Henry was born well over 5 months ago. But I still feel the kicks.
A quick Google search is enough to convince me that I’m not alone. Lots of moms feel Phantom Baby Kicks (PBKs).
Mine kick in (hah) mostly at night when I lay in bed; this was always when it was easiest to feel Henry moving around inside of me. Now, I rest in bed and I swear on my life that I think a little baby is still kicking inside of me. Whether it’s just gas or uterine spasms or my completely overactive imagination, who knows. But they feel SO REAL. I was actually was so convinced that I was pregnant again at one point that I found myself in the dark, staring at the ceiling, and counting back the weeks to when I got my IUD to see if there was ANY WAY that I could be pregnant and the baby large enough to kick me. (Answer: no – this is not a coy way of saying I’m preggers with baby numero dos.)
Anyway, I’d love to know if anyone else experienced Phantom Baby Kicks. When did it go away?!
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{ 62 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve never heard of this phenomenon! Strange!
I’m twelve months out from having Colton and every so often will still feel phantom baby kicks.
I didn’t know this was a thing! I get these and I thought I was just nuts and my baby is 6!
Yes! My OB told me it is most likely tendons tightening back up after being so stretched out, I think mine went away around the 1 year mark. They totally drove me crazy for awhile!
My girls are 7 and 5, and I still feel random baby kicks!
Yes! I have a 14 week old and I’ve been feeling the same thing! They mostly happen when I’m laying on my back and I swear they feel identical to the kicks I felt when I was around 20 weeks pregnant. I’ve convinced myself a few times that I was pregnant again as well, and nope, I’m not…but the fake kicks feel so real!
Wow..I thought I was the only one. For a long time I thought I would be like on the show “I didnt know I was pregnant” because it felt like real kicks. My baby is almost 2 now and I don’t feel them anymore. Thanks for sharing. I’m glad I wasn’t going crazy
They never go away! I had over 4 years from when I had my first until I got pregnant with my 2nd and felt them the whole time. My 60 year old coworker still has them, and she doesn’t even have a uterus anymore!
It’s probably just gas but they feel SO MUCH like a little one kickin’ around in there. Almost makes me want another. ALMOST but not quite.
Yes! My daughter is 3 weeks younger than Henry and I swear I have felt them recently! I Thought I was crazy! Glad to hear I’m not alone.
Oh my god! This is a thing!? I’ve just been blaming it on gas and worried I was preggo again! (I’m not) I thought I was crazy!
And I counted the weeks to IUD too…like no Alison, a 4 week old baby could not be kicking…or alternatively, “No Alison, you’d know if you were 7 months pregnant.”
I had my son 3 months ago and I definitely know what you mean. Sometimes when I’m laying on the couch I start to feel little pops or kicks but I think it’s just gas bubbles lol!
I don’t feel the ‘kicks’, but I do sometimes feel as though I’m pregnant still. I also have an IUD, but still took a test just to be extra sure. You’re not alone, my little one is almost 4 months.
I don’t know when they went away? My son is 18m now, and I don’t feel them anymore, but I did for the longest time.
My son is 8 and I still feel phantom fluttery kicks. It always makes me take pause and do period math.
My son will be 8 next week, and I still feel them also….every once in a blue moon. Miss that baby inside me feeling….
My baby is 6 weeks old, I don’t feel kicks but I wake up at night thinking he is next to me, when in fact he is in his bassinet. I remember you saying you felt this also. Motherhood is so powerful.
I’m banking on “they may never go away!” My daughter is almost 18 months and I still get them now! It’s so frustrating sometimes – and yes, I have taken pregnancy tests because I am THAT PARANOID.
They aren’t nearly as frequent now as they were in the first 6 months, but definitely still there. I think it’s uterine spasms though because I can even feel it if I touch my hand to my belly. Now that is freaky
You described me exactly! My son is 20 months now and I still feel the kicks ALL THE TIME ..like 3 times a day (and multiple “kicks” at a time). my husband thought i was crazy until one time i felt it and then put his hand on my stomach and he felt it and freaked out! needless to say I took a pregnancy test (twice acttually because i REALLY thought i was pregnant) but i wasnt…..definitely has to be uterine spasms but ill feel it multiple times in a minute so i dont know its just SO weird.
Yup sure did- I was convinced I was pregnant. I still get them every once in awhile, almost 11 months later.
YES! I get them too. I never heard of phantom kicks till you posted this, but I am absolutely certain I feel something in my uterus that feels like baby kicks. My baby was born in August so I am 3.5 months PP and I still get them. I think it is sweet and it brings me back to when I was pregnant with him and I could feel him kicking, but no one else could. I miss it but I am most definitely not ready to have another baby!
My daughter is eight months old and I still get them! I think, my belly pooch could mean I’m pregnant, not that I haven’t lost my baby weight! But, no preggers here either.
Loving the Target tank. I have one in each color, haha! Such a good deal…
Hi Caitlin! Did you end up posting a review of your Paraguard IUD? I’m curious about how your experience has been since insertion, as I’m thinking of getting one…
Thanks!
I briefly talked about it in a post. But basically I think it’s a really good option. It did hurt going in but I also think that I have some physical issues that made insertion more painful. Hopefully my experience was worse than average. I like the idea lot I haven’t had any side effects and it’s nice not have to worry about remembering to take the pill.
Mine didn’t hurt at all! I kept holding. My breath waiting for it to hit me and then she said, “you’re all set!”…so I think it just depends because my pain tolerance is very very low.
Okay, thanks for the info ladies!
YES! My son is 5 and I still get them. I had to look it up at first too, because it was really freaking me out!
how is the IUD? I have been seriously considering it but concern about the complications/pain? It does seem the best option if the pill is not a good one and if I have allergies. Would love to know your follow up thoughts….I have not found many people who use it but I think it sounds like a good option!
I answered this question above!
YES!!!! Then you figure out its just your stomach playing tricks on you. The worst is when you stop breastfeeding though. That “milk coming in” feeling stays with me for awhile!
I didn’t know this was a thing! But I have been having it lately thought I was imagining it (I stopped breastfeeding in August). Thank you for sharing this. I get the phantom kicks too, especially the day after I do an intense ab workout. I think it’s just my abs twitching.
Yep! Totally get them. Right after giving birth is when they were the strongest (and made me so sad), but 4 months out I still get them at random times during the day.
I had those for a while, I think they went away around the one year mark. My daughter just turned 2 and I know it has been a while since I felt them. So strange! Although I have to admit I kind of liked it because I missed the kicks, ha!
haha! I totally felt phantom kicks about a month ago, to the point that I took a pregnancy test!!!!!!!! Negative — thankfully.
ME. Especially when I nurse. It’s so weird. I also feel phantom contractions sometimes.
Wow I have never heard of this! So interesting.
I get them all the time too! I actually said something to my husband. My daughter is 10 months old!
OMG, it’s so funny you mention this! I just read about how some people actually can have twins and not know it and one can continue to be inside the mom for up to 2 years after the birth of the other twin! Maybe those aren’t phantom kicks after all!
Whaaaat. No!
Yeah. I hope the twin is a girl so you can reuse outfits.
That doesn’t make any sense… How could that happen? Where did you read that?
I think Kara is pulling our legs
This is hilarious. Caitlin, to bad you can’t save it and use it for April’s Fool. The twin you weren’t aware of is now being born.
My son is 7, and I still get those PBK’s. I’m not sure they’ll ever go away, but they make me feel nostalgic, so I guess it’s not a bad thing
SO glad you posted this! I have been feeling them since Edith was born as well but I thought I was just crazy!
i totally had them. sherry petersik blogged about them and i remember reading it and thinking it sounded soooo weird, but after my son was born (not immediately after…it started when he was a few months old) i’d feel kicks in the morning.
sometimes i’d even put my hand on my stomach and could feel “the baby” kicking. so weird.
I didnt know this was a thing! I still feel them 13.5 months out!
WHOAH. Thank you for this post. I was trying to figure out what on earth was going on with me. I have totally been feeling these but haven’t been doing any sort of ab work (oops) that would merit muscle twinges. I even wondered if it was somehow possible I was pregnant again and the tiniest fetus was kicking me.
Wow…I didn’t realize it was a real thing either…I still get them and my son is two. Sometimes I feel like I feel the heartbeat. Weird!
Got the phantom kicks, coupled with a FALSE POSITIVE pregnancy test! Took a blood test on a Friday and spent the whole weekend thinking I was preggers again. Wild!
My baby is 16 yrs old, and I still feel them once in a while!!
I’m 8 months post partum and I still feel them every once in awhile. I definitely do a double take when I do.. and get a bit nervous
I don’t feel baby kicks but at 230pm everyday at work I have the urge that I need to pump milk…its been 2 years since I pumped…it is a tightness like my left breast is full…it is so strange!
My baby is nearly 9 months old and I still get the odd phantom baby kick at night when in bed but more often I get the wake in the middle of the night patting down the bed checking for the baby.
My husband now just tells me that she is in bed and I can go back to sleep. It is so bizzare as we have never had her on or in our bed.
And we are not doing any formal sleep training but have just had 2 nights in a row of her sleeping through the night. Fingers crossed it continues.
She started sleeping through at 2 months and stopped when she hit the 4 month sleep regression so I am so excited that this continues.
I still feel the phantom kicks and have a 15 month old – they’re much less frequent now. One every two weeks or so!
I have those too!!! I kept thinking they were just random gas because, let’s be honest, I haven’t had enough sex with the hubs [plus it's all been protected] since the babe came along, but it’s good to know I’m not the only one!
I mentioned to my GP that I sometimes still felt “baby kicks”. She smiled sweetly and nodded. She said it may be similar to sympathy pains some husbands feel during their wives’ pregnancies. She went on to say it was probably gas… I’ve had two children w/in 18mo and didn’t feel them after my first (while not pregnant). My second is 4mo and I’ve been feeling PBKs randomly for awhile. I’m relieved to know it’s common and will think of them as a fun little souvenir of my time being pregnant. I’ll miss them if/when they go away.
My baby is 7 months & 5 days. I feel baby kicks like if i was 4-5 months pregnant. I can also feel them with my hand like if i really had a baby kicking insode me. I feel a bump & my stomach moves. All my blood work & urine tests come out negative. Sometimes my husband says ima come out in the show “I didn’t know I was Pregnant” haha, but i think he’s crazy. I just want to know what is wrong with me?!
I’m feeling them right now, an my youngest child is 9-1/2!
Yes! Me too! My daughter is six months old, and I’m still feeling them. I’ve felt them a couple times a week since she was born. So bizarre!
Caitlyn, I know this post is really old now, but when I googled it, your site came up and I must have missed this post! MacKenna’s 18 months now and I have been feeling “kicks” in the same spot for the past week! It’s driving me insane! At one point last week, I swear it felt like a baby limb rolling across. If I didn’t have an IUD in, I would swear there was a baby kicking in there!