Something I've been fretting over

If you've followed my blog from the beginning, you know that John and I make big babies. Porgie was 8 lb 4oz at 40 weeks. Izzy was 9lb 6oz at 39 weeks. With both pregnancies, I had pregnancy induced hypertension, but thankfully it never developed into anything more serious. Because of my high blood pressure, I had extra growth scans. According to my doctor, my babies were at a higher risk for growth restriction. Obviously my ginormous children never suffered any ill effects from my wacky blood pressure.

Before getting pregnant with this baby, I lost about 40 pounds. I started out at a fantastic weight. My blood pressure has been perfect the entire pregnancy. But oddly enough, my doctor seemed to think that my baby might be small. At my 24 week visit, my belly was measuring a week behind. At my 28 week visit, my belly was measuring a full 3 weeks behind. So, they scheduled me for another growth scan.

At first, I didn't really think much of it. I mentioned it to a few good friends, but I tried not to make the information into a big deal. But everyone I encountered seemed to mention that my stomach was "SO TINY!!!" I guess people thought I'd appreciate their comments on my small size, but instead they just made me nervous. Honestly, I haven't felt "tiny" in a long time. At this point, I feel large and cumbersome (like all third trimester mommies). Also, the baby gives me nice big kicks, which also don't feel like they are being made by a tiny creature. But regardless, all of these outside comments on the size of my belly slowly crept into my neurotic brain. I often found myself lying awake at night thinking about it.

My growth scan was this afternoon, and honestly, I was more than a little scared. But all that worrying was for NOTHING, because my baby is in the 54th percentile for growth. Totally and completely normal. Not too big, not too small, but just right. I am thinking that instead of having another large baby, I am going to have a nice average-sized bundle of joy. And I am completely fine with that.

Now maybe I can get a little sleep.

P.S. The ultrasound was painful. PAINFUL. Apparently the baby's head was at a weird angle, so the tech decided to apply a ton of pressure to her little wand. I am fairly certain that she fucked up some of my ligaments or something, because since leaving the office, every time the baby moves my lower abdomen hurts. And for all my pain and suffering, I received two completely vague and unrecognizable photos. Awesome.