Size Does Matter

Today, Jude had what should be her last ultrasound. Our doctor had recommended we have one more - at 31 to 32 weeks - due to concerns about the size of the baby. Often times, gestational diabetes leads to large babies. Because Jude is relatively small, a large baby might result in her needing a C-section to safely deliver the baby, as opposed to a vaginal delivery. The thought was that if the baby measured 80% or higher on the growth chart, we might be looking at a C-section in the not too distant future.

The frustrating thing (to me, anyway) about ultrasounds is that the farther along a woman is in her pregnancy, the harder it is for a layperson to clearly distinguish a baby's features. Today, for example, our technician would say, "there's his head." I would reply, "oh, okay. No, I can't see it." Next, "there's his shoulder and arm." Again, I'd reply, "uh, nope. I can't see anything." I think I should be in the remedial ultrasound class.

At any rate, we learned our baby actually is not that big. Unless, that is, you consider his weighing in at 96% on the growth chart as being big. In other words, he's bigger than 96% of babies at this stage of the game - 31 weeks. Wow! The technician estimated his weight at 4 pounds, 11 ounces. I'm still looking for double digits at birth (10 pounds or more), which, somehow, Jude doesn't think is very funny.

After the ultrasound, we had an appointment with our doctor. She advised, and we agreed, it would be prudent to go ahead and pick a date for a scheduled C-section, given the baby's size. Jude had in her mind April 2, 2008, so it's a date! If we don't have a baby by then, she'll deliver him with a C-section, five days before the original due date. If Jude goes into labor before then, we'll have a decision to make, depending on how far along she is and the size of the baby.