fee-fi-fo-fum

sometimes people are right.

like when they’re all “you’re really not due till february?!?!!”

…and then their mouths hang open, overcome with shock and horror at the size of my 27 week belly.. imagining, i’m sure, the sheer monstrosity that it will be, say, THIRTEEN WEEKS from now.

:gasp:

like i said, sometimes people are right..

i had an appointment today with my trusty ob. last month he spent a long time measuring, and this month it took even longer. he just seemed so surprised. it went something like this:

ob: measure. “hmm.” consult chart.

me: lay there.

ob: scratch head, measure again.

me: lay there.

ob: “your last baby was really 7lbs 7oz?”

me: “yep, but i measured a couple weeks ahead for most of my second trimester, till the baby dropped”

ob: measure again, look confused. ask nurse to bring in ultrasound pictures.

me: lay there.

ob: poke and prod baby for like ten hours.

me: grimace.

after that, he shared that i’m officially measuring four weeks ahead. FOUR weeks. and that everything seems more like a january 14th baby. he’s especially glad we’re sure about dates, and had a very early ultrasound to confirm.

i’ve gained less weight at this point then last time around. not so little that he is concerned, but not nearly enough to blame the big measurements on. we also learned that baby is head down, and pretty low already. when penelope went head down, lots of the measurements went back down to a normal range.

so this could mean a few things. it could be a matter of gestational diabetes, which wouldn’t be fun, but is very manageable. i’ve got the test for that later this week. it could also mean that i’ve got too much amnionic fluid. don’t google that sort of thing while pregnant, it’ll only freak you out. not that i know or anything. and finally, my favorite answer to pregnancy ailments, it could mean absolutely nothing.

we’ll know more after some tests in the next few weeks.. but he wants me to mentally prepare for the possibility that a c-section might be a safer option. normally, with either condition (gestational diabetes or hydraminos), he’d recommend inducing close to 38 weeks, but that isn’t an option for a vbac (too much stress on the uterine scar). if both tests come back negative, or inconclusive, we’ll postpone the delivery decision a bit, and see how baby continues to grow.

case & i are both so thankful for a trustworthy doc, who has tons of experience. he is compassionate, and willing to sit and talk with us for as long as we need. he gives his opinion when we ask for it, but isn’t overbearing or condescending. since he’s the only doc in the area that will do vbacs, we really trust his input on the matter.  if he gets to the point where he isn’t as comfortable with a vbac, i think we’ll go ahead a schedule a repeat c/s. not fun, but certainly more favorable than a long, failed labor and emergency c/s. been there. no, thanks!

hmm. that was longer than intended. i guess i’ll blame it on spending the better part of my afternoon/evening reading picture books and knocking over block towers. oh and eating tacos with a toddler. you do NOT want to see my kitchen, or dining room floor right now. so i’m not going to show you.

but i will show you a belly picture from last week (26 weeks):

on a lighter note (har har): the doc is still comfortable with me flying back to ca for christmas :). i’ll get a copy of my chart at my december appointment, for the airline, and  i’m good to go. unless something dramatic happens between now and then, which isn’t likely. hooray! btw– remind me again about aforementioned “hooray!” when i’ve spent all day flying with a toddler while 34 weeks pregnant. ;)