When Can You Feel the Baby Move? Here’s What You Need to Know

Feeling your baby move for the first time can be exciting and also, well, confusing. Was that just gas? Or an actual kick? To help you take some of the guesswork out of decoding fetal movements during your pregnancy, here’s a look at what’s going on inside your belly, when you can expect to feel something and how other moms knew their babies were moving and grooving:

While a lot is happening during this time in terms of your baby’s growth and development, don’t expect to feel anything yet—except for maybe morning sickness. Your OB will be able to detect movements like wiggling limbs around eight weeks, but the baby is simply too small for you to notice any of the action that’s taking place deep within your womb. 

“Fetal movement begins sometime in the mid-trimester, which can be anytime between 16 and 25 weeks,” explains Dr. Edward Marut, a reproductive endocrinologist at the Fertility Centers of Illinois. But when and how you feel something is determined by the position of the placenta: “The main variable is placental position, in that an anterior placenta (the front of the uterus) will cushion movements and delay perception of the kicks, while a posterior (back of the uterus) or fundal (top) position will usually let the mother feel movement sooner.”

Dr. Marut also explains that a woman going through her first pregnancy is less likely to feel movement early on; moms who’ve already delivered a baby often feel movement sooner because their abdominal wall relaxes earlier, plus they already know what it feels like. “Truthfully, earlier movement may be real or imagined,” he adds. And, of course, every baby and mom are different, which means there’s always a range of what could be considered “normal” for you.

A first-time mom from Philadelphia says that she “first felt my baby move around four months (14ish weeks). I was at a new job so I thought it was my nerves/ hunger but it didn’t stop when I was sitting down. It felt like if someone lightly brushed down your arm. Instantly gives you butterflies and tickles a bit. You would have to be really still to feel it [or] when you lay down at night. Coolest, weirdest feeling! Then those kicks got stronger and didn’t tickle anymore.”

Early flutters (also known as quickening) or that tickling sensation is a common feeling reported by most moms, including one pregnant woman from Kunkletown, Pa.: “I felt my baby for the first time at exactly 17 weeks. It was like a tickle in my lower abdomen and I knew it was the baby for sure when it kept happening and still does. I notice it more frequently at night when I am calm and relaxed.” (Most pregnant women report movement at night, not because the baby is necessarily more active then, but because the moms-to-be are more relaxed and attuned to what’s going on when resting and probably aren’t distracted by a to-do list.)

Others compared the feeling to something more otherworldly or just plain, ol’ indigestion, like this Los Angeles mom of two: “It feels like an alien is in your stomach. It also felt the same as the one time I ate a double cheeseburger from Shake Shack and my stomach wasn’t too happy about it. Early on, having gas and a baby moving feels the same.” 

This Cincinnati mom agrees with the gassy analogy, saying: “We were celebrating my birthday with a weekend away, and we were out to dinner and I felt a flutter that, frankly, I first thought was gas. When it kept ‘fluttering’ I finally caught on to what was really happening. I like to think of it as [my son’s] first birthday gift to me.”

Most of the moms we talked to expressed that same kind of uncertainty at first. “I’d say right around 16 weeks is when I first felt something. It was very hard to tell if it was anything, really. Just a super faint little ‘tap’ or ‘pop.’ I always had to ask myself if it was really our little one or just gas,” says a first-time mom from western New York, who gave birth to a baby girl in April. “But soon enough it was quite distinct. It felt like a little swish of a fish moving or a quick little flutter that was always in a consistent spot in my belly, and that’s when I knew for sure. That was our daughter!”

As babies grow and their brains develop, they begin to respond to their own brain activity, as well as outside stimuli like sound and temperature, along with the mom’s movements and emotions. Also, certain foods can cause your baby to be more active, with the surge in your blood sugar giving your baby an energy boost too. By 15 weeks, your baby is punching, moving its head and sucking its thumb, but you will only feel big stuff like kicks and jabs. 

According to a recent study published in the journal Development, researchers found that babies also move as a way to develop their bones and joints. The movements stimulate “molecular interactions” that turn the embryo’s cells and tissues into bone or cartilage. Another study, published in 2001 in the journal Human Fetal and Neonatal Movement Patterns, found that boys may move more than girls, but because the study’s sample size was so small (only 37 babies), it’s difficult to say for sure if there really is a correlation between gender and fetal movement. So don’t plan your gender reveal party based on your kid’s kicking.

As your pregnancy progresses, the frequency of the baby’s movements increases, Dr. Marut says. “By the third trimester, daily activity is a sign of fetal well-being.”

One Brooklyn mom of two says her first son began with a “flutter here and there until it was way more noticeable a few weeks later because he never stopped moving. [My husband] used to sit and stare at my stomach, watching it visibly change shapes. Happened with both boys. Probably makes sense that they're both crazy, active humans now!”

But you might also notice less activity during your third trimester. That’s because your baby is taking up more space now and has less room to stretch out and move around in your uterus. You will continue to feel big movements, though, like if your baby turns over. Plus, your baby is now big enough to hit your cervix, which can cause a twinge of pain.

Starting during the 28th week, experts recommend that pregnant women begin to count their baby’s movements. It is important to track during the third trimester because if you notice a sudden change in movement, it may signal distress. 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that during the last two to three months of pregnancy, a mother should feel ten movements in a two-hour interval, best felt after a meal when she is at rest, Dr. Marut explains. “The movement can be very subtle like a punch or flexion of the body or a very prominent one like a powerful kick in the ribs or a full-body roll. An active baby is a sign of good neuromuscular development and adequate placental blood flow.”

Here’s how to count your baby’s movements: First, choose to do it at the same time every day, based on when your baby is usually the most active. Sit with your feet up or lie on your side then count each movement including kicks, rolls and jabs, but not hiccups (since those are involuntary), until you reach ten movements. This may happen in less than a half hour or it could take up to two hours. Record your sessions, and after a few days you will begin to notice a pattern in how long it takes your baby to reach ten movements. If you notice a decrease in movements or an abrupt change in what’s normal for your baby, contact your doctor right away.