7 answers

Normal Vs. Abnormal Baby Movements

Hello, I am in the beginning of my 3rd trimester, and am not always sure what is normal. My boy's kicking has become stronger in the past month, and more frequent (or maybe I feel it more as he gets bigger!), which I understand is good. Lately he has taken to stretching out his feet and pushing in one area and holding it. I can even find his foot and push back, he holds it so long. Is that normal? I have several friends that have autistic kids and know they sometimes did some odd positioning as babies. Or just overly nervous....

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So What Happened?™

Oh, great, that is very reassuring. Makes sense, he must be just starting to be a bit cramped. Its so hard to know what is normal when I haven't done this before! I appreciate the responses. :)

More Answers

My son did that too. I was kind of cool because it was so hard to show people when he kicked, but when his big foot was poking out of my side everyone could feel it easily. I thought of it like this: there is so little space once they start getting bigger, can you imagine having your knees bent for 3 or 4 months? Even a baby in the womb has to change positions to be comfortable. Don't worry about it

1 mom found this helpful

It is SO hard not to worry when you can't see what's going on in there, isn't it? My son pushed so hard that he almost broke my ribs. My OB said that is very common. My son is totally fine so I don't think you have anything to worry about. You will probably have one of those kids who is constantly stretching out his feet and putting them on the kitchen table. :)

1 mom found this helpful

Totally normal. Actually very healthy. There is no link between fetal movements and Autism. Please do not worry. We actually worry more about the ones that do not move. I love when I see a girl and the baby stretches and you can see the entire foot, almost as you could catch it. It means that you have a strong baby and that they have good muscle tone. So do the happy dance and know it is totally normal for a healthy baby. They start to get cramped the last few months and just need to stretch those muscles. So enjoy these days as they go by too fast and you will never get those feelings back.

1 mom found this helpful

my son was a pusher too, as long as the little one is moving then i think you are all good. it is uncomfortable at times for both the baby and you. my son planted his feet(or something) just below my ribs around 6 months and there they stayed until about 5 hours before he was born. he would move one foot down to poke out my side for time to time but i had constant pressure on that one spot below my ribs for 4 months. when he stops moving you worry. when hadn't felt my son in a while i played him music and he would "dance" that way i knew he was still ok

Don't ever worry about movement. At this stage worry about the lack of.

Totally normal. My first two babies were big time kickers and stretchers. Sometimes it really hurt! They're just figuring out how to move and are running out of space. My third baby was much less aggressive and THAT made me worry! =)

Hi,

I'm 34 weeks pregnant with my second daughter and the behaviors you're describing are EXACTLY like what my girl is doing. Sometimes she kicks me in the ribs and it hurts! Yesterday, I felt her little heal and she seemed to move it against my hands when I pressed. My mom and I were talking about prenatal movements and she remembered how all 4 of her daughters moved like this when she was pregnant. I know my experience doesn't count as a statistic, but none of us have autism.

Your boy sounds healthy and strong! Congrats!

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