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Day 119 of 280 · 17 weeks

Flutters

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 4 sources · Plain-text version

Seventeen weeks. What the first movements feel like, when most women notice them, and why feeling nothing yet is normal too.

Size this week
about the size of a pomegranate
Length this week
around 12 cm from head to bottom
A woman with a small bump lying on her side on a sofa after dinner, one hand resting on her belly, eyes half closed, a lamp on and the dishes still on the table behind her.

Seventeen weeks. Last week's NHS page said kicks may be felt from this week on (NHS). Today is about what to feel for, and about not feeling anything yet.

Your baby

A whole red pomegranate on a plain pale wooden board, soft window light.

Around 12cm from head to bottom, roughly the size of a pomegranate (NHS). Your baby can move their eyes now, though the eyes stay shut for now; they react to loud noises, and they can open and close their mouth (NHS). They've been moving for about two months already, whether or not you've noticed (NHS).

Your body

The first movements are easy to mistake for something else. The NHS describes them as bubbling, fluttering or rolling, and says they're often first noticed between 18 and 24 weeks (NHS). You may notice more movement after meals, during loud music, when you rub your tummy and talk, or while you relax (NHS). Quiet and still, after food, is the recipe. A busy day hides them.

Around now the rest of the list is ordinary: aches and pains, tiredness and sleep problems, and earlier symptoms may carry on (NHS).

Try today

  1. The flutter watch

    Time: 10 minutes, after dinner

    1. Eat, then lie on your side somewhere quiet; after meals and while you relax are when movement is most noticeable (NHS).

    2. Rest a hand on your lower belly and stay still for ten minutes.

    3. Rub your tummy and talk; the NHS lists both as things that get a baby moving (NHS).

    4. Write down anything that felt like bubbles, a flutter, or a roll, with the time. Nothing is also a result.

    Make it work:

    Do it the same way for a week. The first time you're sure, you'll have the notes to prove it wasn't dinner.

Watch for

  • Normal

    feeling nothing yet; movement is often first noticed between 18 and 24 weeks (NHS).

    Seek care immediately

    , later in pregnancy once you know your baby's pattern, if the movement stops or slows; there's no set number that counts as normal, a change is what matters (CDC).

  • Normal

    tiredness, on the NHS's list for this week (NHS).

    Seek care immediately

    for overwhelming tiredness, which is on the CDC's list of urgent warning signs (CDC).

  • Normal

    feeling hot (NHS).

    Seek care immediately

    for a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher (CDC).

For you

If you've felt nothing, you haven't missed it and you're not behind. The window the NHS gives, 18 to 24 weeks, hasn't opened yet (NHS). A quiet, still ten minutes is the only trick there is, and if the flutter watch turns into a nap, that counts; tiredness and sleep problems are on this week's list too (NHS).

If you're the partner: for now the flutters are hers to report. Ask every evening, and don't be disappointed by "nothing yet." The talking step is yours too; the NHS puts talking to the bump on its list of what gets a baby moving (NHS).

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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