Maybe average isn’t so bad

Remember when I blabbed about not accepting average? Well, perhaps I spoke too soon. Average can be pretty awesome.

What made me change my tune? PB&J had wonderfully average growth scan on Monday at a gestational age of 25 weeks, 1 day.

That’s right. Three babies growing in one uterus doesn’t mean they have to be small. They can be perfectly average. I suppose they can be bigger than average, but I’m not going to press my luck. Or my back.

Baby A’s estimated weight is 1 lb. 12 oz. Baby B’s estimated weight is also 1 lb. 12 oz. Baby C was a bit smaller than her sibs this time at 1 lb. 10 oz. Comparing them with other babies, A and B rank in the 56th percentile, meaning they’re bigger than 56 percent of others their age. Baby C obviously ranks a little lower, but she isn’t far behind in the 41st percentile.

I’m so, so proud of my little average trio.

If you care to do the math, you’ll find that I’m not carrying just over 5 lbs. of just baby (plus all the extra weight that comes with their luggage). Paired with my overextended uterus, I physically resemble a woman pretty close to delivering a full-term baby. It’s no wonder I’ve slowed down lately! I’m still under no restrictions, but I do a whole lot of sitting with my feet up or laying down. I’m not about to risk overdoing things just because a doctor hasn’t told me I can’t. Doctors aren’t with me all the time – my body is. I’m listening to it the best I can.

I only took home four ultrasound photos that day, so I don’t really have much to share. In fact, they don’t look much different from past photos, so I’m not even going to bother scanning them. Why only four? Because it’s a giant mess of body parts in there. Someone’s head or butt was inevitably in the way of the different views the tech was trying for, and you can’t really make out whose leg is whose unless you’re an expert at that stuff.

I am not.

What I was able to see was that Baby B – our lone boy – was more or less sitting on Baby A’s head. Baby A is cramped up at the bottom of the pile, which is probably why I don’t feel her as much. Or it could be that she really is as mellow as she’s always seemed. Baby C was stretched out in the top/center, which wasn’t a surprise at all. She and her brother are the two who regularly test their limits by trying to break through my sides.

Speaking of those times, I learned that it’s Baby B’s head and Baby C’s back that I feel when they push up against my sides. When they poke out, I pat or rub them, trying to coax them to relax and go back in. I’m pretty sure that Baby C is going to need a ton of backrubs when she comes out because she gets about five a day at this point.

Speaking of Baby C, I told Rob last night that I think she’ll be our rowdy, attention seeker. She is the most active by far, and she presses up against me the most often. I’m not sure how much a baby’s “personality” in utero transfers to outside life, but I really won’t be surprised if she’s always the center of attention.

Yes, that would be Ninja Baby. The one who we thought we lost back at 7 weeks who then made a miraculous comeback, gaining two weeks of growth in the next week. She was stealth, but she made her presence known.

Loud and clear.