Full Term and a Growing Baby
So, as of today by any calculation, I’m full term- 37 weeks! Full term is the point at which, if the baby is born, he will no longer be considered premature. His lungs and other organs are fully developed and all he will do from this point until birth is hang around in my belly gaining weight. Quite lazy of him, if you ask me!
I’m joking, of course. I still want him to stay in there until January.
Today, as part of the prenatal workup for the full-term health check, baby and I had what might be our last ultrasound. They will do another one at 40 weeks if he hasn’t arrived by then, but it may or may not get to that point.
In this ultrasound, I noticed that he’s so big now that I really can’t see much anymore. I got a look at his big head and his spine. He’s posterior-facing, looking toward my back, which is good, since that is the easiest position for birth. The tech managed to get a good view of his ear, but that was the only body part that was easily distinguishable from the angle he’s facing. I also got to see that he has some hair, so he won’t be born bald, apparently!
The tech measured his head and body and declared that he is a little over seven pounds. The doctor says this is normal for his gestational age and my ethnicity and height/weight profile. Chinese babies are generally a little smaller than Caucasian babies, just as many of the Chinese women here are smaller than me.
In actuality, what I was told was basically something along the lines of “The baby is big but it’s ok because you have big American hips so you can have the baby naturally and it will be ok.” I think something gets lost in the translation between the doctor’s second-language English and my very poor Chinese. As I told my partner Justin, who had to miss today’s appointment due to work, “Everything looks fine because I’m a fat American and can birth a big baby.”
I am kind of hoping he doesn’t grow too much more. The charts all say that the baby grows about a half pound a week during the last month or so, but since I want him to stay in there another 3-4 weeks, I’m looking at a 8 1/2 to 9 pound baby!
Nonetheless, it was good to see him again and maybe the next time I see him will be not on an ultrasound monitor, but in person. (Just not until January, please.)
Posts
