I went in for my weekly appointment today, and since my doctor is out of town for the holiday I saw another doctor in the practice. She told me my doctor had noted at my last visit that he wanted to “watch my height” because I was measuring “a little small.” Today’s measurement was apparently on the small side also, so she sent me to the hospital for an ultrasound. Naturally I freaked the hell out.
As it turns out, Chickie weighs between 5.5 and 6 lbs. Not on the small side if you ask me, but what do I know? Also, according to the U/S tech, Chickie’s head is “larger than average.” Given my preexisting fear that the kid will never in a million years fit through my hoo-ha, that it’s simply not possible, this is not good news for me. Now, not only am I worried about the actual birth, but I’m also concerned about the size of the kid’s head as it relates to potential health issues. Anybody ever hear this news at an ultrasound? Anybody want to assure me I’m not about birth Chicken Little or one of the Coneheads? Anybody with some sense and experience want to advise me on what awful (or not) condition might cause my child to have a larger than average noggin?
Please discuss.
one small corner of the universe 
from what I’ve always heard, the weight measurments on ultrasounds can be inflated when compared with reality, so there is that. And I wouldn’t be concerned until the doctor has read/seen the report, techs are not trained in diagnosis, and the tech shouldn’t have said anything to you.
I agree. U/S measurements are never completely accurate, and sometimes off by couple of pounds even. I was told with my first child that I was having an “average sized” baby, and I pushed out a whoppin’ 9lb 9oz chunker. (Although I think it was a blessing that I thought along the lines of 7lbs, because I would’ve freaked out and frozen up I’m sure. But I did it in blissful ignorance.) (Ok, blissful is not the right word.) Your body is designed to have this baby, so don’t flip out too much. (You’ll be shocked how much your pelvis flexes in your last month or so.) And certainly don’t go by what the tech says. Some techs are right, but Alley is smart in saying that they aren’t trained for diagnosis. It isn’t like you don’t have other things to stress about.
Keep hanging in there! I enjoy reading your posts. (And I was so glad to hear about your recoverd items. Yay!)
~michelle
Ditto that u/s measurements are basically crap. They can be wildly off in either direction, and they tend to get all het up over the size of the baby, when the fact of the matter is that some babies are going to be big and some are going to be small, period. If they think Chickie’s already between 5.5 and 6 lbs, then s/he’s not dangerously small in any way.
As for the head, Natalie’s head was decidedly larger than average, and her birth was totally survivable. I am of the opinion that birth is going to hurt no matter what size they are (I have yet to hear a birth story – even of a vaginally delivered preemie – where the mom says, “Oh yeah, it was delightful. I didn’t feel a thing!”) so try not to get too anxious about how Chickie’s potential size will factor in.
I found it somewhat comforting in my last weeks of pregnancy to look at every person I saw and think that everyone is born. Everyone comes out of some mother’s body. If those moms did it, so could I. And I did. And you will too.
I have to agree with everyone else. You can’t really go by the utrasound measurements… they can be all over the place… as for having a baby with a large head… it’s all hereditary really… I have been blessed with a husband with an abnormally (in my opinion) large head and both of my girls have large heads as a result… J says that just means they have larger brains and are much more intelligent than other more “cranially challenged” children :)… anyway, as has been said before, your body was designed to give birth… also, a baby’s bones are soft enough to allow for flexibiity in the birth canal… that’s why so many are born with cone heads :).
I always measured small with my first pregnancy, and my son was kind of small at birth (5 lb 12 oz full-term), but hey, he turned out fine, and he came out easier than my daughter who was 2 lbs heavier. I’m new to your blog, and as a fellow teacher, I am so sorry about your school! What a nightmare! And I teach chemistry, so now I’m all freaked out. Hope things can get back to normal and the knuckleheads will do some work!
Ditto on all the above comments. With all due respect to those favoring a vaginal birth, a c-section isn’t something to be feared or hated. Let’s face it, we’d pull them and their large heads out of our nostrils if that is what it takes to get them here and healthy. Enjoy these last few weeks as much as you can. To quote my doc, “this is the last time you will know exactly where they are and what they are doing.” He was right!