What is Quickening?
One of the most exciting parts of the second trimester is feeling your baby move. Women, both new and repeat moms-to-be, wait anxiously for the first movements that they feel in their belly, coming from their baby. These first movements are often referred to as quickening.
In actuality, your baby begins wiggling and moving by the 8th or 9th week of pregnancy. However, he is too small for you to feel at this point. However as he gets bigger he starts to kick the walls of your uterus as he moves around. This can happen as early as the 14th week of pregnancy, normally for women in their second pregnancy or beyond, and as late as the 26th week of pregnancy for women who are in their first pregnancy or might be a little overweight.
Quickening is often explained away as gas bubbles, especially by first time moms who aren’t sure what it should feel like. Quickening may also feel like a woman has butterflies in her stomach, flying around, or someone inside, tapping on their uterus. Eventually however the kicks, punches, and elbows will become obvious to even first time moms-to-be, and the movements will start to come with more regularity than they have in the past.
Remember that once you feel the quickening, you will probably be able to feel it everyday, however some days it may not be as often or as strong as others. If you want to get your baby active, it is often suggested that you drink a big glass of orange juice and lay down to wait for your baby to move. When you are up moving around, it often rocks your baby to sleep, so when you stop moving, he is able to wake up and start moving on his own.
If you start to feel what you think is quickening, but has a definite pattern, like a tap every five to ten seconds, it could be that your baby has the hiccups! Hiccups, like the quickening are a sure sign that your baby is growing and is healthy inside your belly.
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