Growth Scan

Had our growth scan today to see how big Miss Lexi is. It was fun to see her again after 4 months! The tech was unable to confirm that she's a girl, but did say she didn't see any boy parts down there so that's good news.

At this point (36 weeks 1 day), Lexi "should" be a little under 6 lbs. Of course, this is just average and assumes that your baby will be about 7 1/2 lbs at birth. Let's review that Tate was 9 lbs 14 ounces and born on his due date. So, I'm expecting little miss to be bigger than 7 1/2. I've been telling my doctor for weeks that I just know she's huge because her movements have been downright painful for months now. Sadly, I was right!

I had people guess on Facebook how much she would be right now. Guesses ranged from about 6-7 1/2 lbs. Turns out she's 8 lbs and "some change" right now. Granted this measurement is +/- 2 lbs (super accurate info there), but I have a feeling she's pretty close to that 8 pound mark. If she gains the "typical" 1/2 pound per week, we're looking at another 10 pounder. Joy! Based on the measurements (head, tummy, and femur), she's measuring at 37 weeks 6 days. They do 3 measurements of each area and average them and let me tell you that far too many of those measurements were in the 39 week range. I was relieved when the tech said only 37 wks 6 days!

So, what does this all mean? Who knows really. I go for my weekly Obgyn appt on Friday so I'll know more then when my doctor can review the whole report. My OB has said she doesn't induce for size so I'm pretty concerned. Why do the growth scan? Well, if she's estimated to be over 4500 grams (about 10 lbs) at her due date, then we can discuss planning a c-section. I will never choose to have a c-section unless it becomes medically necessary, but it is good to have an idea of what we're dealing with. Luckily, I have the Ehlers Danlos connective tissue disorder so my body is more stretchy than it should be. That definitely helps when you're expecting a big baby. However, if she's too big and I would need a c-section that is super bad news. Because of the disorder, my body makes bad scar tissue and a c-section could really cause a lot of problems for me in the long run. Plus, I think it's super important for babies to be pushed out so they get all that fluid out of their lungs. There's also info that being pushed out helps with all kinds of sensory processing and we already know that sensory issues run in the family.

I want to make sure that she stays in and grows enough to be healthy and not have to stay in the hospital any extra, but at the same time I really want her out a couple weeks early- I'd be good with 38-39 weeks. My OB appts are on Fridays, so I'm really hoping that my dr will agree to strip my membranes on the 16th. The 9th would be great too, but I don't see that happening. I am so ready to be done being pregnant and to get this little person out so we can meet her!

The best news is that there's no way I'll be allowed to go over my due date so max 26 days (in 2 hours) until she's here. And it's likely more like 3 weeks! Praying I go into labor sometime in early November. I'll be full term (37 weeks) on Tuesday and I'm totally okay with going anytime in November (want to wait til then so we have 3 generations of girls born in November). So wait a week and then send some serious labor thoughts my way please. Let's meet this little girl already!!!