Mon 15 Aug 2011
I just got back from the OB. It’s pretty obvious now that I’m going to blow the 24-lb limit. If we use my one-time abnormally low weigh-in as the starting weight (120), which is on my OB’s record, then I’ve gained 19 lbs as of this morning’s visit. If we use the highest weight recorded by Kaiser within the few months before I got pregnant (127), then I’ve gained 12. Either way, with a whole 14 more weeks to go before delivery date, there’s no way I’m only gonna gain another 5-12 lbs in that time.
My OB brought up the point that my build/genetics isn’t designed to comfortably carry and birth a large child, but since Allie’s father is “a strapping tall Caucasian man,” and we can’t alter either party’s genetics, the only thing I’m able to do to help make delivery uncomplicated as far as baby size is concerned is to mitigate weight gain. He said ideally the baby’s weight would be in the high 6s, low 7s (lbs) at birth.
On the brighter side of things, Allie looks “happy” and “healthy” on her ultrasound. I asked my OB if he could confirm her gender before we buy too many girl items. He tried, but Allie was laying on her side with her legs in a semi-Buddha pose so that one foot clearly and completely blocked her genitals and we couldn’t see anything there. The doctor thought the position was a little odd, saying “that’s weird, it’s not quite cross-legged,” but it makes sense to me cuz I’ve laid that way comfortably since childhood, with the lower leg’s foot propped up on the upper leg’s raised knee. (Mr. W once called it weird, too, when he walked in on me lounging that way on the bed.) Maybe this means Allie and I can do yoga together, I dunno.
Other random stuff I learned about being pregnant:
* It’s not that my boobs are sagging; it’s that the stomach is now rising to meet them. =P
* Moving around during the day lulls the baby to sleep with the assistance of the amniotic fluid, but when I’m laying motionless at night, she wakes up in the stillness well-rested and full of energy to play and dance. Rocking myself to and fro on my side lulls her back to sleep.
* People see what they want to see when they look at me. Just about everyone complains I’m “teeny tiny,” barely showing, especially when looking at me straight-on or from behind. This could be because they expect/want to see me looking very obviously pregnant at 6.5 months along. I’ve seen photos of friends’ friends who at this point have their bellies extended way beyond their breasts, belly button popped out (neither is true for me, and I’m still smaller than some coworkers who are not pregnant). But there were 2 people, a female coworker and our pilates instructor, who both said that it’s obvious I’m carrying a girl because I’m very wide out the sides and back. The two accounts are contradictory. *shrug*
Good Morning. You have got to be the most beautiful preggo lady I’ve ever seen! And I think you look just perfect! I carried wide and in the back for my son and my daughter. I’m just built that way. Saved on the stretch marks though. :-p
Aww! *blush* I bet you say this to all the expectant mommies. 🙂 What a great friend.
No stretch marks yet…but I just started getting occasional itchiness. Eek! *slathering on cocoa butter and Clarins anti-stretch-mark cream from friends*
” … still smaller than some coworkers who are not pregnant” LMAO !!!
I can send pictures. =P
yes, photos please — of the non-preggos, AND of yourself!
I’ll see if I can sneak some photos.
When I said you were “tiny”, I guess it was because I expected your belly to be more extended. I didn’t mean to offend. I’m excited that you are in a wonderful stage of a healthy pregnancy and it’s fun to see 🙂
Oh, you didn’t offend me. The general consensus is that my stomach is smaller than expected. It’s just that other people make it sound like I blew up all around, which is opposite of the more oft-heard comment that I’m not showing much.