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Day 195 of 280 · 27 weeks + 6 days

Kick counts start tomorrow

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 8 sources · Plain-text version

The last day of your sixth month. From 28 weeks you start tracking your baby's movements. Today you choose when, where, and how you'll count.

Size this week
about the size of a head of cauliflower
Length this week
around 36.6 cm from head to heel
A Black woman with a full 27-week bump in a loose t-shirt, lying on her side on a sofa in soft evening light, one hand on her belly, a small notebook and pen beside her.

Twenty-seven weeks and six days: the last day of your sixth month, and of the second trimester. Tomorrow is 28 weeks, and with it comes a new daily habit.

Your baby

One whole head of cauliflower with the leaves trimmed, on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Around 36.6cm from head to heel, about the size of a head of cauliflower (NHS). All the organs are maturing in preparation for life outside the womb (NHS). From tomorrow, you'll pay closer attention to how they move.

Your body

Starting at 28 weeks, the Office on Women's Health says to track your baby's movements. Most women count 10 movements in about 20 minutes, and its advice is direct: "Call your doctor if you count less than 10 movements within two hours" (OWH).

The CDC adds the other half. There is no specific number of movements considered normal; a change in movement is what matters (CDC). Put together, counting is a tool for noticing change, not a test you pass or fail. Your visits also change around now: from 28 to 36 weeks, checkups usually come twice a month (OWH).

Try today

  1. The kick-count primer

    Time: 10 minutes

    1. Pick a time of day when your baby is usually busy; the pattern you've been noticing since 20 weeks is your guide (CDC).

    2. Pick a position: lying on your side, the one you'll be sleeping in from next week (MedlinePlus).

    3. Pick where you'll write it: a notebook by the bed or a note on your phone, with the start time and how long it took to reach 10 (OWH).

    4. Write your provider's number and the hospital's number on the same page.

    Make it work:

    Counting isn't meant to be a vigil. If 10 come quickly, close the notebook and get on with your evening.

Watch for

  • Normal

    quiet stretches while your baby sleeps, and busier times that repeat from day to day.

    Call your provider

    or maternity unit straight away if movements slow down or stop (NHS); the CDC lists this as an urgent warning sign (CDC).

  • Normal

    a count that takes a little longer one evening. If movement suddenly decreases, MedlinePlus says to eat a snack and lie down for a few minutes, and

    call your provider

    if it's still low (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    a little urine when you cough or sneeze, which Kegels help with (MedlinePlus).

    Call your provider right away

    for leaking amniotic fluid or vaginal bleeding beyond light spotting (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    not being sure whether something counts.

    Call your provider

    if you feel like something just isn't right, even if it isn't on any list (CDC).

For you

You know this baby's rhythm better than anyone. That's the point of the baseline you've been building: when something changes, you're the one who notices, and the CDC wants you to trust that and say so (CDC). A call that turns out to be nothing is not a wasted call.

If you're the partner: learn the count too. On evenings she's tired, sit with her for the twenty minutes, and if she says "I'm sure it's fine, but," that's your cue to hand her the phone.

That's your sixth month: kicks you can see, the glucose test, a first page of a birth plan, the swelling check, eyes opening, two vaccine questions, and a place to give birth. Tomorrow the third trimester begins, and the notes continue in your seventh month of pregnancy.

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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