[3Sapphires]

as I guessed I have an anterior placenta, so that is why I am still not feeling much.

Baby looks well, at least as well as he can guess on his u/s machine from the 1970's. Only in 22%'ile approc 11 ounces. HR if 158. I got 2 lousy pictures of the front of the face. So not only are they fuzzy and small, but they are creepy.

And after looking and looking for about 5 minutes, his best coming in at about 80% chance is a boy....

I'm still trying to get a handle on that, I've been crying off and on all the way home. Made so much worse by my 5 year old saying "but I wanted a girl".

He said he would bet money it being a boy, but wouldn't paint the walls yet.

He pointed out the legs, in one shot, there was nothing, there, in the next shot, we saw something, he says the cord is in the way...

I have another u/s in 4 weeks to see if baby catches up in growth. I'm kinda surprised it is so small, both my boys always measured a head.

I guess I'll be ok - I didn't get myself ready enough to hear boy.

[Jessy_Ree]

I know you really had your heart set on a girl this time..but youre a good mommy to your boys and if it is in fact a boy I know you'll love him just as much as the other sons..I'll keep my fingers crossed that maybe possibly the tech was wrong..and that everything looks good at your next appt..HUGS!

[3Sapphires]

well, it was the actual doctor who did the u/s - he may be terrible at it! haha!

[Mommy to 3 boys]

I know exactly how you feel. I cried a lot with DS#3. We all know you will love this baby regardless but of course you need to mourn not having a daughter. I am of course here if you want to vent or just talk. I will say congrats on the healthy (all be it, small) baby. If you are anything like me, you will be hoping for the next 4 weeks that the gender prediction will change lol. With DS#2, I said he could still be a girl until he came out lol. I'll pray that baby catches up in size (and that the tech was wrong with his prediction).

[mommysoon]

Can I ask you something? I think we have the same due date (Sept 12) and our little boy is also measuring at 11 ounces- they didn't say anything to me about growth percentages- is that 22% based on weight? Because I'd be really surprised if I had a small baby too.
I'll be thinking of you- it's taking me some effort to adjust to the idea of a boy, but for opposite reasons- I don't have any and it scares me to death!

[Blessed Mommy Of 5]

Awww I'm sorry Ami! But after taking into consideration what you said about your doctor's u/s machine from the 70s and him already not being sure....it isn't 100% that it is a boy yet. Even if it is a boy I know you'll love him just as much. Of course, that probably isn't what you want to hear right now. I wish I had the words to comfort you! I personally think it is much easier to mistake a girl for a boy vs a boy for a girl. Simply because the cord can appear to look a lot like boy parts when there possibly isn't any boy parts there. But when you are told that it is a girl, it seems more unlikely to be a mistake since there is simply nothing there other than the lines. Just my theory though.

Is your next u/s going to be using that same 70s machine?

I went to a high tech perinatology office for my anatomy u/s and I was informed they wouldn't be determining the weight of the baby because it simply wouldn't be accurate enough at 19 weeks. They did do the measurements though. I actually wanted to know how much the baby weighed and didn't get to find out.

**BIG HUGS**

[3Sapphires]

I'm not sure if it is based only on weight. He didn't tell me in weeks where baby is measuring. I'm just really surprised it is so small, the boys were always in the 75-80%...

[3Sapphires]

the placenta is giving some good distortions too...

I guess anything is possible, but I'm not getting my hopes up for a girl.

[Jessy_Ree]

I just reread your post and now i see you did say a doc did the US..which in and of itself is rare..My doc wouldnt even venture a guess what i had to have an emergency US at 18 weeks with my DD because he even says..they arent really trained to tell the gender..

[Risa]

I'm sorry that you are feeling bummed out right now. Is it an option to go do a 3d ultrasound so you don't spend another month wondering what if? Then if it is a boy you can be certain and begin adjusting without the little wondering in the back of your mind if it might really be a girl...

[3Sapphires]

I have no "extra" money to pay for a u/s.

The don't have a tech at the office I go to, and the other offices are too far for me to travel. So I will be seeing the same doctor, on the same old machine next time.

[JennaBee]

First BIG HUGS!!!

Next, both my girls were IUGR babies (growth restriction) so I can answer that question for you a bit.

Typically growth isn't usually measured before 24 weeks since it varies CONSIDERABLY day to day before then. What they do before then is called a Hadlock AC reading which is just abdominal circumference which gives you a guess at weight but that's typically more often used to say "yes this is within the gestational age" or "hey maybe her due date is off because this baby is huge" where women were not given dating ultrasounds.

TRUE growth scans -bio physical profiles- are done by measuring the head circumference, the abdominal circumference, and the femur length. Those measurements are put into a formula that estimates the baby's weight. but REMEMBER it is not the actual LBS that matter it's the overall growth of the baby. (Which is why soon you'll start getting regular fundal measurements again to estimate baby's growth) if they see you've either grown a lot or not very much they will confirm with the u/s and go from there. The concern arises when babies slow growth or like mine stop growing. It's a SERIES of incidents not just one measurement. However, at the end of pregnancy it can be helpful to determine if baby is getting too big for a vaginal delivery in comparison to pelvic measurements or especially in Gestational Diabetic mommies. So after all that blah I wouldn't be very concerned with a low percentile now because that dinner tonight could put you up 30% by morning

Lastly, I also found out I have an anterior placenta but I was also told that as the uterus grows (particularly approaching the 3rd trimester and it passes the navel) the placenta can move and be more at the top rather than in front.

[Kierasmom]

Hugs Ami! I'm glad baby is doing well!

Here is a link to a fetal height/weight chart...
Average fetal length and weight chart | BabyCenter

Old machine plus cord between the legs would make me not trust what he said.

[RunningMommyTo3]

I"m glad to hear that baby is healthy! I agree with Jenna that I wouldn't worry too much about the growth just yet. Even the dr's human error in getting the measurements could've contributed significantly, too, at this stage. My dr also said the weight based on the abdominal circumference is just for estimation purposes right now, but the one they really look at now and later are the femur length and head circumference. Based on Bailey's weight alone, 14oz, it would've put her WAY ahead of her gestational age, but, based on the femur and head, she was measuring just a little ahead at 21wks (about 4 days ahead).

I'm sorry that you heard the word "boy". I felt the same way upon hearing that with my third one (we also thought that would be our last at the time). You will love this little boy, should it truly turn out to be a boy, but you need to grieve the lose of your dream of a girl. It's understandable. (((Hugs))), Ami. PM me anytime you need/want to talk or just vent.

[Angelamomtomany]

I wouldn't trust him either. I hope you get better shots next time.

[mommyto2littlegirlies]

Oh Ami. I am so sorry about how that whole thing went. I'm seriously fuming at my kitchen table thinking about the u/s you got. I'm sorry the pictures were not good and you only got two. I gotta ask, does the doctor always do all the ultrasounds? For each and every patient he is the one to do the u/s? I just find that odd. My ob of 27 years said he'd never guess a baby's gender in a million years b/c he is not a trained technician.

I vagely remember you saying something about the option of going a couple hours away to a better office/tech place to have your u/s with a newer, up to date machine. Is that still an option?

All that said, I am sorry you did not hear the gender news you were hoping for. If I were you however, I would not completely disregard the thought of him being wrong. Please know we are here for you and we know you are going to love this little baby growing inside you no matter what the gender. There are many, many of us who know exactly how you feel.

*Hugs*

[Sagga02]

I think that growth sounds perfect for as many weeks, that is what the tech told me normal was at my 20 week scan as my baby is a lot larger and i wanted to know what the norm was then. Of course everyone is different.

It does not sound like the Dr knew what he was doing! I wouldn't be painting the walls just yet either

Hang in there hun
HUGS

[2Reasons2Smile]

Hugs I agree the dr seemed like he wasn't really sure what he was doing. Praying you may still be on team pink.

[3Sapphires]

I don't know if the docs do the u/s's for all the patients, this was a first for me, but this is also a new practice for me.

I was trying to schedule the next one, but their vacations were getting in the way. The receptionist said their are only 2 docs who do the u/s in that office, but they do have offices further away. I was getting the impression that the other offices were about the same, and that the doc would be doing it there too.

I guess it is what it is, and we will be getting one or the other. I just wish I was more excited. I feel terrible feeling this way.

[amazing_love]

I'm sorry Ami. I can imagine how difficult that must be to hear him say he thinks its a boy when i know you've so been hoping for a girl. I agree that i wouldn't trust what he said, not because he's a doctor but because it doesn't sound like he got a good shot of it. With the cord being in the way i would question it.. but then i'm one who has to see the shot clearly at least twice and then i still ask several times "You're sure?" with the doc/tech just laughing and saying "Yes i'm sure!" See, my doctor i saw with DS did the u/s too. I didn't even realize it was uncommon for doctors to do it until recently. She did a great job and i could tell she knew what she was talking about and did them all the time. She did however have a pretty good u/s machine.

I wouldn't worry much about the growth at this point either since babies can vary so much. The tech never told me the weight of our baby, just took the measurements of the head, stomach, and femur and averaged them to get the estimated age.

I hope at your next u/s you get a clear gender shot where there's no doubt about it and maybe the doc will be wrong.