The Chronicles of Tadpole and Little Cub: Cub's 31 Week Check-up With Something Unexpected

Six days ago I had my 31 week check-up for Cub. Like always, her heart rate was in a good range of about 156bpm. And she is head down! I hope she stays that way. I had another weight jump though. Not as big as last time, but I wasn’t happy about it especially since I have really been watching what I eat. Though there is a bit of an explanation for this… My uterus is measuring big. For those who don’t know, or didn’t read the blogs on my pregnancy with Kayley, a woman’s uterus, on average, is supposed to measure the number of weeks she is pregnant in centimeters. So at 31 weeks I should be measuring at 31cm. There is a plus two on either side of the spectrum that puts you in the “good to go range,” meaning at 31 weeks there is no concern of your size if you measure between 29 and 33cm.

I was measured at being 35cm at my appointment, which raises a little red flag of concern, especially since I had two weight gain jumps. For my past two appointments I was on the plus 2 side of things which was fine, but being 4 cm over is a bit much. Reason for measuring big could be anything from my uterus is big because it stretched out faster since this is my second child, my due date was miscalculated, Cub is a big baby, or I have an extra amount of amniotic fluid. Some possibilities have no concerns or “problems” connected to them, others raise more concerns. M strongly suggested to have an ultrasound done at the Maternal-Fetal Medical Center, which is where more detailed ultrasounds are done for measurements and to look for birth defects or other complications that wouldn’t necessarily be spotted on a “normal” ultrasound.

So today we had the ultrasound after a week of speculation as to what could be going on. I tried to focus on the fact that we would get to see Cub again (Andrew worked from home so he could come to the appointment), but it was hard to not think of the what ifs. What if there is an extra amount of amniotic fluid and it’s because her kidneys aren’t functioning correctly? What if she’s a ginormous baby and I have to have a c-section? What if she comes early and we don’t make it to our church’s Fall Conference (I’m in charge of planning the children’s program)? And what if nothing is wrong at all and all this worry is for nothing?

Thanks to my wonderful husband, he was able to help me stay focused on God and put my trust in Him. Through lots of pray (and tears at first), I went from being freaked out about the ultrasound to being fine with it and happy that we’d get to see Cub again.

Cub was rather uncooperative for our ultrasound appointment today and it took nearly 2 hours to get all the pictures and measurements they needed. She started off sleeping with a good heart rate of about 151bmp, but then with all the poking and prodding she started to wiggle around like crazy, which made things every difficult for the technician. It was fun seeing Cub again though.

We found out that she has a “leaky valve” in her heart. Basically a heart murmur, which run in my family (I have one, and so does Kayley, my mom, and a few others). So we’re not really worried about that, but it’s good to know that it’s there. Who knows, it could go away. They did do a lot of extra pictures and measurements of Cub’s heart to make sure nothing else was unusual, and they didn’t find anything. This of course doesn’t not explain why I’m measuring big.

Cub is actually measuring big. After getting all her measurements it seems she is measuring at the size of a average baby who is in the 34^th or 35^th week of development. This could mean she’s just a big baby, or that my due date was miscalculated. Though since we had an early ultrasound (11 weeks), my due date is probably pretty close to what it would count out to be. But my period is irregular so there is a slight chance they got it wrong even with the ultrasound (anyway, only like 5% of babies are born on their due date). So she is most likely just big for her gestational age. They guessed she’s about 5lbs, and a baby in the 32^nd week normally weighs somewhere near 4 and 4.5lbs. Her size could lead to a normal “on time” delivery without complication, an earlier delivery that’s totally normal, or the need for a c-section.

I’m rooting for the first two options (as long as she comes after Fall Conference…). I know she’ll come into this world the way God planned her to and when God planned her to. So now it’s time for Andrew and me to trust in God and see what happens. I will be watching what I eat even more than I was so I don’t add extra chub to Cub though. What a nice way for our daughter to help her mommy and daddy really eat healthy!

And now, pictures of Cub from the ultrasound and my 32 week picture for your enjoyment.