[coolusername]

So I've had 2 ultrasounds (12 weeks and 19 weeks) plus the 3D ultrasound at 25 weeks....
as far as I know there are no more ultrasounds planned...
The OBGYN measures my belly and weighs me at the appointments and listens to the baby's heartbeat but has not "measured" the baby or told me anything about baby's size etc.

He said next time I "see" the baby will be when she is born.

So questions:
1. how do I know that everything is alright in there? People have been finding out about positions and placenta positioning etc...

2. is it safe to assume as long as I have no "symptoms" baby is in there normal?

how do they know for sure? if baby isn't breech or what not.

just wondering. Not worried or anything- but curious to how they know for sure. I keep hearing other mothers telling me exactly about their babies "sizes" and "positioning" but know nothing about mine...

[PaxtonsMom]

I'm a FTM too and my doc is really laid back. Like, super laid back. I've only had my tummy measured once. My appointments are like 30 seconds, listen to the heart, and see you later.
I had to get checked out for some pains a few weeks ago so that's why I know he's measuring perfectly - other than that incidence, I would not have had any other ultrasounds but the doc at the hospital wants me to go in on the 30th for a growth scan just to check him.

So yeah, I'm assuming no news is good news in your case!!!

From what I understand, your doctor can feel your belly and tell how the baby is positioned to determine if it is breech or not and do the manual manipulation if need be.

[first.time.mum]

The two ultrasound thing is pretty standard, especially here in Toronto where the OBs are packed full (apparently more than usual this summer for some reason). They will have determined your placenta placement at your 19 week appointment, if you want to know, your OB should be able to tell you, if they were worried about it, they'd have said something and likely done another u/s.

your appts sound exactly like mine, less than 5 minutes with the doc, the nurse does half of my measurements too, he just does belly, not even hb
As far as positioning, they can tell by feel, although at 30ish weeks it can be tough to differentiate bum from head apparently. If they suspect something isn't right, they'll do follow up tests, but the standard is just those two u/s's...

I don't know what hospital you're at (I feel like you said one of the downtown ones in an earlier post) but even when I went into the hospital with abdominal trauma they didn't do an u/s, they just monitored the baby for an hour or so...

[lnj5duke]

They will start checking for baby's position as you get further along in the third trimester. I think my doctor's office usually does the first position check around 34 weeks. They just poke around on your belly and say, "Yup, there's his head! There's his bum!" Even then, a lot of babies will flip after that, so they'll keep checking and they won't worry about it unless baby is still breech when you head in for L & D. I had a friend whose son was breech until 37 weeks, then he flipped the right way.

I guess most of the problems are evident at the 20-week u/s, so unless you show any new warning signs (spotting, strong/regular contractions, protein/sugar in urine), try not to worry!

[gingerrae]

what the other ladies say is correct. Most OB and midwives will just feel your belly and be able to tell if your child is head up or head down. As far as size there is no 100% sure way of knowing how big your baby is so even with ultrasounds it's always your baby looks to be measuring X give or take Y so you never really know. My last baby I was sure was going to be a large baby I was thinking 9.5 lbs or so but he was over 10.5 lb and not even my Dr thought he was going to be that big and I had an ultrasound at 40 weeks to check on my fluid levels because I was measuring large and they still didn't think he was going to be that big.

So really the only thing you can do is the kick count to make sure that baby is moving well and that's it. There is nothing you should worry about with anything else. Size doesn't really matter and as long as the location of your placenta wasn't on or super close to your cervix (which they would have seen on your 19 week U/S) then no news is good news and everything is A OK.

[KiwiMommy]

The only reason I have multiple ultrasounds is because DD was a very large baby, which they monitored, and they're watching this baby because of how large she was. Otherwise I'm sure I would have only had a couple ultrasounds.
My Dr could tell that baby was head down at my appt just by touching my belly. I asked though, and I doubt she would have said anything if I hadn't asked.
No news is good news for sure in your case I bet everything is going great!

[CassieR70]

My doctor guessed head down at my last appt because of where the HB was. I had to have another Ultrasound to check placenta placement....it had been too low, but thank goodness it moved up.

I haven't had anyone guess how much she will weigh, they just know she is tall because of her measurements - her legs and arms were nice and long.

I go in tomorrow and it will be interesting to see what the doctor says about all of this.

They don't always tell you, sometimes you have to ask