Can someone help me understand…?

I think your right, because my baby is also the same in terms that she has more active days than other.. I did however ring triage when she was less active (despite feeling her move that day) and I went into hospital so they could monitor baby's heart rate.. they said they would rather I be safe and come in when I notice a different pattern rather than sit at home and worry. Because something could be wrong, but not necessarily

That sounds very normal to me, I was always told that any type of movement is fine, because they get into different positions so it can feel different. Particularly towards the end and they have less room its less kicking and move moving around/turning. Its when you dont feel movement for a while or its noticably reduced thats when you should call triage. I had a few scares in my first pregnancy but I just drank a glass of cold juice, lay on my left side and baby would start moving so I never actually called triage. I feel like youd know if something felt wrong and then yes deffo call for reassurance. But from what youve described it sounds normal to me.

I think it’s very normal for movements to vary somewhat day to day in terms of where you feel them/times of day you feel them etc. it’s not like the baby is going to have an exact daily routine however once you get to 28-32 weeks ish then you would want to be feeling them more or less the same amount each day. If movements felt weakened or significantly less then i would always check in. I think it’s totally normal for people to feel anxious about movements as they are an indicator that baby is well and all the main sources of reliable information eg NHS and Tommy’s will always say to get it checked if you’re at all unsure. You are technically responsible for two patients now instead of one and triage should never make you feel silly for calling and checking! I would just go with your gut, you know your body and your baby best at this point x

I’ve had a very active baby for weeks now and had one day where he was quieter but still had felt something. I did ring triage in the end more for advice on if small movements were ok and they still had me in to be checked. I felt so silly going in when I had felt him just not as much but the midwife was so lovely and said better to check than not.

It sounds like you've worked out the normal pattern for your baby, that sometimes they have more active days than others 😊

Our usual pattern is active every day with arms and feet sticking out all over the place, so I do get worried if we have a quieter day because that's not a normal day for us.

I think it’s important to remember that everyone’s journey to get pregnant is different and people’s levels of anxiety vary massively. If you’re someone who can go with the flow and not pay too much attention to movements then that’s great but not everyone can do that x

@Josephine of course. I’m paying attention, but I’m paying attention to movements that are very varied and changing. Sometimes they’re low or high, strong or softer, jabby or wriggly. Yes there are points in the day where I expect baby to be more active and for those movements to fall within the scope of ‘normal’ for us, but other than that…. Perhaps I’m overthinking it all!

If you're worried hun just give them a call 💌 they will always be happy you called, and its what they are there for!

@Chloe I’m not worried. But I guess I’m unclear on what I should be worried about should anything arise. Baby moves differently all the time. I’d hardly be off the phone if I called every time something was different. I’m going to go with that I would know if things felt off or if I become so anxious about movement that I need to be reassured.

I feel exactly the same! At the weekends I feel the baby move constantly but in the week, hardly a thing! Xx

I’m the same, there’s been a few times where I’ve considered calling but thought I’ll just wait it out. However, if people are worried and want to call triage for peace of mind I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. God forbid someone being worried and not calling up when they should have. Better to be safe than sorry. They’re there to help for a reason 💕

Exactly yes, its all different sorts of movements thats normal, its only an issue if baby isnt moving or it feels really weak. I think you're all good, and youll know if things feel different or off

I could have written this myself - like, yes I know I can call triage if I’m worried, but if I called them every time I noticed a change I would have a reason to call them every hour! I find the wooly-ness of the advice a bit frustrating because I never know what the threshold for a “change” that requires a call is! To give myself some parameters (speaking purely personally) if I ever notice that (1) I haven’t felt him at all or (2) I have consistently felt weaker movements for a few hours - then I will lie down and see if I feel a suitably strong movement and if not, then call. I haven’t needed to yet.

@Hannah I feel like you’ve articulated what I wanted to say in a much clearer way, thank you 🙏🏼 And yes, the wooly-ness is frustrating, ‘a change’ is not very helpful! 😅

Movement has made me so anxious. My boys pattern has been 2/3 days of softer wiggles & stretches then will be more active with hard kicks and punches but this week he didn’t go back to his active days after the quiet & although I could still feel him I wasn’t exactly confident in the movements so I called triage and as soon as the machine was on he was doing karate 😂 my midwife said it can take up to 32 weeks for a definite pattern but always come in if you have any doubt x

You’re right, changes in movements are very normal especially at this stage. But it does say on the midwife paperwork if babies movements change, slow or stop completely to call your the midwife line immediately. They say to get checked purely because they would rather you come in to the midwife for a quick check than you ignore it and something be wrong- they’d rather you go in 20 times for reduced movements and nothing wrong than not go in and god forbid something is wrong. I think it is totally your decision if you do not want to call your midwife for changes in movements as it is someone’s decision that they may want to like you said. But also you do seem to have a pattern- they aren’t talking about changes in movements from day to day- they are talking about deviations from a pattern (like your baby swaps each day if you had 5 days of barely feeling them then that is a change in their pattern) It’s all just about all of us trusting our mum guts. Everyone’s journey is different ❤️xx