…Low down being a relative phrase over here. I’m definitely carrying Andrew lower than I carried Oliver, which is normal according to the doctor, since all the skin and muscles have been stretched out before. I have barely any new stretch marks forming, just a handful of recent quarter-inch- to inch- long “extensions” at the top of some old ones, high up on my abdomen (because he’s lower and therefore pulling the skin down). But after my internal exam today we know that baby’s head is still pretty high up there. I am also 1cm dilated and 50% effaced, which means… absolutely nothing! heh. But nonetheless, we made it to 38 weeks, and we’re getting closer every day to meeting baby Andrew.

Meanwhile, Oliver has done nothing to help my 9-month whale-ish self image. At my ultrasound today, I could only see the top of his head and his big wide eyes peeking over the edge of the table as he said in awe, “MOMMY. Your tummy is VERY BIG.”

Thanks, sweetie. I hadn’t noticed.

The purpose of my ultrasound this morning was to get a Fetal Weight Estimate (FWE) since my doctor and I were considering induction based on Oliver’s size (8 lb 12 oz), lateness (11 days past due date), and my difficult labor with him. The ultrasound was done by the same high-risk OB who did all my ultrasounds for this pregnancy because of my history. The results: Baby is healthy (yay!) and head down (whew!), and he is 100% without-a-doubt BOY. His FWE was 7 lb 1 oz as of today, which is 50% percentile for 38 weeks. The FWE is only a rough estimate and can vary by as much as an entire POUND in either direction, but the doctor and I are pretty certain he’s not on the smaller end. Babies gain an average of 1 oz per day in the last weeks of pregnancy, so with 14 days to go, adding on another 14 oz would bring him up to about 8 lb on his due date. My gut feeling? I think Andrew will be smaller than Oliver, maybe around 8 lb and 2 or 3 oz. We’ll see!

Later today at my 38-week appointment, my regular OB reviewed the ultrasound measurements and said that we won’t need to induce next Friday (39 weeks + 1 day). I wouldn’t have minded sharing my birthday with the baby, but I am VERY happy I won’t have to share it with evil Mr. Pitocin! I’m still hoping that I will go into labor on my own. If we make it to his due date the following week, he will probably be somewhere between 8 lb and 8 lb 6 oz. However, my doctor and I agreed that we don’t want to wait until 41 weeks in case he turns out to be bigger. If he is stubborn like his older brother, we’ll plan for induction the day after his due date: Friday, November 6.

The ultrasound technician had also surprised us by doing a 3D ultrasound of his face, which was amazing. He is already so beautiful, with sweet chubby cheeks and quite a bit of hair. He was sleeping through most of the ultrasound, and when the technician tried to jiggle him to move his hand away from his face, he left his hand there and gave her a big time FROWN instead! Ha… Loves his sleep = totally his mother’s child.

I think he looks a lot like Oliver when he was a baby, who looked more like George when he was first born. Yet he’s totally his own person, waiting to start his own life. He has no idea how much he’s already changed mine.