Size matters

After my 20 week anatomy scan ultrasound, I just figured the next time we'd be seeing our son (trying to get used to saying that.... weird) would be the delivery room. I was pleasantly surprised that my doctor ordered an ultrasound when I saw her this week. She said I was measuring on track, as I have been all along, but wanted to check the baby's size as a routine procedure. No arguments here!

 

You can sign up for various pregnancy apps that compare your baby to some sort of fruit or vegetable every week. I found it really helpful in the beginning to know if the baby was the size of a blueberry or apple or carrot or whatever. At that point, the only proof I had that a human was actually growing in there was hearing the heartbeat every four weeks at the doctor's office, so it still seemed pretty unbelievable. It was cool having something concrete to connect to. Now, it kind of seems like they've run out of the bigger produce items and are really stretching. Plus, I can just look down and see him move all the time, so it's easy to connect without fruit comparisons.

 

I swear he's been the size of a pineapple before. Also 5 weeks left OMG.

Even though people say ultrasound weight estimates are notoriously inaccurate, I was still eager to see what they said he weighs. We went this afternoon, and even though I've been able to feel him moving every single day for months now, it's still surreal to actually see a person inside your body.

The ultrasound tech was really nice (they all have been!) and tried to get us a good face picture, but he had his arm in front of his face the whole time. I wasn't too concerned, since we will be seeing him 24/7 soon enough! There were some exciting findings though.

1. He's head down

I had no idea until I was pregnant how much of a big deal this is. Basically, babies are supposed to come out head first, so if his head was up by my ribs, I'd be en route to a scheduled C-section. Not the end of the world, but I'd be happy to avoid it. The tech said it's possible for him to still turn around, but unlikely. I've long suspected that he was in this position since something has been hitting my ribs for weeks, but I'm a first timer and know about as much as Jon Snow, so it's good to have actual confirmation. I've read in multiple places that 1/3 of babies are delivered by C-section, so obviously I realize it's still a decent possibility. That's fine with me if that's what it takes to deliver a healthy baby, but I'm still pleased he's head down.

2. He has hair! Who knew you could see this on an ultrasound? Not me, that's for sure. But the tech pointed out the hair on the back of his head to us! Crazy! I've been picturing him born bald for no particular reason, so I'll have to amend my mental image.

3. They estimated his weight at five pounds. This blew my mind. Even though the app says 4.9 pounds, even though I've seen a pineapple, that all seemed a little abstract to me, and it's just based on averages and not my particular baby anyway.

However, I do have a pretty solid perception of what a five pound baby looks like. My nephew was under five pounds when he came home from the hospital.

So we have this situation.... except imagine the child is INSIDE ME.

 

I've included more pictures so you can get the idea and because I love them and never get tired of looking at them.

 

My baby could be this size RIGHT NOW.

I definitely remember holding Harrison on that first day home from the hospital and it's just really throwing me for a loop that my baby is the size of an actual human baby that I have held and rocked and burped.

I also read this in a magazine this weekend. Again, not really new information, but the visuals help make it suddenly real.



Also, he's five pounds already, and he has up to seven weeks to continue to grow in there (and they can grow half a pound a week!). My plan today was to get his clothes unpacked into the dresser, and it's looking like I need to make sure to include some bigger sizes! I've had it in my head that he will be on the smaller side, I guess because of wishful thinking, but it's time to face facts and it's just as likely that I could be cooking up a 9 pounder.

In other news, I haven't run in about two weeks. I've made two attempts, and both times I stopped because of pain all along the outside of my lower right leg. I mean, it wasn't anything concerning or that I couldn't run through, but I didn't see the point and just did something else pain-free instead. I did realize that since I'm not training, I've abandoned all I've learned about the importance of shoe maintenance and have been running on long dead shoes. At some point I'll try out new shoes (I got a pair right before I found out I was pregnant and have been "saving" them for some reason). In the meantime, I've been having much more fun at spin class, a strength training class called Body Sculpt, kickboxing, and the elliptical. All comfortable and non-torturous, so that's working for me.



Gratuitous spin bike belly shot. This was one of the days I originally attempted to run, and was therefore not in bike shorts, so that was a bit painful.

Today is, very, very sadly, the last day of summer. I'm working at my school the next two days, and then our district officially starts on Monday (teachers only). I can't say I'm thrilled to introduce the alarm clock back into my life, but it was a pretty fantastic summer, and the fact that it's over just means I'm closer to meeting this kid! We are having one last hurrah at Five Guys tonight, because it's delicious and even though it's across the street, the first and only time I've ever been there was last July after the Endless Summer 6 hour race, and that's just a crime.

I know most of you are in real careers where you don't get a summer break, but pretend you do and share your perfect last summer day. I'm pretty psyched to fold teeny tiny baby clothes, stuff my face with ridiculously greasy food (it's cool though because I just had sliced cucumber and dip as a snack so it evens out), and watch the last two episodes of season 2 of Orange is the New Black (which is also sad because I'll miss it).