This afternoon we went in for another ultrasound to check on the baby’s growth. The last four weeks have seemed to pass pretty quickly. The baby has been very active the last few weeks and the movement from our little one have been strong enough to be felt not only by me but by Jason & Hope. This past week it was so active that Hope was shocked she could see my stomach moving from across the room. I’ve had a bit of a cold this past week and began to wonder if perhaps I was losing weight again or if the baby had changed positions because carrying the baby just felt a tad bit different. Today during the ultrasound it was confirmed that the baby was breech which is the first time I’ve seen it with any of my children in an ultrasound. I’m sure it’s happened before because I know babies move a lot in the womb but it came as a bit of a surprise and then thinking back to how much differently things have felt the last week it all began to make sense. Typically if I heard that news in an ultrasound I’d probably be a nervous wreck fearing a c-section. But I already know I have to have one due to the baby’s spina bifida.
The baby was sound asleep during the entire ultrasound. It’s heart rate was only 144, which is still normal, but down about 20 beats from the last few ultrasounds. As the ultrasound tech began to do measurements and check on the baby’s growth it was obvious that the baby was curled up all cozy and didn’t want to budge at all. For most of the ultrasound it’s arms or hands were covering it’s face and when they weren’t the baby just wasn’t in a position to get a clear enough view of it. I suppose the newborn photographer in me can’t complain that I have such a curly sleepy baby.Before the ultrasound tech finished she managed to get one image of the baby appearing to be curled up grabbing it’s feet. Hope was quite excited and claims it shows that the baby has lots of potential to be a gymnast someday. The baby is estimated to be about 14 inches now and weights approximately 2lbs 6oz. That puts the baby in the 36th percentile for growth for it’s gestational age. we were told anything between 10-90th percentile is normal.
Here’s the best image we managed to capture today. I posted a few more in flickr, they’re not the best this time around but they may help you see bits and pieces of our little one who is definitely still growing!
by Amanda Kern
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