37 Week Ultrasound

At my week 36 appointment, Judy the midwife said my belly size was a bit small, and she estimated James to be about 5 pounds. I was given the option of getting an ultrasound to check up on his growth (she said it wasn't totally necessary because I was only a centimeter or two small and he could just be using up his space very effectively.) I decided "why not!? Let's have one last peek at James before he comes!!!"
We were amazed to find out that he is indeed curled up well, because the ultrasound technician estimated his weight at about 7 POUNDS 4 OZ!!! I still have people telling me that I look so small to them, and I still don't feel like I had imagined I would at this point. It's really hard to believe I have a creature bigger than Jasmine (the chihuahua) inside me!
Apparently 7 pounds is a perfectly normal weight for his age, and his spine, leg bones, stomach, bladder and head all looked great. We weren't able to do a confirmation check of his boy-ness because he was quite curled up, but we don't mind.
Here are some pictures from the event:

His profile- you can see his lips are all squished up by his nose. He's really packed in there!
This one is a little hard to decipher- it is looking straight at his face. The little whitish hill in the middle of the picture is his fat cheek, and you can see his eyes, nose, mouth and forehead as well.

A personal favorite- looking up his nose! I'm really not sure how she got this shot, but it sure is interesting! The big dark rectangle is his mouth and the triangle above that is his nose.
We were blessed to find out that James is head-down and spine-up, so if he stays that way it might mean a less painful birthing experience for me because his spine won't be pressing on mine. Meanwhile, he still just loves to stretch his feet out near my hip and step on a certain nerve- OH BOY does it pinch!!! Sometimes I'll just be sitting quietly and then gasp out loud from the surprising shock of him stretching, and then he'll step off the nerve and immediately the pain will be gone. The ultrasound technician did say we should expect a long baby- I feel a little bad for him, he just wants to stretch his legs!!
As for my measuring small, she said it was due to the amniotic fluid volume decreasing, which is very normal at the end of pregnancy and actually helps the baby come down by letting him feel the pull of gravity a little more than he would when surrounded by liquid.

At my 37 week appointment (the day after the ultrasound) my belly was just the right size (I really think he gained some weight within that week) and James' heartbeat was around 125bpm. Definitely down from the 160+ bpm it was when he was just a wee shrimp. Amazing!

As of the start of the 37th week, babies are considered "full term," so if he decides to come out any time soon, we are ready! The birth-day bag is packed, the car seat is installed, and his drawers are full of all the things he could ever need as a newborn (we hope.) We are so grateful for the help our friends and family have given at baby showers.

And now... the waiting game begins. You can do it, James! You're a champ!