When should you start doing kick counts for twins?

When should you start doing kick counts for twins?

I'm also confused about 'fetal monitoring' when I've gone to L&D they tell you to 'monitor movement' but 'before 28 weeks they say 'may not feel for a day or two', so how are we supposed to know if it is OK or what to monitor FOR before 28 weeks? the few times I've mentioned not feeling them move much I've been told 'well they are not 28 weeks yet', I'm so confused on this....?

In my experience, the 'drinking something sweet or cold' and lying down doesn't work- LOL the only thing they've reacted to that was 'sweet' was the orange drink for the glucose test that had them bouncing all over the place... and it took about an hour for that to kick in...

 

I admit I never did kick counts. I worried about it a bit, but it was hard to tell who was who, and I was also trying to count BH contractions and remember to take my terbutaline and keep track of what I was eating and... it just got to be too much. So I just tried to be aware, in a vague way, of whether I had felt each baby move in the past hour or so. My OB also told me it wasn't really that important to actually count kicks.

 

I didn't start doing the kick counts until I was about 32 weeks {when I also started my NST's}. The way my two were positioned it wasn't too hard to count the kicks and know who was who. Like the pp said, my OB didn't think it was too important as long as you were conscious of them kicking and moving during the day.

 

My dr never instructed me to do kick counts. He'd just ask if I was feeling "lots of movement".

Jen

 

They gave me a paper with instructions on how to count kicks and wanted me to start at 28 weeks same time I started my NSTs. I have to admit I don't really do it :blush: It is to hard to tell them apart and I know their movements pretty well some days they are crazy boys and some days they are sleepy boys LOL

 

My OB told me to monitor movement. She said that kick counts are difficult with twins because of positioning etc. plus if you have an anterior placenta (like I do) you may feel one twin less anyways.

 

I was told to start at 28 weeks. I have a nurse that calls me for the counts every week, along with contraction counts. They seem to think it's important. Kick counts is a very good way to tell if there is distress, but it requires consistency to be able to tell if there are any changes.

My instructions are to lie down on my side after dinner and count individual movements until I reach 10 movements and then make a note of the time it took to get 10 movements. With twins they told me to not worry so much in kick counts whether or not I feel one baby more than the other - any movement counts. If I go 1 hour without the 10, then I am to drink juice or something to make them active then try again. If I go another hour without 10 then I have to go to L&D.

 

28 weeks is the standard milestone for starting kick counts.