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by Anna

Private dancer, dances for mummy (week 17)

Call FIFA. There is confirmed movement!

For at least a week I have sometimes had a funny little feeling in my tummy. The feeling was slightly alien a bit like little bubbles in my belly but I was not 100% sure whether it was little one or just other tummy movements.

The movements have gotten stronger and now I am pretty certain that Little One is a talented little kick boxer. It is quite novel and reassuring. S/he particularly entertained me with a fidgety protest on one occasion immediately after I sneezed. I wonder what that must have felt like to Little One. I guess I think of him/her floating around in a sort of tubing ball then all of a sudden the sides all change shape. Must have been a bit unnerving!

The kicks are most noticeable when I am lying on my back so first thing in the morning and at bedtime Little One and I have started to have little "love ins". Maybe it is because of gravity that I can feel it better. It is like having my own little dancer fluttering around in there.
Daddy has tried to get in on the act but for now all the dance moves are just for me.

Clinical Comment

 Simon Mehigan Consultant Midwife

Feeling your baby move inside you for the first time can be quite unnerving. "Bubbles" in your belly or "butterflies" are a common way women describe the sensation they get. Many first time mums don't recognise them as movements at first, it's when they suddenly realise that they are getting the sensation every day that the penny drops and they realise it's their little one making its presence known. Your babies movements are one of the most reassuring signs that your baby is okay and as your pregnancy progresses is something you will be asked about by your midwife when you see her.

Most women will have felt their baby move by the time they have their 20 week scan with first time mums usually becoming aware slightly later than those that have been pregnant before. It's not unusual for these periods of activity to be more noticeable when you’re in bed or lying in the bath as this is when you're at your most relaxed.

Unfortunately dads to be do miss out on this until the pregnancy is a bit further on. I can remember my hand being grabbed and placed expectantly on my wife's stomach whilst she was experiencing one of our children doing somersaults (it's one of those occasions like the first scan....do I grin reassuringly or admit I can't feel a thing?) The good news is there will come a time when the movements are apparent without the need for a hand on the tummy. You will be sat watching TV and all of a sudden your partner's abdomen will change shape like something's trying to escape! I can recall many a night lying in bed when there were only a couple of months until the baby was due and feeling a kick in my back......thinking about it was it the baby......or was it my wifes way of telling me I was snoring again?

Do you have a question for Anna or Simon? If so please email us at Feedback@lwh.nhs.uk or alternatively use the feedback tool at the bottom of this page.

09 August 2012

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