36.5 Week Ultrasound

Well, first I'll be honest. I have lots of cute pictures from Thanksgiving, and cute pictures of the kids in general, to post, but they're going to have to wait. Sitting really hurts me most of the time, so you may not see many posts, and I'm behind on emails, too. Driving is the most painful activity I can think of. When I started having three appointments each week for NSTs and AFIs, I put a lot of our daytime activities on hold indefinitely: Bible study, MOPS, playgroup/moms' group, Jonathan's gymnastics, etc. I do all the non-negotiable stuff, but that's about it. I am so thankful for everyone who is helping me out with childcare for Grace when I go to these appointments, and I'm tired of asking for help, but I have to keep it up for now.

So, today I had my four-week follow-up ultrasound at the perinatal place, and I'm so happy to tell you that the baby seems to be thriving in its fluid-filled home. The sonographer (who is super nice and the same gal I had last time) says she estimates the baby's weight to be about 8 lbs., 12 oz, and the AFI jumped up to 36. I asked her about the accuracy of the weight, knowing that measurements this late are often off by 10% in either direction. She said that she's probably within a few ounces. She says that it often happens that a mom will deliver the same day as her ultrasound, so she can check the accuracy of the weight, and it's usually very close. I thought that was interesting. Also the sonographer said that the baby looks very filled out, and that she can see a layer of fat on its tummy. Here are a couple profile shots of the filled- out baby:

After the ultrasound, the perinatologist-a different one this time-came in and told me that the baby is doing well even though it's big, and that he wants to see me again in two weeks if I haven't delivered by then. He thinks I will. I doubt it, but I hope I'm wrong. If I am still pregnant in two weeks, he says he'll want me to go ahead and have the baby because the prematurity risks will be gone and the complications from polyhydramnios will not be bad yet. You can Google the complications of polyhydramnios if you want to freak out, but we know that God is knitting this baby together no matter the outcome. The doc says to be sure to keep up my NSTs, which I am doing faithfully. All that driving and the need for childcare is making me crazy, but we are so thankful for this baby and it will all be worth it. And now this post is done because my ribs are killing me.