This morning's ultrasound went very well. My placenta has moved up and out of the way -- a big relief since partial or complete placenta previa (where the cervix is partially or wholly covered by the placenta) means a C-section.
The baby is weighing in at 2 lbs. or so and measuring right on target. We saw her swallow and wiggle her legs. I'm also measuring right on target -- I've gained just about 10 pounds at 26 weeks. Assuming I gain the recommended pound per week from now until her due date, I'll have gained around 25 pounds in total. So where does all the weight go? Here it is broken down:
--Baby: 6 to 8 pounds
--Breast tissue: 1 to 3 pounds
--Larger uterus: 2 to 4 pounds
--Placenta: 1.5 to 3 pounds
--Amniotic fluid: 2 to 3 pounds
--Increased blood and fluid volume: 4 to 6 pounds
--Fat stores (necessary for breastfeeding): 6 to 8 pounds
The baby is frank breech (bottom down) with her arms crossed in front of her chest and her feet pointing up. My midwife (I had a regular appointment immediately following the scan) said that many babies are breech before 36 weeks. They'll keep monitoring the situation but as long as she turns before 36 weeks, I am all set. If she doesn't turn, I can do some exercises to encourage her, undergo an external version, and/or try acupuncture.
The ultrasound tech gave me some print outs of the baby including a very sweet shot of her with her thumb pointing toward her mouth; it looks like she is getting ready to suck her thumb. You can see her fingers curled in a loose fist. Daniel will scan it in in the upcoming days and we'll post it for all to see.
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