Thirty-three weeks

It's been a rough couple weeks in pregnancy land. I went back to my doctor last Wednesday and I was still measuring big. Like, I'm 7.5 months pregnant and I'm as big as 8.5 months pregnant. So I went in for an ultrasound last Friday. The technician said the baby is a "normal size" at 4 lbs. 4 oz. and the reason I'm measuring big is because I have extra amniotic fluid.

Cut to this Wednesday when I saw my doctor again. The extra amniotic fluid isn't a huge worry, but it does mean we have to monitor the baby more closely. She thinks my placenta isn't working optimally, which is why there's extra fluid, so we have to make sure the baby's getting enough oxygen and growing appropriately. Which basically means I'm having weekly visits for the rest of the pregnancy and each week I have to have what's called a "non-stress test." I get to sit in a big comfy chair and they monitor the baby's heart rate and movement for 30 minutes.

Even though my doctor's not very worried about this, there aren't zero risks associated with it. Because my uterus is getting stretched so much, my chances of going into pre-term labor are greater. I also probably won't make it to my due date for the same reason, but as long as we're past 36 weeks I'm fine with that. Since there's more room in there, it'll be easier for the baby to get out of the "head down" position, which you want for delivery, and there's also a greater possibility of him getting tangled in the cord. So I guess those things also increase my risk for c-section.

So far everything's looking fine, though. My doctor said the baby looked great at Wednesday's non-stress test, and his growth and proportions are all normal according to the ultrasound. We'll continue on this course and then in a couple weeks I'll get another ultrasound to make sure he's still growing well.

Looking on the bright side, I never had an ultrasound with Ben past 20 weeks, and at that point fetuses still look sort of like aliens. So it was really neat to see the baby looking a little chubby. I got a couple pictures and you can clearly see the nose, mouth, chin, arm and hands and they look human and cute. It's amazing to think that in seven weeks or fewer he'll be here.