38 weeks & 1 day – Keep Calm it’s a False Alarm
Last Friday, I had my 38 week check-up. I woke up that morning thinking…we should have everything ready, just in case! So hubby and I literally spent the morning getting our trunk filled with our hospital bag(s) and everything I would need after the delivery at my parents house.
Our appointment went well overall. However, Baby was still measuring small per my fundal measurement. This was a concern at my last appointment too but it was a gap of only 1 cm last time. This time it was about 3cm. At 38 weeks my fundal measurement should have been 38 cm (+/- 1), but instead mine was still 35cm and my own weight was still in the 125 range (it hasn’t changed much over the past 4-6 weeks. So… Doc was a bit concerned and scheduled me for a Growth Scan to check the Baby’s growth with a detailed ultra sound later that evening. Yes, I had to wait all day for this to be checked. The worse part is the worse case scenario. If Baby is indeed measuring to small she wanted me to be admitted “right away to get baby out”. She explained that Baby could be measuring small for a number of reasons which I’ll list below. But I literally freaked out at that point. I felt like I had from now until the evening appointment to mentally prepare that Baby could be here today or tomorrow! All I could think of is…”oh my gosh I have a sink full of dishes and a load of laundry I need to finish” and a few other things too!
We did a trip to Buy Buy Baby to shop for a few last minute things which was a good distraction. By the time the evening rolled around I was so anxious. Good news is…the appointment went well! Baby is actually doing perfectly fine and is measuring a few days ahead at 38 weeks & 4 days at an estimated whopping 7 lbs & 7 oz. The technician did say I needed to up my water intake to keep my amniotic fluids up. So I’ve been drinking A LOT more water than I used to. The reason the doctor was not able to get an accurate measurement was because of the way Baby was positioned. It was just an overall relief allowing me to rest easy over the weekend and focus on last minute things.
Why baby could be measuring small:
1. Placenta is not growing or no longer providing the proper nourishment
2. Baby is not growing
3. Amniotic Fluid is low
In any of the above cases, the Doc recommended getting the Baby out right away (especially #1) or would need very close monitoring.
Overall, it felt like Friday was a Dry Run of the real thing…aka a reality check…Baby will come any day now and it will never feel like everything is “ready” and that’s okay because everything else can wait…we’re ready to see our lil’ one!
