Fetal Movement with Twins?

[mustloveerica]

So at almost 21 weeks it concerns me that I'm not sure I've felt any movement. I thought I was feeling Baby B (left side) for a couple of weeks. But it occurred to me that what I'm feeling is more of a poking, pinching, almost crampy sensation. It's also almost always in the same spot (below and to the left of my belly button). This makes me think that it's RLP and not baby movement at all. I never feel anything on my right side. Baby A (right side) has an anterior placenta so I don't expect to feel much from her. But it worries me. With twins I would think I'd feel way more movement than a singleton pregnancy. Please tell me not to worry. People always describe movement as flutters. I don't feel that at all. Could the pinching I feel possibly be baby? Or just RLP? Help talk me down off the ledge of anxiety.

[dukegirlsc]

I know how this can totally freak you out! I am sure everything is fine! I have heard some don't feel movement until 22-24 weeks. I think it's just positioning and baby size. I know your last scan went well but did they say how many ounces they were? Also I would try to have a glass of orange juice after you've been active (say decorating for the holidays) and then sit and relax. Normally that will get them going for you!

[Deleted]

I have 2 anterior placentas and at 29 weeks only feel baby A. Even the. It's not consistent even to even attempt kick counts. Like my OB has said all along to me be overly sensitive and if you are worried call.

[callmeKD]

I can't tell the difference between babies except when it's really low (then I know it's A only). I was surprised to learn at my last u/s that all 4 feet were near each other so it was impossible to know who was actually kicking me.

[callmeKD]

But otherwise I didn't start feeling consistent movement (kicks etc) until 23-24 weeks

[mustloveerica]

Nov 27, 2016 17:46:37 GMT -5 dukegirlsc said:

I know how this can totally freak you out! I am sure everything is fine! I have heard some don't feel movement until 22-24 weeks. I think it's just positioning and baby size. I know your last scan went well but did they say how many ounces they were? Also I would try to have a glass of orange juice after you've been active (say decorating for the holidays) and then sit and relax. Normally that will get them going for you!

Hey we're each 8oz at 18 weeks. Which seems right on track. And that was 3 weeks ago so I'm guessing more like 11-12oz now? I guess I just need to be patient. The 4 weeks between scans just makes me go crazy with worry.

[nic1231]

I'm a week ahead of you and only within the last week or so have I felt movement. Most of it feels like I'm being poked by baby b. Baby A has an anterior placenta so I haven't felt much more than a poke. It's still early and will eventually feel more movements and such.

[schmella]

I didn't feel anything recognizable until after 20 weeks. Those early movements felt more like gas to me than anything, definitely not fluttery. Even towards the end of my pregnancy, I only felt A when he kicked my bladder and at bedtime if I laid on my left side, and his movements were always light.

[schmella]

Also, re-reading your post, my RLPs were more in my groin and near my hips, and generally triggered by a quick movement. Those early movements happened when I was being still, and some of them were more like a pinch or poke, but dull rather than sharp. I know the lower they were, the harder it was for me to feel them. As we all grew and W was sitting higher, she was very easy to feel while A settled really low and was difficult to feel.

[fightersince83]

I never felt "flutters" this time or with DD. Movement to me can feel like a little tap from in my abdomen or even like something is slithering against the inside of my belly. The taps are kicks/punches and the slithering feeling is them rolling or turning. No flutters at all. As DD got bigger it was no longer a tap. I could see her kick/punch through my clothes. It was pretty nuts. BUT, I've had posterior placentas both times so I can feel more than others with anterior placentas

[fightersince83]

schmella oh the bladder kicks! I had forgotten about those. DD used my bladder as a trampoline for quite a while because she was breech up until she decided to come early. The cervix kicks were the worst though.

[mustloveerica]

@wineandcupcakes thank you! I think it's seeing these other ladies say they're feeling outside kicks at 16 weeks and I'm all "was that baby or gas?" The month long wait is killer. I somehow got my appts off track and now I get dopplers and scans only about half a week apart instead of two weeks. I need to get that adjusted. Babies are in ying-yang position with feet both towards my middle. One head down and one butt down at my last scan. So your explanation does make me feel better. And what I feel towards my belly button would seem to be the correct spot for As feet. But even at the scan they were kicking and punching each other and not necessarily me.

[requiressnacks]

I never felt a lot, and I was always worried about it. When I did feel anything, it was always baby B and never Baby A.

I'm so not helpful here.

[mustloveerica]

Thanks for all of your responses, ladies. I'm such a worrier but it seems like from what you say what I AM feeling most likely is Baby and it's NOT abnormal to feel not much at all at this stage. I don't think I'll believe I'm going to actually get these babies until I'm holding two healthy baby girls. I greatly appreciate all of the love and support I've found on this board tho. I'd be an even bigger ball of nerves without POM!!

[LydiaDeetz]

It looks like you have enough anecdotes to ease your mind, but I'd just add that I don't think movement feels like flutters. At. All. To me, it feels like a cramp, but not painful. Like a twitch, or a flop. I've recently been able to feel movement from both. I also asked where the placentas were and how babies were positioned at my AS, to help distinguish between the two. I hope you're feeling less worried.

[mustloveerica]

Nov 28, 2016 13:45:12 GMT -5 LydiaDeetz said:

It looks like you have enough anecdotes to ease your mind, but I'd just add that I don't think movement feels like flutters. At. All. To me, it feels like a cramp, but not painful. Like a twitch, or a flop. I've recently been able to feel movement from both. I also asked where the placentas were and how babies were positioned at my AS, to help distinguish between the two. I hope you're feeling less worried.

Yes a cramp is a good way to describe it. Like I notice it but it's not painful. That's why I thought maybe RLP? I'm glad other people feel the same thing. I'm telling myself it's baby movement that I feel. Next scan is next week. Will be interesting to see if her feet are where I always get the cramp sensation.

[mustloveerica]

Nov 28, 2016 12:31:39 GMT -5 @wineandcupcakes said:

Nov 28, 2016 9:06:34 GMT -5 mustloveerica said:

Thanks for all of your responses, ladies. I'm such a worrier but it seems like from what you say what I AM feeling most likely is Baby and it's NOT abnormal to feel not much at all at this stage. I don't think I'll believe I'm going to actually get these babies until I'm holding two healthy baby girls. I greatly appreciate all of the love and support I've found on this board tho. I'd be an even bigger ball of nerves without POM!!

THIS. At 27 weeks I'm still nervous for each appt and waiting for things to go wrong. I still speak in "ifs" and I still haven't purchased anything for the babies. I also won't believe it's going to really happen until they are in my arms. You aren't alone in that.

Have you named your girls yet? I found my speaking only in "ifs" really decreased when we named them. It's easier to imagine a baby with a name I guess?

[schmella]

Nov 28, 2016 13:45:12 GMT -5 LydiaDeetz said:

It looks like you have enough anecdotes to ease your mind, but I'd just add that I don't think movement feels like flutters. At. All. To me, it feels like a cramp, but not painful. Like a twitch, or a flop. I've recently been able to feel movement from both. I also asked where the placentas were and how babies were positioned at my AS, to help distinguish between the two. I hope you're feeling less worried.

Oooo thanks for putting it this way, I've been trying to remember how I described those early movements and this finally reminded me- in the very beginning, they felt like small muscle spasms!  Like when your eye twitches or your leg jerks you awake in the middle of the night!

[pbandj714]

Nov 28, 2016 15:32:02 GMT -5 schmella said:

Nov 28, 2016 13:45:12 GMT -5 LydiaDeetz said:

It looks like you have enough anecdotes to ease your mind, but I'd just add that I don't think movement feels like flutters. At. All. To me, it feels like a cramp, but not painful. Like a twitch, or a flop. I've recently been able to feel movement from both. I also asked where the placentas were and how babies were positioned at my AS, to help distinguish between the two. I hope you're feeling less worried.

Oooo thanks for putting it this way, I've been trying to remember how I described those early movements and this finally reminded me- in the very beginning, they felt like small muscle spasms!  Like when your eye twitches or your leg jerks you awake in the middle of the night!

Yes!! I always thought why in the hell do so many people describe it as flutters? I always thought it felt like some little muscle spasm or light poke.

[mustloveerica]

Nov 28, 2016 15:48:46 GMT -5 pbandj714 said:

Nov 28, 2016 15:32:02 GMT -5 schmella said:

Oooo thanks for putting it this way, I've been trying to remember how I described those early movements and this finally reminded me- in the very beginning, they felt like small muscle spasms!  Like when your eye twitches or your leg jerks you awake in the middle of the night!

Yes!! I always thought why in the hell do so many people describe it as flutters? I always thought it felt like some little muscle spasm or light poke.

Yeah! My SILs both say it feels like nervous butterflies but lower. And I'm all "nope". I definitely get the muscle twitch reference or even like a very very very light and very quick period cramp. Literally like I'm being poked or something. Gosh I feel so much better. Here I was waiting for these stupid "butterflies" that never happen.

Yesterday tho after I did my prenatal workout I laid down for just a minute and felt a really weird sensation like something sliding across the inside of my belly button. It was fast. If I hadn't been obsessing about movement I probably wouldn't have noticed. Almost felt like a fish?

[pbandj714]

Nov 28, 2016 16:30:53 GMT -5 mustloveerica said:

Nov 28, 2016 15:48:46 GMT -5 pbandj714 said:

Yes!! I always thought why in the hell do so many people describe it as flutters? I always thought it felt like some little muscle spasm or light poke.

Yeah! My SILs both say it feels like nervous butterflies but lower. And I'm all "nope". I definitely get the muscle twitch reference or even like a very very very light and very quick period cramp. Literally like I'm being poked or something. Gosh I feel so much better. Here I was waiting for these stupid "butterflies" that never happen.

Yesterday tho after I did my prenatal workout I laid down for just a minute and felt a really weird sensation like something sliding across the inside of my belly button. It was fast. If I hadn't been obsessing about movement I probably wouldn't have noticed. Almost felt like a fish?

Oh yes. That feeling of sliding across will definitely get stronger as they get bigger. Toward the end you can see it and it looks like their little foot/elbow/knee is going to poke right through! Such craziness.

[mustloveerica]

Nov 28, 2016 16:47:27 GMT -5 @wineandcupcakes said:

Nov 28, 2016 15:24:47 GMT -5 mustloveerica said:

Have you named your girls yet? I found my speaking only in "ifs" really decreased when we named them. It's easier to imagine a baby with a name I guess?

We have, but I can't assign a name to a specific baby. It's too much for me. Especially because everyday I'm convinced I've done something to harm them (today it's reclining too far on my back while lounging, yesterday it was my iodine levels, etc). I'm nuts.

Lol we are the same person. I dropped my sunglasses in my car the other day and was convinced I had done something horrible by bending over too far to pick them up. Try to enjoy being pregnant. One of my biggest fears is that I won't find time to enjoy my pregnancy and looking back all I'll remember is being worried. We worked so hard to get here we deserve to be able to relax and enjoy something so beautiful.

[fightersince83]

mustloveerica yes! Like a fish swimming and brushing against your belly. That's probably a baby rolling/turning.

[DVMmomma]

Nov 28, 2016 2:38:11 GMT -5 mustloveerica said:

@wineandcupcakes thank you! I think it's seeing these other ladies say they're feeling outside kicks at 16 weeks and I'm all "was that baby or gas?" The month long wait is killer. I somehow got my appts off track and now I get dopplers and scans only about half a week apart instead of two weeks. I need to get that adjusted. Babies are in ying-yang position with feet both towards my middle. One head down and one butt down at my last scan. So your explanation does make me feel better. And what I feel towards my belly button would seem to be the correct spot for As feet. But even at the scan they were kicking and punching each other and not necessarily me.

Outside kicks at 16 weeks?! Geez. I'd say that's atypical and you're the typical case. I feel both of mine now at 18 weeks but that is strictly because I remember what DD1 felt like. No way is it close to movement that would be palpable outside. You're probably feeling it and like you said, you're assuming it's gas because you're not confident yet. I don't think I felt outside kicks with DD1 until like 25-26 weeks. SaveSave