The Number Field

I just got back from our 36 week appointment, and have all kinds of news to report. First, for those who don't have pregnancy timelines memorized, let me put this in context. The standard pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, although anything more than 37 weeks is considered full term. Starting at 36 weeks, doctor's visits happen once a week; earlier in the pregnancy, we only had them once a month. Today we had a third ultrasound. The technician double checked, and guaranteed that Sunflower is a girl, so we don't have to take back any baby clothes. She's in the standard head-down position, ready to go. Her heartbeat is strong, about 130 beats per minute. She has a cute little face, and we got to see that she already has some hair. Here's the surprising part. The technician took several measurements, and the sonogram machine converted those into a weight estimate. According to it, Sunflower weighs between eight and a half and nine pounds. The estimate is not perfect, but it's usually pretty close. With four weeks to go before the due date, Sunflower is destined to be big, or early, or both.

After the sonogram we had what turned out to be a very short visit with Dr. Cherry, as she was called over to the hospital for a delivery while we were with her. She told us that even though the baby is already big, she wouldn't induce labor more than about ten days before the due date. However, she determined that Jenny is already dilated a little bit, so maybe Sunflower will come on her own sooner rather than later. When she said that, I got a little bit scared. I should start packing our hospital bags right away! I need to hit the baby books and prepare more. We need to find a new apartment. There's so much to do, and it all seems more immediate now.