby’s usual/general patterns of movement from day to day, so you’re able to spot if it’s reduced and seek help. From 18-24W roughly movements should increase and then around 32W they settle. I know you’re in the US, but you might find this site/page helpful, which our NHS directs us to: https://www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/pregnancy-symptom-checker/baby-fetal-movements
I never did this any of my pregnancy because I saw no ponit baby kicks when they wanna as I see it
@Wendy French my doctor said that though they would like a constant time of day they don’t mind as long as it’s once a day and it’s sorta for my benefit to know they are ok.
I don’t count kicks anymore I stressed myself out my first pregnancy with them and I went to the emergency room for unnecessary visits so aslong as she moves everyday atleast every 3 or 4 hours I know she is fine
Because sometimes they don’t kick every 2 hours baby does sleep aswell so you never know
You can download the "Count the kick" app to help keep track of things plus they have general information. I've read that you don't want to do too much to try and get them to move, because if there is something wrong you want that data vs I drank a bunch of sugar and the baby moved data.
My baby moves a lot more then my other did even when I'm moving so I don't usually count it bc he's constantly moving
Technically yes, there are things you can do to encourage a reaction (fizzy drinks etc) which many people do before scans, but the advice for counting kicks is not to do that because the reaction it encourages can only be temporary and not a true indicator that baby is happy and active. So it’s like … a false positive so to speak and goes against the point of counting kicks. The advice is to simply lay on your side at a time of day you know the baby tends to be active and then count the kicks, usually at least ten in a two hour period (though this is super generalised advice), so you know they’re still in their ‘routine’ and happy :) Really, there is no set number of times a baby should technically kick, and only you know what is normal for your baby and your body. So if you notice reduced movement, which could be a sign of baby distress, trying to force the movement isn’t a good idea as you should always seek help for reduced movement.