At my bi-weekly appt last Saturday, my midwife said she was feeling more fluid in my abdomen and wanted to schedule me for another ultrasound (u/s) to check in on Riley and make sure all is well. Since he continues to move throughout the day and has a strong heartbeat, J and I weren’t too worried. They wanted to rule out polyhydramnios, which is excessive amniotic fluid in the uterus. Fortunately, the sonographer said my fluid levels were in the normal range (5-25 oz) -- I’m at 20 oz.
Riley, on the other hand, is a larger than average boy – 65th percentile and estimated to be 5 lbs 9 oz. Average weight at 34 weeks is about a pound less than that. That being revealed – I decided to eliminate my daily sweets, as I don’t relish squeezing a 9 or 10 pounder out of my loins.
During the u/s, Riley had a hand resting underneath his chin – like he was contemplating what life outside the womb would be like. We can also confirm that he’s still in proper head-down position – no surprise to me as my right ab is sore from his repeated karate kicks. Not that I’m complaining…
My biggest concern in all of this was preterm labor, which would disqualify me from giving birth at the birth center. I have to be at least 37 weeks with no complications. That means he needs to stay in and “cook” for another three weeks at least. Once May 3rd arrives, we’ll be ready for him.
I bought a print from artist Brian Andreas (of Storypeople fame) which touched me years ago when I saw it at a gallery in
“There are lives I can imagine without children,
but none of them have the same laughter and noise”
J took a picture of the print along with a colorful quilt that my sister-in-law sent to me last week.
Having had a wonderful life filled with friendship, romance, travel and exploration, I’m now looking forward to a life beautifully disrupted with laughter and noise. I’m putting the print up by the changing table to remind me of my little boy blessing as I’m wiping his bum for the umpteenth time.
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