Counting Kicks Starting at 28 Weeks?

With my 3 I never counted, they moved so much I didn't worry about it.

EDIT: No offense but I hated that book because it freaked me out.

I've rarely did kick counts because my babies were super active. I would get 10 kicks in like .2 seconds!!!

I can say that if I had a day where I noticed less activity I did actually take the time to pay attention and count.

My dr has mentioned kick counts to me for all of my pregnancies, but was more like a suggestion if I was worried rather than a requirement. He said to do the counts if I wasn't feeling activity, if I didn't get 10 kicks in 30 minutes drink a cup of OJ, lay on my side and count...if at that point I didn't get 10 kicks, give a call. Again...it never got to that!

My doctor told me to count 8-10 different movements in about an hour to two hours during the babies most active time of the day, which for me is at night so I do it when I go to lay down for bed. She also told me to drink or eat something before doing it as it makes the babies sugar count higher. She didn't have me start doing this though till 30 weeks and even at 32 weeks he was able to turn around face my back. I was so freaked out and had the non-stress test and then they just realized he was facing my back and thats why I wasn't feeling it. Of course I hadn't felt him for almost an entire day when I made the call.

I'm really busy to so it's hard to keep track of all the time so I really just do it when I either realize that it's been a while since I've felt him or at night when I know I can. During the day you'll still rock them to sleep and stuff so they won't be as active, but basically if you notice then it's been a couple of hours since you remember feeling anything, I would just drink some juice and stop and pay attention for a little bit. For the most part I don't necessarily count as long as I've been feeling regular movement throughout the day. I've gotten pretty used to his movement patterns now (35.5 weeks) and my doctor does seem more concerned about sudden changes in movement then actual counts sometimes.

I am a midwife and mother of 3. I have never done kick counts nor do I recommend it to anyone. The only time you need to worry is if you have not felt the baby move the entire day. Babies do tend to be more active at night because during the day you are up and moving and it rocks the baby to sleep. And as for that stupid book, What to expect when you are expecting... throw that thing away. That book is just worthless.

Lisa

I have read about this too , but I really never count the kicks with any of my pregnancys ( I'm on my third one).
In my doctor visits they just ask if a feel the baby move and thats it ...
As long as your doctor tell you something different you don't have to worrie...

Where did you read the counting kicks thing?
No offense, but you can't believe everything you read. Not even HERE!
I don't think "old school" has anything to do with it. My daughter is 24 and expecting her first baby. No one said anything to her about counting kicks.
I work in the maternity ward at a hospital and have never heard of it, regardless of how long ago my babies were born.
"Fetal movement" is something that is definitely charted as described by moms during check ups and many moms notice that their babies are more active during the day, after mom eats, or when she is laying down to try to sleep (and baby feels squished),
As far as I know, there is no term for "kick counting", nor is there a "normal" amount of times a baby moves in a given day.
My daughter moved around so much that if she was still for 30 minutes I got nervous. My second baby didn't move around nearly as much. He also was a mellow baby and wonderful sleeper after he was born.
I'm thinking your doctor didn't tell you about counting kicks because it's not really a definitive science.
If you are concerned, discuss fetal movement with your doctor in more depth and let what you read somewhere go.
Just my opinion.

Best wishes!

P.S.
I found out this afternoon that my daughter is having a little boy.
I work in the same maternity ward she was born in and it's pretty exciting.
~Please try not to worry about "x" amount of kicks.

You dont sound very comfortable with your doctor. I was never told to count kicks. Although I would myself worry if I didnt feel the baby moving and I would let my doctor know. My doctor is in his 30's if that helps..

as long as you feel your baby moving around- your okay. My daughter (almost 8 months now) would always move around when I was on my back I'm talking knees and elbows!!!

Good Luck

i love "old school" doctors. they are so no nonsense:) i am currently 32 weeks pregnant with my 4th and have never counted kicks. i don't think any of my doctors have ever told me to. i think as you enter the last few weeks the baby moves quite a bit and you would notice if something was wrong. good luck and congrats!

Hey Elena,
It would be a good idea to start counting kicks now. I don't remember when I started, but I do think it may have been at 28 weeks. The key is to find a time that your baby is consistently active. In my case it was about a few hours after dinner and just as I slipped into bed. My little guy always got his ten in within ten minutes!!! He is just as busy and active out of the womb too!!! Another option is to drink some orange juice, wait a few minutes, and then count kicks. Again, try to pick the same time each day to do your counts. There is a certain length of time the kicks needed to be counted in (maybe two hours). If they are not counted within that time frame, call your ob/gyn immediately.

My doctor is very young (on maternity leave with her first baby) and has in three pregnancies never asked me to do fetal counts. She (and the nurses) have always asked if the baby is moving okay, they check the heart rate, measure, etc. If the baby is moving fine and the heart rate is fine my guess is everything else is fine, too. They do let us know to tell them if we notice a sudden change in movement or lack of movement. I have never counted kicks but learned the baby's sleep/wake pattern because there would be certain chunks of the day that would be no movement, then it was party time. :)

And with the ultrasounds, they usually do that one between 18 and 22 weeks, but the farther along the better they can see what they need to see--the gender peek is just a perk for us! :) I would not worry that your doctor is leaving anything out since not all doctors ask patients to do this anyway.

My first baby was stillborn. No one talked to me about counting kicks but I wish they had. Just take the time, when you are still is best. It should only take 10 minutes really, even when baby isn't active. I used to nudge my sons to get them kicking if they were having a sleepy day. If I ever felt concerned, my doctors were great about having me come in to listen to the heartbeat. Your doctor may be "old school" but you don't need to be.

As a mom who has lost two babies (twins) in the 3rd trimester, I am a huge advocate of kick counts. At this point your baby is viable and if something is wrong there is a chance that they can successfully deliver your baby and save him/her. Are you too busy for that? I'm not saying that kick counts will for sure save your baby if something is wrong but I know that I didn't feel my babies move and wrote it off as "a lazy day" or thought that maybe they moved positions to where I couldn't feel them as well. In my case, if I had gone in to the doctor immediately instead of waiting a few days we do believe that at least one of my babies may have been able to be saved. So yes, with my subsequent pregnancies I laid down once in the morning and once in the evening to count kicks. It really doesn't take long and gave me peace of mind.

I'm on a stillbirth support group and many of the ladies there believe that had they been doing kick counts they may have known earlier that their babies were in distress. If I could save one person the heartache of giving birth to a baby who will never get to take their first breath and the pain of leaving the hospital with empty arms, I would. Don't be so naive as to think nothing can happen to you, I was.

Personally, I would also never be with a doctor that is so "old school" they don't know what the latest research is or don't bother to tell their patients about things. I would also never wait until 6 months for an ultrasound knowing that their could be twins or some other complication that should require extra monitoring. My second pregnancy my baby had very low amniotic fluid and we had to watch him carefully and take him early to avoid him compressing his cord. A less diligent doctor may not have caught that.

Best of luck in your pregnancy. Chances are everything will be fine but trust me you don't want to live with the "what ifs" if they aren't.

At my OB-GYN we had this cardstock chart thing that would keep track of all our info, weight, blood pressure, baby heart rate..etc. We were to bring it in for every appointment. On it, starting at 28 weeks had a spot to count kicks and yes my Dr's office asked their patients to do this. It was really no big deal. It was just the first ten in the morning. I wouldn't ever even mark my chart everyday, I would just count then when I remembered filled in the chart. Wasn't a really big deal to do, but yes my Dr's office wanted it done.

I HATED ''What To Expect When Your Expecting''! I also hated reading below that Brooke O lost 2 babies in her 3rd trimester!!! Poor thing!
I am currently 37 weeks and have an acrobat in there!!!! I do not count kicks, specifically...if I didn't remember feeling him all day I'd go to the hospital for monitoring without a second thought.
I felt weird with my second pregnancy and went in at 7 months to be monitored. Turned out it was premature labor and he came the next day.
I try to stay closely in tune with baby and how I feel. If something's not right, you should know. My doc never asked me to do kick counts, either.

I was high risk... so it may be a different guideline... but my OB said for 3rd trimester, movement every hour is normal, but not to stress if there wasn't *unless something feels WEIRD/off/strange*. She said finding myself standing still all of a sudden thinking "That's weird" is the number 1 reason to call her right away.

I remember doing kick counts with my son, because he did not move very much. I don't remember if my OB said to or if I read it, but I did it. It made me feel better to be aware that he was moving. It can't hurt anything to do the count. Good for you on being "informed".

My doctor told me that I needed to feel the baby move three times within a one hour period. The hour could be anytime during the day and did not have to be at the same time each day. It could be a big movement or a tiny flutter.

Basically, you just want to make sure that the baby is still active and that there is not a significant decrease in activity.

I can't remember if I started as early as 28 weeks or if it was more like 32. In any case, just find some time each day when you are resting (or at least sitting still if you work at a desk all day) and make sure you feel the baby move some. As long as you don't notice any drastic changes, your baby is doing great!

Congrats!!

K.
http://oc.citymommy.com - where OC moms connect!