Bootylicious Baby!

Baby Rock’s booty dance is starting to get stronger and stronger! He’s head down now with his back on the right side of my tummy, his booty high on the right, and his feet and hands play on the left side of my tummy ALL day!

In our ultrasound on Tuesday, he was holding his feet with his hands which made me smile. His position also helped explain the BIG movements I feel high on the right side of my tummy. Rock’s movin’ his booty! And one of my weekly emails said his bones are turning to cartilage, so his movements will be getting stronger and I can see them through my clothes (which is SO true!). I also theorize that since I have low amniotic fluid, there is less cushioning between my tummy walls and Rock’s movements, so maybe I feel him dancing and jabbing more than other moms. But that’s just MY theory.

We also got to see Rock practice breathing during the ultrasound. His diaphragm was constricting and relaxing, which looks like his lungs are filling with air and releasing (but there’s not actually air in my tummy). We started our first baby classes this week too! Our first class (called Child Prep) discussed labor and delivery, which freaked me out enough to give me nightmares that night. Mainly because they told me my woman parts would stretch from the size of a Cheerio to a bagel! I never thought of it like that before!!! Our second class was Infant Care and we practiced bathing, changing diapers, swaddling, etc. I swaddled our ‘baby’ so well that I had to take a picture because I felt like one proud mama!

I never meant this blog to turn into “Doctor Appointment 101” but here’s a quick update on this week’s Tuesday ultrasound and NST appointment:
- Rock’s heartbeat was 150 bpm
- Doppler reading of the umbilical cord’s blood flow was normal
- NST (non-stress test) results were great!
- Tummy measurement was the best it’s ever been (31cm and I was 31 weeks pregnant!)
- Only negative…my fluid levels ranged from 4.5-5.3 AFI (which is the lowest it’s ever been)

The outcome…we’re headed back to the specialist on Friday (9/24). The doctor had me request an ultrasound to measure the fluid levels and a full biophysical profile, where they check four different criteria to make sure the baby is happy and healthy. My doctor wants to find out how low my fluid can get before the specialist would recommend delivery. I’m pretty curious to know that answer too!

Phil also has a theory this week…I asked him how my tummy measured RIGHT ON this week (where it usually measures small), but my fluid levels decreased, so what is filling up my tummy space? Phil answered…”Rock. He must be growing and filling in all the extra space that made your tummy bigger this week!” I LOVED his theory…hopefully the specialists will tell us his size and we’ll know for sure if he’s a growing boy!