37 weeks- my singleton is alive, in vertex position, and activity is present!

"Emergency" third trimester ultrasound.

On Monday at my appointment with my midwife, she did her usually pocking and prodding of my tummy to check on baby's relative size and position. She measured my fundal height at 36 weeks (I was 36 weeks, 1 day), and noted that I have been measuring small for the past 3 appointments. After feeling the baby, she expressed additional concern that she may have been mistaking Roo's hips for her shoulders, and that the baby might actually be breech. So we scheduled a late ultrasound for two days later (today) to asses Roo's growth and position. Those 48 hours seemed to crawl by. I just wanted to know that my baby was getting the nutrients she needed and that her growth pattern was normal, and that she wasn't breech.

My midwife warned me that if it was determined the baby has a slowed growth rate, that we would need to schedule an induction. In addition to that, if she has a slowed growth rate AND was breech, they would most likely schedule a c-section. HOW TERRIFYING. All I could think of was how much I wanted to naturally experience the surprise of labor and everything that childbirth has to offer. I'm sure there are mothers out there thinking I'm nuts, but I don't care about the pain or feeling like it will never be over. I want to go into labor when my baby is ready and dilate on my own and push her out when I get the urge. All without medical intervention and especially without any medication.
Long story short, the ultrasound report (shown above) came back completely normal. They did estimate her to be a bit small for her gestational age, but she is in the 18th percentile so they aren't overly concerned ("Normal" is between the 10th and 90th percentile). They checked on the development of her heart, stomach, bladder, and brain, as well as the condition of my ovaries, cervix, placenta, and the umbilical cord. Everything came back with great results. My tiny baby girl is perfectly healthy and developing just as she should be! :) And yes, they reported her position as "vertex" which means she is head down and ready to engage. I couldn't be happier.

37 week update

Little Roo is the length of a bunch of swiss chard!

How far along? 37 weeks.
Total weight gain? 25 lbs. I actually lost 2 lbs this past week.
Belly size? Haven't measured this week.
Stretch marks? Still on the look out for new ones, but none so far.
Baby's sex? Girl!
Size of baby? She was measured during her ultrasound today to be 5 lbs, 15 oz. The average baby at 37 weeks is 6 lbs, 5 oz. She is a little munchkin!
Movement? My midwife was a bit concerned at our appointment this week thinking she may have been mistaking baby's shoulders for her hips and she could in fact be breech. I had an ultrasound done today and it was confirmed that she is definitely head down! Also, she is doing a lot of bumping around in there. She stretches her legs out and I get a huge bulge (her bum) on my right side and tiny bumps (her feet) on my left side. It looks so awkward!
What is your baby doing? Hopefully still gaining weight at about an ounce a day. If she were born right now she would be perfectly healthy, but these last few weeks let her brain and lungs completely mature. And if she is going to be born with hair, she has it already!
What is your body doing? Still waiting for the baby to drop. I can't wait, even if it makes me waddle like a duck, lol. 
Belly button in or out? I'm pretty sure it's going to stay flat until baby comes out!
Happy or moody most of the time? So happy! Little Roo is almost here!
Symptoms? Definitely Braxton Hicks! They let up for almost 2 weeks, but they are back and stronger now. They have been steadily increasing for the past 3 days. I've also periodically had a lot of lower abdominal cramping (similar to period cramps) and I've seen what I assume to be cervical fluid, which means my cervix is preparing to dilate and efface. Things are moving along!
Maternity clothes? I'm not planning on buying anything new since Roo will be here so soon. I'll just suck it up.
Sleep? Still no problem at all sleeping. Actually, I tend to pass out sooner than I wish and wake up with my glasses still on my face, lol. I'm so spoiled right now I can't imagine what to expect when baby gets here and I only get an hour of sleep at a time!
Food cravings? I revisited my pickle craving and had some Grillos this week.
Anything make you feel queasy or sick? The ultrasound wand today. Lol. I felt nauseous after about a half an hour of her pushing that wand into my stomach. It was so terribly uncomfortable and I just had to lay there and focus on my breathing. It also didn't help that she put 2 towels on me and I felt like I was overheating.
Miss anything? Not have crying fits over stupid things, haha.
Looking forward to? My mom (and possibly Desiree) coming down tomorrow to help me set up Roo's nursery. That will make everything so real to me and I will come to terms that my due date is in less than 20 days and I will have a baby! I will also be washing all of her tiny clothes as well as packing our bags for the hospital tomorrow. The only thing left after that to prepare is to install the car seat and buy a few last minute items.
Best moment this week? The baby shower on Saturday! Everything was amazing, my mom did such a fantastic job planning it. I had a lot of fun and it was so nice to see my family. Now I can't wait to bring my little roo to family events in the future. :)

Veggie Galaxy


To celebrate baby's well-being and the end to a very stressful 48 hours for myself and Ashton, we treated ourselves to a scrumptious vegan lunch at Veggie Galaxy in Cambridge! I had the stuffed French toast (who can go wrong when breakfast is served all day?!) and Ashton chose the bacon tempeh burger--both of which were AMAZING. And at the end of our meal we snagged a chocolate peanut butter frappe to go!




CONVERSATION

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