I have been googling this question myself for the past few weeks, as I have felt nothing, and at 20 + weeks, this is a tad unusual. Reassuringly, we did see the little guy moving around on the 20 week ultrasound, so knew all was well…I just couldn’t feel him. This post is for other mamas who may google this question, as I have a clarification that may help others understand the sensation.
The answers that I found to this question ranged from “gas” to “like a feather running along inside of you.” But the most common answer I found is that it feels like “when your muscles ‘pop'”.
My best friend is also pregnant, felt her baby at around 18 weeks, and described it the same: “You know when you go to the gym, and you come home and your muscles pop? it feels like that.” And I was like, “First of all I don’t go to the gym, and even if I did, I’ve never felt my muscle ‘pop,’ so I am lost here.”
But, my mom had some clarification to that definition that coincided with me feeling the little guy for the first time. She said “No…its not really a “pop,” it’s more of a twitch or tic. You know, when your muscle goes, tic-tic-tic-tic-tic-tic?”
And this I could relate to. My muscles will on occasion twitch, generally in my upper arm, thigh, or eyelid. And when I briefly felt the baby later that day (at 21 weeks), a muscle “tic” in my uterus is exactly what it felt like. And since that day, if I sit in a certain position, or am laying in bed at night, I can feel these “twitches” more and more. Of course it is different than a twitch, because it is not constant or rhythmic in any way, and it is a bit of a stronger feeling. But for me (and of course everyone may feel it differently), the “twitching” or “tic-ing” is the right description of the sensation.
Last night, it was feeling a little more like punching and elbowing, and I guess it only gets more noticeable from here on out! And for those of you who still haven’t felt that baby, my doctor said some women get to 25-26 weeks before feeling it, so not to worry!
The Birds and the Bees...and a Petri Dish 
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April 29, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Searching for Serenity
As I sit here feeling my little one jab and poke me, I’m trying to think of the best way to describe those first feelings I had. It wasn’t until around my 20th week that I slowed down enough to actually feel movement. I’d describe it as like a big gas bubble. After I’d feel it, I expected to pass wind, but it never happened. The more I paid attention the more often I felt it. It was almost always when I’d be laying on my side in bed or in front of the t.v. I think the way your mom describes it is really accurate. I’d never thought of it that way before. But, it is kind of like a quick muscle spasm in your abdomen.
You’ll be feeling the little one in no time.
April 29, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Penny
Exactly the way I explain it. Just like an involuntary muscle twitch in the beginning. More like invisible punches in the gut later on, but that’s later.
June 19, 2009 at 4:06 am
Anla
Still around? You have been quiet.